The story starts with a classic Romeo & Juliet setup with the male protagonist, Rintarou Tsumugi, a tall student at Chidori High School, a school regarded as low in prestige and its students being delinquents, and the female protagonist, Kaoruko Waguri, being a student at Kikyo High School, next door to Chidori, is regarded as high class. The two schools have a history of hatred, and therefore, the students at their respective schools also hate the opposing school and its students. In keeping with the vibe of the school, whenever someone looks at Rintarou, they are intimidated due to his stature, but Kaoruko, when they met, treated him no differently than any other person she would meet, judging someone based on their actions, and not by their looks. I have to admit, based on this setup, it felt rather generic.
However, the way that this anime broke through the poison of misunderstandings and conflicts was quite admirable. No conflict gets solved without communication, and this anime tackles conflict with elegance, like it itself was from Kikyo. In both their actions and how they speak, it is clear that the characters from both schools care about their own very deeply. Certainly, there was initial conflict between Rintaro’s friends, and Kaoruko’s friend, Subaru, due to prejudice and past experiences, but this anime depicted how clear and calm communication can bridge the gap between parties, whether it relates to romance or not. The author seems to not like to drag on misunderstandings, conflicts, or drama, but rather handles them quickly, which is a breath of fresh air and something that is sorely needed sometimes. There is a reason romance anime such as His and Her Circumstances and Mysterious Girlfriend X are among my favourites in the genre, and that is because the main couple, as well as the other characters, TALK to one another about their problems. It is as simple as that.
Certainly, the romance in this anime is cute and made me smile a lot, but the main appeal of this anime to me is the cast as a whole. The first thing Reira Ushio, the singer of the ending theme for the anime, noticed about "Kaoru Hana" was that there were no negative feelings coming from the characters. She said, in an interview, “Aren't most works filled with unpleasant characters? Sometimes the presence of a villain can make the story more exciting. But this work doesn't have those elements, and yet I thought it was amazing how it was such an interesting story that you could keep reading.” With how kind and supportive both Rintarou and Kaoruko’s friends are, it also brings me to the discussion of realism. I do not know at what point did thoughts around media started revolving around how realistic it was. Perhaps a reason would be that grounded characters can resonate with people, but even if everyone is super nice, or polite in the way that they talk, does that mean the story is not grounded in other ways? The characters may apologize a lot, and yes, many people do not talk like that in real life, but even in doing so, some of the characters felt more real than a lot of shows out there. Yes, seeing everyone be so kind to one another might be an idealistic view on human interactions, but rather than seeing a dose of reality in my anime, here, I would rather see a fantasy or exaggeration of reality, because reality exists outside of the screen. If I wanted to see some drama, I could literally go outside, and chances are, at some point in the day, someone would be mean and crass to someone else. Why would I not want to watch something pleasant or saccharine? It’s not like a lot of shows are like that these days.
The existence of parents in romance anime feels like a rarity, but when they appear, and especially if they are not used as a dramatic device, they almost always add to the charm of the cast. One of my favourite things in media is seeing parents treat their kids with love and care. I have definitely been in Rintarou’s shoes, not asking his parents for things, in fear of inconveniencing them and holding them back. There were a number of episodes in particular that got me very emotional, but one of them definitely took the cake. I have not really felt this way watching something since I watched Liz and the Blue Bird, which to this date is still my favourite anime of all time because of how much I related to the notion of holding people back, whether it be friends, family, or anyone close to me. I've always been a bit selfless, not putting myself first, so I could really relate to Rintarou's empathy and kindness. When I saw Rintarou’s mother being so proud of his son for even trivial things such as bringing his friends over to his house, I could not help but feel that in my soul. I could also see the effect that Rintarou’s parents had on his own personal values, and that screams good parenting.
When friendship, romance, and good vibes coalesce, that was what the cast in this anime turned out to be. From hating Kikyo High, to embracing Kaoruko and Subaru as part of the group, Rintarou and his friends came a long way, and it all got sparked from the winds of change that came from the unlikely duo of Rintarou and Kaoruko. The constant stream of communication, airing out the past dirty laundry, to spilling out whatever it was on their mind, everyone in the friend group was the biggest of green flags as you could imagine. Furthermore, Rintarou’s parents acted as an excellent support system for their son, which fostered the growth of himself, as well as many people who interacted with him. Therefore, I could see how much each character complimented each other.
This anime aired at the same time as two other shows from the same studio (CloverWorks), which were two other romance juggernauts in My Dress-Up Darling Season 2, and Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus, and while it was not the best looking out of the three, it did not need to have the snappy pace as the directing of My Dress-Up Darling, for example. The animation was still very solid throughout, and I was particularly impressed by the bright colours that matched the emotions of the characters, as I mentioned earlier. The pace was slow, sometimes adapting only a single chapter in an episode, and with that, us as viewers got more time to see the characters grow, and have their personalities get more layered, due to the way conflicts are quickly resolved. Considering this was the first full manga work (outside of one-shots) done by author Saka Mikami, the writing for both the manga, and now the adaptation, worked well in their respective mediums.
Out of all the romance anime I have watched, this anime might have my favourite cast as a whole. The characters grow together, support each other, and change each other for the better. The story pushes past its Romeo & Juliet setup and became something special, and all it took was everyone being nice, supportive, and understanding of one another. It is these earnest stories that really make my day, and as much as I like spicy stories and drama like the next guy, sometimes, I do need to have some water, or maybe, something sweet like a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Interestingly enough, this scoop of vanilla warmed my soul.
I hope we get more of this precious cinnamon roll eventually...
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