Sasameki Koto

First of all i want to say that "Sasameki koto" was my first Shoujo-ai anime and because of that it kind of changed my view on Shoujo-ai series and all that girl+girl thing. Story: "sasameki koto" tells us a story about love which seems strange to many of us and that love is between girls no that love which we call "friends" but real love , feelings and wanting to be with some one. The story revolves around few girls Kazama, Ushio and Murasame, Sumika also their many friends which they encounter. Murasame Sumika feel in love with her best Friend Kazama Ushio who falls inlove with all the "cute" girls she see, for Murasame its the worst thing that can happen because she isn't the "cute" type if you think about it shes more like guy shes tall , strong and also knows karate ... well in other words the opposite of the type that Kazama likes because of that Murasama suffers alot. She also suffers because of seeing Kazama always getting hurt by other girls ... and getting her heart broken. Story goes into many misunderstandings and alot more sufferings but only to be relieved by some humor and joy of main characters "after bad things happens there are always something good awaiting". When going further into story we see some development of feelings from both sides still that was a mystery for me because it was my first Shoujo-ai anime ... with that i got into it and wanted to see more. Because of that i came across even more changes in their characteristics after some time i noticed Jealousy coming from Kazama who i thought had no interests in Murasame. With that i will end my review. Art: Well art is beautiful all the characters are beautifully drawn and all the atmosphere is warm. Characters: It was a wonderful character development and characteristics of each protagonist every moment of jealousy and such was shown nicely. Enjoyment: well i enjoyed these series alot because it was my first shoujo-ai anime. Overall: its a great love story which makes some difference from these plain every day anime romances which we see happening and after 4 eps you can already tell what will happen in the end ... I would suggest to watch this if you ain't against girls love!.

Mod Edit: This review may contain spoilers. -- The appeal of a yuri anime, to me, has never been about the multishipping possibilities or the epic romance across space and time. To me, it's been about the subtle interpersonal character drama based upon fear of social ostracisation or lack of mutual feelings, and it's about the quiet tempo of character growth and romance. I felt like Sasameki Koto got this, but didn't know what to do about it. To start off, Sasameki Koto allures with the prickly thorns of unrequited love between our tall and boyish protagonist, Sumika, and her best friend, Kazama, a girl that likes cutesyfemme girls. At the onset, Sumika is very, very easy character to relate to, trying her hardest not to ruin a friendship but knowingly unable to further it - it's the kind of dynamic everybody knows, regardless of sexuality. Paired with the gentle pace, the quiet but simple piano score, a beautiful OP where the characters stand, together, in the wind... and you'd think Sasameki Koto was onto something. For the first 3 or so episodes, anyway. So begins a small arc of one of Sumika's male admirers realising that he stands no chance because of her sexuality. The show manages to find a nice balance between showing Sumika's frustration with herself as well as making you laugh. It works with the unrequited love aspect, but some of the jokes are in bad taste and draw Sumika as a quite cruel character. Thankfully, Sasameki Koto then takes it's time to focus on the protagonist. We've learned that she's a karate-expert, but in the next arc, featuring being blackmailed by a lesbian couple that wants to make an exclusive homosexual club for girls, we learn that she's very socially awkward. But it's charming to see her come together and make friends (even if they're as toxic as her) and finally begin to enjoy her school life. It takes it's time to build the relationships, and while it lacks strong side characters, it's still a strong series of episodes that tie in nicely to develop Sumika. Despite the comic missteps, it was at this point that I thought the show was really beginning to come together, as it was leading to either Sumika moving on from Kazama or getting together with her. Which leads onto the next arc, where Sumika comes across a yuri fan in her class, Azusa, but fails to recruit her for the Girl's Club. While she keeps trying, she accidentally gets a little too close to her and ends up spending a little too much time with her, helping her with her yuri doujinshi. While I understand the point in this arc - where Sumika begins to move on and then does a heel-turn before coming back to Kazama - this arc was handled very poorly and really began to drag, rendered boring by the dull characterisation of Azusa (probably an insult to doujinshi writers everywhere). It takes a little too long before coming back, and never fully commits to the idea that Sumika could move on. And, moreover, the gentle pacing has been lost for an entirely stagnant one. I've described the structure of this show as if I know exactly what's going to happen and when. That's because it's a fairly typical structure found within homosexual or, in general, love stories where the author introduce the characters, develop them, attempt to move them on and then bring them back together but closer. It's at this point, this final hurdle, that Sasameki Koto truly crumbles. Three standalone episodes, in a rather bizarre fashion, take place. Firstly, our protagonist and her love interest are reunited in a swimming-pool episode. This could have been the gentle finale, where are characters truly come together romantically; all of the side characters realise there is something between Kazama and Sumika in this episode. The problem is that it doesn't feel like anything happened to cause it. The second episode features an afterschool treasure-hunt of sorts, where they find notes telling them to go to different places in the school. A strong episode with lots of charm and fun that builds on the group's friendship. Finally, Sumika and Kazama are split up when Sumika goes on a short holiday to see relatives and her phone breaks, and is unable to contact Kazama. It's suggested that Kazama comes to accept she has feelings for Sumika when she misses her when she gets worried about the lack of contact, but other than that the episode is mostly kind of boring. The entire series then ends when her phone begins working again and she calls Kazama. Huh? Despite some comic references to a character within this story, a reluctant yuri writer that attracts attention on the back of actual romance, you'd think they'd give us that. Sasameki Koto wasn't far from doing that, but instead of leaving a series to be remembered for it's strong characters, there was only one and she couldn't pull it out from mediocrity.

