Internet was out all day so I had very few options for noise, so I decided to bump up one of the few shows on this list I own (I think the only ones are it, Haruhi-chan, Murder Princess, Nanaka 6/17, Lucky Star, the original series of FLCL, and some episodes of Case Closed). Angel Beats will come ASAP, already watched a good chunk of it, but for now we're doing something else.
2. Kokoro Connect
Premise: A group of five kids of assorted interests begin undergoing strange magical occurrences at the whims of a being called Heartseed that usually wind up digging all of their personal hangups and leading to interpersonal drama. The series starts at bodyswapping and most official plot synopses only mention that part, but that's only the initial five episodes before it starts going in other directions.
Previously finished?: Ish. The TV series has been finished, but I've never gotten around to watching the OVAs.
Why it wasn't finished: I kind of just never made the time for the OVAs? I think I was just kind of meaning to take a break from the show before getting to the OVAs and then I just never actually got to them despite being very high on the show proper. Not really sure why, might just be since I think the arcs kind of get progressively weaker so not had high expectations of it.
First exposed: Pretty sure I just stumbled across some note or other about the series being mentioned on TV Tropes or something that made me curious to look it up and at the time I didn't have anything better going on so I did. Nothing really remarkable behind checking this one out.
Opinion going in: Great show, but frontloaded. The season adapts the first three light novels in a series (fourth in the OVAs) and I think you can readily tell that that is what's happening because each arc kind of gets a bit worse and the show feels like it's stretching for more content. It's good throughout, but the third arc is both the shortest and the lowest stakes and it feels like the show's kind of running on fumes by the time it ends compared to the much higher drama of the first arc's climax.
Thoughts while revisiting: Immediate thing before the show's even started, I just noticed one of these episodes is named Jobber & Low Blow. What's funny about that is that is 100% for sure an intentional wrestling reference, because this is the anime where routinely throughout the entire series you have to deal with blatant blurred photos of the Undertaker in the background. Also occasionally John Cena... including Cena being literally the first human you see in this show. Yes, yes, you can't see him, whatever.
I've seen plenty of this show, probably more than most of this list - I watched it all the way through at least once, might've been twice - know at least saw most of it twice. I still have, like, no memory of this show's opening credits whatsoever. Very plain. They do at least feature the Undertaker poster, though. Truly the most important character.
"Most people believe the brainbuster is about dropping the opponent on his back." I... I don't think that's accurate.
"Problem is you never know when the girl is doing it on purpose or not." That is great foreshadowing right there actually.
One thing I majorly need to give this show credit for is that it doesn't just assume viewers are idiots who need to have the voices swap when the characters swap bodies. That's a trope I've seen pretty much universally in western animation and also seen it in anime, yet it's not done here despite the fact that this show's about five characters routinely rotating around rather than just two characters swapping. In fact I can think of at least one scene that wouldn't function anywhere near as well if they pulled that.
Really on the whole I think the first episode is a great introduction. Most of the core cast gets some good moments, they do a good job of just rushing straight into the situation without actually giving any answers right away to avoid bogging down the start with exposition, and it's genuinely really funny and charming. Not much hint of some of the darker territory that's where the show really shines, beyond some stray lines foreshadowing it, but it's a great way to start things off. If I had any real objection it'd just be that it's not a very good way to dispell the likely very easy mistake to make of thinking this show is just a shallow Haruhi Suzumiya clone, given as presented it's a three girls, two boys club show where they get into magical hijinks; no real signs yet of when the show gets into really deconstructing that concept.
The turn to more serious when Heartseed shows up in the second episode also works out great - got some more hijinks going on that are mostly funny in their own right and soon as it hits the point where it's starting to drag the mood suddenly changes and you start getting the relevant info. The show really is pretty excellent at juggling its tone and shifting it on a dime without making it feel too jarring.
I'm probably going to have to watch how much I actually say about this show as it goes, at least throughout the first arc, because I'll probably just end up spending the entire time gushing. Unless the rest of the arc ends up being way worse than I remember anyway.
"I'm a big fan of jobbers." Then why are your posters John Cena and the Undertaker? Get yourself a Ruby Riott poster, bro.
Tonally it's pretty weird having a scene about recounting a dramatic near rape experience wind up turning into wacky hijinks about a kick in the balls. It's a good scene but it is a strange structural choice.
"I always think it's a good idea to say something funny before the mood gets totally serious." That's a good sum-up of a lot of this show's writing actually.
