Warning: Undefined array key "HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE" in /var/www/minitokyo/www/includes/common.inc.php on line 360 Hasaki-Keissi's Myself; Yourself Tv Review - Minitokyo
»

Hasaki-Keissi's Myself; Yourself Tv Review

Myself; Yourself

Myself; Yourself tv Review

Story & Characters

Synopsis: Sana Hikada returns to his hometown after 5 years away living in Tokyo. Although there are some changes to the town, most has remained the same. On a detour to his apartments, he notices a girl in a shrine maiden outfit watching him when he visits the shrine. He finds out, the next day at school, that this girl is actually Nanaka Yatsushiro, his old childhood friend whom he gave a bracelet to before he left, that she still wears, even to this day.

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Running time: 23 minutes
Number of episodes: 13
(Information from ANN)

I am going to be honest about this one. I was expecting another School Days style anime and was not really all that enthused by this show's premise or anything else. But as the reviews, both on ANN and some other web related sources, suggested that it would be an entertaining way to spend time. I did enjoy it, and similarly with School Days; I laughed, I cried, I got pissed. However, unlike School Days, I am going to admit this anime had a better, more probable story/plot to it. (So major positive points in that department.)

I liked the characters in this show. And I will say that they seemed more graspable than the ones from School Days. (If you haven't figured out that I am going to be referencing other shows quite often, get a clue and check up on these shows. You won't be sorry that you did.)

Here's a list of the Cast and Roles: (From ANN)

Shinnosuke Tachibana as Sana Hidaka
Takehito Koyasu as Shusuke Wakatsuki
Ami Koshimizu as Nanaka Yatsushiro
Ayumi Murata as Hinako Mochida
Mai Nakahara as Asami Hoshino
Megumi Toyoguchi as Yuzuki Fujimura
Tomoko Kaneda as Aoi Oribe
Yukari Tamura as Shuri Wakatsuki
Hitomi Yoshida as Kyou no Oneechan ("Today's Oneechan") (ep 9)
Kouichi Enkin as Kaoru Sakuraba (ep 13)
Masako Ikeda as Nanaka's aunt
Miki Itou as Aoi Oribe's Mother
Nobuhiko Okamoto as Youta (ep 13)
Norihiro Inoue as Tsuguhiko Yatsushiro (ep 13)
Norio Wakamoto as Denpa Shogun (ep 9)
Omi Minami as Nanae Yatsushiro
Shinnosuke Tachibana as Anime Yellow (ep 9)
Takehito Koyasu as Anime Blue (ep 9)
Tomoko Kaneda as Anime Pink (ep 9)
Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Anime Green (ep 9)
Yukana as Saeko (Syuri/Syusuke's stepmother)
Yutaka Nakano as Nanaka's uncle
Yuuki Ono as Anime Red (ep 9)
The characters are some of the most diverse one can imagine up, including the gloomy to the bright, and the straight to the lesbian. (Hint! Hint!) Although, I will be the first to admit that they act in somewhat odd fashions some times.

And I know it says "Comedy, Drama, Romance" under Genres, but they really worked the mystery into the whole plot and story progression. Not to spoil it, but it really made the Sana/Nanaka thing happen. And certain people, that shall remain nameless for those who haven't watched it yet or are in the middle of watching it, do some down right scummy things only to contradict themselves later as the story progresses. Don't you all love the hypocrite? I know I do when it aides the story.

So, if only for it's characters and mystery, Myself;Yourself should deserve no less than an 8 for Story and Characters. It could have gotten a 9, but I did not feel that it was completely original enough for that. And some parts were simply irking. But that's just my opinion.

Rating: 8

Art

The real beauty of this series is not in its Loveless styled animation that shows like Gundam 00 possess, or its School Days attention to detail, or even in the Clamp use of unique-ness to add a very .Hack// feel to it. No, no, no. This is a very normal anime, about a very normal set of people, with their own circumstances. This said, the art follows that concept beautifully. In full consideration of the scenario, every beautifully (And I mean almost extravagantly so.) image is there to draw to the importance of these events and places, etc, etc. Alright, they weren't going for any awards for best animation quality or anything like that. But their illustrations really brought the story to life, at least for me.

I know that it is a "Slice of Life" and as such you can expect to see the students in school uniforms. Well, it gets annoying. And these ones were the bleak and gloomy styled ones. No Lucky Star Wowzers here. That's for sure. But if that's what you were looking for, go ahead and rewatch Lucky Star. However, as a pursuer of certain traits, I have to find this a downer. And sadly, it slightly reminded me of the ones from Da Capo. (Heaven forbid that.)

