Love Through a Prism

I'm not sure that this review needs a spoiler warning, but just in case, I will put it there, while at the same time trying not to spoil any major plot points. If I were honest with my feelings, I'm not sure an Average rating is even a low enough rating for this show. The absolute cringe of the story writing and the main characters is on a level I haven't seen in anime for awhile. At first I was captured by the beauty of the backgrounds in this show. They felt like they were striving for Miyazaki level art, like it was so abovethe level of attention of what a niche anime like this, normally receives. But then I read that it was widely suspected of having had AI used not just on the deplorable opening, but also the backgrounds, and suddenly I lost all respect for what little this show had going for it. The main character Lili, is so obnoxious, I physically cringed whenever she was on screen. She came off as a self entitled brat and not at all the respectful Japanese girl, you would expect a woman from the "era" she's living in, to be. Because while the West was going through a women's liberation era. Japanese children were still very much, being taught to be traditional, respectful and thoughtful. And their women were definitely not openly embracing the progressive ways of the West, the way Lili does. She travels around with no chaperone or fellow classmates and friends, often. As if London were perfectly safe for a woman and she had noting to fear. And while I can understand her finding Kit irritating, her outbursts and constant anger towards him are over the top and left me and my 11 year old, unimpressed with this character. I don't think I was rooting for her even once, throughout the show. Kit has these grand moments of thoughtfulness, and grand moments of obliviousness, that make him draw you in and spit you out in the same breath. I do not feel he deserved to be treated the way he was, by Lili and why he loves her, is your best guess. I would have enjoyed seeing a lot more of Catherine, she was the only character besides Peter, who had growth and emotional intelligence. Onto the plot and setting. The writers obviously put little to no heart into the timeline of this story. As a history buff, the liberties being taken with most modern historical dramas, drive me insane; and LTAP is no different. The fashion was all over the place, ranging from styles 30 years before to 10 years after when the story is set. There are only maybe 2 or 3 famous artists mentioned the entire time in a show about art. If you've ever watched Blue Period, you'll understand how ridiculous this is. A show about art and you learn next to nothing about art. Blue period was what, 8 episodes shorter? and you learn so much in such a short amount of time, it truly makes you appreciate art and the lives of artists. In LATP you might hear mention of a couple art techniques, but they take no time to teach you, let alone, show you, which only takes away from this story, further, because the romance aspect is subpar at best. The women do not act like women fighting for a place in a "Man's World". They show London as this sparkling clean place, when that was not the reality of the time. Travel by map style timing, is obviously used throughout the show. When characters leave London at sunset and travel THREE hours outside the city and the sun is still stuck at sunset LOL. **SPOILER** Lili spends a long time working on a painting while Kit is on his way back to England, and at the same time, Shin is also working on his art, but they don't see each other, for what should have been a month, but act like it's only been a few days **SPOILER END** EDITED TO ADD: I recently found an 2 part anime movie called Here Comes Miss Modern, that came out in 2018. My daughter and I watched it and I was disgusted to realize that LATP took a large chunk of it's plot along with the main characters. A very loud, determined young Japanese woman (so much less annoying than Lili, I might add) and a gorgeous blonde (in this case a half) European aristocrat, during... you guessed it! The time leading up to and through WW1. AAAAAAND guess what else!? He goes MIA (loses his memory too) and is declared dead. The FLC has a best friend that's more modern and independent and out making her dreams come true. She gets engaged to another man. It's not scene for scene, but definitely a rip off. Taking my scoring down again, from 4 to 3. Overall, I would not recommend this to anyone, there is so little merit to be given, I think the only reason I got through it, was I kept hoping things would get better. I can't think of anything positive to say about it, other than, I barely managed not to throw my remote at the TV in frustration, while watching it. In retrospect, I change my scoring from a 5 to a 4.

Prism Rondo feels like a series made by people who care deeply about visual composition and cinematic language. The mise en scène is carefully controlled, with color, lighting, and background design doing as much storytelling as the dialogue. The show treats its environments as emotional extensions of the characters, and its strongest moments come from how image, sound, and pacing work together to communicate inner conflict and artistic identity rather than relying on heavy exposition. Where it becomes less convincing is in its narrative structure. The dramatic build is inconsistent, some arcs take too long to develop while the final emotional resolutions are compressed. Character decisions,especially in the romance, sometimes feel required by the story rather than emerging naturally from prior development. This creates a disconnect between the care put into the form and the uncertainty of the storytelling. It isn’t a failure, and it isn’t a clear success. It’s a work with strong formal intelligence and uneven narrative execution. I admire its craft and its seriousness of intent, but I remain unconvinced by how completely it earns its emotional conclusions.

Love Through A Prism was a frustrating watch from start to finish, largely because of its female lead, Lily. The biggest issue is her characterization. From Episode 1, she already left a bad impression. A kind classmate went out of her way to show her around, and Lily just walked off without even a simple thank you. That moment perfectly summarizes her character throughout the series. She is consistently rude, loud, and unnecessarily hostile toward people who are trying to be kind. Instead of meaningful development, the story leans heavily into her insecurity as if that alone justifies her behavior. Her interactions with the male lead are especially exhausting.Rather than building chemistry through growth and mutual understanding, much of their dynamic revolves around overreactions, jealousy, and immaturity. By the end, any attempt at character growth feels superficial and unearned.