Iroduku: The World in Colors

I feel that it’s safe to say that all stories in some essence are contrived. I mean these are works of fiction, fake stories concocted by a writer/s imagination. From characters, settings, plot conventions, conveniences, and anything else under the sun, the writer has full control to manipulate them however they wish. Of course this is only looking at a work in a very reductionist point of view. Because even if they are contrived, most don’t give off the air or feel of being one. Due to the fact of the creators embellishing their stories that makes their characters more compelling, thesettings having a sense of place, and for the plot to come off as more “naturel”. Why is all this important? Well because Irozuku seems to be in conflict with two different elements, with one being the tale of self growth as a character and the other being a magical time travel romantic melodrama. From the start off it’s easy to see that there was a good amount of effort put into the visuals of the show. With a show with the name color in its name, it does make sure to bring it to the screen with a vibrant color pallet being applied to almost everything. However sometimes the vibrancy doesn’t work in it’s favor when it comes to the characters as they come of as glossy making them at time look a bit plastic like. What also doesn’t help for their characters is their designs, at least their faces. While i’m kind of fine with most shows and their minimalist design of the faces this show takes a it a small step more that ends up being to far. With the nose being far to small, and thanks to the glossy look of the show almost non-existent, and that could also play in part with now the eyes looking a bit far apart from the face that they start to look like fish people. Anyway the main story is about Hitomi, a girl from the future, where magic is commonplace and not the type where technology is advance that it’s like magic, but actual magic. Due to her very strained relationship with her mother, she has lost the color in her life. I don’t mean in a metaphorically melancholic way, but she has honestly become monochromatic colorblind. Then her grandmother comes and has some inkling of how her granddaughter feels and then she just sends her to the past, after which this series of events happen. Hitomi wakes up in some guys empty room, she “secretly” leaves but forgets her earing, she is seen by some people who happen to be the friends of the guy living in the room, she realizes she lost her earring, she finds the guy who lived in that room with her earing, and finally the guys drawing are the only thing that Hitomi can see in color, and mind you that this is just the first episode. It’s not all the small conveniences that are the problem, but how they constantly stack up on one another that makes them so forced and so contrived. Events like these happen every once in a while in the show, and across multiple episodes that it is easy to be taken out of the experience that it is trying to sell. Now i’m not going to get into the whole time travel thing since that’s a whole beast i don’t care enough to go into it, other than it’s just kind of dumb. The magic i don’t mind as much and i’m fine having it be somewhat ambiguous. However it’s obvious how these are used as plot devices and probably the main vehicle why so many parts of the story just feel so forced. It just leaves lingering questions of why the creators of this work would go to such lengths to create such extraneous plot lines for a show about personal growth. Sure this is an anime original and it was trying to be original in its premise from other derivative Japanese high school anime. But that’s just how far they went, only the premise. Since outside of the whole magic and time travel thing all that’s left is a dull school romantic melodrama. None of which are bad elements but the show does nothing to make them work in its favor. There’s not much about the romance that makes it really endearing or compelling. Especially with how all the characters are “coupled up” with the main couple, the childhood friends, and the other two. None of them are in actual relationships with each other but the show still makes a point to make it overtly obvious. Even when there’s romantic conflicts which make up most of the melodrama portion. Most of it is just eye rolling and annoying and makes me internally scream, "get on with it already"! These problems probably had more to do with the characters themselves. There’s not really much to them when it goes to characterization and personality since it’s rather basic and on the surface and the few who do have some character development, it’s also rather basic and isn’t really that well done. There’s not much about them that makes them really compelling. Even the main character and her developing from her angst into a better person in end is still a dull character. Now the whole show isn’t that bad. The theme of self growth is rather consistent across the show and it does have moments that are rather good and touching. It even hits a really good stride during the last two or three episodes, even if it’s undermined by more plot contrivance. The production value is fine even if there are some poor decisions with the directing of the show like when it the POV of Hitomi but from her perspective she can still see color and then a few seconds later it turns to monochrome to make a point that she’s color blind in case it wasn’t obvious enough times. In the end there’s not much that is worthwhile about this show. With a cast of just boring 2-dimensional characters. A plot that could have gone down a more simpler road while still maintaining it’s core theme, but opted for a more convoluted yet easily convenient one. There’s not much that hides the intrinsic contrivances of the story. Maybe the show should have upped the plastic look of the characters so the writing could have something to match with.

