I enjoyed it a lot overall. Its biggest strengths come from its more unconventional characteristics: a protagonist (Banri) that’s a little more fleshed out than your average self-insert leading man found in a lot of other romantic anime and visual novels; a heroine (Koko) who, although certainly physically attractive, is presented from the outset to be a little, to put it politely, “difficult” (and consequently, perhaps, to some, a little less desirable than she perhaps might have otherwise been); an amnesia backstory that isn’t used as a crutch for the whole show, but instead as an interesting source of conflict; and a fast-moving, pacy plot in which something of significance happens in every episode.

The last few episodes do meander a bit more than those that had come previously, as it becomes time to finally resolve the amnesia plot. The meandering comes from said plot being wrapped up fairly comprehensively, however; the payoff is very much worth it, with some emotional final scenes and a satisfying conclusion to the whole run that gives everything a pleasing sense of closure.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the end, as it happened. The tone of the show is interesting; comedic one minute, very serious the next. It’s effective in making the situations depicted feel fairly down to earth and realistic, and a probably intentional side effect was that I spent the entire run wondering if things would end neatly or very, very badly, because there was the potential for it to go either way right up until the last moments. You’ve probably already inferred which way it went from my comments above, but just in case you haven’t, I’ll refrain from spoiling how it all ends for now.

There are some great side characters supporting the main cast. Protagonist Banri’s childhood friend Linda is a very likeable “other woman” throughout, for example, but the potential angst she could have generated is kept on a tight leash: it’s explored, and features a number of touching scenes (and one surprisingly sexy one), but it doesn’t force the show into a cliched love triangle situation. Instead, Linda is depicted as an interesting, sympathetic character in her own right who plays her role in the story of Banri and Koko’s love without derailing it.

Probably the highlight of the supporting cast is “2D-kun”, though. Initially introduced as the stereotypical glasses-wearing otaku character, 2D-kun repeatedly proves himself throughout the series to be a true friend for Banri, as well as exhibiting considerably more character depth than the usual “hurr, hurr, I like 2D girls” this type of character is often limited to. Indeed, he plays an absolutely crucial role in the final moments of the series, and his contribution here makes him a worthwhile — and, judging by comments on Crunchyroll, beloved — addition to the cast.

Overall, I enjoyed it a great deal, then, and thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for an enjoyable anime series with interesting, realistically flawed characters and a somewhat unconventional take on the usual romance formula. Well worth your time.

For those who missed my previous post on the subject, Golden Time is an interesting slice-of-life anime focused on the relationship between amnesiac protagonist Tada Banri and heroine Kaga Koko. I suppose technically it’s a “romance” anime, but there are elements of comedy and ghost stories in there, too, and so far it’s been a thoroughly compelling watch.

There are a number of elements contributing to this. Firstly, Banri is an interesting protagonist. While visually very much fitting in to the usual generic floppy-haired anime protagonist mould, his amnesia, while something of a narrative cliche, makes for a compelling hook. As snippets of his past are revealed over the course of the show’s run — both through him remembering them and through the explicit depiction of the “ghost” of his past life — we start to get a picture of who he really is, what he’s really feeling and, this being a show that very much enjoys a bit of drama, how these feelings conflict with how his current self is living its life.

Koko is the more fascinating of the two central characters, however. Far from being a typical tropetacular anime heroine, she’s a deeply complex character who is initially introduced as being a possibly unstable stalker-type whom Banri’s friend Mitsuo just can’t seem to shake off. As she and Banri get together, though, we start to discover more about her. The word “unstable” still applies somewhat, given her violent mood swings and occasional inability to deal with the world in a rational manner, but it becomes apparent over time that she’s not unstable just for the sake of it: it’s not her defining characteristic. Rather, it’s a symptom of something that runs a little deeper: her dissatisfaction with her life and her place in the world, and her difficulty coming to terms with living as an “adult”.

With two characters as complex as this making up the central couple of the story, you’d expect their relationship to be somewhat troubled, and indeed it is. This isn’t your standard, neat anime romance by any means; it’s not even the apparently-rocky-but-actually-still-pretty-solid tsundere romance you get with some heroines. No; Banri and Koko have a rocky path ahead of them, and things frequently comer to rather violent heads whenever Koko’s stress over her existence becomes too much to bear, or when Banri starts recalling things that are fundamentally incompatible with his new life. They have, so far, managed to stay strong, however, though not without some heartbreaking scenes along the way.

