Tsurekano | Anime Review

Alright, let’s be real here. If anyone expected anything spectacular then damn, you must be fairly frustrated with how the anime turned out. I was one of those people who thought that Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta was going to be a half decent anime, but alas, I was wrong. And you know what? I do not think I’m mad about it.

The reason why I am not mad about it is because, round about the halfway mark; as we approached the latter episodes. I felt my attention span for the anime starting to dip away. Granted, Tsurekano has never been an anime that was able to hold my attention, but nonetheless, if an anime cannot keep you locked in for twelve episodes for twenty-three minutes at a time. Then you know that the anime itself has a serious problem.

Listless geek Mizuto Irido and introverted nerd Yume Ayai seemed like a match made in heaven, connected by their mutual love for literature. Unfortunately, their differences gradually grew, and they separated just after their middle school graduation. But, as if by divine comedy, the two find themselves reunited as step-siblings.

A rivalry begins to brew between the former couple, both unwilling to acknowledge the other as the older sibling. In an attempt to “solve” this issue, Mizuto and Yume agree upon a rule: whoever crosses the boundaries of siblinghood norms loses, and the winner will not only be called the older sibling, but also get to make a request. However, now that they live under the same roof, the lingering memories they share start to influence their actions—possibly rekindling the feelings that may not have been fully extinguished in the first place.

Let’s be honest, at its core, Tsurekano is about the shortcomings of past relationships, especially ones that take place in middle school. In short, Tsurekano is a story about Mizuto and Yume and their inability to overcome their feelings for one another because of their past relationship which happened in middle school.

We’ve all been there, your first ‘real’ but not ‘real’ relationship. Where you and your partner say that you’re ‘dating’ but don’t know how to act or say, so for the most part everything turns out to be rather awkward. However, despite that, one thing is for certain, the feeling that’s there is mutual. This is Tsurekano to a T.

For the most part, we watch Mizuto and Yume fiddle around, trying their best to deny their past and their feelings for one another. Something they cannot really do because, shocker, they are now stepsiblings so it makes it hard to move on and forget when you’re living together.

In short, the the characters were just not interesting enough and the story was not entertaining enough to make it worthwhile. I think the ending to the anime kind of made up for the rather average anime. In large part because our two characters finally acknowledge that they still have feelings for each other and while they cannot go back to the past. They can make the most of their situation and create journey. Once Yume and Mizuto realized this, you can tell that a huge weight was lifted off their shoulders. As shown by the two of them being no so condescending to one another. Although, the kiss at the end between Yume and Mizuto was a little awkward and not suited. But oh well, it is what it is.