Kaito6

6/10

Surprisingly, I’m the target audience for this. There is emotional sincerity and warmth behind this story of two people leaving their home to find a new life somewhere else. As a 20-year-old student, in some ways this did hit home for me, to the point I slightly teared up in the end. Maybe I was a little envious too because I don’t really relate to the feeling of “home” like our main character does; also why the conclusion of her finding her way back home didn’t resonate fully. And while the story is sincere, the execution is stereotypical with traditional norms, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s ultimately not that interesting, and it feels like something you’ve already seen. [spoiler]Even the twist is like Your Name.[/spoiler] This criticism, however, is mostly reserved for the main narrative. The narrative didn’t delve much into the world-building and the imagery (possibly rooted in Thai culture?), and I don’t have any knowledge on this subject, but I think that’s where a lot of personal stuff for Garnt probably came into play too. Visually this anime is quite polished; I like the animation a lot (although there is the tonal inconsistency of the guy having more realistic/measured expressions while the girl is a lot more moe). But I think the backgrounds are very flat and the colors are dull, a more vibrant aesthetic could’ve helped to sell the sense of wonder. With all that in mind, an original anime is an accomplishment and also something this industry needs more of. I also hope Garnt ensured this project had a healthy schedule, and this could be a spark moving forward: community-led or influencer-led passion projects with proper funding and planning that would provide an alternative to the bleak industry landscape we have right now. 6.5/10