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Sunday 31 January 2016

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- My Love Story!!

Number of Episodes: 24 [25-ish minutes each episode]
Language(s) Watched: Japanese with English subtitles
Licensed? (As of this entry): YES (Not yet released in North America)
Genre(s): Romance, Comedy, Drama
Overall Impression: This is the most sweetest yet ridiculous series I've seen in a long while. I love it!


SPOILER ALERT WARNING!!
This review will contain some spoilers -- or rather, there will be a "Spoilers" section at the end of the review to go into further detail about certain things. There may still be slight spoilers throughout the review, but I've tried my best to keep them at a minimum.


PERSONAL STANDING (Pre-exposures, thoughts, etc.)
So the first time I heard about this series was last year around November. I was browsing around Rightstuf's Holiday Sale, and saw that the manga series was on sale. I looked it up on Anime News Network, but decided against buying it, despite the general high ratings. I usually don't buy manga these days unless all the volumes have been released in North America.

Then fast forward to around early January this year. A friend told me about the anime series and how it was so romantic and sweet that he had to watch it with somebody. After some thought, I suggested, "If it'll help you watch the series, let's watch it one day." Since this friend didn't live in Toronto, "watching together" meant watching it at the same time on Crunchyroll with Skype running.

A few days later I saw a Facebook posting from another friend saying that he just started watching My Love Story!! and was enjoying it. Then a few days after that, I got an e-mail from Crunchyroll saying that starting February 1st, old titles in their catalog will be available to Premium members only. Not yet ready to become a Premium member (I still have lots of physical anime DVDs/Blu-Rays in my collection), I thought, 'I better watch My Love Story!! while I have the chance...'

I watched the first four episodes with my friend on Skype. Then he "chickened out" and I watched the rest on my own, hahaha.


STORY
My Love Story!! follows Takeo Gouda, a tall, burly guy, who is very kind-hearted, but is very unlucky in love. He is used to seeing his love interests fall for Makoto Sunakawa, his good-looking friend. Then he saves Rinko Yamato from a groper on a train... Annnd that's all I'm saying.

The overall story is very basic. The presentation of it, though, I think is really nicely done. There is one main story line and a lot of side stories.

THE SWEETNESS
My Love Story!! is one of the sweetest anime series I've watched in a long time. I think the music, the characters, their genuine feelings, and that even the smallest actions can bring forth a wave of pretty sparkles really contribute to this. I honestly haven't felt so warm and fuzzy over a series in such a long time.

 An example of a small action bringing forth sweet sparkles.

THE COMEDY
Some of the comedic moments and situations are very over-the-top and often unexpected. A lot of it comes from Takeo's facial expressions or his gut responses or even his reasoning for some things. I'll mention one of my favourite comedic moments in the "Spoilers" section.

THE DRAMA / SERIOUSNESS / RELATABILITY
Despite this series being so sweet, there was also a lot of drama in it. Although... I think the drama came in ways that weren't really expected for a series like this. There were a couple "usual" situations like unrequited love. However, I think a lot of the drama comes from the internal struggles for each character and how they get addressed.

I'll fess up. I cried in almost every episode... and it was not because I thought, 'What's going to happen? Will they be okay? Are they going to do this? Are they going to do that?' It's because I thought, 'I understand that feeling. I understand that desire. I understand that fear. I understand that situation. I understand...'. I was able to relate to and empathize with a lot of what the characters were going through. I think this adds a bit of realism to the series, which I appreciate. I'll mention some of the moments I related to / empathized with the most in the "Spoilers" section.


CHARACTERS
From left to right: Makoto Sunakawa, Rinko Yamato, Takeo Gouda

There are many characters in My Love Story!!, the main ones being Takeo, Yamato, and Sunakawa. I think it's a bit rare for me, but I like almost all the characters in the series. Even if they may pose as a potential "obstacle", I was able to relate and understand their actions. I'll say something else about the characters overall in the "Spoilers" section -- something that I really like about them.

For the main characters, I really like them. Yamato is super adorable and Takeo is so kind-hearted and great. I also really like Sunakawa. I love his loyalty to Takeo, as well as his quiet but observant nature. I don't know if I would fall for him like most of the girls in this series -- but I would really love to be his friend.


MUSIC
The music is very nice and calming in My Love Story!! Many of the tracks are soft and lullaby-like -- very fitting for the overall sweet nature of the anime. There are also some goofy-sounding tracks and a couple intense tracks ('cuz intense things happen in the anime). All of it worked in the series. The opening and ending themes are also really nice and catchy.

Here, listen to a couple tracks if you like.


"Story of Mind ~Little Love~"
This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.


"Nagai Kage"
It's really subtle, but works really well for the serious moments.


MY LOVE STORY!! AND THE MANGA
This is a placeholder in case I get my hands on the manga.


MY LOVE STORY!! AND THE LIVE-ACTION MOVIE
This is a placeholder in case I ever get the chance to watch the live-action movie (with English subtitles!). I really hope it gets licensed.


CLOSING THOUGHTS
If you can get access to My Love Story!!, I highly recommend checking it out. It's currently available on Crunchyroll for Premium members. I am eagerly waiting for it to be released on DVD / Blu-Ray, 'cuz this series deserves to be in my collection. It has that good mix of sweetness, seriousness, and ridiculousness that I like in an anime series. :)


Thanks for reading! If you want some more input about something I didn't cover, feel free to ask. :)

So I'll do the scrolly thing and the "Spoilers" section will appear after that. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoilers" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.

