My review of Sasameki Koto (originally posted 7/19/10 on D2Brigade.net)

This anime was interesting experiment for me. Not only was this the first time I watched an anime with the intent of analyzing and reviewing it, but this was also my first true exposure to Girl’s Love, or shoujo-ai, anime. Being a novice in this genre may or may not be a hindrance in this review, but I hope that's not the case. Anyway, onto the anime itself.

Sasameki Koto was a 13 episode GL romantic comedy broadcast in Japan last fall. The main focus of the anime is on the main character Sumika’s hard crush on her best friend, Ushio. Sumika is unfortunately unable to come out about her feelings to Ushio despite their closeness, and no one, at first, is aware of her even being a lesbian. Her friend, Ushio, however, is much more open about her lesbianism and is constantly talking about how she wants to find a cute girl to date. Ushio’s taste in girls leads to a big dilemma in Sumika’s chase for her affections. Ushio only likes cute girls, and Sumika does not fit her description of cute. Sumika is tall (by Japanese standards), athletic, and one of the smartest students in school, but her overwhelming scholarly success and strength do not fit Ushio’s high standards. Like most romance stories, most of the dramatic tension revolves around whether or not these two friends will finally get together or not.

Sasameki Koto is pretty dramatic, slow, and melancholy series. The first episode is definitely the saddest of the bunch, and the more tear-prone viewers might shed a tear near the end of the episode. The rest of the series never feels quite as sad or dramatic, but it has its moments. Once we’re introduced to the rest of the cast, the show starts to take a more slice of life approach in its story. The rest of the cast adds more interest to an anime that feels like it drags at times, but they also feel more like comic relief than integral characters. After meeting our two main characters, we’re introduced to Kiyori, the only straight girl in the group of 7 mains. She really adds nothing to the plot other than some comic relief, but she’s rarely on-screen anyway. Next, we have Akemiya, the only male in the group who’s shy and easily pushed around. Other than that, his two main defining traits are his crush on Sumika and his cross-dressing habits (more on that later). We’re then introduced to the lesbian couple of Tomoe and Miyako. Tomoe is responsible for getting the main cast together to form a Girl’s Club for the school (Akemiya gets dragged in as his female persona much to his chagrin). She’s the most outgoing member of the group and might even be more mature than Sumika, but she and Miyako aren’t given enough focus. Miyako is probably the least developed main character in the show next to Kiyori. Her personality never really expands beyond being cute, but bratty and almost manipulative. Finally, we have Aoi, who arrives late in the story but is given enough screentime in her debut to make up for it. She’s a yuri fangirl who is totally obsessed with the yuri novels written by a certain author, but she has little friends as a result of that.

The atmosphere of this show is melancholy as I said before. The music in the show consists of soft piano pieces that really set the tone for the show. The show moves at a pretty slow pace, and you will sometimes wish the show would hurry along, but once again is really fits the tone this show is aiming for. You really get to see the emotion going on between all of the characters because of this, and I think it really works. This show is a romantic comedy, however, so there are moments in the show that are a little silly and less emotional, but most of them are appreciated for being a quick change of pace. Trust me, you will laugh hard at Miyako’s one liner in the pool episode (that episode as a whole is probably the best in the whole show, IMO).

The animation is nothing to praise. It’s pretty simple and it works, but nothing about it really sticks out about it. I will say that this is a pretty pleasant looking anime. Despite some obvious short cuts (some of the extras don’t even have faces), you will generally not be too distracted by them to care.
If this show had a major flaw besides its sometimes too slow pace, it’s the fact that the series doesn’t really end. It sort of just stops. It seems like the animators were waiting for a second season, because the manga this show was based on is still going. It’s a shame, really, because the ride to the end is a real treat, and to see it stop the way it did was almost heartbreaking.
Here are my final thoughts. If you’re looking for an anime that focuses on good high school romantic drama with the occasional funny moments, and you want to see a show focusing on lesbians in a romantic manner, then I recommend checking this anime out. If you can’t deal with a slow pace or don’t like seeing an anime without a true ending, then skip it. I personally enjoyed this show, and my experience with these kinds of shows is limited, so hopefully that says a lot about this show’s quality.
This anime has not been licensed outside of Japan yet. You can watch it all legally on Crunchyroll with subtitles, and I recommend that site for viewing it. Remember to support the anime industry, and thank you for reading this first review of mine.