When I first started watching Asatte no Houkou, I could tell that it was different and I liked it, but at the same time, I thought it would get boring pretty soon because there didn’t seem to be enough of a story to it to keep it interesting. But now that I’ve watched over half of the episodes(there’s 12 episodes total I believe), I felt that I just have to give it the praise it deserves, especially after watching episode 8.
After I wrote my review of the first 3 episodes of Asatte no Houkou, the series has been steadily growing on me since. But the past few episodes(especially episodes 7 and 8), really made me appreciate the uniqueness of the series. One reason why it’s so special is because it doesn’t have a lot of your stereotypical anime qualities, such as flashy action, hyperbolic comedy, intense drama, major fantasy, etc,. Because it’s lacking these things, that’s probably the main reason why it won’t appeal to mainstream anime fans(or be licensed in the US.) But for those hardcore fans who can appreciate the fact that you don’t need these things in order to create a good story and characters, then this show is a definite win. It keeps things simple, everything happens at a steady pace, with only a few important characters and fairly “plain” animation, with nothing extremely “dark” but nothing very “bright” either. This leaves the main focus of the series to be setting the “feel” of the story and the relationships between the characters.
And that’s another reason why Asatte no Houkou is so appealing; Karada and Shouko are two of the most sympathetic characters I’ve seen in a long time. I really enjoyed that part in episode 7 when they were baking the cake together; how Shouko kept making innocent mistakes and how Karada was so kind and patient with her really showed how their relationship had grown since the beginning of the series. They don’t have to have cool super powers or face out-of-this-world challenges in order to show the likable parts of their personalities…just being themselves in everyday situations is enough. And after watching episode 8, you can’t help but feel even more sympathetic towards Karada. She’s such a sweet girl that it just pains you to see her as sad as she was in that episode.
Anyway, I’m glad that I picked Asatte no Houkou as one of the new anime series’ for me to find time to watch during my limited free time. With only a few episodes left to go, I’m really looking forward to how this simply sweet series will end ^_^
Oh, and for an added bonus, I’ve uploaded one of Karada’s image songs from the Asatte no Houkou Character Image Album – Korebi Diary~Karada Hen. You can download it here. Enjoy!
You might also want to check out To Heart, which has just been licensed by RightStuf. Not as much drama, but has that sweet atmosphere that you just might like.
I’m right there with you regarding the many virtues of this series. Asatte no Houkou is one of my favorite titles in recent memory. It is one of the few shows I’ve seen in which the creators have engendered sympathy for nearly every character involved. I certainly hope that it’s doing well commercially in Japan; the world could use a few more titles like this and I’d hate to see it tank financially.
ToHeart is awsome! It’s romantic and si-fi at the same time! I’d really like to see this series if it wern’t for parental blocks……..-_-* Annnnywho, the series sounds great, and when I get the chance, I’ll look it up on YouTube