Tsuki ga Kirei – Episode 6

REACTION – The episode focuses on three things: Akane’s track meet, Kotaro’s publishing offer, and Chinatsu’s feelings for Kotaro.

For Kotaro’s case, he was contacted by the publishing company who received his novel manuscript. Despite strong objections from her mother in pursuing writing as a career, he goes to meet with the publisher anyways.

However, Kotaro was met with disappointment as the publisher states that he is not fit for serious literature and should try doing light novels instead. For me, it felt kind of an insult for Kotaro since I, as a writer and a person, know the feeling of expecting you are great at what you do but get shut down by other people – telling you that you’re not fit for such career, hobby or job.

As for Akane’s track meet, she lost in the race and had the worst possible time which earned her some disappointed remarks from Takumi, the president of the track and field club. Although it is clearly quite evident that Takumi wants to comfort Akane, but nuh-uh, mate, she taken.

What’s surprising though is Chinatsu’s request to confess to Kotaro after Akane just said that they were in a relationship. I understand that you need some sort of closure but isn’t the fact that your desired person is already taken enough to discourage you from going further?

Quite concerned on Chinatsu’s request since it could affect their friendship a bit if she tries anything fishy and Kotaro gets baited real good. But I’m also complacent that no such thing will happen.

Every time a similar situation happens like this, I always think about the concepts of netorare, cheating – it could be possible.

I’d also like to take note how wonderful it was to incorporate a good song in a montage of Akane’s track race and Kotaro riding a train to the publishing company. It gives off an air of uncertainty and calmness as the two embark on their separate journeys to accomplish their dreams.

Currently what I can say about the Kotaro and Akane pairing is that they are still at the stage where they prioritize their own dreams. However, I am certain that as time goes on in their relationship, it could make them open up more and realize each other’s importance to each other.

The whole relationship, at the moment, can be characterized by awkward stares, conversations which is pretty much expected from characters like Kotaro and Akane.

I hope the anime series continues on this wonderful path where they incorporate realism when writing their characters and the story as a whole.

Tsuki ga Kirei – Episode 4 & 5

REACTION – I’ve got to hand it to this anime series for having such an engaging slice of life, romance plot with so little words used and just different forms of the two main characters.

These two episodes have rare occasions of talking and if there were such scenes, they were little words spoken between the speakers. That’s something great for an anime series – to tell an romance story without any words but merely the characters giving off hints through body language.

But because of this lack of conversation, it makes character interaction rather… dangerous. In real life, no one would actually understand what you wanted if you don’t voice it out clearly. This series keeps its realistic tone by putting that in. It’s also one of the most heart-clenching aspects of a story for me.

So after confessing to Akane, Kotaro is given the answer “Let me think about it” and that almost goes every much wrong. Throughout the fourth episode, I was left on the edge of my seat awaiting for some sort of closure – will they get together or not?

The events in the fourth episode contributed to that fear of mine as the entire class 3-1 goes out for a school trip. It was pretty much awkward for the characters to notice each other after that confession scene, even me as a viewer is left in tension.

School trip starts and what’s horrible is this – Kotarou asks out Akane to hang out with him during free time, but his phone is confiscated by their homeroom teacher. Thus this leaves Akane in the air and unsure if the agreement will push through.

And by dear lord, it almost goes out of hand.

Kotarou desperately trying to reach out to Akane but hesitating since she’s with her friends. Akane glancing at Kotarou, trying to make the decision to go to him, but ends up swept away by her friends’ request to go shopping.

The weather turns for the worse and the rain pours down hard.

Akane’s friends were such good people to notice that she was very much uncomfortable and had something else in her mind. They gave her space which allowed her to go to the aforementioned meet-up destination.

This scene is where it gets me so hard. Kotarou running desperately in the rain as there were different branches of the same store he mentioned to Akane for their meet-up and he never specified enough which one.

That one moment where they almost met but the crowd was too thick for them to meet – AH GODDAMNIT!

Akane gets a little bit concerned and wonders if Kotarou has lost interest of her.

Kotarou, however, manages to find one of Akane’s friends, Chinatsu, and asks for her phone. The dilemma which Kotarou faces – whether to ask Chinatsu for Akane’s number but it could give out the fact that he might be interested in Akane. Fuck. FUCK!

But Chinatsu, I don’t know why, catches on and gives him Akane’s number. At that moment, I gave a sigh of relief, as did Kotarou.

So they met up and Akane’s answer was “I want to talk with you more.”

Fifth episode, they are now officially a couple but have a trouble on what to do next. What do couples do, both of them thought. I like how these two characters felt so real in a way. Their worries, their joy, and their sadness, the two of them felt so real.

But Akane’s feeling a little bit threatened since Chinatsu has been getting too close for comfort towards Kotarou – but Kotarou doesn’t know that.

Chinatsu goes on and asks Kotarou if he knows any good literature cram schools and invites her to his cram school. Much to her delight.

So throughout the fourth episode, the tension rises for Akane as she tries to assert herself as a girlfriend for Kotarou whilst Kotarou is at a stumbling block when it comes to his grades.

Kotarou invites Akane, later on, to his favorite bookstore – to the recommendation of the bookstore owner. They have a good talk and a romantic scene where they hold hands. But here comes the big bomb. The rain in the parade – where the parade is the Kotarou x Akane ship and that is Chinatsu having a crush on Kotarou.

. . . . . Someone help me.

I applaud Feel. and their work on these two episodes. When an anime series tells a story effortlessly, without much dialogue and just pure body language alone from the two main characters – you know that it’s a good anime series.

Studio Feel. is nailing the atmosphere and characters right for this anime series. They doing a good anime adaptation of real life romance between middle schoolers and I think that is a great step for this studio. Especially when they did Oregairu a few seasons back.

Just a well done effort for this anime series and I am almost calling it a masterpiece. Let us hope the next few episodes keeps this kind of pace and doesn’t go wrong.

Honestly throughout these two episode I was expecting some sort of netorare bullshit to happen but praise the heavens nothing of the sort did.