The highlight of the story isn't the characters or the story but the animation itself. As I watch the first episode of Koi wa Ameagari no You ni I was pulled in by the animation and throughout I was amazed just how nice and detailed it was at times but I realized it was the only thing keeping me tuned to my laptop. The story follows high school student Tachibana who works at a restaurant where she is in love with her manager. Throughout the episode we see her interacting with him but nothing ever comes of it even when he catches her smelling his work shirt. The relationship is weird because after a few nice things he's done for her, their isn't really a relationship between them. Tachibana is chasing him but he doesn't notice her because he has a kid and wife. Towards the end he does imagine a younger him talking to her at the bus stop but he immediately stops. There may be some spark between them but this episode didn't shows us that at all.
This first episode was boring. It was focused on showing us just how beautiful the animation can be that the story and pacing took a back seat. Before the opening play the first 2 minutes are just shots of the school and city. Yes its beautiful but it should not be the main focus. There;s even a moment where Tachibana's purple eyes are sweating. There wasn't much progress at all but a standstill that made the episode seem longer than just 23 minutes. The characters thus far are sort of lackluster. From this episode alone the only character I like is Yoshizawa. He's a school mate of Tachibana that likes her but continuously fails to get her attention. He's only in the episode for such a short time but when he's there I've gotten a couple laughs off.
This show has promise. It could be better down the line but the first episode wasn't a good indicator that you should be watching the series. I do want to see what happens between Tachibana and Mr. Kondo the manager but the pacing truly is annoying. Tachibana seems bland so I doubt they'll be any huge character development on her end but maybe Kondo and Yoshizawa can steal the show. I doubt I'll be reviewing further episodes but I will be watching to see if things get better. Hopefully they do.
Tags:
Anime/Manga
