Review of Tsukigakirei

A rare gem which stood out due to it's pure simplicity. **This review will contain minor spoilers** At a glance, Tsuki ga Kirei is a romance anime which presents a simplistic yet fruitful romance where a pair of teenagers fall in love with each other and eventually "live happily ever after". Most of you might feel bewildered as to how such a "cliche" relationship managed to stand out among the romance genre. To which the explanation boils down to one simple element- execution. If it weren't for it's superb execution, Tsuki Ga Kirei wound't have left such an impact compared to it's siblings. The romanceTsuki ga Kirei follows a love story between two senior middle school students experiencing love for the first time of their lives. This setting, unlike the usual "high school setting" highlights the confusing yet heartfelt nature of their first love while simultaneously reminding us of the fact that graduation, subsequently, separation is coming close to our main protagonists; provides a source of tension.

Yet a brilliant setting is not all that contributes to a well executed romance, to which some may ask, how would you define a fictional romantic relationship as solid? To me, it exists not just because the writers say so on paper, but from the experiences being shared and choices being made by the couple that result it. Although some may find Tsuki ga Kirei to be slowly paced, the plot never paused at any point. Instead there was always a sense of progression throughout the 12 episode journey due to the aforementioned qualities that the romance in Tsuki Ga Kirei possesses.

The abundance of romantic exchanges between our main leads was also a surprising welcome; kisses and hand-holding isn't uncommon throughout the mature stages of their romance despite their young age and never failed to pull my heartstrings.

The sound & art design

Tsuki ga Kirei makes good use of sound design to convey the emotions of our characters and set up an atmosphere with weight and tension. Take our male lead Kotaru as an example, he's a reserved and shy young boy. Instead of bombarding us with his internal speeches, we are met with grunts and sighs when he's faced with situations of confusion or stress, showing us his genuine feelings without excessive dialogue. And because of that, it makes the moments in which he speaks stand out more to the audience and carry more weight as he finally opens up emotionally. Not to mention the spectacular usage of silence to grab our attention during crucial moments, certainly adds more weight and tension to scenes. The sound design illustrates a point, that Tsuki ga Kirei wouldn't work as a light novel or manga, but only as an anime could it really impress it's audience.

The art, despite some complaints of it being bland and sub-par, was decent enough for me to feel invested to the show.

The enjoyment

One of the things done right in Tsuki ga Kirei is the fact that side characters play a role in the story with their own little romance tales that never feel out of place nor hog the spotlight from our main protagonists.

Another interesting aspect of Tsuki ga Kirei comes from the usage of LINE messages among characters of the show, which is something that I, as an Asian who uses messaging apps frequently can relate to. The translated LINE messages at the end of episodes serve as windows to the lives of the cast, adding more enjoyment along the way.

The ending

Probably a majority of the audience who ended up liking this show will tell you that the ending was what was worthy of it's praise. As I have mentioned earlier, Tsuki ga Kirei concludes itself with a cliche "happily ever after" ending. While most romance anime nowadays tend to purposefully restrict romantic exchanges and satisfying endings due to various reasons such as the "light novel/ manga paywall" or the creators just wanted to spread a message, which mostly results in screen-punching or internal otaku suicides from sheer disappointment. Regardless, I would say that the ending we got was well deserved, for the audience and for the characters. As it would be fitting to use such a simplistic ending for an already simplistic romance. The way the execution was done speaks volumes on how brilliantly unique and rare Tsuki Ga Kirei is at the current state of romance anime.