What do you do when the girl you like moves in with your family but becomes even more cold and distant than ever? Or when you meet a strange girl at school who seems to take a perverse interest in treating you like one of her chickens? How about when your best friend’s girlfriend seems less interested in him than she does in you? As it turns out, for Nakagami Shinichiro, all of the above apply, and when that’s only the beginning of the tangle of feelings that surrounds you, it’s all going to take a bit of working out. Can Shinichiro and those around him find true happiness, or will it all end in tears?

Although I didn’t follow True Tears as it was airing, the myriad words of praise heaped on it by various bloggers during the course of its run was enough to ensure that once it had finished airing, I was ready and willing to sample the series in its entirety. And indeed, despite fears that I somehow wouldn’t get all the hype, it turned out to be an eminently satisfying experience.

On the face of it, True Tears sounds more akin to a soap opera, packed in with more slightly unrealistic drama than any thirteen episode series should be able to take, but the brilliance of the series lies in the way it handles and presents that content. The interweaving of emotions, the subtle cues that infer rather than tell outright, the dialogue and interaction between characters- all of these are so absorbing that we come to care about the situation instead of merely dismissing it. It’s almost impossible to go into further detail without discussing specific scenes and the massive spoilers they bring, but suffice to say that this is no mere superficial anime experience- each and every episode brings with it the desire to watch the characters and their relationships grow and evolve, no matter what the end result might be.

Of course, the key to making all this work is the characters, and whilst they may seem like a bunch of standard types- “male lead”, “childhood friend”, “strange girl”, “evil mother” and so forth- as the series progresses, they become more developed and multi-layered. Again, presentation is everything- True Tears isn’t all about pouring extremes and strange anime situations into every moment, instead we have a range of feelings from the subtly and understated to the more emotionally charged. The end result is that we care about the characters and their decisions instead of just mindlessly watching them follow predictable patterns.

Content aside, the visuals have an equally important role in True Tears, with the crisp and attractive animation helping to establish the perfect atmosphere- everything from the snow and the setting sun to a half-knitted jumper or Jibeta the chicken pecking at seeds is immediately striking and memorable, carrying with it the meaning and emotion of a scene. The character designs are equally worthy despite their relative simplicity; and indeed, the same can be said of the series’ music.

Final Thoughts

Immaculately presented and perfectly executed, True Tears is an absorbing tale that draws you from the start and takes you on a journey that will remain memorable even as your recollection of other series fades away. Forget all the chaff, the mediocre romance and lacklustre eroge adaptations- this is the real deal.

Tier: Gold

ADV turning Blu?
With the death of Geneon leaving everyone paranoid, further unwelcome news has come with the news that ADV are working through some “short term challenges” which led to certain titles being removed from their site. In the aftermath of these events, ADV seem to have deflected queries by claiming that they are preparing to embrace Blu-ray for their anime releases, but exactly what we’ll be getting from them in the future and in what format remains unclear.
Financial correspondent Mr Tibbs: Anime licensing companies are going to have tread carefully in the near future, because as we saw with Geneon, the wrong business decisions can be costly. Fansubs will always be cited as a problem, but equally damaging is the fact that fans are no longer willing to fork out on single DVDs when they can save cash and shelf space with boxsets- watching four episodes every two months or so not only damages the momentum of a series, but is hardly preferable if you’ve already seen that series via fansub.

As for the move to Blu-ray, once again care must be taken- the gap between DVD and hi-def formats isn’t as great as the DVD/VHS divide and so far only those with plenty of disposable income are going to want to invest in the newest toys. PS3 owners will make an attractive market, but most people are still content with DVD.
Claude says: In my time, we can fit hundreds of episodes on a single mini data drive.

Shigofumi, true tears licensed
Bandai Visual have so far made a name for themselves with their highly priced and content-poor releases and now two more titles have been picked up by them just weeks after they started airing in Japan- Shigofumi and true tears. Unfortunately, the plan is to spread these short 12-13 episode series across seven DVDs in a mirror of the Japanese releases, with each DVD retailing at either $29.99 (1 episode discs) or $39.99 (2 episode discs). The DVDs are to start being released in May, and will not contain an English dub.
Claude says: Hmm, I’d have to fight a lot of monsters to save up for those discs- I think I’ll spend my money on health-restoring items instead.

Hunter X Hunter to resume serialisation…again
The March 3^rd issue of Shounen Jump will apparently see the Hunter X Hunter manga resume serialisation once again, with the 25^th collected volume of the manga set to be released on the next day. There is no news on how long the manga will run before another hiatus.
Claude says: In my time, the HxH manga still hasn’t ended…

Manga ending serialisation
Several manga have recently ended or are coming to an end over the coming weeks; the titles in question include Blue Drop ~Tenshi no Bokura~, Wild Life, Sola, Towards the Terra ~Aoki Kōbō no Kiss~ and Ai Kora. For more information, see here.
Claude says: I don’t really have time for reading manga, busy as I am saving the world.

