Sensei here with a brand new column! (Thanks Sky for the Banner!)

Here’s a round-up of opinion/mini-reviews in a column I’ll be doing specifically for this reason – Anime Dreamer – enjoy #1.

I’ve not posted in a while… admittedly… I had a Manabi Straight 01 review in-the-making, but it’ll probably never see the light of day (I said that about most of the things I ended up doing) but an overall series review is in this weeks edition.

I always watch my Anime in the evening… so I do have plenty to talk about.. hehe…

This week I talk Manabi Straight with Rating, Minami-ke Okawari and 5 Centimeters per Second and the things that come along while watching this stuff. Hit ‘Read More’ and Enjoy the read!

Prologue

Honestly, theres nothing better than a hyper-positive-happy-happy Anime.

Watching Manabi Straight and Minami-ke just leaves me with a smile on my face.. unless they get into trouble – but they always figure things out, it’s just right.

5 Centimeters per Second is something, however, that is realistic in a sense to how it works… does that make Manabi Straight, in particular, less ‘realistic’ as a story?

Manabi Straight!

Manabi Straight! follows the lives of a group of young high school girls living in the year 2035 while

they attend the all-girl Seioh Private High School. Due to the fact that birth rate has dropped dramatically, schools are being closed down due to the sheer lack of students available to teach. Morale

in schools has dropped dramatically, and Seioh is no exception.

Taken from Wikipedia

From the very first episode (of which I’m writing a review for, coming soon) to the very last (13 including the OVA), it’s a Story that will make you smile, laugh and make you want them succeed in what they want to succeed in. Manabi bursts onto the scene as the one who wants to uplift the school, Seioh High School,

through the School Council, who she elects herself to be the School Council President, and along with Mika, originally as the only member on the Council, as the secretary, and uses her motto “Massugu, Go!” (“Forward, Go!”) to motivate her to stride forward with anything she’s doing, and she does just that.

It’ll leave you in a terribly happy state, and despite it being a short anime, it’s short and sweet.

When it comes to feel-good, motivating Anime, nothing comes closer to Manabi Straight!

Snapshots!

Animeted Rating: 9/10

Minami-ke Okawari

I’m in the middle of this one, and along with its noticeable changes comes a truck load more of Slice-of-Life Comedy from the Minami Sisters – Haruka, Kana & Chiaki.

Based off a different Manga of the same Story, comes another angle of Minami-ke, with a different Animation Studio and Director as well. This is just as good as the previous interpretation, but there are some changes I welcome as “better”.

The Minami Sisters, I can’t find a pic of the Okawari-look, its different, anyway.

It’s a shame the OP doesn’t fit the series well, like the original track did, it sounds more obvious but the serious is still as light-heartedly brilliant as it’s ever been, which is a very good thing.

Indeed, the sisters yet again embark on miscelleneous activities that they manage to strech for a whole 24 Minutes, and very rarely does it get boring, thanks to the variation of their personalities, they are all trademarkably awesome. Rating on the AniList coming soon.

Byousoku 5 Centimeter – a chain of short stories about their distance

aka 5 Centimeters per Second

This is a just-over 1 Hour film by the critically acclaimed Directer/Writer Makoto Shinkai.

It consists of 3 Chapters (or Episodes): ‘The Chosen Cherry Blossoms’ (Oukashou / 桜花抄), ‘Cosmonaut’ (コスモナウト) and ‘5 Centimeters per Second’ (Byousoku 5 Centimeter / 秒速5センチメートル).

To get straight to the point, it is as it says it is, a chain of short stories about their distance, and Makoto Shinkai has created a Masterpiece.

Every chapter is as impressively written and animated as each other and the stories were written in a way for it to make you feel somewhat the distance between them.

CoMix Wave done incredible work Animating this. This really shows in the High Definition versions of the film.

The Voice Acting is brilliant, they really give way for the feeling you are really spectating all of the emotions they are feeling themselves.

There are indeed parts you will regret to see happen as much as the characters regret how evident the distance is, and when they realize it, the emotion can get to you. Truthfully, some viewers will feel the severity of the difficulty & sensitivity of the situations more than others, it depends on what situations the viewer has been in themselves, any way, however, it will get to you, that is how well this is done, and I applaud Makoto Shinkai for creating something so beautifully real.

A must watch for any Anime watcher, and a highly recommended watch for anyone.

Anime-RG has subbed this (and THORA have released a BluRay Rip), for reference.

ADV Films has legally licensed this film for distribution in the US and plans are being made for this film to be distributed for the UK.

It has been released on DVD & BluRay.

Snapshots (Click to Enlarge)

Animeted Rating: 10/10

Epilogue

I’d like to know how much emotion in Anime effects yourself. How much does it get to you? (Let me know on Comments!)

Clannad, Kanon and similar Anime are certainly fueled by their superb Animation, emotional Voice Acting and Story.. and they and others have certainly got to me. Maybe it’s because its the sole thing I’m focusing on when I watch the series in the evenings… well, it’s certainly welcome, because it just shows how strong the core of the Anime is, how well written its Story is. 5 Centimeters per Second left me feeling sorry, quite saddened even, for how things turned out, but I knew it was inevitable.

The same applies for feel good anime like Manabi Straight. Comedies like Lucky Star to Hayate no Gotoku! Horror, mysteries like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. They have strong Stories, and the formula is perfect. More of this is certainly welcome, because its the pinnacle of the Anime Experience.

Next Week!

Who knows!? I’ll finish Minami-ke Okawari and start something new.. suggest something to me!

I hope you’ve enjoyed Anime Dreamer #1!

Logging off~

Senseito Sakura

Related posts:

1. Anime Dreamer: Reminiscing – NANA, Honey & Clover
2. Clannad TV Review; Wonderful, Pure Key Anime
3. Anime Dreamer #2: Air, Gurren Lagann, Someday's Dreamers

Filed under: Anime, Art/Progressive, Comedy, Reviews, Romance, Senseito's Blogging, Slice of Life