I’m of two minds of where to start this piece – with my reservations about Koi wa Ameagari no You ni, or what I liked about the premiere (which was pretty much everything). Truthfully all that good stuff really didn’t do anything to assuage my concerns going in, but damn – this was good. Really, really good – probably the best episode I’ve seen on NoitaminA in quite a while (though that isn’t the grand statement it used to be). I got just about everything out of that premiere that I could possibly have hoped for.
The elephant in the room here is unmissable – “Love is Like After the Rain” is a love story about a 45 year-old man and a 17 year-old girl. That’s a pretty big hurdle for me to be blunt, but I don’t want to categorically reject the notion that this can work – I mean, Manhattan is one of my favorite film romances. Not to mention, we have a truly elite director in Watanabe Ayumu and a source material that was nominated for the Manga Taishou award, and the whole thing is being produced at Wit. How could one not be hopeful under those circumstances?
So much, then, comes down to what approach Koi wa Ameagari takes with the premise – and we really don’t know about that yet (though the fact that this is a seinen may be cause for hope). Everything else the premiere could do to tilt the scales to the positive, it did. This episode looked fantastic – Watanabe-sensei is a brilliant director who can adapt his style to suit any material, and he’s paired with veteran animation director Shibata Yuka to great effect. And the soundtrack by Yoshimata Ryo was one of my favorites of the season.
Most importantly, the writing was razor-sharp and the cast immediately winning. The main stages here are the high school Tachibana Akira (Watabe Sayumi) attends, and the family restaurant “Garden” where she works. There are hints as to Tachibana’s backstory – a surgical scar on her Achilles’ tendon, a plaintive reference to her time on the track club from the captain. Tachibana is the recipient of the unrequited affections of hapless Yoshizawa Takashi (Ikeda Junya), but it’s clear her mind – and heart – are elsewhere, as depicted through a marvelous series of perspective shots.
The other half of the romantic equation here is Kondou Masami (Hirata Hiroaki), the manager of the restaurant. He’s a kind but awkward fellow who’s clearly not all that respected (though probably liked) by most of his staff. Kondou has a young son, Yuuto (Takeuchi Junko, anime’s first Gon Freecs), which comes as a shock to Tachibana (it’s clear by now that she’s sweet on Kondou). That doesn’t stop her, it must be noted, from being very kind and a little motherly (hmmm) towards the boy when Kondou brings him to the break room, but Tachibana is certainly relieved when she finds out Kondou is divorced.
For one ep, at least, this is not at all skeevy but actually rather sweet. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Kondou-san is played by Hirata, who I truly believe is the only seiyuu who could deliver this take on the character. He’s a wonder, a genius at conveying world-weary decency and goofy humor, and he instantly makes the manager a highly sympathetic figure. As it turns out Tachibana probably fell for him when he offered her a free coffee when she took shelter from the rain at Garden (seen in a wonderful flashback, leading up to Kondou’s adorkable magic trick). As for Tachibana, her crush is depicted in highly believable and tasteful fashion, something quite normal and understandable – if a teenage crush was all it ever was.
That’s not all, of course, and that’s where the uncertainty factor lies with me. Objectively this is wonderful storytelling – the exposition is subtle and often unspoken, the characters are winning and realistic, the jokes are actually funny and the production itself is top-drawer. The real acid test for me, probably, will come when we see how Kondou-san responds once this is all out in the open (and even as dense as he is and as absurd as the idea of a 17 year-old falling for him is to him, he’s clearly starting to figure it out by the end of the episode). It’s one thing to make a series about a teenager falling for a kind adult – that happens all the time. It’s quite another when the adult reciprocates – that’s where the real minefield is, but if any show is agile enough to avoid it, based on the premiere Koi wa Ameagari no You ni might just be the one.
Ronbb
January 10, 2018 at 10:08 pmLoving it…couldn’t take my eyes off at all… Love the subtlety.
Guardian Enzo
January 10, 2018 at 10:14 pmI hope I can get past “it”, I really do. Cause Watanabe is truly great, and there’s so much good stuff going on here.
Ronbb
January 11, 2018 at 7:06 pmTotally agreed…even when I was looking forward to this show, it exceeded my expectation.
