Review of Sing "Yesterday" for Me

There is a particular pet peeve of mine that only recently has surface because there have been so many good examples of it. If I could describe Yesterday wo Utatte with it, the word would be "Pretentious." That is not to say everything about Sing "Yesterday" for Me was bad—in fact quite the opposite, but it's that exact reason that I want to breakdown exactly why I find YwU ultimately lackluster to what it could be. To start off I want to define what I mean by pretentious and explain why YwU fits that mold as well as it does. Ultimately a pretentious anime is a show/filmthat thinks it's way more deep and complex than the writing actually reflects. A show can look as nice as it wants but if the writing is ultimately juvenile at best then what's the point? A show like the Monogatari series can use avant garde style directing and composition and it can work seamlessly because the writing takes itself seriously enough to treat its audience like adults and allows the viewer to interpret what certain actions by the characters mean.

Something like YwU on the other hand is simultaneously trying to be "deep" as well as easily understandable to the general masses. This makes sense, it was originally a seinen manga not a novel. The problem is that YwU thinks it's really deep and is trying to be this somber SoL tale, but it doesn't trust it's audience enough to pick up the slack.

Something you learn fairly early on in creative writing classes is the classic rule "show don't tell." I personally do not believe this has to be cardinal law, you can explain ideas without patronizing the audience, but YwU doesn't do that. Instead, it proceeds to explain the major traits and flaws with the core cast with clinical precision, not allowing for the audience to interpret for themselves. This behavior is seen even with the first episode and if a series starts out as insecure as it does then that's usually a bad omen. normal people don't spend time psychoanalyzing each other and themselves so when it shows up in a narrative it's extremely irritating for someone like me who already got the point. I mean it's an extremely slow moving SoL drama, I don't need to be explained the main characters' issues with moving forward in life after you spent the last 22 minutes projecting through visuals and dialogue. And this wouldn't be a problem except it happens every episode for most of the show, so it's not something I can just overlook, this is simply how Kei Toume writes. And there's really only three main characters despite what the poster might make you believe, so there is only so much one needs to understand. For example, the main character is summarized so perfectly by their bio on MaL, you could easily predict where their arc is going to go from that alone.

And as evidenced by the fact the MC could be described in two sentences means the characters in this show aren't necessarily that complex in the first place. Rikuo is kind of bland all things considered, seems like a bit of an audience stand in which isn't uncommon in anime but with a series that is trying to be "deep" it comes off as wanting your cake and eating it too. Haru is where things the characterization shines the best because none of it is explained directly but makes sense from what we see from her life for the most part.

To talk about more positives, the directing of Yesterday wo Utatte is genuinely fantastic. I honestly came back after episode 3 after I constantly told myself I was going to drop it over and over simply because every time I started an episode, I got sucked in again. Yoshiyuki Fujiwara clearly read the source material and tried to make what would be an extremely slow and tedious series normally as engaging as humanly possible and he largely succeeds. I could probably count on my right hand how many times I slightly lost interest which is a sincere accomplishment for a show like this. The cinematography felt clear and precise; and the animation, especially in the beginning, is phenomenal. I don't know what kind of favors the director called in but wow it shows. There's Disappearance of Haruhi levels of smooth and that is a big compliment coming from me. The soundtrack, while nothing unexpected for this kind of show, perfectly conveys what each scene is trying to accomplish. If the digital backgrounds weren't inconsistent I would've said YwU is one of the most well made shows of the year. (The most well made is Ishuzoku Reviewers, obviously)

Which only makes it hurt more when things like the writing turn me off and break the immersion I so remotely experience with most media. And the lack of an OP with 3 ED's in a one cour show makes me feel like the show is trying too hard to be seen as special. Which it doesn't necessarily need, the anime takes place between 1997 and 1998, which in my opinion is part of the charm. It's a period piece, and despite the surreality of the main characters being old enough to be my parents if they were real, nevertheless gives it a charm that very few shows can claim. In fact the narrative only works at certain points because of the time period it's trying to portray.

*Skip to the end if you wish to not read spoilers*

The ending itself I'm quite confused about, so I think the theme is that love is not just getting the attention of others but understanding one another. That's a great message but I don't think that was communicated very well. Haru waits around the entire show for Rikuo to finally notice her but the point I thought was going to be made is that Haru is still a kid and Rikuo is a college grad, not only are their experiences vastly different but he kind of treated her like garbage for most of the show. Ultimately outside of no longer avoiding her family, Haru didn't learn anything. It's ok to follow a guy around you barely met and put on a facade of a manic pixie dream girl if it means the guy will eventually like you. And is Shinako now going to get with Rou? That entitled baby b**ch? WHY? If not the show didn't communicate that very well.

I get what the author was trying to go for to a degree, I just think the ending would've been vastly more poignant if she had committed to the realism seemingly initially sought after by the beginning. Rikuo and Shinako finding a comfortable distance and understanding what their true feelings are is great and I love that the show took that route. It just got caught in the parachute right before hitting the ground, it didn't die but tarnished an otherwise respectable feat.

*End of Spoilers*

Overall Yesterday wo Utatte is a disappointing experience that could've been remedied if the writing over the course of the show substantiated the tone the work so effectively communicated. I will say running a serialized story over the course of almost 20 years is no small feat and I highly commend the author for doing such, I just wish they had planned things a bit better. I wouldn't be able to recommend this show to anyone because of it, it's too slow and artsy for the kind of audience that the writing would resonate with, but the writing is too weak to ignore for anyone who would appreciate the sheer craftsmanship of the work. More than anything else, that is the most disappointing.

Now time to end my overly long and pretentious MAL review, just what this show needed.