Golden Time

"People would only wants the old me not the present me" - Tada Banri Golden Time is something that tingles in my mind for a few days after i watched it. Back in the November, i was already put Golden Time in my plan to watch, since so many sites recommend that this anime is your-must-watch anime in winter season and so after it has finished aired, i watched it and i must say i have a really "golden time" when watching it. As far as you can see, Golden Time is labeled with comedy and romance genre. The genre that we often said as the mostgeneric in anime industry. JC is one of those production house that often adapting romance-comedy manga into anime, Bakuman and Ano natsu is one of their success romance comedy anime. But how about Golden time? Golden Time is anime that must we consider where romance-comedy anime is not all about cliche and the endless loop "would they be date or not". There is so many things that makes golden time is a worth anime to watch. One of those is how the story goes. The plot moves smoothly and with the narration giving a sense that Banri is showing and telling the story, its really make us understanding what Banri are thinking. Golden Time is like a puzzle, each episode provide us a single piece that if we're combining all of them would make the completed one and so this one. This basically because Golden Time focussing on how Tada Banri collected his lost memories and how his amnesia affecting the people surround him including his friends or lover. And so we would be presented so many flashbacks that would tell how he was in the past including how he have forgotten the life before amnesia. As i said before, Golden time is like breaking the endless loop of “would they be date or not” . In this anime, we would see a progression of romance relationship. This is not merely they would lovey dovey all the time but we would see the struggle and obstacle between them which is nice and represents how life is not always easy and there would be always some obstacles that blocks our way. Other things that makes golden time interesting is the comedy. The humor primarily comes from the interactions between his friends and minor characters, In this anime we would see a comedy that basically happen in our real life like how we get pranked by our seniors when just enrolled in university or jokes that can only be understand by our circles. Golden time is realistically represent this in their show which is makes watching golden time like watching our life itself. The art in this anime is not too good neither bad. But this is suitable with the anime. The background is quite vivid and colorful. But sometimes the art is kinda messed up, like how they drawn characters sometimes the characters look so weird. JC seems like doesnt do their best in this anime, there is just so many times when the characters look bend in the other way but despite of that, it doesnt decreasing the pleasure from watching this anime. The sound in this anime is amazing, first from the seiyuu parts we would find a few famous seiyuu like Yui Horie as Kaga Koko or Ai Kayano as Linda, of course the quality of them doesnt need to ask, they perfectly fit with their roles especially Yui Horie as Kaga Koko. Her sound really loveable and the phrases “oh, wow” is kinda attracting. But thats not just all, one thing to notice is how Furukawa Makoto for being Tada Banri as seiyuu. As a new comer, his quality isnt like the beginner at all. His angry or serious tone are really magnificent and really suitable with Tada Banri. Not just the seiyuu parts, the soundtrack is also good. From the opening we have “Golden Time” by Yui Horie itself. The song is quite lovely and easily grasp people’s heart. There isnt any problem with their OP and ED songs, it had a really nice combination of OP/ED to start the series off which helped with that great first impression. they were particularly is suitable with the themes of love. Moving to BGM, Yukari Hashimoto is the one who responsible for this. Honestly, she is the best when it comes to romance music. His works in Toradora is enough to represent his quality and this time he also success in this anime. The BGM is really mixing well with each scenes. The other thing that is noticeable from this show is the characters or the whole cast in this anime. The entire character and cast is so realistic and full of "normal people" that would we meet in our real life not some overly attached-girl, the little sister that have a thing for his big brother, a girl who is expressionless, or anything that anime provides us oftenly. More than that, In other words, the characters feel real and human. They are filled with multiple facets and glaring contradiction, just like all of us. In the end, this anime is a good way to represent what a romance anime is. The realistic views is probably the most prominent in Golden time and i think this is how all anime should be especially when they bring ‘romance’ tags. Unrealistic romance makes the love story become cliche and good things golden time isnt like that. So, if you want a good romance with realistic, light-hearted comedy, Golden Time is probably one of the anime that you should watch.

