I've never written a review on here before, but after watching Kuttsukiboshi, I felt compelled to write one, if for no other reason than to vent my frustrations. This review might be a little jumbled with scattered thoughts, so forgive me, and please bear with me. As this show is super short (roughly 40 mintues long in total), I'm not going to bother to omit spoilers, so be warned.
I'm usually very easy to please; I like shows for what they are, and I accept them despite what they're not. I love a good romance, and I love a good yuri/shoujo-ai. When I stumbled onto Kuttuskiboshi on Anime-Planet, I saw the score, and I thought people were probably a little too harsh on the show. I really wanted to like it... but when I got to the end of the first part, I started to get frustrated, and the frustrations only continued from there.
Story: 4/10
This story started out SO well. Kiiko had been in some kind of accident, and afterward she discovered she had powers. Aaya found out, and the two began testing Kiiko's powers in secret through experiments. During that time, Kiiko fell hopelessly in love with Aaya. (This is where the show starts.)
I loved most of the first part -- the girls both discovering each other's love, and consumating their relationship. I thought it was really sweet and well done, without being too explicit. I loved the idea that one of them had powers, and those powers were what brought them together. The light supernatural themes were a nice touch, as were the experiments. The star puzzle was a beautiful token, representative of Kiiko's powers and the girls' relationship together.
Unfortunately, the ending of the first part -- Kiiko realizing she forgot her phone at Aaya's, sneaking in, and catching Aaya and her brother Kouta "in the act" -- almost single-handedly ruined the hope I had for this story. I don't think I have anything against incest in anime; Candy Boy is one of my favorite series (maybe I'll do a review on that one in the future?), and that's almost entirely about twin sisters who are a couple. But seeing Aaya's betrayal and apparent duality was just the start.
The second half of the show was very disappointing, to say the least. Aaya kidnaps and pretty much rapes Kiiko for days on end, locked in the shed beside the school field, hoping to win back Kiiko's affection. Eventually, she lets her go, and days later they share one final night of their "greatest hits" before Aaya leaves early in the morning on a plane departing Japan. Kiiko wakes up after their final night together to find that Aaya has already left without saying goodbye, or really explaining much of anything that's happened over the past several days (weeks?). Enraged, she teleports to the plane, where Aaya's having a bit of a breakdown in the toilet, and insists that Aaya stay with her and confess to her about why things have been they way they have been. She finally gets Aaya to admit that her brother had suddenly developed cancer and, as his last dying wish, had begged Aaya to make love to him before he died, which is presumably when Kiiko walked in on them at the end of the first part. After the confession, Kiiko and Aaya teleport away to the beach of a distant planet and remain together forever.
First of all, Aaya should've been up front with Kiiko LONG before she even got the chance to board a plane. Kiiko deserved at least that much. Secondly, kidnapping and rape are NOT the way to win back your former lover's heart. That whole bit just completely tainted everything that came afterward, like the girls' last night together (which otherwise could've been a very bittersweet farewell) or the alien beachside "we'll be together forever" scene.
Animation: 9/10
I loved the animation. The two girls were beautiful, the motions were very smooth, and the show was generally very well drawn and painted. Even when I felt frustrated with the story content, I often found myself very impressed with the quality of the visuals. As I mentioned before in the "Story" section, I thought the scenes involving the girls having sex to be, for the most part, very tastefully done. The only negative point that stands out to me was light beams I recall in one part, which I found very distracting. I don't care for censorship. That's not to say I was pushing for nipples, but every other time in the show that there was nudity, the camera usually provided convenient censoring, usually using the environment or the characters' positions in some way. I just found the light beams a little sloppy, and enough to detract from my appreciation of an otherwise very well-animated production.
Sound: 8/10
The voice acting was great, and I couldn't find anything to complain about as far as that was concerned. The sound effects were mostly good, too. The music was fantastic, especially during the impactful scene where Kiiko teleports to Aaya on the airplane. My only real complaint that I can think of is the kissing sound effects in the first part. I can't really put my finger on it, but something about it felt very off-putting and amateur. Maybe it would've been better omitting the smacking sounds altogether.
Characters: 5/10
Here's where things get dicey. As I said before, I thought Aaya and Kiiko were absolutely beautiful, and wonderful characters at first. I loved how Aaya was the more dominant one and Kiiko was the more reserved one. I loved what little we saw of their friendship, and I loved the relationship that bloomed from it.
However, Kouta just seemed to be there to ruin what could've been an otherwise very sweet story. He contributed nothing good at all to the story, and was only present to develop an apparently very fast-acting cancer, impose upon his sister, and destroy her relationship with Kiiko. I swear he had maybe 6 lines in the entire production, and would've been better for the girls and the story if he had never existed at all. Because of him, Aaya made some awful, awful choices, and caused Kiiko to do the same.
Overall: 5/10 (not an average)
As I said before, I really wanted to like Kuttsukiboshi. I walked in with an open mind and an open heart, ready to love these girls, but the ending to Part 1 (and almost everything that came after) ruined the experience and left a negative lasting impression on me. I wish that things had happened differently. I really do. And it makes me sad that I can't fully appreciate where Kuttsukiboshi ended up taking me.
Screenshots
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