Review of The World is Still Beautiful

First off: If you were going to turn away because of the obvious age difference and height difference between Nike and Livi, stick around until you finish reading this at least. I recently finished reading a manga called 'Hapi Mari' about an arranged marriage. I quickly found out there was a whole genre of this specific cliche, so I got curious and did some research, during which this anime popped up. At first, I added it to my Plan to Watch and didn't really pay much attention to it until I came across it again weeks later. Curious, I read the summary to find theLivi and Nike have an age and height difference. Usually, that wouldn't have bothered me if Livi wasn't so young. Because he is (and looks) like a child, I thought I would feel rather uncomfortable watching him parade around with a heroine that looks nearly like an adult. Somewhere in my head, however, something told me to go ahead and give it a try, so against my better judgment, I watched an episode to find myself pleasantly surprised.

While the 'arranged marriage' cliche is a tale as old as time, the slightly creative take on it leaves the story more fresh and fun to watch. Since it's only twelve episodes, the anime doesn't have a very overarching plot across it other than the romance, but for a rom-com anime, it isn't all that bad. It's nothing that hasn't been seen before, but it's unique enough to grab my (very-short) attention and hold it.

The art is very clean, colorful, and fun. I rarely come across art that I don't like, so this isn't really a problem. Most of the clothes and settings aren't very intricate, which I would have liked to see, however.

Since the 'rain songs' are what the series centers around, they put some considerable effort into them. They aren't the best songs I've ever heard, but they can get me swaying a bit and are pretty catchy to say the least.

Livi's character, while not developed extensively, is pretty layered and fun to explore, especially since he's a child. While Nike is considerably flat, she is much more fun that most other heroines, especially because she's usually the one saving Livi.

I enjoyed this a lot! I binged it over the course of three days (I was also finishing a J Drama and working towards deadlines at the same time... procrastination at it's finest!) and I was extremely pleased with the entertainment I got as a result. :)

I will definetly be reading the manga as well!

I would recommend if: you like strong heroines, you like elemental powers, you like power-hungry children, you like rom-coms, you like kissing and awkward romance, the arranged marriage cliche

I would NOT recommend if: you are SEVERELY turned off by men being shorter/younger than women in relationships (I would still recommend watching an episode or two and giving it a try), you prefer darker themes, you don't really like romance or comedy, you're looking for something serious

As Livi himself says, the height difference between him and Nike won't last forever, so why all the worrying?

Have a great day guys!!! :D