Review of Tsukigakirei

**May contain spoilers** ''There's such a thing as love in this world. I'm sure of it.'' ~ Dazai I had never heard of Tsuki Ga Kirei before and I'm sure I would never have found it if a certain someone hadn't recommended it to me. I didn't know what to expect and I must say I was pleasantly suprised. Now if you don't like romance or high school stories, then Tsuki ga Kirei is not for you and I suggest you watch something else. Story - 9/10 Tsuki ga Kirei was an original, realistic and refreshing story about an high school romance. For a typical high school romance itreally stood out. The romance and dialogues were convincing and felt close to realistic. Even though towards the end it gets a bit cliché, I really enjoyed the story. Tsuki ga Kirei showed me that teenage years can be quite interesting and don't need dramatic events to keep me watching. That's why Tsuki ga Kirei is not comparable to Clannad/Angel Beats/Charlotte. I enjoyed the drama/romance in the 3 animes listed above, but they didn't feel realistic in my opinion. And that's where Tsuki ga Kirei shines as an original realistic take on high school romance.

Art - 7/10
Tsuki ga Kirei was close to perfect (to me), if it wasn't for the sloppy animation. I really liked the art-style and the facial expressions were done extremely well. Such a shame that crowds or walking animations were absolutely terrible. I don't know the exact reason for this, but it didn't really affect the story in general. Still it could've been done much better.

Sound - 8/10
I don't quite remember anything of the soundtrack. Today I looked up some of the OST and I wasn't disappointed. Really emotional and moving soundtrack.

Character - 9/10
As a main character Azumi was a very interesting, but not an original character. He's a typical shy kid with a regular group of friends. Mizuno on the contrary is a more popular and athletic character (shy nonetheless). The way these two characters fall in love was very much like how normal kids would fall in love. It starts with eye contact and before you know it they start texting everyday. (Texting is actually a very important theme in this anime and the use of LINE is necessary for this love-story to happen). Their conversations in real-life start out as awkward and contain lots of silences. However, the more the better they get to know each other the more they begin to open-up to one another. This leads to them eventually dating each other. I mentioned friends before, but I haven't mentioned the use of friends in Tsuki ga Kirei. Friends are actually a key-factor in this story. Both the Azumi and Mizuno started out as really embarassed about their relation and this led to many misunderstandings. Hearts were broken and friendships were almost lost. Even the use of parents and family in this anime was really realistic compared to other anime like (uhum) almost every other high school romance. With the exception of the two main characters I actually didn't care for many other characters. There were some other characters I liked, but they weren't interesting enough for me to actually care for them like I do for the main characters.

Enjoyment - 9/10
In general I really enjoyed this anime and I was quite disappointed it was only 12 episodes. Nonetheless I liked how the story went and how it ended, so there is no need for a second season or sequel. I definitely learned a lot myself and it got me thinking about my own life. I'm in my final year of high school and next year I'm going to university (hopefully). I could relate to a lot of this anime and it's definitely worth a watch.

Overall - 9/10
Despite the horrible walking animations I would recommend Tsuki ga Kirei to anyone who enjoyes a good high school romance. If you're looking for an eventful and dramatic romance story, then Tsuki ga Kirei is not the anime for you and I would recommend Clannad or Charlotte. If you do enjoy a realistic high scool romance, then I definitely recommend this anime to you. Tsuki ga Kirei is a gem and deserves so much more attention, so I suggest you recommend this to your friends if you enjoyed it.