Gin no Saji | The Anime with a restaurant title~

When you hear Gin no Saji and you know roughly what it translates to, then you would think it sounds like a restaurant name. It roughly translates to Spoon of Silver or Silver Spoon, which I actually think is a restaurant beside my old high school – fun fact.

Yes, you have guessed right, today we’ll be reviewing Gin no Saji.

Story:
Hiromu Arakawa has created the plot through envisioning the life of the protagonist Hachiken, who takes the initiative to enrol in an Agricultural school in order to be separated from his family. Although at first glance this anime does not seem to have a strong standing plot, though it is through its execution of the story that makes the story exceptional.

From the transition from city to country life, it’s obvious that that MC is way out of his comfort zone, but it is from there that he really develops as a person. The pacing of the show really helps with this as it really allows us to see his experiences with his friends and classmates while being able to acknowledge this personal development. The plot left nothing too overly predictable, and as a comedy, it really excelled. I think it really was the carefree nature of Gin no Saji while continuously exploring Hachiken’s development which made the anime so entertaining to watch.

Music:
The opening song “Kiss you” by Miwa is a sweet and carefree song, but nothing too memorable. The ending song “Hello Especially” is sung by Sukima Switch, who also sang “Golden Time Lovers” from the third opening of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I mention this because Sukima Switch chose to sing a country song for this anime (rather than rock), and no doubt, the song is catchy and fits perfectly to the anime. Besides that, the soundtracks introduced thus far are nothing too special, but they often give you a very warm countryside feeling when you hear them playing at certain parts.

Art:
As the anime is in an agricultural setting, the scenery is pastoral and soothing. Not to mention the use of warm and bright colours to emphasize the warmth and homeliness of the environment.

As it is a Hiromu Arakawa work, you will see similarities between Gin no Saji characters and Fullmetal Alchemist characters. The depiction of the characters stays true to the manga, and you’ll notice the similar reactions that Hiromu Arakawa likes to use. There is great detail and personification of animals so it is entertaining to see various expressions from these animals.

Animation of this anime seems to be the most lacking of all the categories because it can get choppy and awkward at times. The animation is especially important because it is tied to delivering punchlines or depicting hilarious scenes, so the humour is not always delivered appropriately or properly conveyed due to the occasionally choppy animations.

Character:
Season 1 of Gin no Saji is focused mostly on Hachiken’s development from being a gloomy and uptight guy to a more confident and relaxed one. Viewers are introduced to other characters and their backgrounds, but the anime has yet to develop any of them. I rate this section highly, however, because of how well Hachiken’s development is done. Viewers see Hachiken learning something different about himself, his friends, and his environment every episode, and in turn, his friends learn something different about Hachiken each episode. I can’t wait to see him develop more and more, until the moment he figures out what he wants to do in life.

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