Review of Tsukigakirei

Tsuki ga Kirei, labeled as another school romance anime, didn't appear to be the standout of the season. Based on original work and plagued with production issues, it was considered to be the wild card of the season as no one knew what would happen. That said, this was easily the standout of the season for me and the anime that I would always look forward to most throughout the week. While nothing particularly special happens, it is within the simplicity of the show that shines. The story: While not being elaborate or different, amazed me with how realistic and relatable the situations were. The twomain characters with different things going on in their lives develop feelings for each other. Such a premise is so simple but this anime captures everything a middle-school student would feel. In middle school, you are still adjusting and learning to become more mature and adult-like. The awkwardness and nervousness they feel when they encounter new experiences such as love and relationships are displayed in a way that is relatable but not uncomfortable. The pacing is well done but plays out slowly, much like most other school romance anime.

The art: What looks nice is subjective to you. Instead I can only tell you what I thought of it. The 2.5D art style looked well done to me. The best and most easy comparison is to Makoto Shinkai's works, although not to that quality. Nonetheless, I found it nice to look at. There were some parts where I heard discussion about poor animation and the use of cgi, but I didn't catch it so I can't verify any weak points in the art or animation.

The sound: I found that all the voices fit well. All the emotions that needed to be captured through dialogue were conveyed and their feelings. Between the opening and ending, they fit with the overall tone. The real strength in sound were the insert tracks. Always timed well, fitting the tone and not being overbearing. Basically everything you'd want from your soundtrack.

The characters: Because of the simplistic story, a lot of pressure is put on the characters to feel and make the story work. Luckily, they all followed the story perfectly. The two main characters, as I've highlighted before, struggle with balancing new experiences in their daily life and it is clearly shown through actions, thoughts, dialogue and texts how they feel and the nervousness of new experiences. Chinatsu and Hira, the love obstacles of sorts, are both dealt with well. Without going into too much drama, their feelings are displayed and their actions match with what kids their age would do. Even though they are put in to disrupt the two's relationship, I sympathized with them while being happy that they failed to break apart Kotarou and Akane. The side characters are also worth a mention. Due to the immaturity and inexperience of Kotarou and Akane, the adults and older figures in their lives (more in Kotarou's life) play the role of mentor, giving advice and guiding the younger, less knowledgeable kids through new challenges.

Enjoyment: If it wasn't abundantly clear, I love this anime. The experiences were relatable and it is the runaway best anime of the season for me.
enjoyment factors (some may be repeated from above) could be:
+ cuteness, I found myself squealing whenever they did something couple or relationship-like
+ realism and relatability
+ uses good symbolism
+ likeable characters
+ good pacing
+ relationship that progresses throughout the story
+ soundtrack
+ art
+ drama progresses story, no pointless drama
- some episodes delayed due to production issues (you don't have to worry about that now!)
- If you don't like school romance anime
- If you didn't like any of the positives listed

Overall: I have said multiple times I think this is anime of the season, maybe anime of the year depending on what else we get in 2017. Even if you don't think it's as good as I say, I think that this anime is at least worth a try.