Alright P.A. Works, what've you got up your sleeve this time? Let's see...can't see colors; she's colorblind, that's kinda interesting. Magic, sent back in time...ok, a time traveling series. Could pose some problems, but I'm sure it won't bite them in the ass. Hopefully. Shinohara Toshiya as the series director. Why does that name sound familiar? Director of...NagiAsu? Oh goddamnit. Story: In a version of Japan where magic is prominent, Tsukishiro Hitomi watches from afar at fireworks that she used to watch with her mother, only to see black and white. All color is lost in her vision, and the world she lives in exists in anashen gray. Her grandmother, Kohaku, comes up to her and really without word or warning, sends her granddaughter back in time to the time when she was a student sixty years in the past. It's here where Hitomi is forced upon an older world in hopes to help her and with the help of her grandmother's younger self, restore color to her granddaughter's world. The mantra of P.A. Works and the company's main selling point are the original works they manage to pump out each year, hardly doing any actual adaptations of light novels or manga in favor of original stories. Irozuku appears as the latest in the company's lineup with some very mixed results. The story focuses on Hitomi and her journey to break out of her shell, capitalizing on the themes on how important people are in our lives and that as long as you have someone close to you, you're never alone. A simple plot with enough punch and potential to grant the viewer an emotional and powerful journey when done well. But this is kind of the fault line where Irozuku borders on 'has potential' and 'wasted potential'. The setup with a group of friends of mixed genders almost always has some kind of romantic subplot going in the background, which given the director's history of NagiAsu was assuredly guaranteed. While Hitomi is certainly at the forefront of the majority of the story, what ends up being a lacking component is how the rest of the characters around her are formulated as characters. The story lumps up every one or two of her friends together for a character arc, showcasing their respective ups and downs in their personalities to Hitomi so that ultimately everyone grows as people. Issue here is how uneventful everything feels. The show never seems to reach a true emotional high point that makes it possible for me to give a damn, instead choosing to have several smaller bumps that little amount to a few shed tears instead of true emotional breakdown, a shame considering the validity of one given some of the cast's problems. This problem ends up bleeding into Hitomi as well since while yes she does have significant change, it feels subtle enough to almost not matter, had it not been for the ending giving us a proper epilogue to the entire story. Romantic subplots also plague this story (and many other of P.A.'s works), resulting in an expected, yet also very lukewarm result. I don't understand why they thought that having a romance in a story where a girl is sent back 60 years in the past only to assuredly go back by the end was a good idea to begin with. Honestly, the show could've just not made it so that there was any romance between the characters and it would almost assuredly have the same impact. I actually feel like the show was constricting itself with it because it's like "Oh, we HAVE to have this tragic romance where they can't be together for tension" instead of just having the entire group just be really good friends. The fact that it doesn't really go anywhere either does make it a harmless add-in, but also raises the question of what the point of having romance was to begin with. Story-wise, the show's only true, major upside lies in its ending where everything is wrapped in a neat bow, glorifying the journey as an emotional rollercoaster of emotions. The embellishment is kind of unreal for a good majority of the meandering that happens in the plot, but it serves to give the story a satisfying conclusion that it otherwise wouldn't have given the fact that it puts Hitomi's entire character arc into perspective. It's probably the only aspect of the story that I like, which if nothing else, gives me hope that 'Hey, at least P.A. can do endings now'. Characters: Hitomi herself is a depressing character, moping around for a majority of the plot due to her shy and walled-off nature where she's afraid to inconvenience people, hates her existence as a mage, and bears the burden of the conflict that she had with her mother. Despite a potential breeding ground for growth, ultimately I don't really like Hitomi as a character. It never feels like she's truly at the forefront of the story despite all of the other characters making her so. She definitely has her moments in the spotlight where she does take initiative and acts on her own accord to not only better herself and hone in her qualities as a mage, but the majority of her character just doesn't feel like she does anything meaningful due to her innately shy and soft-spoken nature. Kohaku is the only other character that I feel has any real moments in the spotlight. As Hitomi's grandmother de-aged sixty years, Kohaku serves