Say "I love you." - Reviews

Alt title: Sukitte Ii na yo.

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pnotis's avatar
Oct 30, 2020

We seriously need a second season, I loved this anime however the ending definitely wasn't completed, I don't think we'll ever get another season though so I guess I'm better off reading the manga from where this left off.

9/10 story
8/10 animation
8/10 sound
9/10 characters
8/10 overall
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GothicOtaku's avatar
Sep 1, 2019

I love this series a lot. I absolutely adored the manga. I feel like they should have done more of the story. 

8/10 story
8/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
8/10 overall
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RoachCoconut's avatar
Mar 7, 2021

This anime is great i loved it so much it was one of those classic romance animes that makes me keep coming back to romance, if you did like this one though i suggest kimi no todoke, it is kind of like this one execpt longer and i very much liked that one. if you didnt want this anime to end try it.

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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cherrizzz's avatar
Nov 24, 2023

Dropped. The main guy kisses her without consent on like the first episode. Waiting for a realistic romance anime that doesn't feel the need add (unnecessary) SA. Ntm the main girl's personality didn't hold out at all. Was hoping to see how she'd gradually begin to trust the guy, instead it's like they rushed over all that in one episode and him and her immediately began to like eachother. Which seems really unrealistic for people with closed off personalities. Or maybe it's right on brand, maybe she's the type to fall for the slightest bit of attention, as many neglected people are, perhaps that was something purposeful not just rushed in her character and their relationship. But yh, I didn't finish it not a fan of SA. Fruits Basket or My Little Monster are a greater alternatives despite the difference in genre.

4/10 story
7/10 animation
7/10 sound
4/10 characters
3/10 overall
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DGFischer's avatar
Oct 20, 2023

Say I Love You (Zexcs, 2012)is a neat romance in high school that blends the likely element of love triangles with the thought of souls who’ve been bullied rising from the trauma of being demeaned to becoming beloved.  It will take the full thirteen episodes for the heroine Mei Tachibana to weave her way through countless encounters with hero Yamato Kurosawa with all the doubts, uncertainties, and wispy hopes leading to that moment of three little words uttered at minute 24 of episode 13.

Let's say that this road to true love gets as rocky as they come.

The moment when Yamato falls for Mei comes at an odd time.  Mei, bullied all her life, is resolved never to have friends, much less a boyfriend.  And it is a moment of bullying that triggers the incident.  Girl-crazy Kenji is pulling at Mei's skirt, and Mei offers a magnificent roundhouse kick that scores ... on Yamato, who had come in to intervene.  Call it love at first smite.  But Yamato is smitten.  The huge task is to convince Mei to believe in Yamato's affection.  And rescuing Mei from a stalker is the first step.  Kind natured Yamato can be trusted, but how far?

But let's not make this easy.  Say I Love You is blessed with, not one love triangle, but two.  This comes about with the entry of Megumi Kitagawa (teen-age model who basks in her idol-hood) and Kai Takemura (former friend of Yamato who was terribly bullied in middle school).  Soon we have the Mei-Yamato-Megumi triangle, with scheming Megumi using her model-teen-idol charms to woo Yamato away from Mei.  This is followed by the Kai-Mei-Yamato triple play, with bullied in the past Kai finding a kindred spirit in recently hassled Mei.

The strength of Mei's character is her innate sense of justice.  She builds a love connection between Kenji and Asami, who is extremely sensitive about her buxom nature.  She befriends Aiko, a hardcore girl whose hatred of bullying makes her a bit of the bully herself (Mei tends to mellow out this tough cookie).  Mei, who seeks no friends, has the quality to best the best advisor in the ways of the friend ... if she can get past her hesitant shyness and cynical lack of trust in people.

The animation was light on the coloration palette, though the character designs seemed to click with the high school scene.  The backgrounds were functional without being outstanding.  The music was ideal to create the mood.  The opening 'Friendships' gives the Mei-opinion of trying hard to understand the emotions that she struggles with; the lilting, gentle tone works well with the repetition, consonance and internal rhymes that makes the whole song moving.  The closer, ‘Slow Dance’, gives the Yamato opinion of trying hard not to force the romance in what could be a stumbling, unreliable encounter in dance.  Two songs that give an honest depiction of young love for shy girl and uncomfortable boy.

Say I Love You is the most realistic romance that I have been viewing lately, proving that genius in the genre needs no gimmicks.

10/10 story
9/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
9.5/10 overall
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