Kimi to Boku (2011)
12 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Anime Reviews Tags: anime, Chizuru Tachibana, Elements Garden, J.C. Staff, Kaname Tsukahara, Kimi to Boku, Shun Matsuoka, You and I, Yuuki Asaba, Yuuta Asaba, 君と僕
Every once in a while, a show comes out that tries to document what it means to be in the prime of one’s youth. Sure, there are plenty of romance stories, but what about the essence of just being in high school? It’s commonly overlooked because it is not that interesting of a subject matter (people care more about the love-y dove-y stuff than the average goings-on), but J.C. Staff tried it once before with Azumanga Daioh, and now takes a stab at it again in the short series Kimi to Boku. Kimi to Boku follows the lives of four friends who have known each other since kindergarten – Shun, Kaname, and the Asaba twins Yuki and Yuta – in the day-to-day happenings of their average high school. It’s all about making new friends, going through puberty, wasting vacation days, and suffering through homework.
The Story
The premise is not all that interesting, anyone can see that. It does not have the loud bangs and booms of the aforementioned Azumanga Daioh but is instead quiet, subtle, almost peaceful. As I said in my review of the first episode at the beginning of the season, Kimi to Boku takes a little time to ramp up. As a viewer, I needed to settle myself into the idea that this show was not going to be pulling any tricks to get me excited. I needed to meet the characters and get to know them so I could find it funny.
Yet, like the American comedy series Parks and Recreation, Community, or the Office, each episode can also stand on its own, even in the face of the episodes having a chronological sequence. Plots from previous episodes are referenced on occasion but rarely reoccur, making it easy to jump around or take a nice long break between episodes if you feel, like I did, that the monotony of the lives of the Kimi to Boku characters needed the intermittent distraction of a seriously action-packed show for me to maintain my interest.
But the show is funny (like, funny for both boys and girls funny). Most of the scenes are based around young boys’ humor and while there are some life lessons, some deep moments, and romantic twists (we all know the drill), the essence of the show is pure and realistic hilarity. I’m not sure Kimi to Boku could have survived trying to fill 25 episodes, since it doesn’t have the over-the-top, borderline unrealistic style of Azumanga Daioh, but 13 episodes was enough to keep the plot light, the moments true, and the laughs coming. Maybe it could have a second season, but 25 episodes straight through would have been too much.
Grade: B+
Music
The soundtrack, courtesy of Elements Garden, is soft and filled with plenty of guitar-picking and light melodies, as would be expected of any comedy. It alternates between the background music in a cafe and in an elevator, but such is the life of a slice-of-life anime soundtrack, I suppose. Elements Garden, despite the number of pop stars they have composed for, is new as a group to the anime world. They’re currently making a name for themselves, having done two series prior to this one. You can see their most recent work in the music of the Winter 2011-12 series Moretsu Uchuu Kaizoku, which just premiered the other day.
Overall, the soundtrack isn’t meant to leave an impression, so it doesn’t (but OH how I wish it did). However, the show is littered with pop tracks, meaningful inserts sandwiched by well-chosen theme songs. “Bye Bye” by 7!!, the opening theme, is something I would imagine hearing on the radio with its upbeat tempo and enjoyable melody. Admittedly, the ending, “Nakimushi” (by Miku Sawai) is a little too easy listening for my taste, but it is well-chosen for Kimi to Boku’s genre. The members of the team who worked on the music knew what they were doing to assemble a soundtrack that is a little better than the average slice-of-life comedy’s.
Grade: B
Art
Here’s where things get a little tricky. This show is based off a manga by Keiichi Hota (that’s still ongoing and published by Square Enix for anyone who is interested). The animators, as per the tradition of anime adaptations, stayed true to Hota’s work. The colored images from that series are usually done in a very light pastel and the character designs are less detailed than the average artist’s. These sorts of designs leave very few opportunities for the animators to dazzle the audience, since it is their sole purpose is to bring the pages of the manga to life in a meaningful way. Because the show requires no action scenes and the story is meant to be average in setting, everything about the execution of the show feels understated. I’m grateful for the way the simple style allows the audience to focus on the script, but unremarkable is unremarkable, and there’s not much more to say.
Grade: C+
Overall view
Kimi to Boku is light, funny, and real. There is nothing about it that is set to amaze the audience and it certainly will not go down in history books as the hallmark of comedy or high school slice-of-life genres in anime, but it’s amusing and sincere in a way that will reach just about anyone who remembers what it was like to be at that age.
Final grade: B
