We Were There - Reviews

I think the story was quite good, typic romance anime, however, the animation was quite bad, and it was quite hard to see anywebsite with decent audio. Going back to the animation, I think it was quite strange that the characters where missing an eye every time.

Ok, so it probably isn't an overall 10 for most, but despite the fact that I'm usually more a of Fullmetal Alchemist - One Piece - Hunter x Hunter type, I'm in a current streak of watching lovey dovey stuff like Sukitte ii na yo and Kimi Ni Todoke and whatnot (the list grows strong by now lol), hence I ended up here and I have to admit: I. LOVED. IT!

I absolutely ADORED it. Usually with the (by now many) love anime's I've watched, there's either the reaaaaaaally shy-to-the-point-of-useless girl being rescued by the amazingly-cool-gorgeous-good-at-everything guy in the school (not that I hate it but that's just like, "the rule") or the super bold-challenging-maleish-knowitall-daredevil-loud-feisty woman that catches the eye of the (yet again) supposedly image of "perfect" guy.

With the shy ones it's mostly 20+ eps of shyness, mental doubt blabber and emotion missunderstandings cause she just can't communicate well. With the other, it's the guy trying to get her attention, falling head over heals over everything she does and 20+ eps after, magically not having noticed a damn thing, she finally catches up to his mood. 

This one was different. That's why I gave it a 10. It was more... real. 

SIDE NOTE: I do enjoy the emotion blabber type of anime and there's always a mood for everything. Truth be told, I loved Sukitte ii na yo, Inu x Boku SS and Kimi ni Todoke and many others but this one was just... refreshing cause it was so different. I apologize if some feel like punching me now lol This is just my very long and personal point of view:)

SO... THE ACTUAL REVIEW: (skip to this part if you want lol)

STORY: It felt like something that could happen in real life. It felt emotional, and loving and full of real life problems and doubts that could arise in a regular relationship; to me it was perfect. It was well thought and well developed. It moved at such a natural pace I don't really have enugh words to convey how much I liked it. Besides, I insist: It was SO different from the regular stuff, it was incredibly refreshing to watch. 

ANIMATION: It's got a different style than most, which is cool. I guess it was intended to be a more emotional, real animation, rather than the overreacted one, which, I think, was very appropriate for the "language" they handled throughout the anime.

I do have to say: The "one-eye-missing" thing annoyed me a lot. I understand some of the uses they give it, but it was used so often it bothered me to see them one-eyeless half the time. Also: The character side view was just downright disturbing. The eyes looked like alien eyes, and the tip of the nose was almost leveled with the eyes, which didn't give a sense of proportion, even though in the front view everything fit fine. (I also thought the eyes were quite expressionless at first, but then they got a bit better... I think. Maybe I just got used to how subtle the changes in emotion were displayed).

Anyway, aside from that I think the whole thing was beautifully developed, well handled, emotional and beautiful, just a different style from what we're usually acustomed to. They managed  to convey very well stuff like when the memories of Nana-san by the end were shown more fuzzy since they were losing the importance they had had at the beginning. Small details like that were nice.

SOUND: don't know if it means sound in general or the music used, hence I gave it a good number cause throughout the anime, voices and all were amazingly good and appropriate, but I just didn't think the openning quite special. Not bad, just not my taste, so... very personal there. 

CHARACTERS: Overal, character development was beautiful, their stories were amazing, personal, real and emotional and, (having lived something of the sort or not) it felt like one could relate to them and their life. ALL of them. And none of them failed miserably, or was incredibly ridiculous... there were no weird over the top extremes, just amazing people and their love story. They were very plausible characters in real life, and that was kinda... refreshing for me. Sort of, a nice change of pace, particularly for a TV anime.

Something I have to highlight is that the cool guy that gets the girl, isn't the average anime type that's unnaturally good in everything, extremelly good looking, never clumsy, super fashionable and most of the times even classy. Yano is a "real-er" guy. He's the guy next door, with a charming smile, a cool style and talented in sports. He is sociable but with personal stuff he keeps for himself. He is full of flaws from certain views and sometimes even messes up, but is kind, a good friend, and is honest about what he feels and wants and gives it it's best to get there. (Quite a catch :P)

Nanami wasn't the shy one that can't confess for a 1000 eps, but she did have her insecurities and doubts that limited her (a lot), though she could also be coragious sometimes. Maybe some things they do will clash with some, cause we're clearly not them, but they could be your best friend, or the guy you go to school with or hang out with. They're just SO real. 

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PERSONAL NOTE: I love to see things evolve. A final kiss with fireworks is fine, but seeing them actually enjoy the relationship is a bit more satisfying for me to watch lol

ADVISE: If you want to watch a love anime and don't mind a bit of "piece of life" mood with a different "drawing" style, then you should watch this. If you expect to see overreactions and overly perfect prince charmings wooing a girl, then don't :) This will bore you to death :P

*This review is based off the first two episodes! Also this is my first review! >.<

**There's one minor spoiler.

Story

It's difficult to critique. At the very beginning, it started out really mild and gave off that typical school life anime vibe. I wasn't very moved throughout the first episode, but there were a few cute, funny, and suspenseful moments that made me want to keep watching. The anime maintained that mildness up until halfway through episode 2, because the main girl (who initially seemed sweet and moralistic) surprisingly called the main guy a 'son of a b****'. Did not expect that. XD The story is nice though, just really simple and maybe even true to life. 

