Review of Sing "Yesterday" for Me

I *really* want to keep this brief, so I apologize if the following review is like, bad. Yesterday wo Utatte was a whole lot of interesting to me, right from the start I had this weird feeling that it didn't FEEL up my alley, I couldn't explain WHY I liked it, but somehow I didn't want to stop. I think it's worth pointing that out, because it's largely because of that initial impression that I think I ended up liking it as much as I did. The purpose of this review is to hopefully help YOU, reader, enjoy this show. I certainly have no intention ofdiscrediting the opinions/experiences of anyone who was dissatisfied by it... BUUUUT... I DO think that expectations can go a long way insofar as how much you like this story, and I wonder if the people who are (at the time of writing this) pretty upset over the ending might just have had some unhelpful expectations. So let me tell you what I think this story ISN'T about.

This is not a love story, this is not about romance, this is not about "coming of age" (well I mean maybe it is, but kind of most stories can be, so let's just distance ourselves from that idea for now), this is not about finding characters likable or rooting for your favorite ship or whatever. Well ok, it CAN be. Maybe it's still fun if you view that that way, but I'm not the one telling you so. But to paraphrase some less-than-positive takes I've seen floating around, certain characters in this show don't really feel "developed." If you are watching this anime in hopes that a really sweet romance will blossom and everything will feel "right" with a happily-ever-after, you'll probably feel like this story is pointless, or that it doesn't earn what it tries to have, and particularly in the case of the ending, you might even say it was rushed. And let me tell you - I am NOT the person to talk to about whether something was rushed or not, because apparently I have an extraordinarily high tolerance for fast pacing, so maybe my opinion on that won't be helpful to anyone but me (I mean, the pacing felt fine to me tho).

Anyway, to anyone who finishes this show with feelings like that, I hear you. You're probably right, honestly. But somehow I made it through without feeling that way at all, so surely there must be some valid alternative approach?

Let me describe to you what this show was to me, and hopefully I can convey why it's pretty good (uh oh, is this where the "review" starts? Wasn't this supposed to be brief? What's wrong with me? Are you really ok with reading this kind of a review?). And as one final preface (ugh), I'll just say that I have no idea what the original manga is like, and maybe what I think of this story would be really untrue for that, in which case, perhaps this simply isn't a good adaptation? But this anime, man... This is a show about a handful of characters, each with a handful of insecurities and social hangups, and they all pretty consistently just kind of flounder about awkwardly in an attempt to achieve 3 broad goals. First goal: Understand each other. Second goal: Understand themselves. Third goal: Relationship???

Listen, if you're gonna claim that this is a "romance" anime, I hope you realize that everyone in this story pretty explicitly DOES NOT understand what romance is, they don't know what it really means to be in a relationship, they all second-guess themselves and are constantly casting all of their feelings into doubt. Relatable. But this isn't really a cute "aww they don't even KNOW that they're madly in love" kind of confusion. This is like, actual confusion. Like dumb confusion. These people are kind of dumb, and it's a little frustrating, and I didn't really like any of them for a while because no one seems to know what they're doing. BUT THEREIN LIES THE HEART OF THIS DANG STORY, READER.

A great feeling was when I realized that I had started to like everyone involved, they're all so *bad* at like, stuff, but it's always a good time to see someone brute force their way into the coveted "being a slightly more mature person" zone, and that's what I think just about everyone does in this story. Time spent watching this anime feels quiet and introspective. Dialogue is written in this weird way where characters can muster the conviction to simply call out each others' insecurities with pinpoint accuracy like it's NOTHING. They do this CASUALLY in that way that you can only really sigh and nod in response. There is virtually no music, most of the time, so you're just left with these stinging acknowledgments that whatever given character has to come to terms with, in the quiet of your own mind. There's kind of a melancholic vibe to this sorta thing and I do think I dig it. And all this time in quiet reflection was time well-spent for the characters, because they follow it up with little life decisions that reveal genuine effort to self-improve.

The magic of this show is kind of exemplified by the ending, so RIGHT NOW is when spoilers might start. Personally, I wouldn't shy away though - at least for this show, if knowing the "outcome" is what will spoil your experience, I'd hazard an assumption that your view of what this show is about is already deviating too far from my own for me to expect you to have that good of a time with it anyway (maybe that's assuming too much though).

SPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILER

It's exhilarating to use the apparently-controversial final episode to illustrate what I liked about this show, honestly. Not that I have much to say about it either way (this is a "brief" review, after all), but there's a sweetness to the nectar that is "revealing a dissenting opinion." But let's sum it up: The relationship that, for the duration of just about the entire story, has been built up: ends. After a short talk, everyone involved realizes that they didn't really know what they were doing, they were just kinda confused and wrong about what they thought they wanted or were comfortable with in the first place. The relationship that, for the duration of just about the entire story, has been ignored and downplayed: FULL SPEED AHEAD LET'S GOOOOOOO the end! Listen. I just tried to explain that in a way that feels accurate to the pacing, and also accurate to how VERY FRUSTRATING I imagine it is to the people who disliked it. But I think it's pretty appropriate, really!

What is key to appreciating the ending, in my opinion, is acknowledging that there isn't really a guaranteed happy-ever-after. Everyone involved admits to themselves and everyone else that they STILL don't know what the best thing to do is, and they have no idea if even this is what they really want. Very, very true to form. But they DID learn that that one relationship? The one that was built up over the show, particularly in the previous few episodes? That relationship really isn't what anyone wanted. Sure, it could have been ok, but come on. This entire story has been about all of these people not knowing what they should do, but taking action anyway. They specifically all approach their problems with an attitude of "you can't know if you don't try," and hey, they tried, and they're gonna keep trying. You can SEE the progress made since the beginning, everyone is steadily improving. No one in this story is truly satisfied with a half-assed solution that only technically works, that's why their struggles will never end. That relationship ending the way it did was the product of everything this show has built up, I'd like to think. Everyone has been confused, everyone has been doubtful, everyone wants *something* but they can't really grasp it, no one wants to settle for less than this intangible desire they have, so they think in silence, they talk directly and frankly, and they make mistakes until something finally sticks. Finally, after something stuck, they are treated to a moment of genuine clarity: this ain't it. No doubt about it. Let's try something else!

OK SPOILERS ARE DONE YOU CAN COME BACK NOW IF YOU LEFT THANKS I MISSED YOU

To me, this is not a story about finding love, as you may expect from a romance. To me, it's more of a story of like... Becoming the type of person who CAN find love. Which is neat! And whether I'm right about that or just talking out my butt, I was able to really enjoy this show as I thought of it in this way. Maybe you can too!

TO SUMMARIZE:

Awkward, introspective show about some confused people, watch them as they become slightly less confused over time! Character design is likable, characters grew on me in a weird way, music is(n't), voice acting is pleasant, honestly I'm surprised I was into this but honestly the more I mull it over, the more I think I like the dang thing. 7/10 from me, and it'd be kinda funny if I rewatched it someday and gave it like a 9/10 but I guess we'll have to see. OR MAYBE IT SUCKS IDK BYE