Name: An exploration of the night, the self, and what it means to lean on another.
Item: Insomniacs After School
Rating: 88
Author: Godmeyer

Waifra

An exploration of the night, the self, and what it means to lean on another. · Waifora

Everybody suffers with something. I think it would be a lie to say that there’s never been a time in your life that you’ve been kept awake at night, or have had to trudge through a day absentmindedly because you had something weighing upon you. And even though you may fight that weight, or deny its existence, there are times when we can’t do anything about it by ourselves. That… is Nakami Ganta and Magari Isaki. Two classmates who can’t sleep until the light of day has broken. One afraid that they may never wake back up, and another who is afraid to let an ‘uncertain’ and possibly worse tomorrow come. The two start an astronomy club to cover up their inability to sleep, and they begin to heal in each other's presence. The concept, beautifully unique. The execution, scarcely lacking.

This anime is a breath of fresh air and it took me a couple episodes to truly understand why I felt so refreshed watching it. Then, it hit me. This doesn’t feel like an anime. It doesn’t lean into exhausted tropes and it's never over the top or cliche, it just feels genuine. The characters feel real for their age and I never felt like they were shoehorned in. Most of the struggles and setbacks were never too outlandish that they felt forced either. The only drawback I felt was that Nakami’s personal problems were never truly mulled over and they did feel rushed. He awkwardly runs away halfway through the show blaming himself for rain, and the one time we finally get to see him open up he gets interrupted and that was that. I did not dislike his character, nor any of them in the show, but I felt like he was done a disservice.

The animation is not going to blow your socks off, but the attention to detail in scenery and framing really sells a lot of the smaller emotions the show tries to imbue the watcher with. Feelings of nostalgia, the tranquil silence of a sleeping town, the beauty of far-off storms at night, a starry sky that draws you in. I truly loved every one of these sequences because you got to see two people enjoy each other's presence like they were the only ones in the world. The joy I felt watching them escape to the beach or run around town put a genuine smile on my face, and I could never wait until the next time they shared the screen together. As well, I felt that the character designs were very pleasing and original compared to the overused generic style you see everywhere.

I don't normally enjoy SOL shows, however I heavily recommend this one because it doesn't lose itself along the way and fizzle out. From the first episode it has purpose, and the characters have aspirations that they actively work towards. The romance is slow but it is earned, and I couldn't have appreciated that more than in this show. As an insomniac photographer myself, I knew I had to check this out when I saw it and although it is not perfect, I pray for a second season.