Review of Kokoro Connect

There is alot to say about Kokoro Connect, it was a rather odd, yet extremely enjoyable experience for me. I can kind of understand why this anime gets alot of flak from people, but that's not the animes fault, the problem that the anime "has" isn't a problem at all, it's disliked in the same way school days is, not because it's badly designed, but because it's something people don't like. People confuse something as being bad because they don't like it, but that couldn't be farther from the truth, hopefully my review sheds some light on this anime and can help anyone that's onthe fence about it make their mind up, also this is for the whole anime, that includes the 4 "extra" episodes, they are essential the story and should have been aired at the same time as the original anime, but for some reason it wasn't.

Story- The story in Kokoro connect is different from how the synopsis describes it, that's part of it, but now what the story is just about. They go through certain "tests" as a group, the first being randomly body swapped, i'm not going to spoil what the others are, but stuff like being able to hear the other members thoughts happen as well, it's actually a really good idea and makes for a very intense and interesting story. I would definitely call it one of the more uniquely written stories out of all of the anime I have watched. The story has it's ups and downs as far as emotions go, it has it's funny moments that are hilarious in their own respect and it also has some very touching and emotional scenes, and the best part is that these scenes are perfectly balanced, it never feels like it should have been serious when it was being funny and vice versa. I was expecting the story to be kind of shit and just nonsensical like some people have said, but I found it to be the opposite of that. It was wrote extremely well, had plenty of varying issues that they had to overcome, had great character interactions, no down time, stayed interesting all the way through, the only part of the story you could complain about was something that happened down the line, which is how it's suppose to be. Not all anime is suppose to make you feel good about yourself, some stuff is suppose to do the opposite and make you feel like shit, make you feel anger and resentment, it's suppose to make you feel a variety of emotions, some examples of anime like this that are misunderstood would be something like school days, or even aku no hana to an extent. All of that being said I think the story is amazing, even that part that made me start hating a certain character, it was suppose to be that way. The ending was something I was worried about, I always worry about the ending to animes because it seems like alot of really good anime are spoiled by a shit ending that makes no sense or leaves off on a bad cliffhanger, but not kokoro connect. It had a very satisfying ending, it told it's story and didn't decide to drag itself out and over stay it's welcome like a lot of anime seem to do nowadays.

Art- The art is nothing special, it's your average run of the mill anime type art style with nothing special about it, which works in it's favor. You really get the sense that this is happening to a regular group of friends, which I think adds to the overall feel of the anime in a positive way.

Sound- The op/ed sountrack is pretty good, it fits the feel of the anime really well. The music scores are on queue everytime and simply adds more to scenes. It's kind of hard to mess up the sounds assets of anime nowadays, also dat sax solo.

Character- The characters in kokoro connect are arguably more important than the story. The entire show is based around this group of friends finding out more about each then they were supposed to, if the characters are boring and uninspired then the show would be trash. They all have something about them that makes them unique in some way, which can be hard since there are 5 main characters. They all feel as fleshed out as characters and you can see them change in believable ways that don't break the story or immersion. Some anime doesn't do this, they make the character do something they wouldn't normally do, or they make them into a badass when they were originally a geek or something along those lines, it's immersion breaking when that happens and it ruins the anime for me most of the time. Being that there are 5 main characters that are fully fleshed out, that makes for a really good time. You know these characters on a deeper level so when something funny happens you find yourself laughing with them at what happened and when something tragic happens you find yourself being depressed about it. The characters and story are what this anime as amazing as it is, without the interesting characters to support the awesome story it would fail, and vice versa. They have a perfect harmony and pace that is refreshing to see, not many anime get the pacing and character interactions right, but this one does and i'm glad I took the time to watch it.

Enjoyment- There is no downtime in this anime, something interesting is always happening and you're never left having to watch a few filler episodes to get to the good parts of the anime. Watching these 5 characters just interact with each other is fun enough, throw in a well realized story that never stops with the curve balls and you have yourself a fantastic anime along with an experience that you won't be able to forget. This anime never lets up, and that's one of it's best qualities, non-stop entertainment.

Overall- Overall I was quite surprised by Kokoro Connect, I often find that alot of controversial anime usually either sucks or is awesome, and I always love it when i'm wrong about an anime, it's the best feeling in the world. I'm so glad I decided to watch it, it was highly enjoyable, well made, well designed, excellently executed, and enjoyable to boot. If you enjoy mystery, romance, or just plain weird anime that is designed well then kokoro connect is a must watch. It's something unique, it tells a story that no other anime has come up with before and makes it awesome. Romances are a dime a dozen, same with high school slice of life, but this one breaks that monotony and tries something new, and definitely succeeds. Watch it now if you like what you've seen here, or hell , just try it if you're looking for something new to watch, you won't be disappointed.