Kokoro Connect

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on October 6, 2012 at 10:13 AM

For those who heard of this thing being 17 eps and now are wondering where eps 14-17 are, those won’t come out until the DVD/bluray is released. This anime got cut short. More info here: http://www.houkagoblogtime.com/kokoro-connect-news-updates-thoughts-on-this-seasons-ends/ . Not my blog so don’t give me the credit. :P

That being out of the way, the anime being complete for now, and me being pissed that it’s not going to get the closure it deserves, on to the review.

The main problem’s just been noted. Considering that the whole anime got cut on short notice, the for-now ending is decent enough, but for those who haven’t yet started on this anime, it’s something to count in. The last arc’s potential basically got crushed, and the last episode feels rushed as a few things don’t have any closure and others get resolved far too easily. Resolving things easily is the way of the story, anyways, so it might not disappoint the fans too much, but the fact remains that there’s far more potential than this anime eventually displays.

I’m rolling this thing up from the end, however. “Kokoro Connect” can be neatly divided into three arcs, each of which has the five main characters go through different supernatural occurrences and their effects. It’s something that results in inconsistent pacing, seeing as the arcs are kind of disconnected and could stand on their own, but it’s also something that makes the whole thing a lot deeper and more dramatic than your typical body-switching slapstick show, especially in terms of getting to know the characters and watching them grow throughout these arcs. That being said, however, there is a dragging point at the very beginning, with the start being quite typical except for the underlying heavier feel; a few episodes in however, once the drama kicks in and the characters become more intriguing, it becomes evident that in all its standard-ness, “Kokoro Connect” managed to step aside from generic.

All that being said, what about the characters? The protagonists are standard, known archetypes -- but at least they’re clearly defined, with core personalities, predilections, and conflicts being shown in detail. Characterisation is solid, with an unusual emphasis on family life, and although the whole anime is just a little too short and a little too standard to allow the viewers to entirely empathise, characters and development turn out strong. And then we’ve got the antagonist, Heartseed, who is probably one of the craziest unarmed antagonists of all time. Still, the problem remains that a handful of things get resolved far too easily, and not only at the end.

There we are with character interaction, which is… quite odd, to say the least. The first two episodes are standard, and known enough for me to roll my eyes; but those aside, the dialogue is refreshingly frank, if a little forced, at times. Humour is effectively placed to lighten up serious set-ups without ridiculing too much, and the voice-acting is without a doubt excellent, especially so where it comes to individual speaking patterns.

Animation, music, and art aren’t quite as great. All of those are without a doubt above average, as the visuals are high-quality, and background renderings and animation are up to date. Problems here lie in typical animation shortcuts and inconsistent quality in character design. The music is standard, count out tiny dissonances here or there (which obviously don’t help it), and the character design… only let me say this much, our protagonists without exception look like they belong into K-ON! (*groans*).

For entertainment? It’s a little standard, but it’s good at the same time. It certainly isn’t without its faults -- typical start, a cut-off end, stilted character interaction, problems too easily resolved… but at the same time, the characters, standard as they may be, are well-presented, the set-ups allow for both genuinely fresh and funny as well as for genuinely serious moments, and with varying degrees of drama, light humour, its supernatural touch, and its air of mystery throughout, it works. It’s not the best out there, but it’s a decent one. Personally, I appreciate that it made more out of what originally looked like a standard concept, standard characters, standard animation and music, and even if the characters weren’t entirely relatable to me, I found it intriguing to watch them unfold. At the same time, however, I felt like it didn’t display all of its potential; part of that is due to the fact that it got cut short, but even putting that aside, a lot of problems would run deeper in real life than they seem to do here. A bit standard, yet, but it is anime after all, and if you don’t expect too much, it’s a decent one. Some good supernatural drama/mystery, light cues of humour, decent characterisation and character development, and it certainly succeeds in stepping out of the shadow of its rather typical beginning concept. Though I still wish they hadn’t cut it off like that.