as the spunky and outspoken character who loves magic, the complete opposite to her granddaughter. While Kohaku doesn't really get a character arc herself, a lot of what she does serves to make the plot happen, showing us the amount of work she puts in to better herself as a mage and takes responsibility of what her older self has done. The rest of the cast suffers from honestly, not being all that memorable. Chigusa, Sho, Kurumi, and Asagi all have their moments in the spotlight, but never to the point where their existence is validated enough beyond a part of the whole that is the 'group'. Their respective claims to fame exist for maybe an episode or two at the most, which I feel is a shame considering the potential for this show. The only standout character of 'The Group' is Aoi Yuito, an aspiring artist who while has a character arc in line with Hitomi, also suffers the same problems as her being that his innate character traits restrict the potential that he has. Romantic subplot also makes his growth feel a lot less genuine than it could've been. Art: If there's at least one thing that I love from P.A. Works, it's just how much they love their artwork. At least for a majority of their projects. Characters are drawn in the signature P.A. style with a bit more care put into them compared to Kuromukuro or Shirobako of projects past, and the background and panning shots rival that of KyoAni's quality. Bright colors, a beautiful shimmer over everything, and impressive effects and utilization of CGI make for a visually stunning show that makes everything look that much nicer, especially with the fact that show has magic. There're a lot of glitter effects in this show. Shine and typical magical flair are common due to two of the main characters being mages by trade, so what we end up getting is a lot more 'movie magic' put into many scenes in order to add a unique charm to everything. Sound: Both "17 Sai" by Haruka to Miyuki and "Mimei no Kimi to Hakumei no Mahou" by Nagi Yanagi act as somber pieces that exemplify the trapped and emotional feeling of Hitomi's journey. (Or at least its potential) You really get the feeling of growing outwardness with the OP and the somber qualities of Hitomi's lonely personality through these songs. Aesthetics have always felt like P.A.'s strong point, and I'm glad that these tracks came out as good as they did. Personal Enjoyment: I love P.A. Works as a company. I really do. But loving them is a real exercise in frustration because of how much hope I put into their works only for that hope to be slandered by the end result of their newest project. It's gotten to a point that I kind of dread whatever comes next and coined the term 'Doing a P.A. Works' for myself whenever a show with potential ends up floundering at the end cause the execution is just poor. Shinohara Toshiya was also a massive red flag for me considering NagiAsu is one of the biggest examples for how P.A. Works manages to falter its writing and potential towards the tail end of a series, especially due to love triangles and tension within the group because of that. But Irozuku doesn't manage the same as its predecessors, instead having a new trend of: A story with good potential, floundered middle, and a good end. I don't like this pattern, but it's a new one for the company nonetheless. It feels to me almost like P.A. played it safe this time, choosing to go for what they normally do but tone it back so much that any high impact moments feel like a light tap instead of a punch to the gut that it probably should've been so that they don't screw up so badly by doing something like 'Pull a Charlotte'. The end of that created a lukewarm series that feels like it accomplished sort of what it wanted to do, but did it in a way that made whatever was being show only have a subtle enough impact to insinuate that SOMETHING happened, but maybe not. Really I stand at a bit of an impasse with P.A. this time cause it's not like they ruined what they made. Quite the opposite really considering I was extremely afraid of the inherent problem of a time traveler who has to go back going back in time and falling in love with someone from the past. It ended exactly how I wanted (and expected) it to despite the romantic subplot, and for that I breathe a sigh of relief. Still, even with the ending being as good if not a little better than what I expected it to be, I still don't find Irozuku to be little more than something that deserved a better execution than what it got. As such, I can't really recommend this show cause I can't give a proper assessment on account of the fact that it doesn't sit right with me. It's not great, it's not terrible, it's not average cause it has too many problems in its middle portion to just be a 'meh' product, but it's not so bad that it doesn't have its good points. So honestly, make your own judgment on whether or not this is worth a watch. As for me, I hope that we don't get another Shinohara Toshiya for a long while. Irozuku is a lot less heavy-handed and stressful than NagiAsu is to watch, but assessing his works and by extension anything P.A. Works does takes up a lot of time. I blame on the fact that I care about the company too much.

