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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | Ggultra2764 | # |
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Following in the footsteps of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien with well-executed romantic hospital drama is Looking Up at the Half Moon. The series felt unusually short for a TV series for me the first time I seen it. But, I got enough out of the story and characters to know all that is taking place within that short number of episodes. The four central characters of Yuichi, Rika, Tanizaki, and Dr. Goro have believable personalities with how they each face the situations in front of them and make mistakes along the way with their character growth. Yuichi is the central character of this series as he must choose whether or not to have a relationship with Rika considering that she will die young. For Rika, Yuichi is a fresh face for her to be with since she's faced hospitalization for a good amount of her life and knows the inevitable fact about her remaining life. Tanizaki plays the role of support for the coupling. Goro tries hindering Rika and Yuichi's relationship due to his own past tragedy. But the show's plotting isn't completely perfect. The presence of the archetypical perverted old man and the Zebra Mask comedy bits detract from the drama of this series a bit. In the artwork department, this series has plenty of beautiful color and detail with the scenery. Character designs are quite good as well, especially since Rika looked like a beauty with how she was designed. There isn't much in the way of action so animation isn't noteworthy for this series. With exception to the ending music, much of the music to this series doesn't stand out. Being the first 2006 anime I've seen, Looking Up at the Half-Moon made good use of its six episodes to tell a believable hospital love drama. Last updated Sunday, September 14 2008. Created Sunday, September 14 2008. | ||||||||
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| Buy | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | chibi | # |
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Hard to believe so much drama could be packed into only 6 episodes, yet not feel hurried or incomplete and without limiting the number of characters. I love how the creators refrained from introducing deus ex machina elements into the story, as if they were telling us that real life is interesting enough without having to be manipulated. Nobody is really keeping the two main characters apart, the story is ostensibly a straightforward one about dealing with life and relationships. And no obviously set-up situations to milk emotion from the viewers, yet I was choked up several times by the weight of the simple tale. All the main characters were strong and three-dimensional, adding even more interest to the main drama. If I had one criticism it would be that Rika, the female lead, could have used some more development. She retains her apparent selfish streak right to the end, and I think it would have helped the story a lot if we had at least a better understanding of her nature. All in all, a powerful story well-told with a satisfying, if bitter-sweet, ending. But life's like that, ne?
Last updated Saturday, December 09 2006. Created Saturday, December 09 2006. | ||||||||
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| Buy | 9 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 8 | Devil Doll | # |
[Score: 85% = Buy. Other recommended non-Fantasy Romance Drama animes: Koi Kaze, Lamune, Suzuka, Rumbling Hearts, Hachimitsu to Kuroba II]
Last updated Tuesday, August 05 2008. Created Thursday, October 05 2006. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Original Site for the series | http://www.hantsuki.com/ |
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