Ahh, my very first Shoujou ai Anime... What I would give to remove the show in my brain and watch it again to get that "first time" feeling. Story 9/10 Sumika Murasame, a high school girl is secretly in love with her best friend Ushio Kazama. Unfortunately, Ushio only likes girls that are cute and small. Sumi is not cute, tall and very athletic. The anime follows exactly the plot of the manga version of the same name (Except episode 12). If this was a stand-alone anime then story rating would have been lower due to the ending of the show (the ending of the showwas the ending of manga version volume 1). Since they were following the manga version's plot, it's getting a high rating. I've read the manga version until the end and it was wonderful. Art 8/10 The show has a great animation with few minor flaws that are not distracting. Sound 6/10 It's getting a low rating because they keep using it every episode. It eventually got annoying and this also tells me that they're not good at coming up with new soundtrack Character 8/10 The characters in the show(and manga) are well developed.. You have Sumika, a tall and athletic girl. She is the main protagonist of the show and she is Ushio's best friend since middle school. You have Ushio, a lesbian girl who likes "cute" girls. She and Sumika met in middle school and has been best friends ever since. You have other supporting characters but I'm not going to list them. Enjoyment 9/10 I really enjoyed the show. There are 2 things depicted in this show. What it feels like to be in love with your best friend and if society will accept you because you're lesbian/gay. Overall 9/10 It's got a great story, great character development and a great animation. I recommend you watch the anime first so you don't have to read the first 12 chapters of the manga version. If you're not planning to read the manga at all then don't bother watching this show. The manga picks up where the show exactly left. Pros: -Great story -Great characters -Realistically depicts the lesbian relationship -Took its time to explain things Cons: -