P.S. Always enjoy character-driven stories, and when a character-driven show is good, the world seems bigger, and the air smells fresher…you just know it from the very first encounter :).
Snowball
January 10, 2018 at 10:47 pmThis is the most impressive first episode I’ve seen this season.
Snowball
January 10, 2018 at 10:48 pmThe opening made it look like a movie and I really like the ending theme.
HoTaRu
January 10, 2018 at 10:59 pmThis was my favorite premier of the new season. Absolutely spot on. I had reservations going in based on the subject material, but right away I was relieved. I didn’t feel creeped out at all and just found everyone and everything to be perfectly charming. It’s an absolutely gorgeous looking show as well and I loved the ending song so much.
sonicsenryaku
January 11, 2018 at 1:01 amI really only needed this premiere episode to do one thing for me and that was to convince me that Akira (seems this name is quite common amongst protagonists this anime season) possessed a heightened sense of maturity that would make her attraction to Kondou feel compelling beyond some silly crush. In other words, I’m glad this is not a reproduction of Reina’s drama from Hibike Euphonium where her love for an older man was partly to satisfy this image of deluding herself that she was beyond her years when she was still just as volatile and emotionally spastic as any maturing teenager (by the way, I, at least give the writing of euphonium enough credit in realizing how childish Reina’s love for Taki was). This show so far does not seem (emphasize on “so far”) to fetishize Akira’s growing affection for Kondou. I think this premiere succeeds in making Akira feel like this precocious young woman who’s adolescence sort of ended early for her (her injury preventing her from participating in the track club is used aptly to drive this point home). She’s the kind of girl who grew up too fast, a detail that this episode beautifully illustrates with some particularly thoughtful scene composition and framing devices. Akira is mostly framed as her path in life being diametrically opposed to that of her peers. Her tastes doesn’t quite align with those of other students and her pensive demeanor conveys a sense of contemplative rationality and focus that is reflective of a mature adult woman (although the ep doesn’t forget to remind you that she still has a tinge of adolescent innocence within her).This is very important in accentuating Akira’s character because it sets the stage to making us, the viewer, understand how an older man could potentially consider a relationship without it coming off as perverse. Watching Kondou quickly imagine himself in the place of Takashi and immediately comment on how silly his fleeting thought was similar to that of an elderly person who makes a throwaway line like “You’re the kind of person i would have dated if i was 40 years younger.” It’s a nice way of having Kondou acknowledge that Akira doesn’t quite feel like a teenage girl, which has been this entire premieres directive, while clearly understanding the position having such thoughts would put him in. It’s a moment in the episode that is handled quite well.
For me, I don’t it’s always necessary to jump into a piece of media always expecting it to line up with one’s biases and beliefs, or to perceive a story as losing its legitimacy because you don’t particularly agree with what’s on display. I think its importance for stories to be able to explore multiple perspectives that you may not be comfortable with, so as long as its able to comment on or illustrate something meaningful about the content it is exploring. Going into this series, I never felt like i needed to accept being comfortable with such an age gap between these two characters; I just needed the show to make me sort of understand why a romance like this would mutually occur in the first place between two people (assuming Kondou reciprocates Akira’s feelings) and this first ep succeeded on that front.
P.s I love Akira; she’s got this quiet confidence about her that i really respect.
hikari
January 12, 2018 at 7:43 amMostly agreed with your opinion so there’s not a lot for me to add…..it’s just I consider KoiAme your alternate TXB anime version where/if they suddenly focus more on the unrequited love/romance of Blue Rose toward Koutetsu, heck Kondo just remind me greatly of Gotou Patlabor with shades of Koutetsu’s personality superficially and they even shared the same seiyuu & mannerism.
elianthos80
January 12, 2018 at 2:30 pmTxB AU version… brain twin o’ mine lemme hug you :°D
sonicsenryaku
January 12, 2018 at 6:27 pmI think that approach would be efficient for this particular story as well; I certainly wouldn’t mind if that was the direction this series headed. However, I do think it would be more interesting to see this series attempt to handle a relationship with this kind of ethical conflict and what it has to say about the functionality of a relationship of this nature
Molly
January 11, 2018 at 4:32 amThere’s certainly a squick factor to it and it’s frustrating because the manga is on-going and from what I skimmed, the plot basically revolves around this set up. So without having a resolution to the plot, it’s pretty dicey. If they keep it all about her crush – which I regard as a coping mechanism for her track injury – and then have the manager reject her , it would be fine but if they go the gross route then I would be annoyed at the time I invested in it.
