This series is absolutely amazing. (spoilers up to v9)
I don’t know how long this post is gonna be, but I just want to voice out a reaction after binging this series hard the past week.
For context, to not reveal too much, I don’t really consume a whole lot of Japanese media. I don’t watch animes or blitz through mangas, I’m just watching the world cup I guess. I’m going through a rather tough period in my life, but when one of my friends told me to watch this anime just a few days ago (and he was glazing the crap out of it), I decided, eh, why not give this show a chance. Romance and comedy sub-genre, should be fun. Yeah I finished it within two days despite my busy schedule. I binged all 12 episodes just like that. Because it was super sweet, the characters feel real, there’s good banter, the pacing of the show was nice, and our Maki and Umi are such a great couple. For someone like me to rate this show highly, was also quite unexpected to me. The raw emotions I felt after watching this anime, as my friend put it “will get your feet kicking up in bed”. Couldn’t stop smiling really.
Post anime depression aside, this show made me reflective as well. It really reminded me of my first and only relationship I’ve had so far in my young adulthood, which was also in my teenage years in school, and coincidentally, I formerly dated a smart, popular, pretty girl despite being an introverted and shy person, kind of like the show. It related to me on a personal level. The anime kind of spurred me on in the sense that as I’m entering university, I can develop a bond that the “idiot couple” have in the future with someone else. So obviously, I was left wanting for more of this series. After some snooping about, I chanced upon this subreddit and found this series has a light novel. And it has an English translation. I am a sucker for reading books, and well, safe to say, I finished the whole Luminare translation in three days. It was an emotional experience, I let out a few tears when (spoiler alert)>!Maki got into the school he wanted and threw up the peace sign!!<Now I’m left waiting for the 10th volume to be released for English, albeit very impatiently. So if anyone knows how I can get access to that, it’ll be great!
About the contents of the series, there were many highlights for me, since the LN is more fresh in my mind, I’ll briefly go over them…
>!>!The inevitable love triangle forming up, the argument, and the third year of high school despite being a little crammed, kept feeling exciting as well. Maki gradually acting more like a man throughout the entire series, his awesome character progression. How much of a great influence Umi is to him, how clingy they get, and how everything just exudes an exciting and special feeling when the two are out and about doing something, despite it being just words on the website. While the two are the stars of the show, the group of 5 was great as well, the graduation pic made me sentimental, and the side characters were solid as well. I could go more in depth but then this post would not end. I think my favorite volume is definitely v8.!<!<
To wrap up, despite only being introduced to this series not even a week ago, I’m already finished with it and still left wanting for more. I just wanted to express my positive emotions toward this series, and I’m sure the people lurking here love this series too. This is magnificent. Bittersweet feeling. Sorry if the English is a bit botched as it’s not my main language. But yeah that’s all. Thanks Umi and Maki, and I hope you guys will enjoy experiencing this series whether in anime, manga or novel form like I did :)