Review of We Were There

Note: This review contains one spoiler for the manga reader only. Otherwise, no spoiler. And if you don't want to read the manga which continues on after the anime ends, then no spoilers, only gems :) I love love. And I love drama. And this anime gave me both. To be fair, the art annoyed me at first. Why are there no backgrounds and only one eye? Probably because the characters are so wrapped up in one another that they can't notice anything else. And that's also my biggest problem with the show. There could havebeen a zombie apocalypse happening and the characters wouldn't have noticed because they are so wrapped up in their own problems. Which really aren't that big, however, we all remember that such problems seemed huge when we were in high school so it becomes part of the show's charm.

The plot of this show is all about beating a dead horse. Let me rephrase that. Beating a dead girlfriend. The characters cannot let the past go, even if they weren't the ones to live through it. The main guy is too conflicted to see past himself, the main girl is too naive to know anything, and the best friend who would be the perfect soul mate for anyone is too nice to ever get anywhere. It is aggravating, it is annoying, it is irritating, it is...this genre. It is what one expects. Don't watch high school romance drama without expecting the irritating and expected.

Here's where this show gets good and I'm going to give you a SPOILER, so stop reading here if you don't want to know anything about the story past the anime.

The anime stops at chapter 31 in the manga but the manga ends at chapter 70, and the manga takes us 5 years into the future and really shows what the characters are thinking and feeling as well as past experiences well beyond the dead girlfriend. The characters become more dynamic and show more background and their relationships become more real and complex. The rating I gave this show is based on the manga and not the anime.

So should you watch this? Answer these questions:
1. Do you love pointless romance dramas?
2. Do you mind teenage problems that are blown out of proportion?
3. Would you read the manga past the anime?

If you answered yes, no, yes to the above, watch this show! It really doesn't take that long and let's face it: we have all watched much, much worse. And if you don't love romance, why are you reading this review?