The beginning
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"Attakai tte, go Houbi da" is most likely the greatest anime of all time. Let me explain. Attakai tte, go Houbi da, which I will shorten to AtgHd for the rest of this review, is a 2019 McDonalds commercial for the Gracoro burger. The gracoro, a portmanteau of gratin korokke(Japanese croquette) is a burger made from a >"burger patty-sized croquette filled with shrimp and macaroni in a creamy white sauce with a crispy-fried panko shell". The burger shows up for a limited time in McDonalds Japan locations, usually around the holidays. The Gracoro has become somewhat of a classic dish at McDonalds, much like the famed McRib. In this release of the Gracoro, the croqutte is topped with cheese and beef, something foreshadowed later in the story. So, now that you know what the Gracoro is, you can begin to understand the genius of the anime.
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The Story
AtGHd starts off, after a short title card, with a shot of Akari Kuramoto, one of the three girls that play the role of main characters in the series. We see her on a snowy day, presumably Christmas, working at her office at a sporting goods manufacturer and finishing up for the day. This short shot already gives so much information, establishing that Kuramoto is a strong and independent working woman. She then looks out to window to see a couple waiting at a red light, a clear symbol for how love knows no bounds. The camera pans to reveal out second main character, Saki Tanno. We see Tanno look out the window of her train, showing her dream one day be independent. Her fashion reveals that she works at design office. Next we are introduced to our final main character, Mikoto Sakaide, an assistant in the university's literature department as she walks down a busy street alone. The camera then pans to a shot of a McDonalnds, revealing where all three women were heading towards. All three women's faces show up, excited to see each other, clearly friends. Next, each woman takes a bite out of their Gracoro while laughing to each other, overjoyed to be consuming such a delicacy. After a short intermission showing the Gracoro, we see a shot of all three girls walking together smiling, before switching to them all looking much younger, all holding lacrosse sticks, implying that they have been been friends since at least middle school from playing lacrosse.
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Final Thoughts
AtGHd is a masterpiece of its medium, putting so many other anime to shame. The story is mysterious yet intriging enough to suck anyone into it, wanting to know what happens next. No anime comes even close to having the emotional impact that AtGHd delivers during its short run time.