[anime review: kimi ga nozumo eien]

storyline
narumi takayuki is your average high school student who has a crush on mitsuki, a close friend and the school's swimming sensation - that is, until he receives a profession of love from another friend, haruka. initially agreeing to go out with the timid haruka because she's best friends with mitsuki, over time narumi develops feelings for her, until one day tragedy strikes, and haruka is left in a coma.



blaming himself for haruka's state, narumi goes into a downward spiral of self-destruction, dropping out of high school and becoming unmotivated in life. enter mitsuki, where she helps narumi get back on his feet, and the two develop feelings for each other over time. three years passed, and just when narumi plans to move on with his life, he receives a call from the hospital.

haruka has awaken.

review
this anime is pretty intense. there is none of the 2-dimensional characterisation often seen in most romance animes. kimi ga nozumo eien (kgne) draws you in, it makes you empathize with its characters, and you cant help but feel sorry for each and one of them.

it follows the feelings and thoughts of narumi, and the choices he must make for love. it potrays a young adult in conflict with himself, having to decide who it is that he loves: mitsuki, the girl who has stood by him for 3 years, or haruka, the girl he lost so long ago. at the same time it potrays mitsuki as someone who's seemingly strong, but deep down inside she's just as unsure of what the future holds for the both of them.



as it often is with life, in the end, there is no clear cut answers, and you will find yourself taking sides as to who narumi should have ended up with. i should know, i found that michelle and i both thought differently on who should have been the one. the animation is good, and often times it was enough just to see tears in the closeups of a characters eyes to get the message across. that's how intense this series is. also, this anime has a few sex scenes, but unlike in some anime where it spoils the show, in kgne it does nothing but enhance the realism. sex happens in relationships, and kgne shows us the good and bad that can come out of it. sex isnt the focus, but it's certainly adds to the realism.

torrent
this anime is available on bittorent, but it stands at a whopping 2 gigs for 14 episodes. watch it, you wont be disappointed. final rating: 8.5/10

torrent file here

for those not familiar with bittorent, check this out.