Sasameki Koto

After watching Aoi Hana and others (not to mention Maria-sama watches over us), I thought I had a pretty good handle on the whole "girl's love" thing in anime. But this is the first time I've seen a shoujo-ai comedy. Trying to compare this show with Aoi Hana is like trying to compare wine with beer.

Sasameki Koto is the story of Ushio, an extroverted lesbian who is constantly looking for a "cute girl" to hook up with, and her large, athletic, life-long friend Sumika who is good looking, but doesn't fit Ushio's goth-lolita image of her future girlfriend. The internal conflict is that Sumika has a girl's love crush on Ushio that she has never been able to confess. But rather than taking a dramatic turn with lots of sobbing and meaningful glances, this anime plays the conflict for absurdist laughs. There has been at least one out and out belly laugh for me in each of the first three episodes. While the story plays off of a lot of traditional anime comedy tropes such as the cross-dressing student or the first kiss, Sasameki Koto manages to juxtapose these in new and endearing ways.

The animation style is fairly conventional. None of Aoi Hana's pastel watercolors here. The colors are bright, bold and well defined, approaching those of To Aru Majutsu no Index, but not quite so detailed. A few more short-cuts have been taken, but none really hurt the overall feel of the story. There's plenty of superdeformed and chibi work as well, when the animators want to exaggerate the emotions of a scene for comedic effect.

The characters are appealing both in their personalities and designs. The personalities aren't overly complex, but they aren't one-dimensional, either. As I mentioned earlier, Sumika is pretty good looking in an Amazonian way, and the other characters each have their own appeal. Ushio is a bit of an air-head who is frequently self-centered, but eventually she catches on. The supporting cast also have their day from the class' secret magazine model to the other girls' couple in the class.

The opening theme is a nice song with a nostalgic feel that seems like it would go better with Aoi Hana. It doesn't seem to fit well with the more energetic anime storyline. I get the feeling there's a Japanese or otaku in-joke there that I'm missing. The inline music is unobtrusive and fits the scenes so I consider it a solid efort.

The storyline is pretty episodic, and the characters haven't evolved much (if at all) in their personalities after three episodes. This could just end up being a standard school-life comedy with the only evolution being the love relationship. Kind of like Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, but with two girls instead of Yuuto and Haruka. But the individual episodes in Sasameki Koto have managed to set up some classic comedy that surprises even an old guy like me, so this is definitely a cut above NHnH in terms of story, even if Haruka is cuter. (update: The storyline does have its dramatic moments as well. The story takes its characters' feelings seriously, even as it makes fun of their actions. )

All in all, this is a pretty impressive school life comedy that just happens to be a shoujo-ai story. It isn't as slapstick and fan-service oriented (altough there are still a couple of sex-crazed nose-bleeds in the crowd) as a lot of anime comedy is, and that helps keep it fresh and appealing. The closest analogue for the type of comedy you get with Sasameki Koto is probably Hyakko, but S-K actually has a plot.

First time doing a review.
I watched the first episode of this, and it was pretty new to me. I have little experience in watching yuri-anime until recently from Saki (which yuri was literally shoved down your throat every few minutes, but I still liked it despite constant blushes here and there.... sorta, it didn't get hardcore or anything like that at least). I'm off topic.... I've tried watching Strawberry Panic and Kannazuki no Miko, I stopped after watching about 10 minutes into the first episode. This was different with Sasameki Koto though, I managed to watch through the whole way and was intrigued on a more down to earth (at least for anime) approach to homosexual relationships.

Storyline
I do find it odd that Kazuma is so open about her infatuation for cute girls, as one would normally think people would rather keep their preferences hidden; regardless, the sweet and tender relationship between Sumi-chan and Kazuma-chan is delightful, but depressing how Sumi-chan must bare with choosing to confess and possibly risk getting rejected as well as breaking a strong friendship, or to not confess and forever remain as a friend despite her longings.

Music
The opening song is purely beautiful, it describes the series quite well. Soft melancholy with a hint of bitter sweetness. The ending is nice, just not my type of song, so I can't really put input into it. The background music is nice and fits its mood.

Characters
I admit, Kazuma-chan came off pretty shallow in episode 1, but I read the manga after watching episode 1. All the way down to chapter 21, and I must say, there are many reasons for people's actions. I'll leave it at that. The characters will be well developed down the road.
Edit: Considering where the anime stops, you won't see parts where major character development comes in.

Animation
Hmm.... It's fluid. The colors are soft and relaxing. But I sorta wish that they drew Sumi-chan a bit better, I find her coolness/cuteness has been reduced a lot with the transition from manga to anime.

Overall
I personally think it is a decently made yuri-anime. Unlike Strawberry Panic or Saki, not every single girl is lesbian left and right, up and down, and all around. It takes place in a normal school that has boys and has its own complexities of unrequited love. I can say that it grows better as it moves along, although a bit slow pace. As always, if you have some kind of closed mind against lesbian relationships, just stay away from it.