Updated: 13, July 2016 It is only natural to project grand expectations on any anime associated with a renowned classic. Penned by the original creator of Toradora!, the first six episodes had Golden Time primed as the next rom-com sensation out the J.C. Staff house. Unfortunately, the luminous promise soon became a glimmer of an afterthought. Repercussions relative to pacing, characterizations, and key revelations accumulated as the series imploded spectacularly to close out. SPOILERS onward (based on final impressions). The root to Golden Time’s problems stems from its peculiar inclusion of a supernatural element. Rather than a visible representation of this “alternate” Banri, an implied presence wouldhave been more effective. The circumstances triggering his condition were too variable and opportune, apathetic to foreshadowing and logical parameters. Banri had been shown taking medications after and not before his first relapse, so what should have been a smooth road for the narrative instead became one scarred by potholes (plot holes). Progression between Banri and Kouko was woefully negated by incidents blown severely out of proportion. There was simply no extinguishing the fires of drama upon their ignition. With the exception of the rocker Nana, the cast was too momentum-based and capricious in complexion. Like puppets, their decisions were not made under their own accord - most notably with Oka Chinami. For someone who was once exemplified as a friendly, happy-go-lucky acquaintance to Banri, her whimsical hostility and irritability in later stages was unjustified. It was dejecting to endure the constant stagnancy and artificial pretentiousness on display, from Kouko wrecking Takaya's car (when did she acquire a driving license?) to Banri getting torched for his amnesiac tendencies. Ultimately though, the finale was most unforgivable in its blindsiding convenience and blatant disregard of prior developments altogether. I would like to bury this series in similar fashion to Banri with his past, but sadly the damage will remain everlasting.

Golden Time can be best summed up with two words: love hurts. Of course, this could be an overstatement because love is supposed to bring joy and wonder. But what happens when the past comes back to haunt you? What happens when you’re caught in the middle of a love triangle where someone is bound to be hurt? It’s a tough world in where we live in and nothing should be taken for granted. Golden Time serves as a great example of an anime that explores relationships at a level dealing with the basic human nature and what it stands for based on love. Golden Time isan anime based off the light novel and manga of the same name written by Yuyuko Takemiya. She is perhaps best known for her previous work, Toradora, which has garnished worldwide attention. The anime achieved success but now it’s Golden Time’s turn to shine. One thing that sets apart this series from most romantic comedy is built by the foundation of the setting. Rather than a typical high school life, this series sets in college which presents itself as a more mature environment. After all, college is where people enter the stage of adolescence. It’s a stage in life where people create themselves, build their futures, and explore relationships at a level like they have never ever before. For Tada Banri, it’s a fresh new experience at a new law school in Tokyo. One problem already arises for Tada Banri from the beginning as he suffers a case of amnesia as result of a past event. Cases of characters suffering amnesia is nothing new in the anime industry. Series such as Tsubasa Chronicles, Eden of the East, and Pandora hearts adapts similar themes in which a main character has a case of amnesia but goes on a journey to discover themselves by digging through the past. What sets Golden Time apart or rather differently is the way of presenting it in the form of Tada Banri’s past. Flashbacks are shown in various episodes and becomes an internal conflict for him. These often resurfaces in cases of episodic flashes where he shouts something out unintentionally. It becomes part of a battle in his mind with a reactive way that makes the show memorable and eye catchy. What might even be more eye catchy is perhaps our main female protagonist in the series – Koko Kaga. From minute one she enters the show is given the presence that she is a walking billboard of elegance. She is extremely popular among the male population with her mesmerizing appearance, fashion style, and atmosphere of luster dignity. However, there’s a fact known that Koko has little friends because people finds her hard to approach. This is unsurprising because people expects themselves to be way out of her league. That’s not an understatement either thanks to her flashy entrance. With flowers in hand and a daring smile, Koko surprises her childhood friend Mitsuo Yanagisawa as she literally followed him to the university. Apparently, there’s some odd circumstances between them as Mitsuo seemed to have promised to ‘marry’ her when they were kids. But of course, this is just an illusion because all of them were in the past and wasn’t realistic. This format of setting up Golden Time is cliched with the beautiful girl (Koko) meeting the typical college boy Tada Banri. However, if we take a closer look, there’s a special emphasis on our main characters. Enter Linda. Serving as a character that played a critical role in Tada Banri’s past, she becomes a main figurehead in the story. As the story unravels itself, we quickly find out her importance in the series as well as why Tada Banri keeps getting strange episodic flashes when he blanks out. More importantly is the concept of love being dealt here. Love hurts. It really can be one of the world’s greatest treasures but also a pain that cannot be healed. For one thing, Tada Banri’s past wounds still exists in the form of those memories and Linda serves as a driving factor. Golden Time deals with these flashbacks and structures them in a profound way to explore relationships at a deeper level. Of course, we can’t leave out Koko in the story because she always tries to get what she wants. For Koko, she is like a textbook with no answers. Her personality is extremely difficult to read because she often changes them depending on circumstances and whom she is with. Golden Time ties together our main characters and doesn’t go off track with its main theme. While it doesn’t always present relationship in a healthy way or realistically, the show builds itself with great characters with everyone getting their spotlights. As serious as some moments of Golden Time can seem to be, it also offers a great deal of comedy. This is usually reflected in the case of other characters such as Nijigen (a.k.a 2D-Kun) that serves as a comic relief throughout the show. Other characters such as Chinami Oka and Nana (based off a character of the same name from the anime/manga NANA) also makes their own spotlights. On a more fun scale, there is also the well-known Tea Party that serves as a primary example of how college is like – party, drinking, and sex. Other humorous moments includes the various cosplay, English dialogues, and responses of our classic Koko. The series does suffer some problems though in terms of its introduction. The first episodes serves as built up. In fact, the introductory episode is not only cliched but seems forced with its presentation. Some parts of the main story itself can also be predictable especially with the duo of Koko and Tada Banri. Koko can also be a character that is hard to get used to with her multitude personalities. It’s at various circumstances that viewers may question themselves exactly what she wants. Linda herself also suffers characterization in the past because of her indecisive actions. There are some obvious hints thrown in that she might be in love with Tada Banri but in most cases dismisses it as ‘just friends’; an overused idea in romantic comedies. Furthermore, the show focuses perhaps too much on the main love triangle at levels that can seem obnoxious especially with Koko being a clingy girlfriend. Jealousy might be an overused word but she defines it at its best at various episode stages. Animation wise, Golden Time maintains a balanced romantic comedy presentation with visuals that matches its style. JC Staff adapts the series so expect some familiarity with their past works. Most characters are decorated with simplicity except for Koko whom is known for her fashion style; thanks to her rich family backgrounds. Mitsuo also undergoes some physical changes that might catch the eyes of its audience later on. Background wise, there’s nothing earth shattering going on because mostly everything is focused on our main characters. Nana does stand out as a supporting character to keep an eye on though for her unique style of dressing up. The soundtrack is consistent on most parts. Both the first OP and ED songs are sweet with a melody to convey the style of a romantic comedy. However, the first OP song does fall under the case of major foreshadowing. On the other hand, the second OP song of the latter half adopts a more hardcore techno beat that doesn’t match the mood as done previously. Background OST wise, the series presents it well to match its comedy, emotional, and dramatic moments. But on voice acting, there’s a mixed bag here. Koko’s voice mannerisms can be annoying to listen to because of her jealousy. She also tends to get angry when she sees something not fitting so expect some dramatic tones coming from her. Tada Banri’s voice also seems a bit monotone at times with his dialogues. Other times, some of the dialogues itself represents a more cheesy way of delivery. Nana is perhaps the most mature of the characters because of her actions that speakers louder than words. Golden Time can be a tricky anime to adapt and takes patience to get used to. The introductory episodes might not feel so groundbreaking but the reward is worth it once you get them through. It’s important to pay attention to the characters and see their progressing moments as each episode unfolds itself with revelations, reactive dynamics, and characterization. There will be moments where the show will surprise and catch you off guard. Then there are moments that makes you rethink what just happened or if it’s the right way that’s presented. There’s no right answer when it comes to love because everyone is born differently. Romantic comedies such as Golden Time often tends to shy people’s heads away but this is definitely something to keep an eye on. Love can hurt but pain doesn’t just go away without taking chances. Golden Time offers that chance.