Sasameki Koto started as a yuri manga written by Ikeda Takashi. The anime adaptation only covers the first part of the manga's story. It was made in 2009 by AIC. Sadly, there has not been a second season yet. Now, I liked this anime when I saw it a couple years ago. Just let me re-watch it so I can properly articulate why. And then I'll tell you all about it. The story is a relatively simple romance plot. A girl named Sumika is in love with her best friend, Kazama. There's just one problem, Kazama likes cute girls and Sumika is really tall andmore cool than cute. As for the story itself, it does a really good job of showing a gradual relationship progression and it blends in some charming slice of life aspects and some well done comedy. That being said, I do have one complaint about the story layout and that's episode seven. Just episode seven. It has no charm, no funny jokes, does nothing to advance the plot whatsoever and is just generally horrid. To make matters worse, it doesn't even get mentioned or alluded to again after it's over. Meaning that they just put it in to take up space. I genuinely pity anyone who saw this as their first episode because they were hanging out with a friend who was watching it or some such thing. That aside, the anime does a really good job of setting up the characters' relationships to each other and starting their development. The story is incomplete, but that's because the manga is fairly long and they really couldn't have completed it in thirteen episodes. They do pick a pretty good ending spot though and if you're curious about the manga the anime will certainly provide a good sample of what's in it so that you can ascertain whether you'd like it or not. Now, with a simple story Sasameki Koto relies a lot on its characters to carry the show and they do so magnificently. One of my professors once said that well written and developed characters can make even minor tension seem important and dramatic, whereas poorly written characters can be involved in global stakes without anyone caring. Sasameki Koto confirms the first part of her claim. Sasameki Koto makes waiting for a phone call into a dramatic event. It works because all of the major characters are portrayed very realistically. They're largely sympathetic while having faults. I can especially identify with Sumika. She loves Kazama which can cause her to act petty and say thoughtless things, but she's also always there for her and genuinely wants her to be happy, even if it's with someone else. She wants to tell Kazama her feelings but she's afraid of losing her friendship so she puts on a straight girl act and keeps things bottled up. Azusa is another very sympathetic character. In many ways she's kind of a brat, but she's also sensitive, shy and creative. All the characters in this can be petty, thoughtless and do stupid things, but their faults aren't exaggerated or done in an overblown or obnoxious way. Instead they serve to make them more relatable. Even the minor characters feel like real people, mostly. The one major exception only appears in one episode. In case you can't guess which one, it's episode seven. And that's Akemiya's sister. Okay, technically she makes a very brief appearance in an earlier episode, but she only gets two lines and there's nothing to indicate that she might be what seven develops her into. Seven develops her, but it does it very badly. Whereas every single other character has sympathetic qualities, she's portrayed as a sociopath and you're supposed to forgive her for being horrible because she's young. Ruddy episode seven. The art is excellently done. There are some really good details, the characters are well done, the scenery looks good and the backgrounds are nice and lively. There is one problem with it, and that's that it abuses art style changes for comedic effect. I mentioned this when I talked about Fullmetal Alchemist, but for those of you who didn't read that I'll go over it again. I don't generally mind when the art briefly changes style to a more deformed mode for comedic effect. The problem I have is when an anime does it too often. It's used for emphasis and it loses its impact when it happens too often and Sasameki Koto uses it too often. Now, one thing I really like about the art is that it mostly refrains from using fan-service. Even when there's a setup that could easily lead to it and I admire that restraint. The most fan-servicey scenes are fantasies and even then it's kept pretty tasteful. The voice acting is really well done. Both Takamoto Megumi and Takagaki Ayahi give really strong performances. I'm not sure how closely they actually worked together since their lines were recorded, but I can say that they have really strong chemistry. If there's anything wrong with the acting in this it's that there are quite a few exaggerated scenes, but I'm not going to complain about it much since I honestly think they work in context. I didn't like the music as much. Don't get me wrong, it's good but it doesn't add a whole lot to the atmosphere. Most of it is just really mellow. Which is fine, but I would've liked to hear more of a variety. The yuri factor is a 10/10. Who ever would have thought that yuri anime month reviews would have such a high yuri factor? In addition to the budding relationship between Kazama and Sumika there's a more advanced romance between Tomoe and Miyako and there's Azusa's crush on Sumika. One of Sasameki Koto's strengths is that the yuri is handled fairly realistically. Unlike some yuri anime, they go to a school with a largely straight population and Kazama's crushes tend to be one-sided as a consequence. It's a move that makes the characters more sympathetic since they are outsiders of a sort. The relationships themselves are really strongly developed in a way that feels completely natural. Now, my final rating for Sasameki Koto is an 8/10. It's a great anime, except for bloody episode seven. My biggest complaint is over the terrible episode seven but ignoring that, the characters are excellent, the romance is handled very well, the voice acting is great and the art, when not shifted to the humorous style, is amazing. I do suggest giving it a try, and skipping episode seven because it seriously is just awful. If you enjoy the twelve good episodes you should check out the manga, because it unfortunately hasn't gotten another season yet. Well, that's it for yuri anime month. Next month I plan to look at Katanagatari, Blood+, and Durarara because my lovely fans requested it and I can't say no to reasonable requests from you guys. Even in those rare cases when I know it's going to be painful to re-watch something. There was something else coming up, but I can't recall what it was right now. Oh well, I'm sure I'll think of it eventually.

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