Just finished episode 4 and I'm still having to stop myself from just gushing. There are all kinds of great bits from this show I forgot about. I'm nearing the end of the first arc now so I'll probably have more to say after that point, since the show does have its issues that arise from after that point.
I will say that on episode 5 it is pretty apparent that this should have been two episodes. I do realize that would've left the rest of the story less room - which is already enough of a problem with the third arc as it is - but they do pretty much set up a huge cliffhanger and then resolve it within the same episode, and they gist over a lot of conversations that really probably would've warranted the screentime. It is still a very good payoff to everything but it would've been even better with more breathing room.
Admittedly I could see where someone could feel ripped off over them setting up this huge moral dilemma just to pretty much chicken out of actually delivering on it, but I do think it works with the kind of character Heartseed is plus there is adequate foreshadowing for it with the cellphone. Could see it being a sticking point for some though.
Honestly the show's even structured like they expect people to tap out after the first arc. Dunno if it's just a very faithful adaptation or what - I'm not familiar with the light novels - but it really does seem like the first arc would be a perfectly acceptable place to stop watching and the start of the second has that kind of sequel feel of checking in with all these characters you've not seen in awhile, you know? It's very strange.
"What are you doing? Get off of her! Get off get off get off!" But... But she's on top though.
The start of the second arc is pretty good, and it does help that it doesn't have to get terribly bogged down in exposition, though the uncontrollable urges thing does sort of take more laying out the details of than the mostly straightforward body-swapping situation. Am sort of questioning leaving the whole arrest thing to something told second hand instead of actually showing it though, that feels like a budget decision.
I'm actually kind of disappointed this show doesn't hit the same benchmark as Angel Beats of letting me hear Papika's voice say extremely un-Papika things.
Okay, so there are still some good jokes and stuff here but I feel like the biggest issue with this second arc is that it's taking itself way more seriously than the first one despite not having nearly as much in the way of personal hangups going on and the stakes never getting as high. I can understand it from the characters' perspective why this situation seems more dire by comparison to the bodyswapping, but it does feel like the show kind of has an unearned grim nature around this story that does take away some of the fun, while the dramatic beats it does have aren't landing as well as the ones in the first arc. It's still very good but it's not
as good.
"I never thought you'd give up on your friends. I honestly thought you were a better person than that." I mean, just like three episodes ago Inaba had a rant about how she doesn't trust anyone and sees anyone who gets close to her as a threat so it's really weird that you think that.
Really it's weird how little the show actually does with the whole unleashed desires thing. That's kind of another problem with the arc - there's a lot more talking about how bad that could be than there is actually showing problems directly arising from it, and it's usually just people getting angry and hitting something or saying something they shouldn't. The first case of it with Inaba coming onto Taichi is really the most the show has actually done with the concept at this point when a lot could be done with just throwing people into wacky or embarrassing situations with it.
... Fujishima, if you're trying to push everyone into romance then why on earth are you putting them in odd-numbered groups? And why group the girl you're into in with the guy you see as your rival?
Feels like a weird choice to have Taichi receive two consecutive pick-me-up speeches from what little supporting cast there is, but not really objecting to Mr. Go and Fujishima getting more to do, they're both a lot of fun.
Speaking of fun, the scene where everyone's going nuts fighting over food is a pretty amusing bit. Wish it went on longer if anything, this arc could use more stuff like that.
I really question why exactly they made the structuring choice to have the arcs be 5 episodes -> 5 episodes -> 3 episodes instead of going 5-4-4. It's just kind of weird, since the second arc really could probably stand to have some fat trimmed from it while the third doesn't get enough room to breathe.
As I change discs this feels like an appropriate time to talk about how lame Sentai Filmworks' Blu-rays are. Funimation, they tend to at least try to have some kind of special features (even if they're kind of scant sometimes) and sometimes commentaries plus they have showy menus. Sentai Filmworks, you get a still image, an episode list, clean openings / endings, and trailers for other shows of theirs, and it may or may not play music. They're just very cheap.
I do think the big climactic scene of this story arc is very good, but it does feel pretty unusual that a lot of the focus of the arc is on Yui being shut up in her room and on Taichi analyzing why he devotes so much time to helping people yet the endgame of it is a big dramatic scene between just Inaba and Nagise, though I will grant that the scene that first establishes this arc is focused on their story arc. ... For the record on the whole love triangle thing I'm more into Taichi / Inaba than Taichi / Nagase. Both are good but I think Inaba's a more interesting foil for him, Taichi and Nagase are kind of too similar to each other.
