Series: Myself; Yourself
Episodes: 1 to 13
Premise: Hold on to your hat, folks, this one gets really dark, really fast. A young boy, Hidaka Sana, is surrounded by four childhood friends — Yatsushiro Nanaka, Oribe Aoi and brother/sister pair Wakatsuki Shuusuke and Wakatsuki Shuri — in the comfortable town of Sakuranomori. The group spends a lot of time together so when Sana moves to Tokyo, the group splinters. When Sana returns, he rejoins three of the four — Aoi, Shuusuke and Shuri — but doesn’t recognize Nanaka. After their first encounter again after years apart, Sana has to work to regain a friendship with Nanaka or turn it into something else. The problem is there are dark secrets within the group that get in the way.
Is it worth watching?: Yes, if you like dark secrets among a group of people who’ve known each other their entire lives. I can’t give away what the secrets are, but suffice to say it’s hard hitting for a group of teenagers. Most adults don’t deal with the majority of the problems these kids have. And just when you think it couldn’t get any more depressing than it already is, things brighten considerably. It’s good drama, and the character development is good.
Breakout character: Shuri. It’s true that she’s part of a duo storyline here, but she makes the most impact. She starts out a little immature, but by the end, she’s the one making adult decisions that affect her and Shuusuke for the rest of their lives. Besides Shuusuke, she’s probably the most mature of the group by the end, and that’s saying a lot when considering the other story resolutions.
Funniest episode: Humor goes a long way in this series, and it’s hard to come by. So, instead of funniest episode, let’s just say the happiest episode is the final episode, “Bonds.” For the sake of lifting the depressing veil off events, the entire group reunites and all is well.
Where is it going: The entire series is 13 episodes, so if you can hang on and get through the sad parts (like the entire series except for the final 10 minutes), you can see for yourself how well things end for the five friends.
*Special note: The opening wasn’t really anything special, but the ending song “Kimi to Yozora to Sakamichi to” is excellent. It’s definitely worth listening to on repeat a few dozen times.
