I watched Tsuki ga Kirei, also known as The Moon is Beautiful or NyQuil PM. Here are my thoughts:
I tried. I swear I tried. I tried my very best to like this show. I dropped it TWICE – once shortly after it aired, and once again when I gave it a second chance around 2019. I picked it up a third time in 2022 in a desperate effort to see what the hype was all about, yet still I was disappointed, although did finish it. I did my very best to like this show, and watched it in a variety of states of mind only to be met by unwavering disappointment.
For those unaware, this is a pure romance show focused on characters in late Japanese middle school (around 14 years in age I think).
The male lead and his female love interest are both ridiculously boring characters. They both have the personality of a three-day-old bowl of gruel. They have terrible chemistry and their interactions are mindnumbingly boring. I never felt the slightest spark of romance between them, or any emotion at all for that matter (besides boredom and frustration). Their entire relationship feels unnatural and artificial.
The dialogue is painfully boring and tedious, way WAY beyond the point of endearing shyness. This is not the cute reluctant youthful romance I was lead to expect. The two leads are absurdly deadpan – their affect is so flat I thought they were on enough antipsychotics to put a schizophrenic elephant into a coma (and if that doesn't work they should just broadcast this anime in the beast's habitat – this show is so forgettable it could invalidate prior studies on elephant memory). Furthermore, a huge portion of their interaction takes place via phone messages, which maybe is a blessing in disguise because the character animation is so bad. Which leads me to my next point...
The visuals of this anime are poor. The character CGI is awful, and I'm usually willing to overlook this. Seriously, those scenes of the school campus with the CGI-animated students were so poorly done. Besides the rare background frame, this show has poor visual production quality. Also worth mentioning is that I did not like the character designs – those sameface characters with the beady eyes were consistently unpleasant to look at. This is compounded by the bland school outfits and totally boring colour palette. Even outside of the CGI scenes, the character animation is crude and often off-model. Like, I can excuse poor animation if the show makes an effort at some kind of art style, but this show has neither! The colour palette and character designs are ugly and the animation quality is messy. I will concede that there were sometimes nice background frames (the ep.8 festival date is a good example), but that certainly does not excuse the appalling character animation. A lot of the visuals in this look like they took a real-life photo, passed it through an anime-style visual filter, and then added some hideous CGI-animated characters. The visual contrast between the characters and their environment is often quite stark. Even in scenes that take place on the street, the CGI-animated cars look like they belong in a console game released in 2002. Infrequently the focus of a frame is well targeted to create a nice cinematic effect – unsurprisingly these moments don't have any characters in the shot. Also I would be remiss if I did not mention that the ridiculous amount of phone messages in this show resulted in some consistently boring and tedious screenplay. Seriously, when phone screencaps are a central focus of the ED sequence, you can't deny something has seriously gone wrong with this so-called 'romance' anime (and that's not even mentioning the unfunny 'comedy' skits they add after the ED).
Ryan Wood
The commercial success of this anime is a total mystery to me, but clearly the return on investment must have been great since the animation budget was planned in Zimbabwean dollars (perhaps the elephants really were running the show, with autocratic rule too).
As I already alluded, the voice acting for the two leads is totally catatonic, and because they dominate the screentime and script, the rest of the cast is largely irrelevant. Regardless, none of the supporting cast VAs impressed me. As for music, I remember there being at least one okay insert vocal song, but otherwise the OST seemed fairly unremarkable.
Storywise, the sources of conflict are quite cliche. It was a pretty generic school romance in this regard too. There was nothing in the writing that I found praiseworthy, and the story overall feels formulaic.
Later in the series, competing potential love interests are introduced for both the male and female MC. Ordinarily, I would not enjoy this, but the two leads have such awful chemistry that I actually enjoyed (relatively) the presence of these other potential suitors. Seriously, both the alternative love interests had better chemistry with their respective targets. I think in both cases this was largely due to the pairing of an outgoing extroverted character with a shy soft-spoken romantic target. This is in stark contrast to the original couple, who are both quite introverted and reserved (and boring!). On a similar train of thought, I gotta say that I liked the amusement park episode way more than the others, perhaps mainly for the reasons just outlined. Or maybe because everyone in that episode communicates in-person instead of relying on those awful tedious text messages. In any case, episode 7 when they go to the amusement park, that was probably my favourite episode of the entire series (which isn't saying much).
Brody Davis
It's worth noting there is little comedy in this, which is certainly not something I can say about other romance shows. Regardless of all my criticisms, I will always praise the absence of inappropriate comedic relief, particularly here because it's so common in romance shows like this. Similarly, I appreciated how wholesome and pure this show was. There was pretty much zero sexualization at all or so-called 'fanservice'. This anime was consistently innocent and sweet, regardless of all its flaws; it consistently had a 'puppy love' feeling to it. I think this is one of the main reasons it was so well received, but that also illustrates the scale of unmet demand for this kind of thing – I'm sure a show with the same premise as Tsuki ga Kirei but competently executed could be very successful.
