Tsuki ga Kirei is a 12 episode romantic anime. It follows Kotaro and Akane in their third year of junior high. They don’t know each other but are placed into the same class. They do notice each other on the first day but both are too shy to really interact with the other. However, they’re both instantly curious and the way this is portrayed is actually really sweet and innocent. The anime has pair slowly interact with each other with chance meetings and opportunistic moments at first. It takes it slow, which suits how shy both of them are. The plot developments just feel normal. There’s not trickery or gimmicks here, and as a result, it’s charming and each of their moments are sweet.
Kotaro is quiet and mostly keeps to himself. He has his usually group of friends and is the president of the literature club, even though it looks like it’s only him in the library reading. He’s aspiring to become a writer, but initially doesn’t allow anyone to read his content. On the other hand, Akane is part of the track club and she’s not bad at it either. despite that, she gets nervous easily and has a habit of pulling out a small stuffed toy to calm her nerves. She’s not unpopular, just normal. Their individual hobbies lead to ups and downs in their lives, and of course, this will affect their relationship in different ways.
These are young middle school aged students, so it’s natural that a lot of their communication is via their phones using the popular app LINE. This initially does dampen down their interactions a bit but it becomes the charm of the anime and eventually a key point of difference that’s done extremely well. It’s quite good at showing the anxiousness of waiting for a reply and thinking up on how to reply. Then there is the whole rule of not replying instantly as you’ll appear to be too eager, but also don’t want to leave it too long. It captures those moments extremely well. Eventually, it brings to light how dating in middle school has its own set of problems. Couples may not want to let their affections for each other known to everyone, and a character said it best on how can they g on dates when their lack of money makes it hard.
It adds quite a bit of drama that is typical of romantic dramas so it is hard to say whether that’s good or bad. from contrived moments where the pair couldn’t communicate via their phones, to what was dangerously close to a typical painful love triangle, to the pain of graduation and moving away. It tiptoes the line but manages to create a big thing out of them and focuses more on the normal type of stuff that a pair of inexperienced loves in middle school might encounter. Nevertheless, since all of the characters are likeable (or at least, there’s nothing that makes you hate them), whenever one is inevitably disappointed, it’s quite sad and painful as you wanted them to be happy as well.
There is a point early on where it might be said that Kotaro and Akane’s relationship might have progressed a tad bit too fast, without properly showing off the build up of their affections. However, since this wasn’t an idealistic home run afterwards, it handles it well. And that’s the thing, not everything works out, but the pair faces their challenges head on, sometimes they solve it, other times they don’t. It’s believable. Their emotions, their actions, their expressions, everything feels like it could happen rather than just showing off the perfect romance.
Towards the season finale, Kotaro and Akane has to face many challenges, including the prospect of graduation and the very likely scenario of going to different schools. Everyone defaults to that long distance relationships do not work. While these challenges are something that is inevitable, it still feels a tad bit cliched with its inclusion here. Kotaro starts feeling the stress and has a few moments where his actions aren’t rational, and thus unlikeable. Surprisingly, there is a part where it focuses on familial support and how important it is. As Kotaro has experienced, he’s picked a hard road and it is made even more difficult if he doesn’t get any support from his parents. Thankfully, this changes and it’s just adds to the feelgood wholesome tone of the anime all in all.
There was a lot riding on the ending as it had the potential to undo all of the goodwill it had built up. Would it be the idealistic ending where everything works out? Or would it end more realistically where no matter how hard you try, you might not get the things that you want? Let’s just say, the finale manages to find a balance between the two and it was perfect. It gave a resolution to the current conflict, thanks to the vast majority of screentime being devoted to it. Then just as you thought it was going to end there, it gives us a quick recap, which was the perfect end needed. Yes, it’s a reflection of the perfect and ideal romance, but that’s fantasy is so sweet, mirroring everyone’s idea of the perfect romance, that it’s easily forgiven. And yes, it may have seemed too short and could have been fleshed out into another season, but then, this way was sweet too and was the perfect thing to cap the series off.
The other component that makes the anime so emotionally charged is the music. In addition to the opening and ending theme that will grow on you with every episode, it features a selection of other music which are mostly covers. These powerful pieces play at the perfect moments and amplifies the emotions of that scene. The best part about Kotaro and Akane is how sweet, innocent and tender their relationship is, capturing it beautifully and truly worth of being their young first love. The voice actors does a tremendous job of showcasing characters when they’re happy, when they sad and devastated. Also, don’t skip the ending credits and check out the different LINE conversations in each episode. They’re very sweet and has a deeper than it first appears.
There are shorts at the end of various episodes which shows off the other supporting or minor characters. It’s just little tidbits and scenes that would never have been able to make it into the normal episode. These are great and amusing, helping to flesh out those characters and making them feel more of a real person, rather than just a cardboard cut-out regulated to the background. A collection of these types of shorts also make up the OVA that was released with the Blu-Rays.
Overall, Tsuki ga Kirei is fantastic. The concept is simple and done many times before, and the pacing and writing isn’t spectacular. The episodes aren’t addictive but it somehow still hooks you enough with enough nuances that you’ll keep thinking back and mull over its events. It perfectly captures the awkwardness and the sweetness, of one’s first love at school. It does enough to keep you watching and wondering how things are going to pan out. Their problems are relatable, and while cliched at times, perfectly understandable. Each episode gets stronger than the one before. The ending is icing on the cake, it was the perfect end and so well balanced that it elevates the whole anime along with it. On par with Clannad (the game or the anime), this is one of those anime that’s so good that it hurts, whether it is from envy, jealously, satisfaction, or just having your heart melting from the idealistic, yet still realistic, journey of love.
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