March 23, 2024

Really unique and amazing yuri series that won't be for everyone

This is an extremely character-growth driven story, with multiple layers. Having already seen the anime | L23 and now finished the series, I find myself wanting to reread/rewatch to see what else I can take away from it. For a much fuller review, there is this beautiful review on MAL (some slight spoilers though)

Some things that stand out about this series:

  • The series is set in Kamakura and makes really excellent use of its setting. Some more details on Wikipedia
  • The characters, their emotions, and experiences of love, are all really well portrayed. Their behaviors, successes, and mistakes all feel very realistic. The characters in general are pretty likeable, and it's very much a character-driven story.
  • There are a lot of different character types and relationship styles portrayed, and lots of 片思い to go around, at different points
  • Despite being a yuri, there are some prominent male characters who add quite a lot to the story
  • The supporting characters are extremely well developed and their arcs always have some connection to the main characters (even if not immediately apparent)
  • The story starts off on kind of quirky and slightly unsteady footing, but gains more foundation as things progress. Over time there's more to the leads (and other characters) than meets the eye
  • There is no fan service anywhere, and the LGBT aspect is treated very seriously. While the author isn't afraid to portray nudity or intimate/sexual scenes, but they're minimal, tastefully done and always have a purpose

Some things that may make this challenging to read:

  • The pacing can really vary. Surprisingly, I didn't find this a problem (except for the school play b/c I get bored by those)
  • There are a lot of side characters, and the character designs are not always well distinguished
  • Almost none of the characters' names get furigana. If you're reading digitally and not great with names, I'd advise either printing or writing them down for reference
  • The author has a tendency to let conversations drift across scenes and long periods of time, and also to hard cut between scenes. Additionally it's not always immediately clear whose inner monologue you're getting
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