"A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes." ~Mark Twain
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Psychological/Mystery/School
Review Status: Complete (11 Episodes/ 11 Episodes)
Licensed: Yes, this anime is licensed in the US
Art/Animation: It can be a little odd to look at, but the animation is fabulous, and the quirky story and storytelling perfectly matches that art style.
Summary: The story follows a nameless protagnist as he, in a Groundhogs Day-style twist of fate, tries to find the 'Rose-Colored Campus Life that he's dreamed about. Can he find it? And how do his choices play out?
Review: What is you're Rose-Colored life? How can you reach it? Our nameless protagonist, a new student in college, has decided that the best way to to his dreams is to do... a little bit of everything! This anime explores the ways small decisions can change the course of your life, while sending our protagonist on wild goose-chases to discover the name of his penpal, the girl that he's fallen in love with.
As he enters college, our hero of sorts is innundated with innumerable choices for clubs and after-school activities. Which one shall he choose to gain popularity and the girl of his dreams? Each episode, it's something different, from the biking club, to the film club, to his fellow resident's prankster society. And from there on, you see our protagonist working hard, trying to reach his dreams, and all the while, getting distracted from what he really should be doing.
Returning a little bookbag charm to his senior.
What is great about this anime is how each story ties together. Little things from one episode carry into another- for instance, a pink kimono briefly mentioned and seen in one episode comes back two later as a fairly important object. Neko Ramen gets a particularly big spotlight. And a random appearance early on becomes key in the climax of the show.
The climax of it all turns out to be hilarious, fairly gripping, and almost cathartic as you finally see our protagonist battle with his demons of time and inactivity- to do what he should have been doing from the beginning, and get the girl that he should have been with all along. Like the viewer may be, he was too blind to see it, and that it was there in front of him all along.
The only thing that brings down the score for me was the unnecessary crudity in episode 4. It really could have been done without it, or kept it to a minimum. As it was, I think that those who aren't interested in dealing with breats all episode long can skip it. Thankfully, the fifth episode brought the absudity and hilarity back to its former levels.
Overall, this was a hilarious anime that is definitely one of the best rom-coms I've seen in a while!
Recommended: Yes. 18+, though, since this does end up having enough sexual innuendo to make quite a few uncomfortable. In fact, this is taken to an almost embarassing extreme in the fourth episode, where the story centers around our protagonist as he deals with a guy that has a breast fetish. Thankfully, it goes back to fairly low levels, the fetish barely mentioned or dealt with. It does get a bit sketchy when dealing with other things, such as a guy who's in love with a life-size doll, and there is almost some sexual activity (he chickens out before they kiss) that is mentioned/thought about by the protagonist.
Other titles you might enjoy:
Durarara!! (anime)
Baccano! (anime)
Trapeze (anime)
School Rumble (anime or manga)
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