A underrated hidden gem of the fall season.This show actually depicts the literal and true meaning of colors in life. Another good thing it's an original series which makes it quite more interesting.. The start of the series begins in a world sixty years from now, people where people have incorporated using various magic to ease up their life. But our female protagonist Hitomi who comes from a family of magicians hates magic. The very irony. Also she has another dilemma color blindness. The cause? Quite a mystery. She's doesn't feel much joy from life. Leads quite a monotonous life. Her grandmother, Kohaku, knowing what hitomiis going through, decides to send her sixty years back to meet her younger self, in hopes of helping Hitomi to overcome the situation. And now the Story begins with hitomi living life in the past along with the grandmother and her other school friends. Characters 7/10 Our female Mc Hitomi. As I said earlier at the start she is quite the typical shy, a little slight depressed, quiet character.She doesn't like magic due to apparent reasons. But throughout the series she shows slow but good character development from liking, learning and using magic to opening up with her emotions and learning to enjoy life more. Quite pleasant to watch. Our male Mc Aoi. Quite the normal Mc at first, but more to him than meets the eye. A excellent artist with his drawings. Sensible and smart. But still has some personal problems with his motivation and desire to draw and create art. Interesting thing, the only place Hitomi can see colors is Aoi's drawings, which literally come to life for her, Magic? well you can find that for yourselves. Obviously she is mysteriously attracted to it, curious and wanting to see more. Aoi on the other hand with his problems is also intrigued by this unique situation as he later gets to know about her color blindness. So now both share and develop a unique bonding & start trying to figure out and indirectly help with each others situation, while growing closer to each other at the same time. At the few end episodes of the series a strong hint of romance is indicated between them Then there is the grandmother or lets say the young version of grandmother Kohaku. She is for me the MVP of the series. A Joyful, carefree girl who is not only smart and skilled at magic, but also knows how to play the wingman for our two MC's. She also can be a serious & sensible person who you can rely for advice and help in need. Great character and waifu material for sure. The Other side characters are interesting too. They provide good entertainment to the main story and support to the MC's and have bit of decent development to their personalities as well. They don't have any extra ordinary qualities, but i really like it, mainly because of how good the relationships built between the characters are. Story 8/10 The plot is a combination of Slice of life, Magic and Romance. Magic is the main concept, which is definitely shown and represented in abundance and in quality. The story presented to be honest is a bit complicated but rather it is really well supported by the supernatural and fantasy element with a bit of emotions and feels thrown into the mix. The Beautiful concept and application of Magic is displayed which along with the stunning visual scenarios can be breathtaking at times for real. It just shows us how beautiful and deep meaning colors have in our life, which depicting every bit of deep emotions. Hitomi's character especially when we see the monochrome view through her perspective, we realize how dull and monotonous life is without colors, not literally but the actual color of life. Also,most of the times it maintains its the simplicity which is really enjoyable One thing i was slightly disappointed was they took a bit of time for story progress and mainly character development, and very less amount of drama and romance. Which was later a bit rushed and incorporated in the final few episodes. They could have done better in that department considering its a original series. Art 10/10 The Best part of the series and i mean for real. like literally if i could say If any anime could come close to Violet Evergarden in terms of animation this year. It would be this series I mean PA Works just outdone themselves, i mean literally blew me out of my seat from the first episode and got me hooked The background art is literally one of the best you can find in anime,the multi admirable display and usage of colors and some indeed very well captured unique camera angles and beautiful sceneries, literally makes this show stand out from the rest. Character animations are very smooth and looks natural. Absolutely top quality animations. Mad respect again to PA Works. I would watch it again Just for the Art and animation. Sound 9/10 I want to appreciate voice acting on this show and the background sound track, really well done. But more than that, i want to give a heartfelt applause to really to the OST, both Opening and Ending tracks. From the first episode I was already like *WOW* from the soundtracks. The OST used are almost certainly beautiful, just as the show itself is, its really heartwarming and melodic. On a side note i really love the ED "Mimei no Kimi to Hakumei no Mahou" sung by Nagi Yanagi, what a talent. The song itself is so melancholic and soothing with the amazing animation again. It just makes me wanna close my eyes and let the song take me away for real. Conclusion I would just say, please watch it. This show is really amazing and consistent with its Stunning mind blowing, Visuals,Satisfying plot, likable characters, the wonderful world of colorful Magic and a bit of a powerful message to the meaning of people and colors in life. Lets just say how the right people bring different colors to your life. Great Job PA works again wonderful work done right. It started unexpectedly for me but this series still made me craving for more right to the end. Good stuff.

