Review of Tsukigakirei

I think the thing that stood out most to me after recently watching this for the first time is the “sincerity” of the entire story. The author / director had a clear vision of a story in mind, and produced it with great clarity. No unnecessary tropes, or ‘Baka’ moments. Poignant silences were used as a tool to deliver powerful punches at various crossroads / cruxes / tensions of affection. There were no awkward silence, and most things felt like they were included in the previous minutes of each episode for a reason. Nothing was out of place. The characterisation was also realistic. From watching both childrencoming to terms with their budding feelings, to observing how their friends behaved, all in it really did feel like the author had a good grasp of the psychology of these kids (they are 14/15 I believe!?). From needing to “get closure” even though you know the person you like is already in a committed relationship (which is actually quite a selfish and juvenile thing to do - but again they are kids), to learning to accept a person for who he / she is, the whole show felt totally believable and I found myself more and more invested with each episode.

Finally, Kotaro’s growing willingness to assert himself and to express his feelings was also very refreshing when contrasted to many spineless MCs who wince away from confrontation (to be fair, it is also entirely natural to shy away from confrontation). This allowed growth into deeper questions such as whether all things need to be said in relationships, what happens when expectation does not cross with reality.

All in, this was an excellent example of a modern Bildungsroman that hit all the right notes. I am sorry that the story has ended, and even went out of my way to read up on the after stories for even more closure, but at the end of the day, at fully satisfied at how sincere this show was.