Review of We Were There

Bokura ga Ita - We were [there] To be honest, I dont really understand how the title applies to the story, but despite that I think this anime lands somewhere in my favorite 10 Story 9/10 There are a whole mess of cookie cutter school life romance anime out there, but this one being older, im inclined to give it more points for originality... as you might read from any summary out there, its your basic, two classmates fall in love and we get to watch it happen and we also get to watch the ups and downs of their relationship... ups and downs meaning, there is somedrama to keep things fresh and entertaining, tho im not a complete fan of ALL the drama, I certainly enjoyed watching

Art 6/10
If I had to describe the artwork in one word, I would probably choose "simple". I mean, given enough time and resources, I could probably produce something at the same level... but even tho it was perhaps low budget, I also think its simplicity adds a certain charm that other anime dont have. I think sometimes we can get so caught up in wanting state of the art graphics quality, we let it affect how we enjoy the anime. its just not the case here... if you give the simple art a chance, you might find you enjoy the anime as much as I do... or maybe not, I understand that drama isnt for everyone, but then again, if you like school romances, you are probably used to it

Sound 10/10
Again, this is a low budget anime, but I particularly like the music... especially Kimi Dake wo, the OP song... its a good tune, the lyrics and the melody fit very well I think, and it genuinely made me look forward to watching episode after episode. No comment on the ED song... I dont remember it

Characters 8/10
We all know teenagers will make some bad choices, its just a natural part of the age group, and its reflected well in this anime. that said, there are times we see characters trying to improve upon these mistakes, and in some ways we see a very realistic struggle taking place... we learn about some of these struggles from the past, and we watch some develop and as a result, we see some drama that made some of the middle episodes a chore for me, but I stuck it out and it was well worth it in the end. some of these drama details arent exactly realistic according to average western culture, but having *some* understanding of japanese beliefs, Im able to buy into some of these details more easily

Enjoyment 10/10
despite the "construction in the middle of this road trip" I quite enjoyed where things ended up... it was left a bit open ended, maybe in hopes they could have funds to produce another season, maybe to be addressed in the live action movie [which I havent seen], or maybe just to leave things to the viewers imagination, I have no way of knowing, but I assumed it was the imagination gig, and I was very content with the ending

Overall 8/10
Most probably, this anime isnt for everyone, some people want action, some dont care for school life, and frankly, some people just like to complain about stuff... but if you like romance and you like school life, this anime is well worth giving a fair shot, and above all, just try to enjoy whatever you decide to watch ^.^ thats the most important thing in my opinion