Yasuhiro Kuroda Myself ; Yourself

Synopsis

Sana Hidaka returns to his hometown of Sakuranomori after 5 years of living in Tokyo. There, he returns to his four childhood friends:

- Shuusuke Wakatsuki, his best friend;
- Shuuri, Shuusuke’s twin sister;
- Aoi Oribe, his cousin and landlady and
- Nanaka Yatsushiro, his closest female friend.

Sana discovers that some things in his hometown haven't changed and some have, including him.

Review

Don't the three periods in the synopsis' ending sound intriguing?

Before I begin, I would like to relate that I found this title through what is called serendipity. It’s the art of discovering through accident. Now, being interrupted twice already, let us proceed.

I shall begin with the good points before I go to the bad.

Good Points

The story telling was one of the greatest styles I have ever encountered in anything I've read or saw, be it literature or some cheesy TV drama. I have read works like that of Edgar Allan Poe and a few really great novels and I could say, this title definitely deserves a place among those illustrious works of literature.

The title combines the usual aesthetic of childhood friendship-turned-love and the beauty of friendship that has lasted through the years with the mature story telling and direct detailing of the conflicts that is in life. It felt weird, watching something you expected to be just another romance turn into one of the most psychological and haunting stories you’ve ever encountered.

You not only get the cuteness and the moé, but you get conflicts that make you think as well. The loss of a family member, the pain of a neglectful father, the undertones of incest implied derogatorily, unrequited love, suicide, being bullied, seeing one parent kill the other, suicide again and finding the place where you belong. Never have I seen a title that combines cuteness with psychological issues!

Artwork

Speaking of cuteness, the art was very good, if not great. I have a technique in judging the art quality of a title (maybe you should try it). Consider that most, if not all titles will pay attention to the beauty of its female characters. Knowing this, you can be sure that you don’t need to worry about the girls, they’ll definitely be beautiful. Instead, look at the male characters. If the style is bishounen, then it’ll definitely pass! And this title passed. The male characters (particularly Sana) were quite handsome for protagonists, a far cry, perhaps from, say Uzumaki Naruto.

Cast

The cast too was great. One of my criteria in checking a new anime is the cast. If the cast is not that good, there’s a high chance that I’ll pass. Luckily, Takehito Koyasu was in this anime, and he did great. I also discovered new seiyuu to watch out for, like Shinnosuke Tachibana (Sana) and Tomoko Kaneda (Aoi) whose cuteness I really liked.

The music was pretty good, particularly the Ending Theme (I found the opening quite plain and common). The ending (Kimi to Yozora to Sakamichi to) had this haunting atmosphere that made me think of someone’s cherished childhood memories that were so painfully destroyed by fate. The drama! Even in the ending theme!

Anyway, let us go to the bad parts.

Except for the dull opening theme, there weren't any bad parts. (What’s happening to me!? I’m becoming mild!!)

I definitely recommend this anime. If there was one anime I would recommend you, it would be this. A cute series about the problems of teenagers and humans in general. Check it out!

Tip: before watching this anime, try asking yourself these questions:

1. What is the importance of friendship?
2. Was I a good friend to my friends?
3. Instead of asking what I’ve been through, what have my friends been through?
4. Was I able to help them in times of need?
5. Who do I consider my dearest friend? Does he/she think the same way?
6. Is suicide the answer to anything?
7. Where should I hide my secret stash of Porn?
8. How could I make my boobs grow larger? Are large boobs hereditary? (boys are exempted from this one)
9. Is the answer to this question no? (please answer either "yes" or "no" )