I’m about seven or eight episodes off the end of the run now, and I’m thoroughly hooked. I’m interested to see where it goes; despite its often light-hearted nature, it’s the kind of show that I can see ending with heartbreaking tragedy, though being unfamiliar with the source material — the original manga — I can’t say for sure whether or not that will be the case. I’m looking forward to finding out, though, and feel I can pretty confidently recommend the show to anyone looking for an interesting, enjoyable and emotionally engaging drama.

On paper, it’s a fairly straightforward slice-of-life anime. Protagonist Tada Banri is starting his new life at university, and in the process meets a number of new friends, including the obligatory harem of potential romantic interests. Of the main cast, however, the most interesting — and the one highlighted in the show’s opening and ending titles — is Kaga Koko, a strikingly beautiful young woman from a privileged background who has shown up at Banri’s university in pursuit of her childhood friend and supposed love of her life Mitsuo. Mitsuo, meanwhile, wants nothing to do with Koko, having surreptitiously switched universities in an attempt to get away from her, but she wasn’t about to let him escape that easily.

Central to the show is the developing relationship between Banri and Koko as the former tries to help the latter come to terms with the constant rejection she gets from Mitsuo. It’s a troubled and unconventional relationship, and doesn’t follow the usual tropes of anime romance stories, largely because Koko is such an unstable but delightfully fascinating character.

When Koko is alone with Banri, we see what is clearly the “real” her. She’s frank, candid and honest, and willing to open up about her feelings — though she’ll pretend that she’s putting on a front to garner sympathy from others. Occasionally she lets some obvious, genuine feelings slip, however, such as in one of the early episodes where she complains to Banri that no-one will talk to her because she has the reputation of being “that rich, beautiful girl that is out of everyone’s league”. Banri consistently gives her the time of day, however, and quickly falls in love with her; she rejects him, however, and puts him well and truly in the “friend zone” with her constant and emphatic reiteration of What Good Friends They Are.

When Koko comes across Mitsuo, though, her whole personality changes. She becomes obsessive, jealous and irrational. When she sees Mitsuo with the adorably cute Chinami, whom Mitsuo has taken a liking to, she is extremely rude to Chinami; Chinami, however, is a lot stronger than she looks, and brushes off the torrent of abuse she gets, even going so far as to deliberately try and befriend Koko in later episodes. Koko claims to Banri that the person she is when she’s with Mitsuo is the “real her”, but it’s abundantly clear that the complete opposite is true; the only person with whom she can truly be herself is Banri.

The other interesting twist in the tale, aside from the complex and difficult relationship between Banri and Koko, is the fact that Banri is an amnesiac. Prior to the events depicted in the show, Banri was in an accident that cost him all of his memories from before he turned 18 and left for university. He doesn’t remember who he is, what his personality is or what his relationships with others were like. As the show progresses, he starts to uncover things about his past — and I’m only a short way in so far, so I’m not sure how far it goes, but it has a lot of potential to be very intriguing indeed.

Interestingly, Banri’s amnesia is depicted not only by him struggling to recall things, but by a ghostly apparition of his past self that occasionally narrates short sequences. The ghost describes himself as having “died” the day of the accident, and that the current Banri is nothing but an empty shell. Again, things aren’t that simple, though, as amnesiac Banri starts discovering ties to his past — and the fact that people whom he thought were strangers and new friends actually have a lot more to do with him than he initially thought.

There are two big things I like about the show as a whole: one, that it’s constantly raising new questions and drawing the viewer in through Banri’s journey of self-rediscovery; and two, that a lot happens in each episode. So often with slice-of-life anime, things just sort of pootle along for a while and nothing really happens; this is fine, so long as the characters are strong enough to carry this sort of nothing-really-happens story, but Golden Time sidesteps this style of slice-of-life in favour of something that, while obviously the stuff of fiction, is plausible, believable and emotionally engaging.

I literally have no idea how things are going to turn out by the end of the 24-episode run, but I’m looking forward to finding out. I’m enjoying the show a whole lot so far, and cautiously recommend it to anyone looking for a slice-of-life show with a bit more depth than many other offerings.