Anime Impressions: Adachi to Shimamura

<p>Adachi to Shimamura is the latest light-hearted <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;seven-seas-entertainment-releases-im-in-love-with-the-villainess-light-novel&sol;">Yuri romance<&sol;a> anime this season&period; Despite the vast number of <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;anime-impressions-wandering-witch-the-journey-of-elaina&sol;">exciting titles<&sol;a> currently available to pick from&comma; it is the anime that piqued my interest the most as it succeeded in drawing me in with its calm elegance&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;yuriempire&period;files&period;wordpress&period;com&sol;2020&sol;10&sol;sweaty-adachi&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Adachi to Shimamura " &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center">A Different Type of Romance Anime<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Compared to so many other<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;anime-impressions-my-teen-romantic-comedy-snafu-climax&sol;"> romance titles<&sol;a>&comma; anime in the Yuri category is generally put on a higher pedestal&period; This is mostly due to the quality depiction of romance&comma; especially among youths&period; So far&comma; that aspect cannot be more true for Adachi to Shimamura&period; Instead of being forcefully introduced to an abruptly formed relationship&comma; we are shown the gradual build-up between the two girls as friends in the first episode&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>At first glance&comma; their relationship seems to be formed from a mutual apathy for school activities so instead of being model students&comma; they embrace the life of delinquency to skip classes and play Ping-Pong together&period; The episode also shows how the two initially met as strangers&period; Shimamura who frequently skips classes to stay on the second floor of the gym meets Adachi&comma; a frequent absentee who finds her way up there one day&period; After their first awkward yet highly realistic discussion about a cicada&comma; the two decide to continue meeting there afterward&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They both seem like outcasts at first&comma; but its later revealed Shimamura does&comma; in fact&comma; have other friends named Hino and Nagafuji these two have been friends for a long time which clearly shows in the banter between them&period; However&comma; after a short internal monologue from Shimamura&comma; it’s clear she isn’t as close to the pair as it would seem and rather prefers spending time with Adachi&period; Not only do her words support this&comma; but so do her actions as she is visibly elated when with her&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;wherever-i-look&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2020&sol;10&sol;Adachi-and-Shimamura-Adachi-and-Shimamura-Season-1-Episode-2-Adachi-Question-scaled&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Adachi to Shimamura" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center">An Accurate Depiction<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>The conversations between Adachi and Shimamura gives an impression of two individuals getting closer with each passing day&period; And it’s quite obvious that by the end of the first episode they begin to realize their feelings for each other signified by the shy looks&comma; roundabout compliments&comma; and slight jealousy from Adachi when Shimamura’s other friends are close&period; This dynamic is what I truly enjoy about the series so far as it showcases their relationship in a pure&comma; honest&comma; and simple way at a perfect pace&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While episode one through four introduces the characters&comma; and their relationships the series slightly changes tune from episode five as what started as a calm series got a bit more complicated&comma; especially once you start to notice some of the more prominent elements of the anime&comma; such as the many changes in visual cues&comma; as it reflects the thoughts&comma; emotions&comma; and actions between the characters&period; The episode then takes us by surprise as it shows that their tale may not be one of mutual love after all&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;wherever-i-look&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2020&sol;11&sol;Shimamura-and-Adachi-Adachi-and-Shimamura-Season-1-Episode-6-White-Album-scaled&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Adachi to Shimamura" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center">A Gradual Decline&quest;<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>The current episode &lpar;episode 6&rpar; sadly doesn’t do much to resolve the events of the previous episode&comma; perhaps due to it being solely told from Adachi’s perspective&period; The episode doesn’t introduce any new elements or events as it just features the same cutesy antics seen in other episodes&period; Adachi acts like a typical schoolgirl with a crush&comma; while Shimamura acts like a platonic elder sibling&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In fact&comma; I’d go so far as to say the episode takes a step back in progressing their relationship romantically&comma; as them being best friends will most likely change nothing&period; It’s also clear that Adachi is aware Shimamura might not feel the same way&comma; which is perhaps why she decided on not confessing to her&period; I’m not sure if the source material progresses at the same pace&comma; but I guess that they have to stretch out the content somehow&period; I just hope things don’t escalate to the point where the anime starts to replicate the very same type of anime its meant differentiate itself from&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;animenewsandfacts&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2020&sol;10&sol;adachi-to-shimamura-release-1024x576&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Adachi to Shimamura" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center">Final Thoughts<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Regardless&comma; Adachi to Shimamura proves itself to be a highly entertaining romance anime that doesn’t waste the viewer’s time with the usual typical and nonsensical anime tropes&period; What further enhances the viewing experience is the anime’s crisp and beautiful&comma; yet simplistic animation style which perfectly matches the simplicity of its characters&period; Couple that with its excellent soundtrack&comma; and the series sets a tone quite unlike any other romance anime this year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>If you haven’t seen Adachi to Shimamura&comma; its available to stream right now on <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;funimation&period;com&sol;shows&sol;adachi-and-shimamura&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank"><strong>Funimation<&sol;strong><&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Have you seen Adachi to Shimamura&quest; What do you think of my impressions&quest; Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;