Kokoro Connect

*Fanfare plays*

Please rise for the arrival of the Kokoro Connect review!

Name: Kokoro Connect

Japanese Name: ココロコネクト

Air Date: July 8 2012 – September 30 2012

Studio: Silver Link

Episodes: 13

PLOT

The five members of the Cultural Research Club – Taichi Yaegashi, Iori Nagase, Himeko Inaba, Yui Kiriyama, and Yoshifumi Aoki – encounter a bizarre phenomenon one day when Aoki and Yui switch bodies without warning. The same begins to happen to the other club members, throwing their daily lives into disarray.

At first the five students find some amusement amidst the confusion, but this unwarranted connection also exposes the painful scars hidden within their hearts. As their calm lives are shattered, the relationships between the five students also begin to change…

At long last, here is the review as promised! I’m pretty proud that I got it done this week so that’s a good reason to celebrate ＼(^o^)／ it’s never good to wait or rush!

I know that pretty much everyone was looking forward to this series but to be quite honest with you guys, I didn’t even want to watch this at all. I wasn’t excited so to say. Although Kokoro Connect initially interested me with the plot, I still wasn’t excited. I guess that’s what I get for picking out of a hat… I’m not joking. I literally did pick it out of a hat xD

First Impressions

I’m BORED. And confused. I really feel like giving up at this point because I’m just not interested. But I can’t suddenly stop watching this; once I start something, I have to finish it. Leaving things unfinished never sits well with me! The idea of swapping bodies is interesting though. Swapping bodies would be pretty cool if you think about it. If I swapped bodies with someone famous then you could imagine all the mischief that I’d be doing! I’d like to be the Prime Minister or the President… that would be a fun experience (^_^)

These characters have a close bond and I like how their friendship is portrayed. My favourite character at the moment is Taichi, he’s such a selfless person it’s unbelievable! He does things for others and puts others before himself. Himeko is cold compared to the others but deep down, she’s a worrywart ＼(^o^)／ I don’t understand how some people don’t like her… you people are insane.

HIYAAA! And then, there was a karate chop xD

This body swapping business has something to do with a Heartseed. I know that because one of the teachers at their school is possessed by one Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）le gasp! Oh the shock of it all.

Anyway, they’re such a lively group and it makes me happy just watching their comical interactions… does that sound weird? I bet it does. Then just ignore what I said right now. Otherwise, I shall hypnotise you into forgetting…sorry, I’m bad at threats! I’m a nice person at heart, honest!

Midway Impressions

There’s a lot of boob groping in this. When Taichi swapped bodies with Iori the first time round, he immediately grabbed her boobs. Enough already! I don’t want to talk further, it’s so embarrassing \(//∇//)\!!!

Hahaha! I love this group, they’re all different from each other but you know what they say, opposites attract! Yoshifumi and Yui are perfect for each other, Yui just won’t admit it but she has androphobia so I can understand why she doesn’t like men. Yui was almost raped by a man and ever since that incident, she’s been scared by men. It’s a terrible experience that no girl should go through. As a girl myself, I would frightened as well if I ever went through that ordeal. She’s only told Taichi this so everthing remains a secret from the others. On the other hand, Yoshifumi is persistent about Yui but it shows that he’s dedicated. He only loves Yui and it’s just so romantic ヽ(*´ー`*)ﾉ that’s a real man, take notes fellas. You only go for one love!

Iori is so innocent it’s adorable! She’s so cute, I can understand why Taichi likes her but he better step up his game because a classmate is out to get her too… and this classmate is a girl urm, no thanks. I don’t want a girl loves girl anime please. Oh don’t worry, I’m not against it, it just seems weird. I’m glad that Taichi and Iori admitted their feelings for each other though (๑´ლ`๑) oh and Iori does the most funniest thing ever in episode 7:

Iori: “Say Taichi…have you ever had the urge to break the tension when everyone’s acting really serious?”

Taichi: “Not really. Don’t tell me…”

Iori: “There was a quiz this morning, so everyone was on edge. And suddenly I had an urge to shout…”

*Flashback to the test in the morning. Iori is writing at her desk when she pushes out her chair and jumps in the air.*

Iori: “Yahoo!”

How cute ﾌﾟｯ(※థэథ)∵.*.∵

I never realised how evil Himeko is. She teases her friends a lot and punishes Taichi quite often. I can see why she does this; she’s only trying to help and protect her friends. And yeah even if she doesn’t trust them much, I can still see from her point of view. It’s a frustrating situation so it’s only natural to worry and stress out. Just like me and my studies *pouts* I wouldn’t like that to happen to me and my friends. I know it would definitely ruin our friendship.

At this point, Heartseed is really starting to make my blood boil ( ಠ_ಠ) I shall refer to Heartseed as it. It’s doing all of this phenomena just for entertainment. That’s sick. How could it ruin such a wonderful friendship? Then again, in my opinion I think Heartseed is doing all of this to make the five characters discover their true selves. My question is this, does it have to do this in such a twisted way? Aren’t there other ways to help them break through the barriers and be true to themselves? So many questions for this one situation causing one hell of a mess.

Overall Opinion

Kokoro Connect is best described as unique. It does not follow the plot of traditional romance anime, but instead adds its own splash of colour to what could have been considered overused. The first arc sets the story off with the odd phenomenon of body switching amongst the five main characters. Subsequent arcs deal with various supernatural occurrences including a release of all desire and a manifestation of one’s past self which were all quite intriguing and entertaining.

While the events in Kokoro Connect are obviously not realistic, it lead me to think “what if?”. Imagine suddenly being thrown into a mess of body switching. Everyone has their own darkest secrets, desires, painful memories and insecurities. Now, throw in the condition that four other people have access to all of the above at any given time. These people are close friends…but can they be trusted? Would you want them to know about your past? Your thoughts? Your secrets? The answer is probably some things are better left unknown or HECK NO.

In addition to a superb cast that really brings life to the characters, Kokoro Connect realistically displays how a person would react when facing situations where friendships are threatened. It takes a concept that may sound lighthearted and shapes it into something deeper- even deeper and more complex than love ties that exist elsewhere in anime which is saying quite a bit. I could see when their friendship begins to go downhill and it’s done in a subtle and realistic way.

SPOILER: Himeko begins to develop feelings for Taichi and confesses to him only to get rejected. She then swears that she will not lose to Iori and will fight with her fair and square. Meanwhile, Iori begins to question whether she really loves Taichi or not. SAY WHAT?!

What are you scheming now Himeko?

Apart from the deep and complex development, the animation in my opinion was so-so. It was good but not as good as the other anime series that I’ve been watching recently. It seemed light if you compare it with other series but I was still happy with it.

Overall, Kokoro Connect was a beautifully painted story of hardships, overcoming one’s past and the friendship that keeps everything together. Certainly something to watch if you’re a real hardcore otaku. What I’m worried about is this series being forgotten… KEEP ON WATCHING! SAVE IT IN OUR MEMORIES! What to watch next? I fancy a little bit of cuteness so I’ll see where that leads me (^^)

And just a bit of extra information, there will be extra episodes of Kokoro Connect due to be released in 2013. It’s not a new season but it kinda rounds things off from episode 13. That make sense? I will update this post when I’ve watched them though so don’t worry!