My overall rating: 3/10 Tsuki ga Kirei is one of the worst romance shows I have ever seen. I'm mystified by what people see in this show. From my perspective, it brings nothing to the table; I see nothing of artistic worth here. There are some brief romantic moments but they're not nearly enough to compensate for the time invested. The two leads are unbelievably weak characters, and more importantly, they have zero romantic chemistry whatsoever. Additionally, both the screenplay and dialogue are incredibly dull, and the character animation is jarringly dreadful.
What words would I use to describe my Tsuki ga Kirei viewing experience? Exasperating, frustrating, BORING, irritating, unemotional, tedious...
I feel like most of the people praising this anime are just projecting their own memories onto it. Since the show and its characters have zero personality whatsoever, it is certainly a good projection medium (perhaps this is a positive feature for some viewers). I also imagine that this show would be potent self-insert material for some people. Maybe I am the wrong audience for this kind of thing.
It's just a very down-to-earth story about kids in love. It's clearly based on observation rather than tired tropes, so even if the subject matter is boring as shit, it comes off as incredibly fresh. There's no crazy hijinks, which makes all the relatively mundane stuff stand out and really reinforces the point that it's really incredible being able to find someone you love and have them love you back.
Anthony Gonzalez
>The male lead and his female love interest are both ridiculously boring characters. They both have the personality of a three-day-old bowl of gruel. They have terrible chemistry and their interactions are mindnumbingly boring I think this right here explained why the show isn't for you. Also puts it very well.
The romance in Tsuki ga Kirei was mundane, to some people this will just come off as boring, they may want the more exciting and melodramatic portrayal of a love story. But Tsuki ga Kirei's approach is something I very rarely see in anime, and that made it feel like a breath of fresh air at the time and even today. But the novelty aside the more subdued and awkward dynamic between the main couple was something I enjoyed, to me that felt like a pretty realistic approach at two teenage kids fumbling into a relationship.
not super popular, but it had a dedicated following.
Jayden Moore
OP here. The show had plenty of (arguably forced) drama in the second half. I'm not saying that adding even more melodrama would have solved the show's issues. The problem is the personalities of the characters themselves and the way their dialogue was written.
I don't think the stuff with the tomboy and the other guy was forced. If it had been dragged out longer and turned into a huge timesink then maybe, but I thought as it is the show handled it pretty well.
I don't remember the dialogue well enough, but I didn't have problems with it. I actually liked it and the performances because the voice acting felt really natural.
I'm a tomboyfag, but she lost (mostly) fair and square, so no hard feelings.
David Johnson
So whats with that couple where the guy keeps mooching off his GF and making her pay for all the love hotel visits. how do I become like that guy? living the dream and having the GF pay for it all both monetarily and withy sex
teach me how I turn from a 32 year old programmer into an anime character. what do I need to do? is this a relife situation where I take a magic pill or fall asleep while in a VR game and wake up in anime isekai? or do I need to summon truck kun?
Nolan Cooper
If I knew how I would tell you. I'm still trying to figure it out myself, sorry user.
Brandon Brooks
Can you translate this? I don't speak Yea Forums
Ryan Jenkins
She was a more likeable character than the main girl.
Ryan Parker
He was annoying
Owen Moore
I really liked it. It had a sort of innocence to it. Just a very wholesome youth romance. I felt very connected to the people around me and others while watching. It was very touching. Not the typical run of the mill romance (which are fun as well) but a more deep approach to romance
Lucas Roberts
>not the typical run of the mill romance
David Thomas
I dropped it out of second-hand cringe.
Jaxson Parker
That's what the doctor said right after you were born.
Carter Stewart
I didn't mean to insult your favorite anime, I apologize.
Dominic Torres
It was pretty cringe
Ian Rodriguez
Who was the target audience for Tsuki ga Kirei? What demographic liked it?
Sebastian Adams
I liked it and Im talking for the whole 30+ male demographic
Gabriel Perez
30yo bitter virgin here that enjoyed it.
Gabriel Clark
Just Because was better.
Alexander Barnes
OP here. I actually completely agree. You can find my review of Just Because in the Yea Forums archive if you're interested.
Logan Morales
Wizards.
Aiden White
I am not.
Daniel Reed
>NyQuil PM Got a smile out of me.
Nolan Hall
>Seriously, both the alternative love interests had better chemistry with their respective targets. This is fairly common, I feel.
Asher Robinson
>tl;dr I was never in love as a teenager I feel for your user. You missed out on something wonderful.