Then again it would still be annoying to keep the conceit too long since we’re dealing with a 40 year old who was married and has a kid. How much of an airhead do you have to be to completely miss her indirect advances?
Blend S had a similar problematic thing going for it but they mostly played it for laughs and even though the age difference was smaller (26-17), it was still messy. Then again, the show was also homophobic / transphobic so it’s not like it had that much going for it.
I really don’t understand where the fascination for entertaining underage relationships comes from.
Matti
January 11, 2018 at 7:38 amBefore I start watching, I must ask; How many episodes?
I really like the manga, but it’s still ongoing, and I’m having doubts if a single 11-13 ep run would do it justice.
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2018 at 7:44 amI’m assuming 11.
Dein
January 12, 2018 at 7:10 pmWhen I read about the premise, it definitely made my skin crawl, but I decided to power through it based on your seasonal preview and the glowing review of the first episode. And I’m glad I did. There are still things that can potentially be really off-utting depending on which way this story swings, but episode one managed to achieve an incredible level of balance in that regard.
Everything else was sublime and when put together, the show really has a certain vintage quality to it, and not just because of the character designs. If the visuals were a little less crisp and disregarding some smartphone stuff, I could’ve easily confused this show for something that came out as far as 20 years ago, or more. Maybe I’m being biased, but it left a great impresson on me all the same.
I am me
January 15, 2018 at 1:09 pmHonestly this is the only show this season I’ll pick up. Nothing else even comes close to interesting (either with story or comedy). Hopefully it pans out well.
I have several friends/colleagues in their late 30s who date girls in their early 20s and while it is a talking point I think its relatively ok. Men or women for that matter shouldn’t feel a stigma for falling for someone much older or younger than them IMO. The heart wants what the heart wants and inappropriateness is relative only to the society and times one exists in; it shouldn’t dictate what he/she or they as a couple want.
So sorry but not sorry Enzo, if an older man takes a teenager (age of consent is 13-18 in Japan) as his partner then that’s on them. She’s legally allowed to make that choice and he should not have to worry about the opinions of others. I’m not saying its a good choice or a bad choice and I can see it leading to young girls/boys being taken advantage of but the law states its ok, so if people have a problem with it change the law and then judge them for it.
Guardian Enzo
January 15, 2018 at 1:27 pmThat whole “age of consent is 13” thing is basically an otaku myth. Technically that’s the original law, but the Children Welfare Act effectively sets the minimum age for a sexual relationship at 18.
Blubber
January 15, 2018 at 7:39 pmIsn’t Japan’s age of majority 20, though?
Guardian Enzo
January 16, 2018 at 12:35 amMajority, yes – but majority and consent are two different things. Technically the law is 13 (though any locality may set it higher) but the Children’s Welfare Act prohibits “fornication” with anyone under 18. That effectively makes the age or consent 13 for non-sexual relationships, whatever the hell that means.
I am me
January 15, 2018 at 8:04 pmEven if its 18, if he’s a decent man and waits till 18, when he’s 46, there’s no reason to judge him. She’s legally capable of making that choice and he is too. However their relationship turns out is of their own choosing and making. I think judging him or any real world relationships with a large age gap as being any different from any other relationship is purely societal bias.
Guardian Enzo
January 16, 2018 at 12:39 amI think it’s valid to question whether an 18 year-old has the emotional maturity to be in a long-standing relationship with a 46 year-old. That’s not to say there can’t be exceptions, but I don’t think you can unilaterally dismiss any squeamishness based strictly on legality.
Molly
January 16, 2018 at 2:01 pm“If he’s a decent man and waits till 18″…. I think you mean to say if he’s not into statutory rape which you know it’s a crime.
UndeadCalamari
January 15, 2018 at 6:20 pmYour first impression convinced me to give this a shot since as others have mentioned, the premise turned me off initially. But this was a great first episode. It looked great, the OP is probably the best I’ve seen yet this season, and it overall felt very human. I’m still uncomfortable with the concept this show revolves around, but for now I’m willing to keep watching and see where it goes.