Review of Sing "Yesterday" for Me
I lost my dad when I was 15 to prostate cancer. Growing up without a father during some of the most important times in a boy’s life is hard. Whereas most people would turn to their fathers for advice and help with relationships, life, decisions, etc. I instead turned to anime/light novels/manga. One of the mangas that has been the most influential in my life and development since my father’s passing was Yesterday wo Utatte. A tale about unrequited love, the struggles of adulthood, the pain of loss and learning to accept the way things are. Needless to say, when I heard that the animewas in production I was ecstatic. DG have always been a favourite studio of mine due to their success in the CGDCT department, but they’ve also made more serious shows that taught me life lessons like Plastic Memories.
YwU is another impressive entry into their already solid line up with stunning visuals, life like animation and masterful direction that makes you forget you’re watching anime and feels very real. In fact, speaking of removing the anime-y feel, the series has no OP which I believe was a great touch and enhances the experience.
The story is a relatable one. We’ve all had crushes in uni/hs and wondered how things would go if we reconnected with them. We’ve all had unrequited love, we’ve all done things that go against our best interest, and we’ve all felt lost in life. These are very human things. We are by nature, irrational. YwU does an amazing job of capturing the complexities of human emotions and crafting an engaging narrative.
The seiyuu castings for all of the characters are perfect as well. For me, seiyuus are quite important. They can make or break my experience with a show and in this case, they made it. The older I get, the more I struggle to deal with the traditional high pitched squealish anime voices and much prefer the deeper, more realistic tones which this show features.
To avoid rambling(I could go on and on about how much I love this), suffice to say YwU was, in my opinion, anime of the season. While it takes some rather large shifts from the manga, the story remains every bit as emotional, educational and thought provoking. For me, a masterpiece. Yesterday wo Utatte gets 10 crows out of 10.