I just have 3 words to say: SASUGA P.A. WORKS! Irozuku had all the Nagi no Asukara vibes yet it had it's own originality to set it apart from Nagi no Asukara. I absolutely loved watching Irozuku no Ashita Kara. From the story, to the characters, animation and music, they were all 10/10!!! Story: It all started when Grandma Kohaku decided to send Hitomi back 60 years to the past. That's when all the feels and romance started. It was as if fate had intervened. Hitomi ended up in Yuito's room and met Yuito when he was drawing. That was when she realized she could seethe colors in his drawing. At first Yuito was surprised, but as the two of them bonded together in the same club, romance started to fill the air as both fell in love with each other. They both went out with each other, chased each other down the street, and hugged each other in a final act of love. Alas, Hitomi had to return to her timeline, but that was not the end of their relationship just yet. Something interfered with Kohaku's magic and sent both Yuito and Hitomi to another world, a dull world. However, as Hitomi and Yuito both confessed to and hugged each other, the curse of Hitomi started to break apart, and Hitomi realized that she could finally see color again. After saying their final goodbyes, Hitomi was finally sent back to the future. God I feel like I'm writing a romance novel. In other story, this story is about Hitomi's growth as a person as she interacts with other characters. At first, she was cold, shy and rather aloof. However, she soon becomes a warm and friendly person, willing to talk to others and help them. I love how the characters interacted with one another and the various ships associated with them. Sho X Asagi, Kurumi X Chigusa and the stars of the show, Hitomi X Yuito. The story is also heartwarming full of feels! I cried while watching certain episodes. Overall a 10/10 story. The only criticism I can give is they rushed the middle of the anime a bit so there's a bit of inconsistency when it comes to the pacing of the show. Rating: 10/10 Animation: You know that animation will be on point when P.A. Works is the one animating the anime. The animation was like Nagi no Asukara, PERFECTION! I loved the animation of the scenery, the characters, the magic effects, and of course, the fireworks!!! I also love how they put so much detail into the animation. The only criticism I can give is they botched up some of the animation for the last episode. Other than that, 10/10! Rating: 10/10 Music/Sound Again, it's P.A. Works, so the music is amazing!!! I love both the opening and especially the ending they're so beautiful and soothing to listen to. Mimei no imi to Hakumei no Mahou has become my top 5 songs for this year! The sound effects for magic casting are also great to hear! Rating: 10/10 Characters: Ah yes the characters. P.A. Works did a pretty good job for the characters. There was just enough character development for each character to make us fall in love with them. I loved how they developed Hitomi's character. I already mentioned it earlier so I'll skip her. Yuito is quite gentle but quite dense. Sho is the big brother character trying to protect and looking out for everyone. Asagi is the little sister character a soft and emotional character. Chigusa is the.... clown of the anime with all the jokes he makes and sometimes the insensitive things he says. Kurumi is probably the most level headed and smartest person out of the bunch? And of course, Kohaku the most cheerful and fun-loving character although she can get serious. I have a hard time choosing which is my favorite character but you know what, I'm gonna do something different and choose Hitomi as my favorite character for the show. Rating: 10/10 Overall, my favorite anime for Fall 2018 season and possibly my top 5 anime for this year! I absolutely love Irozuku and I gotta thank P.A. Works for making such a heartwarming anime. Final rating: 10/10