
Tsukigakirei
a review by Tubasas

a review by Tubasas
Originally reviewed in my website, decided to share it here too! :D
Love is complicated. Definitions of love branches to branch as many people discover ways to love in numerous ways. Love can be irrelevant to that of common love and it can also be extraordinary. I found Tsuki ga Kirei to be one of the most realistic romance anime I've ever watched. It's on par with today's generation and time from the nervousness of confidence to interaction as philosophy and humans evolve jumping from century to century.

Your first encounter with the series is of course, the art style/animation. It is animated by studio feel. and I don’t really compare studios that much, just as long as the animation is at least average for my viewing.
The heavy use of CG/I in static scenes (such as 5 seconds of a view in a crowded street) bothers me a little, little, bit. I’m slightly used to CG/I being used in animation for quite a while now, but I’m sure viewers might be bothered to this as well. Just, I really wished they animated these scenes instead, but I do know in circumstances like this, there must be a reason why such as budget quotas and marketing and ‘alla that. So long you’re going for the plot, you’re not behind to enjoy this realism!

Characterization is quite fantastic than what I expected. Every character is distinct and unique within the series that sets individual sentiments between each and one of them. Sure, Azumi and Akane (the main characters) are both nervous about each other in the start, but you can see their development as the series progresses. The supporting characters are also done balanced and well and not just bystanders in each episode, scene or moment, ever. I see every character as having a distinct goal, motivation and their own conflicts in the series which made my comprehension quite easy, not fragmented and mono.
What I also noticed about the series, despite being very minor, is the ages of the main characters’ parents. How weird is it when you have an 18-year old child and his/her parents look like they’re still in their early 30s? I was amazed by this little detail they considered, because it’s ever true that your parents’ age are now in their elderly age when you’re getting close to college and adulthood as well.

It’s nice that they don’t have booming rock hell music set in this anime, otherwise it would be then suitable for a band concert anime. They take music here very lightly that it doesn’t make me stress as I watch it continuously. The most common music here is silence. They want to emphasize those climactic moments with clarity and highlight without a single distraction, and music is a common distraction. Pacing and usage of music in this series is unique to that of other anime, especially when it comes to romance anime. Despite having a low-key, underclass music execution, I still quite like it than having nothing but it’s not the most favorite kind of music out there.

Love is expressively portrayed in a different ways, but Tsuki ga Kirei nailed that one definition for me. It is focused on how love is defined for most people in this century. We start becoming nervous, anxious, shy at first.
It’s like both Azumi and Akane, the main characters in the series. They started low, shy and nervous unlike many other couples who started their relationship with a coincidence. For example, you have a relationship with your girlfriend since last year because you helped her getting unstuck from a deep, branchy ravine, or it’s because you cooperated and such. these are the commonly portrayed themes of romance that are shown to other romance anime. Tsuki ga Kirei is a special one to me because both of them have nothing to start with. They built their relationships together from Day 1 and they supported each other every moment, every day without a heart missing a beat.
They took the route differently, it’s like they were lovers from 2 centuries ago in a parallel world. They meet, date, shop and eat together ever so rarely. They don’t talk to each other ever so often in school or in public places where they have their friends around, except for one outstanding factor. They always talk through the power of modern technology, one of them being instant messaging, and when they’re purposely, coincidentally or one of the them decided to be with just the two of them alone.
That’s just how life and sociality works, it’s better to talk with someone alone, or reflect on yourself alone, where nobody is there to distract your feelings, ideas, confession and truth to one another. There’s always going to be one time of your life where you need to be alone for that specific reason, or you need to be alone with someone else.
What I stated might have been spoiler-ish, but this is such a wonderful loving anime. It’s greatly relatable to me especially that the target audience is your heart ❤, and cried numerous times just by how furious and climactic some moments are. It’s actually like you’re the main characters and you being taken to their story of love.
That doesn’t stop there, love also has its downsides from misunderstandings to assuming. Love will and always have conflicts no matter what, and no relationship is perfect out there. However, their conflicts are very different to a common relationship conflict. They boldly shift the climates in vacancy and indirect, never mentioning it throughout the series until that appropriate moment comes to.

Tsuki ga Kirei is like a reflection for my lovingly kind feelings, especially love. It’s unusually weird for me since Iyashikei anime, like my previous reviews are, mostly about the glimpse of everyday life in positivity and feelings/miracles preached about.
And just like I said, the anime is weirdly very real in my perspective, because I already felt these feelings for a very long time now, yet I haven’t had the courage to take it to the next level. The portrayal of the plot here is very relatable to today, especially for me, because I do these similar actions and had these similar feelings, misery and moments too. I wish I had the bravery of Azumi to take these into a gradual step-by-step path, but we’re human and we take things at a different step, whether it be inclined or bumpy.
To conclude this, I’ll give this a rating of ★ 10. Yes, I know that I’ve given a lower rating on the art style and a little bit on music, but what hindered my polarity is the actual plot of the series. It’s just fantastically portrayed very well that’s just memorable to watch both in heart and mind. I’d give this a go for any romance-loving watchers out there, your surprise to your loved one, or even as your valentine special.
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