Review of Sing "Yesterday" for Me
This anime is criminally underrated. Yesterday wo Utatte is a realistic romance with adult characters. It's different from ordinary romance animes, as it doesn't have fanservice and many tropes. The reason why this anime is so good is the intricate story and deep characters, which is what you should expect from a seinen. The anime is about this guy, Rikuo who is stuck in life and is still in love with his friend from college, Shinako. Meanwhile, there's this new girl, Haru, who is in love with him. The story focuses on the relationship of those 3 characters, where Shinako denotes Rikuo's past and being stuck,while Haru denotes the future and moving on, as well as other characters who get entangled in the love polygon throughout the anime.
The four main characters are well-written. Each one of them has their own struggles and complex personalities. It feels like each of them has their own stories, instead of just being tools for the protagonist. Rikuo is the main character, who can't move on with his life and is stuck in the past. He is a simple person with mundane problems, to whom many people will relate. Since it's so common to be indecisive and uncertain during this period in life. So, the anime tackles a relatable topic in this regard. Haru is a cheerful girl who loves rikuo. She is a lovable and endearing character, and the main reason why many people like the anime. Every scene with her brights the mood of the anime, so it's easy to like her. She is more straightforward and bold, contrasting with the other adult characters. The fact she is so pushy and persistent is essential in helping Rikuo's growth.
Shinako is the girl who Rikuo has always been in love with and it's easy to understand why from the first the very first scene with her, since she is such a charming girl. She is indecisive about keeping him as a friend or dating him, and even though many people dislike her for that, I think her indecisiveness is understandable. She knows she has to move on with her life and get over her lover's death, but still, she doesn't feel the same thing for Rikuo that she felt with her deceased lover, as it's evinced in one of the extra episodes. Shinako is the best girl in the anime. Her tender personality along with her maturity are what makes her such a lovable character, she is the kind of girl anyone would want as a wife. The fact she was indecisive is not a bad thing for me, as it shows she kept loyal to her feelings for her first love, it's commendable. And finally, Rou, easily the worst character in the anime. It's a good thing he just disappears for some episodes, despite being portrayed as one of the protagonists along with the other 3. It's absurd the fact he wants to force Shinako to forget about his brother, and not only that but dating him. I just can't get my head around this no matter what, and the fact he is so pushy and aggressive just makes it worse. This character is irredeemable.
This anime has a very distinguishable art. It looks pretty simple at first with simplistic characters' design but the animation was astounding, especially the backgrounds that were really detailed, creating some beautiful scenes. Even though there's no opening , the ending themes make up for it. All the 3 ending songs are amazing, and are songs that you keep listening to after you finish the anime. Even though all the seiyuus were great, Hanazawa Kana voicing Shinako was remarkable, and definitely one of the reasons this character was so endearing.
This is a mature slow burn romance with great production value. There are a couple of caveats I can point out that prevent it from being perfect, but it doesn't really hinder the enjoyment.