Golden time being predominately Romance and School Life-themed doesn't stop it from containing other interesting elements peppered throughout, making this otherwise humdrum university romance story unique. Complaint #1: The characters. The main character: Tada Banri is one of the least impressive characters in the entire show. As a viewer, it's absolutely frustrating witnessing the romance in this show and where Banri decides to take it. The romance only being frustrating because of Banri choosing one of the most invasive, clingy, and annoying characters I've ever encountered. Her personality along with the romance that surrounds her keeps each and every viewer's frustrationto a maximum. To top it off, the ending was extremely underwhelming. When watching the final episode occur, I became extremely irritated how the creator of this story could make it end the way it did. Is it to make a statement? That not all love stories end with the viewer pleased in the character's decision? Perhaps it's because the writer is showing that the character has control over their story, not the writer like most people think. Whatever the case, the characters and ending thoroughly disappointed me. Complaint #2: The flow. The flow of the story is profoundly important. It impacts my decision as to whether I continue with the show or not, whether I enjoy the show or merely tolerate it. For this show, it was tolerance. It's hard to place my finger on, but something about this show's flow seemed off; each episode felt different from the last, almost like a discontinuation. The story should be just that: a story. Not a sequence of episodes. In a romance story, this overarching story becomes exponentially important, and the lack of it creates a difficult situation for viewers to see the progression of romance. When the flow of a show isn't good, the viewer becomes distracted from the plot and/or the message, hurting the overall reception of the story. Commend #1: Interesting plot. I won't say much about the plot, but to be frank, this is the one and only thing about this show that kept me going. It was a very interesting plot that kept me wanting more, to see how the creators concluded it. Without this plot, there felt no reason at all for me to finish out this show. Rating and Ending Thoughts My disapproval of the ending, general flow of the story, the main characters, as well as the interesting plot, incline me to give this the mediocre rating of 5/10. The plot completely carries the entire show because, obviously, the characters can't do it worth anything. This plot kept me on the edge of my seat and powered me through to the end, simply to see how the writers decided to finish this dull, romantic story.

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes