Ikoku Nikki is one of the best anime I've ever seen. Without saying anything else, I'd recommend anyone to just go watch it and experience it for yourself, but I will happily gush about it at length anyway.
From the very first episode, what stood out to me is the fantastic directing. It starts by a teenage girl (Asa) and an older woman (Makio) living together, just exchanging casual banter. The show only reveals afterwards that Makio is Asa's aunt, and she lives with her because both her parents suddenly died in a car accident. This choice to start in the middle makes the gut punch even harder, and it isn't the only way the directing plays with your emotions.
The show uses the desert as a metaphor for loneliness, which in itself is already a strong visual. But later, blank pages of a diary that Asa was told to keep stare back at her, and then they turn into lines of sand in that same desert. It's such a beautiful use of animation as an art form, just the right amount of artsy that truly gets me going.
Makio and Asa are the main characters, and they are both really strong ones. Asa is tragic from the start, but she is such a goofball that you cant help but laugh at her sometimes, while still being tugged at your heartstrings about her plight. Meanwhile, Makio is the ultimate introvert, truly unequipped of raising a child, and aside from that figuring out how to deal with losing a sister that she hated and got estranged from. Yet, she tries to show Asa kindness, in her own way, even if true love is hard for her.
They are far from the only characters in the show. Almost every side character has their own things going on. Sometimes it's about bullying, sometimes it's about romance, and yet other times it might be about ambition and the problems that come with it. Everyone is just getting by, and while everyone's struggle is different, ultimately it feels like nobody is really alone in the fact that they struggle.
All these things just make it a good anime, though. I could talk longer about every detail I liked, or mention the subtle but beautiful soundtrack, or the dialogue. But none of that tells you why instead of a good anime, this is my favourite one.
Four weeks into airing, my father suddenly passed away. And then, Ikoku Nikki changed from a good show with objective qualities to something real. Gut punches turned into knives, and weird details suddenly became very relatable. The way she words her texts about her parents dying to her friend right after it happened - very curt, official, because you're not ready to show emotion yet. The way random things make you think about it. How grief can get to you in the most random of moments I'm not Asa, I'm a 27 year old guy, and I lost one parent, not both. Still, it felt real.
My dad was a painter. He hated talking about his work. Something along the lines of "If it could be said with words, you wouldn't have to make the art". Ikoku Nikki is kind of the same. This review might be lengthy, but no words will tell you how it feels to watch it. It also has it's own things to say about art and expression - but I don't want to deconstruct that. It's better to just experience it.
Seriously, go watch it already. Again, if you have to.
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