I will say that right away the third arc does rebound from some of the problems with the second one, diving straight into the crazy, being heavier on comedy, and keeping a very brisk pace. If anything some of its scenes are too rushed if anything, they gist over a lot of stuff, but the lighter tone is pretty welcome.
Though really the problem I kind of always had with this arc is actually sort of the opposite of the previous one, a lot of the drama feels really tacked on, kind of an inherently goofy storyline that just periodically stops to muse over stuff that doesn't really seem like a very big deal and isn't really given enough screentime to have any weight. That's especially a problem with the show's climax (or at least TV climax, ignoring the OVAs for the moment here) which while it has some small set up throughout the series still feels very, "Why should I care?", though I'll get to that when I actually get to rewatching that one.
I think one of the more jarring aspects of how much more limited the runtime is for the third arc is how Taichi basically has no plot going on beyond listening to other's problems and having a greater awareness of the situation than the rest of the group despite from a framing perspective still being the primary lead while Inaba is basically demoted to comic relief. Good to spread the focus out a bit but it feels weird that the show's endgame essentially renders two of the five main characters superfluous.
Honestly this arc rushes through some of its subplots so quickly I have no idea why they even bothered to put them in? The whole storyline of Yoshifumi missing the girl he used to have a thing for basically gets established halfway through the first episode and then ends halfway through the second. I get they for some reason only gave themselves three episodes to do this arc over but it does make the whole matter feel pretty pointless. Granted it is the most plot involvement he really has, pretty easily the lowest on the totem pole of the five leads otherwise. ... And really even that subplot is ultimately just in service of Yui's which just barely makes it through the episode in its own right.
Okay, so onto the last episode and the whole Nagase's mom leg of the plot is just... bizarre. They do allude to it throughout the show, it doesn't really come out of nowhere, but it's still absolutely bizarre centering the TV finale of the show entirely around the abusive boyfriend of a character we know virtually nothing about, with the matter being resolved entirely offscreen at that. Additionally I do think it's a pretty bad decision having Nagase be at the center of all three arc finales; granted the second she's really just being a supporting character to Inaba's troubles, but she is still the one other character in the scene for that so it does still feel like they're trying to give her particular attention. It just feels very clumsy, particularly with how up to the finales the second and third arcs really aren't even especially about her yet she just swoops in and takes the climax both times. It's really weird.
Why are they still taking Heartseed at face value at this point? Every time he tells them something dramatic he's always either lying or exaggerating and yet somehow they still haven't caught onto it yet.
Yeah, the end of this show is clumsy as all hell. It's pretty clear the OVAs are part of the intended viewing - the last scene ends on essentially an extra story hook (again, focused on Nagase) and a listing of the first OVA's title - but still, for the TV finale it's very awkward and really doesn't work well at all as a resolution. Pretty big black mark against what I would for the most part call a genuinely great show and can certainly see why this sort of put me off of ever actually finishing the series.
Either way, first uncharted territory of this rewatch thing is up. Let's get to those OVAs to see if they can bring this to a more satisfying conclusion.
"If we're not entertaining to them they're not going to bother us, right?" .... No, that is demonstrably not true. Any time you've not been entertaining previously they've stepped in to force it to be entertaining. Why would you expect different this time?
I've kept meaning to bring this up but what is with the way that Inaba says "phenomenon"? She always pronounces the O at the end as an I, like you would Pikmin, and it's really weird, especially since no one in the cast is doing it.
On the whole the OVA arc is... not off to a great start. The first episode has its moments but it's pretty much just more bickering and moping. Combine with being longer than a usual episode and it really just makes it a slog to get through. Like I said, it has its moments but it does feel like this premise of sharing their thoughts - speaking of, it's weird that they keep claiming it's sharing emotions when they're hearing full coherent thoughts - has way more potential than what they're using it for.
I do have to say Nagase is firmly my least favorite character at this point, which sucks since I think she has probably the best moment in the series early on. She's really just such an insufferable mope at this point, especially within the second episode of the OVAs, and when you combine it with how I was talking about how she repeatedly steals the spotlight it really just makes her grating after awhile. Not to mention it's just bad structuring ending the third arc on her going, "No, I accept my faults, I love my friends!" and then the fourth she's immediately just doing nothing but whining and keeping her distance.
... Why does this show feel the need to suddenly tease at incest? Taichi's sister has barely even been a thing to this point, there's a reason the only reason I mentioned her at all before this was bringing up the Papika voice (and really I only mentioned that because it came up in Angel Beats - not really remarkable because Brittney Karbowski is in everything). Does lead to a pretty funny moment to end the scene though.