Star Ocean: First Departure
For those keeping abreast of the RPG world, the chance to watch some recently uploaded videos of the PSP remake of the original Star Ocean should not pass unnoticed. Although it’s difficult to really gauge game play from these short videos, the game has certainly had a graphical overhaul, with the addition of voice acting and animated cut scenes polishing it up further.
Claude says: Just wait until the remake of my game is ready!

• Ayakashi: Hmm, another series named Ayakashi- when will they ever learn that this name brings nothing about bad fortune? Apparently this time around, the Ayakashi in question give special powers to their hosts in exchange for draining their life force- sounds a lot like Mushi-Uta. The series has already started, so it shouldn’t be too much effort to try episode one…eventually.
• Kimi ga Nozomu Eien- Next Season: The Haruka route for KgNE- I’m slightly scared to watch this in case I find that my feelings towards the franchise as a whole are soured.
• Sisters of Wellber 2: I still haven’t finished season one, but even though Wellber is more mildly entertaining than good, I’ll probably stick with it throughout season two- if nothing else, it should be good for some unintentional humour.
• Rosario+Vampire: A series about a human boy who ends up attending a school full of demons (including a pretty vampire girl), this one puts me in mind of a cross between Karin and Magical Pokan, and based on that, it will probably provide light entertainment and nice character designs without being anything too special. I’m wary of Gonzo’s ability to animate anything these days, but it may be worth a look.
• H₂O ~Footprints in the Sand~: It’s another eroge adaptation, and what have we learned about eroge adaptations over the last two years, children? Yes, that’s right- they’re often disappointing, and so I shall probably steer well clear of this one.
• Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de ~They Are My Noble Masters~: In a world where harem series are ten a penny, and butlers ever increasing in their numbers, a series about a young man who ends up as the butler to a wealthy heiress and various other women hardly seems to break the bounds of originality. Another one to pass over, although the designs are rather pleasant.
• Major season 4: This is still going on? I guess tj han will be pleased, at least.
• Hatenkou Yuugi: Rather cruelly, a girl gets kicked out by her father and told to see the world, although happily she gets a male companion to journey with her- and as a bonus, both have magical powers which they use to help people along the way. I’m getting vibes of Kino’s Journey, Someday’s Dreamers and Hibiki’s Magic, so this one must be tried.
• Persona- trinity soul: A sequel to the Persona 3 game, this supernatural story is said to have input from a Chevalier writer, but even though it looks a cut above the average RPG adaptation, the general lack of quality in that genre makes me cautious at best. And since I haven’t even played the game yet, there’s no real reason for me to jump straight in and watch it.
• Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Dainiki: Need I say anything about this? I enjoyed the first season, and since the manga goes on forever there must be plenty of good material for another thirteen episodes. Another anticipated series.
• True Tears: Another game-based series with a potential for harem- I’ll be leaving this one alone unless early reports from other viewers are positive.
• Porfy no Nagai Tabi: At 52 episodes, they weren’t kidding when they called this “Porfy’s Long Journey”. Apparently this one’s a family show about a Greek boy travelling around Europe to find his sister- I suppose it might have some nice locations but if locations are all I want to see, I may as well watch live action footage of it.
• Shigofumi: A series about a girl who delivers the last letters of the dying (the titular Shigofumi), this light novel-based series sounds like it could be this year’s Shinigami no Ballad. I’ll be giving it a look.
• Minami-ke Okawari: I enjoyed Minami-ke, but it does seem slightly odd to be getting not a sequel, but an alternative version just one season after the original aired. The character designs appear to be closer to the original manga, but hopefully the content is on a par with season one.
• Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-: Even though I already know what will happen from the manga, I was really looking forward to this one, but the fact that the voice cast and director have been changed makes me a little wary that it won’t live up to the reputation of the first season. Well, I guess it shouldn’t be possible to make something bad out of Gunslinger Girl, so I’ll stay optimistic.
• Aria the Origination: Yes, yay, hooray- what more can I say to the prospect of more Aria? The manga is finishing soon, and that means that this will probably be the last season of the anime- with that in mind, I’m going to savour every minute of it. And I may as well watch it both raw and subbed this time, for no one ever died of a surfeit of Aria. Bring it on, punyu!
• Wolf and Spice: Since I’m playing Okami at the moment, the idea of a series about a travelling wolf goddess seems perfectly timed, and the title is beautifully evocative of all kinds of quality (although the official website “spicy-wolf.com” sounds like some kind of dubious takeaway operation). I hope it can live up to expectations.
• Noramimi: To me, this looks like the Japanese equivalent of “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends”, a show which I suffered through when my brother and sister had access to Cartoon Network. With no desire to revisit such days in any way, shape or form, I must steer well clear of this one.
• Hakaba Kitarou: This seems to be related to GeGeGe no Kitarou (which itself is still airing), but even though it has scored a place in the hallowed noitaminA block, it doesn’t stir any interest for me.
• Yatterman: A remake of the original seventies Yatterman, this series seems less likely to drag the concept kicking and screaming into the twentieth-first century than it does to flood us with seventy episodes of retro cheese. One to avoid.