So, with its good use of bland and great drawing techniques in the appropriate place I would generally want to give this series a 9 for the art. However, for the previously listed reasons, I shall give it no more than an 8.

Rating: 8

Sound

Sad to say that I have not been able to find a site (tracker) with the OST on it, it was pretty powerful stuff. But as powerful as the BGM was, it really takes a backseat to the SFX that they used in the production of this. But I will let you who have not experienced it have your way with that.

The Opening Song, with it's hyped up organ intro and power chord driven guitar, followed by an almost music video styled open sequences, really grew on me after the first watch. And in accordance with what is shown in the opening video, I had to try (really hard) to hear the electric violin that they used in the melody. I am going to tell you, it's a great support mechanism to the organ and the singer; however, it doesn't match to what Nanaka is doing on screen. (Rock on dudes!)

The Closing Video was an appropriate one that was nice and mellow that seemed to flow great out of the endings of every episode, which were pretty uniform in terms of pace. Even if I still prefer the Opener to this one, I still have to give credit where it's due. So here's the full list of that.
Opening Theme:
#1: "Tears Infection" by KAORI
Ending Theme:
"Kimi to Yozora to Sakamichi to" by Kanako Itou

I think a 9 is fair with this anime for its sound. Why it's a 9. Well, that's simply because I always felt, while I was watching it, they could have put a School Days fervor into the production of the OST and perhaps added an insert song here or there to really accent those scenes a little more.

Rating: 9

Presentation

The presentation was dynamite! I don't normally use terms like that to describe shows, or things in general, but this one really deserves it. I mean, it starts off with a nice and humble beginning. It progresses normally, and then out of right field here comes this atomic powered slap to the face when Sana majorly messes up (in terms of his relationship with Nanaka). And it ends with that, making you want more and more.

It has a nice and steady progression that stays pretty much into character of everyone involved. And, like Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru, Myself;Yourself manages to develop almost every character. Yes, that's right, you see that long list of characters up top, they manage to develop all of them. (With exception to the Animengers! Poor Animengers! Don't they deserve a little attention for defending the audience in a most hysterical way?)

As many people have said, this anime has an aura of mystery about it. From attempted murder to animal sacrifice to innocent high school love and friendship. That's the mystery on some people's minds, but the real mystery is what lies in the hearts of Sana and Nanaka. And as they end the story, they find "salvation" in a form which shall remain unknown to those of you who haven't seen the series yet. (So, what happened to them? Watch, and you'll know.)

I can't bring myself to admit this, it didn't have the complete shock and awe that School Days had, but it definitely ranks up there. So, if School Days ranks a 10, then this shall rank a 9. (If only for the atomic powered slap and the mystery behind the story that kept the story moving.)

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Do reply if you have anything to say. (To me or about it in general. Please avoid spoilers, for those that have not seen it yet.)

Rating: 9

Final Verdict

8.5000 (very good)

Reviewed by Hasaki-Keissi, Dec 28, 2007

Comments

  1. MystikalLam Dec 29, 2007

    Hmm, I liked the review! I enjoyed Myself; Yourself no matter what other people said about it! I agreed with you on many of your points! Good job!

  2. ASH-Hikari Dec 29, 2007

    I found it was an enjoyable anime, but the plot seemed to jump all over the place. There wasn't a clear storyline to me. But despite that I thought it was worth the watch, even if the ending was predictable beyond belief. It was the plot twists that kept me watching. I couldn't help but want to know all the answers.
    Thanks for your review, I agree with most of it, especially about sound and art. Nice job :)

  3. Milkiyo Jan 01, 2008

    hmm...never heard of it be4 but guess I'll have a look ;)

  4. narunarunarunaru Feb 28, 2009

    i'll try watching this...


    merged: 02-28-2009 ~ 01:49pm
    tnx...

    merged: 02-28-2009 ~ 01:56pm
    i'll try watching this...

  5. lordryo Jul 28, 2009

    Good review.

  6. SchRita Aug 24, 2009

    Thanks for the review!

page 1 of 1 6 total items

Only members can post replies, please register.

Warning: Undefined array key "cookienotice" in /var/www/minitokyo/www/html2/footer.html on line 73
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Read more.