"True Tears" is a romance anime about a boy named Shinchiro who lives with his childhood friend and crush Hiromi who was taken into his family after her parents, friends of the family died. However he can never truly approach her. At school he meets a strange girl named Noe and the two develop a strong bond. Also in the mix is Shinchiro's other childhood friend Aiko and his best friend Mickyoshi.
If not for "Toradora" I would call this the best, most powerful example of romance in anime, but hey nothing wrong with number two. There's lighter and comedic moments but this is not a comedy like many anime highschool romances, this is a psychological drama. The first episode is decent but it only builds and builds from there on with many intertwining relationships and genuine suspense as to who will end up with who. The characters develop nicely and the emotional power develops along with them, with many an episodes jerking at my eyes for tears, ironic given the show's theme of tears. The show is wrought with symbolism and alleogry beautifully interwoven with the unfolding drama. The animation is stellar and gives us some beautiful shots, voice acting is solid and the music, especially the main musical number repeating throughout the series, fantastic.
The ending is exceptionally powerful, and I can't deny it left me in a very emotional state. At the same time I feel part of the emotional impact was esoteric, in the sense that much of it came from how wrong the final choice felt. It felt like the writer was forcing a certain aspect all along, and it felt like a rotten apple being shoved down my throat, and that the ending, while powerful, was a choice that after the emotional stupor wears off will leave a sour taste in my mouth, especially upon rewatch. The blue ray only epilouge also felt forced and the final image implied an even greater tragedy that didn't do the show any favors.
So unfortunately I have to take off points for the ending but other then that it's a fantastic anime I recommend to fans of drama, romance, symbolism, storytelling. Hell you might prefer the ending they went with even, so just give it a shot.
