Higehiro is an emotional coming-of-age story about a runaway teenage girl confronting her past. Expect drama, ecchi fanservice, and taboo topics.
The show is an emotional rollercoaster, especially the first 5 episodes. Lots of relatable, real-life topics are explored, such as unconditional niceness, the meaning of family, different types of smiles, and how a person's inner feelings are different from his or her appearance. Sayu learns how her issues are small compared to the universe and that she can always count on her friends to get through them. The wholesome interactions between Sayu and Yoshida are moving. In addition, witnessing Sayu’s growth as a troubled teenager makes the audience invested in her character. The story can be touching, relatable, and bittersweet. To accentuate key moments, the music sets a dramatic and melancholic mood. A major reason for Higehiro’s emotional resonance has to do with its main characters and the audience's investment in them.
#Characters
One sees a budding mentor-mentee relationship between Yoshida and Sayu. Sayu gets the most development and growth from the series, as the audience watches her confront her past. Yoshida goes through some development as well. The existence of Sayu brightens his life, and he questions what she means to him throughout the show. Unfortunately, his development stutters in the second half. Due to his lack of self-reflective dialogue, the audience has a difficult time learning his motivations or feelings. He also doesn’t have any unique traits and ends up as a likable but generic salaryman character, similar to Nakano from The Helpful Fox Senko-san.
#Themes
Despite the taboo nature of the show, Higehiro has wholesome and relatable themes and messages. For example, one theme is asking for help. Initially Sayu has a fake, plastic smile because she doesn't want to concern others with her problems. But as the series progresses, she opens up and learns to talk about her problems. As mentioned earlier, other relatable themes in Higehiro are unconditional niceness, confronting one's past, and dealing with family troubles. Each one of them are addressed in some fashion.
#OP and ED
The opening and ending are great. The OP uses symbolism well, such as with the ribbon to show the fated encounter of the two protagonists. The music is synced to the animation and has an upbeat tune. The ED is a slideshow of the two main leads living together and portrays the slice-of-life elements of the show well. The ending song is catchy and has unique instrumentals. Due to its closeness with dramatic plot twists, the happy ED can invoke contrasting melancholy, similar to the ending song "Torch" from Clannad: After Story.
#Production values
The production values for the show are poor. To illustrate (pun intended), the visuals are subpar, and the character designs are generic. In certain frames, the characters will have disproportional faces, like in one of Sayu's flashbacks. The show does have its moments where the visuals are bumped up to accentuate certain scenes, such as the starry skies. Also, some of Sayu's facial expressions in the early episodes are cute and show her emotions well, like her uneasy smile, but this does not last as the show goes on. In addition to the weak visuals, one also needs to accustom to the fanservice.
#Fanservice
There is a lot of fanservice present. In the first 6 minutes, it is evident how the show will handle its female characters, and the level of fanservice doesn't decline; Sayu gets many provocative camera angles and half-nude scenes. Some have complained about the fanservice, but it is present even in the first episode, so you'll know what you're getting into. I didn't find the fanservice too distracting, as it serves to emphasize how Sayu only knows how to communicate gratitude through her body, and the fanservice contrasted nicely with the supposed normalcy of the later episodes to emphasize what a troublesome predicament Yoshida is in. To its detriment, the fanservice makes an appearance on the final episode, which runs contrary to Sayu's growth of a character. The fanservice also suggests an underage romance and contrasts with the wholesome vibe the show attempts to portray. Luckily though, this always get shut down.
#Dialogue
Conversations can, at times, be long-winded and are reminiscent of a TED talk than a normal discussion between two people. Mishima is a key offender of this, as she has multiple long-winded talks and even apologizes for rambling. To the show’s credit, as a realistic drama, it is normal to talk about important issues. In fact, the first few times it occurs, it is refreshing: two adults talking honestly about their problems and thoughts. However, as this repeats, the dialogue becomes repetitive and boring. At times, a character’s monologue goes on for too long, usually with vague ideals, and the other character will be silent for most of it, turning the conversation into a one-sided lecture.
#Minor character
The side characters don’t get enough depth. They function to provide advice or push the narrative forward but don’t have much personality. The weak side-characters for the most part don't detract from the show because Higehiro is mostly about Sayu and Yoshida. An exception is Gotou's and Mishima’s inclusion as harem elements. Their romance and love interests never get explored adequately, and the harem elements detract from the coming-of-age story.
#Story
The writing of the show has some road bumps. (Minor spoilers.) Parts of Sayu’s back story are not well foreshadowed, making their revelation shocking and random. The second and third revelations in particular are weak due to their lack of relation to the show’s premise. The resolution of the final arc feels rushed and unnatural. The show also tackles the issue of sexual assault poorly, and the characters don’t act “realistically” in the resolution of the incident. The ending, while being satisfying, has minor scenes that contradict the main characters' prior development. It also doesn't conclude Yoshida's arc to the extent one would hope for. Despite these flaws, the story is still enjoyable.
Even though the show has its fair share of problems, watching it was an enjoyable experience. The show's premise and story are unique. At the start, it is a comfortable slice of life about coping with trauma. Later on, it becomes a harsh drama, and the execution could be better. Despite some odd events though, the story is mostly coherent, and it does land some key emotional moments. It has good life lessons and messages scattered throughout. Although the ending isn't the best, Sayu's character will always have a place in my heart.
B
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