Joseph Gonzalez
I think it was pretty popular with younger audiences at the time, like 17+
Ironically I remember not liking Just Because as much because of the aforementioned melodramatic romance cliches its plot relied on, and the MC chose worst girl. It felt like her shitty behavior was being rewarded. His friend's subplot romance was nice though.
Nathaniel Ramirez
teenage melodrama is literally part of growing up and the kids in just because are the perfect age (high school) where they're basically all disconnected assholes removing cliches doesn't necessarily make your show any better because all cliches have some degree of truth to them, just like stereotypes if anything those cliches you're talking about are far more realistic than a fluffy middle schooler romance actually going somewhere after the kids go their separate ways in high school
Sebastian Davis
Both things can happen in real life, I knew people that have been together since HS and people who had all kinds of relationship drama and broke up back then as well. I don't think one is inherently more realistic than the other. But when I see a disproportionate amount of stories take one specific approach then it starts to feel like writers are taking those elements for granted. It made Just because feel dull to me because I felt like I had already seen it before countless times, but I have only seen one Tsuki ga Kirei.
Jayden Carter
>boomer doesn't understand that the youth have been literally turned autistic by technology and this is a normal now
Aaron Barnes
>but the two leads have such awful chemistry that I actually enjoyed (relatively) the presence of these other potential suitors. Seriously, both the alternative love interests had better chemistry with their respective targets. I think in both cases this was largely due to the pairing of an outgoing extroverted character with a shy soft-spoken romantic target. This is in stark contrast to the original couple, who are both quite introverted and reserved (and boring!)
If you actually paid attention to the anime, you would realize the alternative love interests are a bad fit. Hira literally made Akane uncomfortable and sad because he didn't understand her well. While on the other hand, Kotarou knew the right words to say to her. You can talk about chemistry all you want but it's not the only reason why one is in love with another. Most of the time, I don't even think people understand chemistry. They just think the chemistry is bad just simply because they dislike the couple. There's a lot to love and it isn't easy to explain with words.
Caleb Stewart
I actually forgot how much of the anime developed their relationship through LINE™ text convos. That's a huge part of modern genz relationships. You even have people who start relationships entirely online now.
Alexander Jenkins
Everyone. It's relatable to all ages and to both genders. FYI, The male MC is written by a male writer and the female MC is written by a female writer.
Ethan Powell
>The male MC is written by a male writer and the female MC is written by a female writer. Oh wow, that's really interesting. I wonder how they managed that.
Henry Sanders
There's also the fact that the characters are Japanese. The way they interact relationships I would imagine is also different than in America or Britain.
Jace Perry
they're could be taking it for granted but it's also matter of probability and they're going for the option that's the most likely to happen far more middle school relationships don't work out compared to the number that do
Jonathan Wood
Yeah, but what's "probably" doesn't matter here, this is storytelling. Whether an event is unlikely or not has no bearing on if it can be used as material for a story. Writing things just because that's what people expect is how you end up falling into clichés.
Gavin Reed
>Since the show and its characters have zero personality whatsoever, it is certainly a good projection medium (perhaps this is a positive feature for some viewers). I also imagine that this show would be potent self-insert material for some people. Maybe I am the wrong audience for this kind of thin
user, are you pretending to be retarded or what? Did we watch the same show?
Kotarou is a introvert who loves literature. There are various occasions where you see him being influenced by the literature he reads and it becomes a part of his personality. He has a dream to become a novel author and you can see him actually work toward it since he write his own stories. He has other interests such as boxing, and there are other things he does beside just writing. For example, doing his lion dance after school and spending time with his friends. There are good chemistry with his friends and he acts a lot different than he usually is. When it comes to him acting toward Akane, it's much different. He's shit at studying but he actually tries at some point in the story. He has a bad relationship with his parents but that eventually changes with his effort. He puts a lot of effort caring for his GF.
I can go on about Akane next but just talking about Kotarou alone should be enough. There's a lot to his character. He's far from being a self insert character with no personality so I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
Caleb Parker
What do you mean how they managed that. They just got a female and male writer to do the job and that's it.
John Sanchez
>writing things just because that's what people expect is how you end up falling into clichés and avoiding cliches or intentionally writing to subvert expectations is something an amateur writer does for their first fanfic because that's one of the easiest things to do when you have little experience with storytelling a good story isn't a measure of how many cliches you avoid or how many expectations you subverted; it's a holistic process and it's incredibly disappointing that so many people think pointing out cliches is how you judge storytelling
Ryder Hernandez
and looking at the pedigree of the person responsible for the series composition i'm not surprised that person also wrote borefests like irozuku and aquatope or laughably terrible shows like orange
Colton Morgan
>dude like he had boxing posters on his walls he's so complex