Yeah, this second episode sucks. Not even actually finished with it yet but I'm calling it now - basically every single scene is either Nagase moping or a character going, "How can we help Nagase stop moping?" There are some bright spots, mostly the Taichi scenes, but this episode feels a lot longer than it is and it's kind of singlehandedly doing a lot to tank how much I'd recommend the show.
That the show is forgetting its own continuity isn't helping? Nagase's attitude toward the love triangle at the end of this episode doesn't square at all with how she was acting when it was previously in the spotlight in the second arc. Like,
at all. She doesn't even register as the same character at this point and it's just baffling.
Third episode at least quickly gets off on a better foot with the Mr. Go scene, though even that has to turn into talking about how Poochie's feeling. And same for the scene afterward that starts with talking about Fujishima's bulldog. I'd genuinely rather hear more talk about a dog we've never seen from a side character who's barely done anything outside of the second arc than I would hear any more about, "Guys, did you hear Nagase is angry / sad?" At least Fujishima gets to chime back in with a decent joke at the end of the scene and then figure into the next one.
Seriously, I am fully on the side of the random nameless extras being mean to Nagase at this point. I understand completely why they're so pissed off at her constant snapping at people, I'm just having to watch her scene to scene while they have to actively live with it.
... Did you people not save any of your work? Why would your papers being torn up mean you'd have to completely restart? Eh, at least it's a scene where something is actually happening... even if it does still end up being about Nagase in the end. At least it finally brings her character to some kind of actual emotional high point and the scene after it has some good stuff.
Even Nagase is complaining about how much screentime she gets at this point and how everyone has to center everything around her.
Okay, onto the last of the OVAs, hopefully this sends the series out on a much-needed high note. ... That it's a sudden kidnapping plot isn't really making me all that optimistic though. Nor am I feeling great about the fact the primary focus coming off of Inaba being kidnapped is focusing on Nagase moping over whether or not she should help, though at least she finally decides if she's going to keep getting the primary focus in the storyline she should actually try doing something.
Uh, excuse me, Inaba was just tied up with a knife to her throat,
why are we focusing on how traumatic this was for Nagase?! Hell, even random redhead extra mean girl is getting more character focus right now than the other main characters have throughout this entire arc. It's honestly just embarrassingly bad writing how far off the show's strayed from the club focus at this point.
... He got bashed over the head with a lead pipe. Yes, you should call an ambulance, that is a dumb question. At least the superior couple wins in the end? Even that just feels like bad writing though because the whole arc's been focused on Nagase and then she basically just gets tossed aside with little fanfare in favor of Taichi and Inaba kicking off the romance that would've more logically come out of the end of the second arc.
Eh, plus side the last scenes are pretty good, some good wrap up to some lingering plot threads and some fun moments mixed in there in the closing moments. The show does at least go out on a positive note, even if the OVAs are largely pretty bad getting there. I do feel like you probably could cut out two episodes of the OVAs and lose nothing, so much of this arc is just aimless moping that drags on and on and on.
Conclusion: Mixed. I am... extremely mixed. The good stuff is
really good. Just when this show tanks in quality it tanks HARD, and it pretty much just progressively gets worse and worse as the series goes along, with the OVAs being by far the worst of it. I can definitely see myself watching the show again, but I'm having a hard time picturing myself not opting to at least heavily fast-forward through the OVAs.
I'd say when it comes to a recommendation, watch the first ten episodes, maybe watch the last three of the core show if you're still really into it, if you want to see more of the characters watch the first and fourth episodes of the OVAs but otherwise don't bother. Plus side is it's an easy show to take in fragments given the way each arc is effectively structured like a self-contained story so if you really just want to take the show on just its first five episodes that is very easy to do.
On the whole the ending really is just pretty disappointing to me. I was actually pretty hyped to get to Kokoro Connect because I thought maybe the OVAs having a little more breathing room would make for a better finale for the series than the TV ending does, and I guess in the end they ultimately kind of do but it's really joyless to watch getting there, and it really drove Nagase's character into the ground. Like I said, she has probably the best scene in the series early on - the bit where she's faking being Inaba and the aftermath of that - and throughout the second arc she's also just fine, but her suddenly stealing the spotlight in the third arc's finale and then just keeping hold of it for the entirety of the OVAs, combined with what an insufferable mope she becomes, really just makes her actively irritating to watch after awhile. Very much a case where they had a good thing going and then just became overly infatuated with it and it hurt the show.
Next time, I'll be getting to Angel Beats for real. Unusual situation with this one and all.