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SPOILERS

I'll mention one of my favourite comedic moments.

Well... my favourite comedic moment was in episode 6... when Takeo tried practicing kissing with Sunakawa. It was totally unexpected and I couldn't help but laugh crazily through the whole thing. Granted, if this happened in real life, I would react very differently. But in the world of anime -- and with Takeo and Sunakawa being really good friends -- hahaha....

I kept thinking, 'Sunakawa can have any girl he wants... he can kiss any girl he wants... but his first kiss is like this... even a hot guy like him can suffer...'.


Oh... poor Sunakawa!! @_@''


I'll mention some of the moments I related to / empathized with the most.

There are actually a lot of these moments, and I'm not sure how to start listing them... but let's see...

-Takeo's feelings of inadequacy: I really felt for Takeo in the first episode when he thought that Yamato liked Sunakawa and was thankful to Sunakawa for being saved on the train. When Takeo voiced in his head, 'I'm the one who helped you out, you know...', it really affected me. I know that feeling all too well -- doing things for others but not getting recognized / acknowledged / appreciated in the end -- and feeling that somebody else got recognized for it instead. 

Then close to the end of the series where Takeo was seriously thinking that another guy may be a better match for Yamato... I understood that feeling too -- thinking that you might not be worthy of the one you like. 

-Takeo's misunderstanding: When Takeo decided to set aside his feelings and to help Yamato and Sunakawa get together, a lot of emotions went through me. 

1: Takeo's self-sacrifice to put somebody else's happiness over his own. It is noble but so sad at the same time.
2: Takeo thinking that his emotions would make Yamato uncomfortable, kinda expressing to me that he is not good enough. During those episodes, I kept thinking, 'You are worth it!' 
3: The pain Yamato must feel of being encouraged from the one she likes to go after somebody else. It is about the same as being rejected / not being considered.

-Yamato's worries: Yamato's worries of Takeo one day not liking her because of whatever reason, or of other girls liking Takeo and trying to get him -- ahh, I know that feeling too well... all too well unfortunately. >_<''

-Amami's feelings: There was a lot with Amami's situation that I couldn't really relate to, but when she described her feelings and the pain of them not being reciprocated, I understood it. It is quite painful to think about somebody affectionately, wondering what they could be doing or thinking at that moment, and then realizing that from the other person, such thoughts about you aren't going through their head.


I'll say something else about the characters overall 
-- something that I really like about them.

So what I really liked about the characters overall, was that almost none of them really stirred up drama between Takeo and Yamato. Besides Ichinose (and I didn't really like that guy at all, lol -- mishearing so many things) and Oda to an extent, any character with unrequited feelings understood well the strong relationship and happiness between Takeo and Yamato and wouldn't get between them. Not that I had any doubt in the bond between Takeo and Yamato -- I mean both did have to turn down somebody at one point -- but it definitely made watching the anime much more pleasant.

I'll probably mention this again in a future blog, but even though I am a hopeless romantic and enjoy watching romantic anime from time to time, I really hate love triangles / circles / squares, etc -- something that I often think is present in romantic anime. My mindset is, if you already like somebody, make it clear so the other person isn't waiting and hoping. I also really hate characters who try to take the other person away even when that person expresses they are in a relationship and are happy. I find that very selfish and inconsiderate.

Both those aspects aren't in My Love Story!!, which I am really thankful for.



That's it for the spoilers. Thanks again for reading and feel free to comment :D

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2 comments:

  1. How do you chicken out after the fourth episode?!? ^^

    Totally with you on the understanding bit. The characters are very relatable and that circle around Takeo consists of generally solid people. Asides from initial emotions getting in the way, most of the people are good at heart especially once they've come to accept the given situation.

    A lot of reviews from guy were impressed with Sunakawa being "the ultimate wingman". ^^ I found it interesting that Sunakawa's main vetting process involved whether people were respectful to Takeo; if they were he was willing to make the extra effort to help them out. I enjoyed their friendship as much (or even more) than the relationship between Takeo and Rinko.

    That plastic wrap scene killed me. ^^ The other one which kept me up giggling was that one omake early on when Sunakawa was having flashbacks about Takeo (mostly about his behaviour/closeness being hilarious). That scene where Takeo fell on his nuts on the bars, the way he fell and how he fully recovered a second or two later just makes me giggle every so often. ^^

    If they come out with a DVD/Blu-Ray of it, I might pick it up because of just how much I enjoyed it. ^^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, according to my friend, he was a bit fearful of the possible drama that could happen in the later episodes. He didn't want to see any drama happen between Takeo and Rinko.

      And haha, I did not think at all about Sunakawa being a wingman, but I guess he is ^^ And lol, I like Sunakawa's vetting process. I interpret it as him thinking, 'Oh, you think Takeo is annoying / loud / etc.? Then screw you, you have poor taste.' I also really enjoyed the dynamic between Takeo and Sunakawa.

      Haha, I remember that flashback and that scene. When I saw it I remember thinking, 'Hmmm, I guess he's okay / doesn't notice the pain because he's a kid', though now I think that was superhuman recovery? ;)

      According to Anime News Network, Sentai Filmworks licensed the series, so I'm imagining a DVD/Blu-Ray will come out sometime. I can't wait to have it in my hands! xD

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