Skip and Loafer: Unseemingly Brilliant

In a world full of high school anime that depict characters as too mature and rely heavily on love triangles and drama, Skip and Loafer is a breath of fresh air that shows high schoolers with real high school student issues and that act their age. This anime show that throughout life, whether it be in high school, college and maybe even adulthood, that sometimes, all you need is one person to bring back the light and confidence inside of you.

At the heart of this series is Mitsumi Iwakura, a young girl who exchanges her life by the sea for a life in a concrete world, Tokyo, in one day hopes of joining the government. On her first day of class, she meets the soft-spoken golden boy, Shima Sousuke. At first glance, he seems like the typical shoujo love interest: popular, handsome and seemingly calm. Nonchalant one might say. However, as the story progresses, we learn that he is not all sunshine and smiles, and has so much more depth than what he lets on.

While the beautiful pastels and art style of this anime scream slice of life, don’t let it fool you. Underneath all that are well-written characters that don’t follow the stereotypical side character mold;(and a pinch of drama) Mitsumi’s friends, Yuzuki, Makoto and Egashira each have a trait that I related to. They each started off with the ever-so-familiar archetypes of being beautiful, the cast-out, and the cynic. However, they were anything but.

First, there's Nao, Mitsumi's transgender aunt who helps Mitsumi settle in but also, ends up unknowlingly helping Makoto with her insecurities.

Then there's Yuzuki, a beautiful blonde girl who studied abroad is loved highly by the students. But she hates it. She was never fully understood by people because they only truly approached and appreciated her by her looks. Makoto, an insecure nerdy girl who finds solace in her friends and lastly, Egashira, a girl who sounds petty but really, only seeks to fit in.

The story itself? Simple but endearing. We follow the day-to-day lives of these people and each episode, we get a peak through a small gap of a window, their insecurities and who they are. Each episode, they grow as teenagers, and evidently, they grow into themselves as people. In the end, realize that they are not that alone in this world.

In the beginning, I thought I was going to find Mitsumi somewhat annoying. However, she was written so well that I couldn’t help but at times, want to be her. Even though she has a hard time communicating, she tries her best and never ever lets anything break her spirit. She is resilient in her own way and always looks out for her friends. Mistumi is like the word "friend" incarnate, she has this way of unconsciously bringing out the best in people and asking for nothing in return.

However, what makes this show stand out is her relationship and friendship with Shima. Even though he is popular and has good friends, he never really “tries” to put effort into anything. Befriending Mitsumi changed that. He had built these walls ever since the incident during his acting days and never truly let anyone in. Mitsumi, however, brought back his spark to put effort in and stand up for himself. Their relationship is not fan-serviced or forced. Like a flower, it grows slowly with time and care.

By the end of the series, each of Mitsumi's relationships with her friends grows. However, it is with Shima that it blossoms and where we find something that is deeper and more beautiful than a simple love story or confession: friendship.

This anime teaches us to slow down and to stop trying so hard at well, trying. It shows us that one person, one smile goes a long way. It shows us you can fall and fail, but to most importantly dust yourself up and get back up again. ˙ᵕ˙