Now this was surprising. This was a very heartfelt, soothing and visually inventive anime. It's a story about 4 brothers (one in his 20s, two teenagers and a six year old), who lost their parents a while ago. It's about the family dynamics that have now formed between all 4 of them, and how they all collectively deal with their loss. And it's actually brilliantly executed. None of them mentions anything about their parents. It's just sort of a thing that's left unsaid, but you can still feel it in their conversations. Like, when they visit the grave of their parents, each of them has a tear in their eye. But none of them mentions anything about it. They know each of them is hurting in their own way. They just silently go through this moment together. It's very touching and well executed.
You might be thinking that this is a sad cry fest, after reading the plot. It's not, not at all. It's bittersweet, yes. Seeing the strength of each of these 4 characters is something that makes this anime very optimistic. If anything, you can watch this anime as a slice of life too, because there's plenty of good humour as well. Some of the family dynamics between these characters are very fun to see.
The one thing that I absolutely adored with this anime was the direction and the animation by studio Shuka. There are many simple yet emotionally heavy moments in this anime, but if it wasn't for the visually inventive direction, it wouldn't have hit as much as it did. I mean some moments just really strike a chord. After watching episode 2, you'll know what I'm talking about. Some of the humour too was actually very differently shown, and took me by surprise. The side characters (the neighbours) are also very nicely done, and they complete this group of characters.
If you're looking for a nice blend of some serious drama and slice of life as well, then this is the anime for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to more anime by this studio.