Animation

Well, it isn't terrible. It's kind of an older anime, so I guess there wasn't as good animation technology back then, but that isn't the case. This anime's animation didn't really seem that "animated". It seemed more like "moving manga illustrations". Fortunately, I really do like manga drawings, although I would've liked to see more movement. 

Sound

Lacking! Either all the voice actors were really soft-spoken, or the producers (or whatever) lacked proper sound recording equipment. It was really quiet, and there wasn't enough background music or sound effects. There's just a lot of quiet talking. Also, I felt as if the voice actors didn't really express emotion. It didn't sound like they tried, really. 

Characters

I haven't come to hate anyone so far, which is a good thing, but at the same time, I haven't found anyone to love. Everyone is okay so far. No crazy jealous girls or over-the-top guys. Sometimes they might all even come off as plain. The main guy doesn't look that cute. In fact, none of the characters appear particularly attractive. Everyone is average. 

Overall (Calculated average)

I like the anime enough to want to keep watching, but that's mainly because I do like the story so far, and I want to give the anime a chance. Beginnings are often a bit bland anyway, so let's hope the rest of the anime isn't!

7 out of 10 stars This review is based on 26 out of 26 episodes


When I finished this anime, I thought: Gosh, what a waste of time. Before falling asleep I had the title repeating itself in my head over and over. We Were Here. And all of a sudden, I had goosebumps.

Negatives: 
How the heck does the main character manage to have two boys head-over-heels for her? That’s what I’d like to know. Love-triangles are so overrated these days, but this one will have to be one of the most unrealistic I’ve come across. Sure, both of them like her. For what reason? And anyway, aren’t they a little young to be “fighting-over-girls”? But I guess that’s just how immature those boys are. 

I’m going to say it right now: I hate the main character and her petty issues. Maybe her Yano did go and comfort that other girl (you know, the one with the grey hair and glasses?), but then crying all over for it? How inconsiderate can somebody be! There’s a girl out in trouble, and then her boyfriend is the only one who’s able to help. Why would she be as selfish to get so mad and peevish over that tiny thing? Okay, so maybe he had previous –ahem– physical relations with her, but can’t the main character be a little more considerate? Or maybe this was just the author’s way of showing how jealous the main character could be, but to be honest, I absolutely hated her. 

You can’t fall in love that easily. And on another note, even if you have, you’re not going to just admit it aloud to some random girl who confessed before. It’s really unrealistic how Yano confessed to the main character (see? I hate her so much I can’t think of her name!) about how he loved her as well, when in reality, he hardly knew her enough. 

Confessing areas at the end of each of the fesitvals? Give me a break. As if the school would ever allow something like that. I think it’d be more realistic if the teachers had no clue about it, and then the students would’ve just made it something among them. It’d be more secretive and give me more a spark of excitement, rather than, “Oh, the teachers know about it as well.” 

The dead girlfriend really gets on my nerves. It was made all too dramatically, but then again, it has that bit of “reality” in it. So it’s not too bad, but it made everything way too dramatic than it actually needed to be. I just remembered the main character’s name! It’s Nana, along with the same name as his pervious girlfriend before she died in an accident. A little bit of a coincidence? Yes, definitely. 

That other girl with the glasses –Nana’s younger sister– should’ve ended up with Yano. Nana (the main character) should’ve ended up with that other guy. It’d make it much less predictable and even more believable. I can’t believe that stupid Yano! How dare he just break that girl’s heart? 

Positives: 
The relationship, although heavily dramatic, taught me a life-long of unforgettable lessons about love, trust and loyalty. One of the only reasons their relationship would never work out, is how each time they lack something. Whether it’s trust, the way everything is working. Maybe it’s even jealously which is getting in the way of their relationship, but all in all, I found that bit really realistic. 

I’m glad that there are characters in the story which I liked, because I didn’t quite feel much for the two main characters. To be honest, Yano’s old girlfriend (Nana) was my favourite character in the entire anime, her sister being my second. Both of them have a range of different sides to each of them, and that makes me feel like there’s a whole lot to them than I know. This makes them appear really realistic. 

This anime didn’t have a happy ending, and thank you! The only reason it didn’t work out too well from my point of view, is that I was never really “into” the anime to start with. So I didn’t cry or anything, but when I thought the words over and over in my head, I got a little freaked out about how intense the words are. Because “We Were Here” can be interpreted in so many ways, and you just have to watch the anime to find out those things. 

Overall: 
Honestly, if it wasn’t for the awesome bittersweet ending, I would give this 4 out of 10. But because the ending managed to win me over, I’m giving this a 7.