How can you allow something you desire to be destroyed?

Yesterday wo Utatte is a series in which each episode seems to be a string of disappointments. From poorly written, unconvincing characters to a plot that remains largely meaningless for most of the anime. But let's start from the beginning.

Plot:

What can be said here? It's twelve episodes full of awkwardness and irrelevant scenes. Most of them could be omitted without the production losing any value. When something finally happens, it is immediately canceled or fixed. Every argument or misunderstanding is just a few minutes long and has no consequences. Introducing characters who appear in literally one episode, only to create a pretext for another misunderstanding, is the height of script weakness. I will discuss the characters themselves later. The plot seems to be dictated by the random appearance of Haru or any other character. For the most part, it is a collection of random scenes and characters who might as well never have spoken to each other.

Characters:

This is where the real problems and creative shortcomings begin. There is a clear lack of understanding of emotions and the creation of characters that can be described in one sentence without oversimplifying them. I will focus only on the main cast:

• Haru Nonaka - a character we know practically nothing about. We only know fragmentary information about her education and the fact that she fell in love with the main character when she picked up his important document. She has no convincing reason to have feelings for him. Her pattern of behavior is limited to appearing, doing something, and disappearing. That's all. She also takes care of a raven, but that's probably the only thing that distinguishes her from background characters in other anime. She is one of the culprits behind my title question.

• Shinako Morinome - a character who constantly blames herself, and that's where her characterization ends. She was given a significant amount of screen time, but completely unnecessarily. She is stuck in the shadow of the past, keeping the main character with her solely because the plot requires it. Her behavior repeatedly indicates a lack of interest in Rou, but in the end, she turns to him without any convincing justification. Her relationships, like everything else in this anime, are static, just like she is. She expected the main character to pursue her, even though she treated him as a friend and made it clear to him many times. After a relationship she did not engage in, she decided that Rou was more important to her. The intrusive young man, who mentally remained at the level of a preschooler, despite his declarations, believes that everything will work out for him. And ultimately, it did.

• Rikuo Uozumi - initially an irritating character who thinks that by acting at a fraction of his potential, he is unique and interesting. He undergoes a transformation, though it is unclear why. One can guess, but the anime omits any explanation. He is so bland that it is difficult to say anything more about him. Haru “sticks to him,” he desires Shinako, and that's all. At the end, he miraculously stops caring about the relationship he always wanted, and due to forced plot twists, he “falls in love” with Haru.

• Rou Hayakawa - it's hard to describe how much this character got on my nerves. He's a failed creation in every respect. Every time he appeared, I wanted to turn off the episode. Aside from his questionable taste in wearing a safety pin in his ear, a random passerby would have shown more intelligence. The anime, of course, glosses over the question of why he “loves” Shinako. The only justification for their relationship was his deceased brother and the woman's habits. This gives the impression that Rou only wanted Shinako in order to somehow surpass his brother. His character is based solely on this, so I don't think my interpretation is far from the truth. As for his personality, he is an offensive, egocentric young man who understands absolutely nothing. Every word he says contradicts his actions. How many times did he sulk because Shinako didn't want to belong to him? And what contributed to his ultimate victory? Nothing! He literally did nothing positive. He only demanded things from Shinako, and between scenes he was busy drawing, which served solely as a pretext for “development” and winning her heart.

It would be appropriate to say a few words about the graphics and music. The graphics were decent, although some frames seemed underdeveloped, especially those with close-ups and those showing a wide perspective. The music was good. I didn't mind the lack of an opening, and the endings were fine. The background music was pleasant, but what good is it when the most important elements of the production leave much to be desired?

Is it a mature and grown-up story?
I think that after reading this review, you can guess my answer. The series is one big misunderstanding. None of the characters have anything to do with maturity. Most school romances that have at least one or two more serious episodes fare much better in this respect.

End of the series and summary:
I will return to the question from the title of the review. The main characters allowed a girl who appeared randomly and an emotionally immature young man to dictate their feelings. This makes the ending of the series hit the viewer right in the face and realize that the whole series was not worth watching. I did not expect a happy ending. I myself love certain anime in which the main characters part ways at the end. However, the ending in the production discussed today exposes the meaninglessness of the entire series and raises the question: “Okay. I watched it. But what was the point of the whole series if everything that was built up goes to waste because of the creator's whim?”

Please excuse the poor editing, but this is only my second review.
Thank you for reading the review, and see you soon!
SaskowirGremory