This is an excellent story based on the Yuri Manga Sasameki Koto or "Whispered Words." It is foremost a story about love. Love, like in this this story, can be found in the likeliest places, but circumstances prevent it from revealing itself. More importantly, it is a story about friendship and how, even through the toughest of situations, they will lend a hand. A great coming of age story, with enough comedy that it blends well with the rest of the more serious plot. The story is wonderfully told, with a bright cast of characters that will appeal to a broad group of people. Everyone will have their own favorite. I recommend everyone to watch this even if you're not a yuri fan, if just to see a story told well.

I loved it. Its definitely a slice of life, which is rare as far as decent yuri anime. I only say this because Strawberry Panic and Kanna...whatever its called..they're a trip into Lesbian lala land. And as much as I like to go there, I prefer characters that are thought out. Whats different here is that of course we have all the cliches but they're more. And there is an actual story with an actual plot. Amazing. xD I just feel like they could've ended with a bang but they settled for a nice breezy ending. Even though there is lots more to the story. So if you're really interested, also check out the manga which is still going strong? Not sure but there is definitely a lot more.

The Sasameki Koto anime can be simply related to a marshmallow. It's fluffy, sweet, and quite frankly it lacks substance. A lot like the manga it goes at a fairly leisurely pace, which isn't necessarily bad. I find that often times yuri or shoujo ai is either portrayed as either light hearted or lewd, Sasameki Koto being more of the former than the latter (except for the perverted humor that arises here and there). Anybody who wants to see something with more than a pinch of romance, this anime is not where you should be.

One of the largest factors to making a good romance story is, as should be rather obvious, character development. And by this I don't mean what the creators have to go through in order to make a usable character, I mean the character's evolution throughout the story. In Sasameki Koto I feel there is for the most part, a serious lack of change within the characters. It is often said that people 'gravitate' towards one another, but I like to think that people 'progress' more than they 'gravitate'. Without this progression it is easy to say that the story seems to have a little bit of trouble getting anywhere. We start with our two main characters, Kazama and Sumika. Kazama is the somewhat airheaded 'moe' type of character who has an intense love of cute girls. Sumika on the other hand is the cliche tall somewhat reclusive girl who lacks the feminine qualities that Kazama looks for. The story is pretty formulaic: Sumkia and Kazama are child hood friends, but little does Kazama know, Sumika has had a major crush on her for god knows how long. Somehow these two are going to realize how much they love each other and all that good stuff. Throw in some gags here and there and some more character and voila, you have the Sasameki Koto anime. Although here I am being critical of this aspect, it can also be said that this sort of story pace can be rather pleasant depending on individual tastes.

Onto other aspects, I'll keep this short... I hope. The music was... well... somewhat unremarkable. It went with the story very well, but I can't help but feel that there was a lack of diversity in the tracks. The overall feel of the music is pleasant and somewhat ...wait it's just pleasant haha. I was actually surprised with the opening song, it was much more mellow than I would have imagined! Usually for a comedic shoujo ai the opening tends to be more 'moe' or upbeat like in Yuru Yuri. I must commend the choice of singer as Kiyoura Natsumi is one you can't go wrong with as shown in her opening song for Spice and Wolf (Tabi no Tochuu) and a few others.

The animation was... I really don't have much to say about it. The series didn't require much action, therefore the animation didn't have to fill the criteria that action anime should. Despite the inconsistencies in facial proportions (why is it always the faces that they mess up??) everything else was pretty much average.

I would personally recommend watching the anime and then continuing where it leaves off with the manga. Unfortunately, the manga just like the anime can have a somewhat frustrating pace of story.

I couldn't care less if a show is yaoi or yuri. What really attracts me to a show are unique characters, fluid storytelling, and strong settings. Sasameki Koto has the first two and the setting, although nothing like Ghost Hound or Hanasaku Iroha, is nothing to sneeze at.

What really impressed me is although Sasameki Koto has some "obligatory" yuri and harem elements (the main characters dress in a maid's outfits, go to the beach and pool, bathe together etc.) the show never stagnates. It's like the writer knew he/she had to include a certain list of things (Flat chested, pigtailed tsundere girl - check! Girl who is obsessed with certain food product, in this case pan - check!), did so, and then quickly moved onto creating a STORY. And what a sweet story it is.

The characters are living, breathing beings and not cardboard moe cut-outs. The plot, even when it strays into familiar yuri/harem territory, has enough original twists to never feel stale. I really liked getting to know the different characters and appreciate the show's humor. What could have been an angsty, melodramatic, unoriginal mess turned out to be a gentle, humorous story about individuals outside the realm of "normal" society, who are struggling with first love.

Sumika and Ushio are best friends. Sumika is in love with Ushio, but Ushio says that Sumika is not her type. Over the course of Sasameki Koto's thirteen episodes they make new friends, join a Girls' Club, and strengthen their relationship. The supporting cast of characters, while not very unique in appearance, have interesting and distinct personalities. No character has a great yuri identity crisis, and the only drama is from the usual ups and downs of teenage relationships.

If you want more smiles and less angst in your yuri shows, with average girls instead of moeblobs or drama queens, Sasameki Koto is worth watching.