Review of Rumbling Hearts

Would a doctor really not tell a comatose patient how many years they've been in a coma? I understand slowly introducing a person to the idea that a period of time has in fact passed, but to out right lie and treat the person as if they are an invalid or a mentally retarded person who can't pick up on the concrete clues around them that something is off? This question bothered me to the point I had problems picking up this Anime and it bothers me even after I've finished it. I have come to the conclusion that a comatose person is honestly not representedwell in this story. First off, I have to question the fact that Haruka didn't notice that her hair was longer then what it was or that her sister had gone from being flat chested to big busted. She would have had concrete memories of what herself and her sister looked like before her accident and you don't have to look in a mirror to tell if your hair is long.

On top of this, I might as well mention that her hair would have been kept short as it is easier to manage, rather then those long locks that Haruka had in the Anime. I also doubt there would be any mention of rehabilitation while the patient was still within the coma, yet the doctor tells Akane that her sister is ready and prepared to go into rehabilitation if she just wakes up. I'll also add that rehabilitation starts as soon as a patient wakes up from their coma and isn't just about walking.

Add to the unrealistic of the situation we find the characters in, the first two episodes were honestly a pain to get through. Haruka and Takayuki's relationship never felt like a real relationship. Haruka was crushing on him and Takayuki went out with her because she was Mitsuki's friend. There is no telling whether he really did like her or he simply liked being with her which were two different things entirely.

A lot of this Anime storyline seems to be soft footing it around Haruka's feelings and not hurting them. Which is the real reason I feel nobody told Haruka the truth. It wasn't because she had some sort of weak psyche but because nobody wanted to see her cry and feel bad about having lost the years. Truth of the matter is, it would have been kinder to let her cry about the things going on around her rather then letting her find out people lied. And not small lies either.

As for the art style, I wasn't pleased with that either. Sure, the characters had some beautiful designs when it came to the face, but the body proportions were awkward at times. I also think the high school girls uniform is one of the ugliest I've seen. And no... I'm not talking about the uniform you see with the typical sailor blue outfit like you see in the pictures. No, the color is this rather ugly shade of purple. This isn't to say there aren't pieces of artwork that isn't well done, but there is a major lack of consistency. Sound didn't stand out much on the other hand.

As for characterization, for the ridiculous plot they were given the characters honestly acted the way they should have in the situation. However, goodness knows they shouldn't have been in the situation they were put into. I guess the best way to put it, this is the kind of bad plot line I would expect of a fanfic writer, where the fanfic writer has their favorite couple and throws in a love triangle to spice things up. The only difference I think is the fact that all the characters were shown in a rather positive light, though some fans of this series are likely to disagree and badmouth the character they don't like.

I honestly did not enjoy the first two chapters. Haruka felt way to needy and there was always this need to not hurt her feelings and shelter her from the real world. I honestly hate doing this because it only ends up hurting people. I struggled with the lack of realism when it came to the situation, but I did find the character interactions in the last twelve episodes to be how I'd expect people to act in the situation. That also said, this took me multiple times to pick this up and once I did, I found myself debating whether to drop it or not.