RingoStarr1991

***THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW***

After watching Rewrite I am honestly wondering who the hell this anime was made for. Was it for the veteran VN readers or was it some sort of advertisement for the fresh anime watchers? Regardless of their target audience I think that 8-bit has failed miserably.

Story: 2/10

First, an introduction to the story. Kotarou is the main character of the show. The show literally follows him around as he tries to make the most of his high school life. He ends up reviving an old club in order to form memories with his closest friends. These friends include Akane (a snarky, devious, and rich female), Chihaya (a super strong, airhead idiot), Kotori (Kotarou's childhood friend that loves pocket change), Lucia (the typical loud class rep), and Shizuru (the best girl loli). The first half of the story follows the events regarding Kotarou and the club. What happens later on will be up to you to find out. No spoilers here.

Now if we can take a step back to talk about the quality of the story, I hope I can relay my thoughts. If we take away all connections and points from the VN and judge this show purely on what was presented in the anime, we still get a sloppy mess of a plot. The first 6 or so episodes of the anime somewhat features the common route of the VN. It was however really, really, really condensed down to fit inside the most minimalist of deadlines. The show does include the full cast from the VN which is a feat all on its own but rushes to all hell the introductions and initial character building. The characters somewhat feel like their VN counterparts (helped by the same voice actors and music from the VN) but they lack the punch that their VN counterparts have due to the rushed introductions and lightspeed route completions. What happens at the turning point of the story has very little impact due to this rushed character building.

Animation: 4.5/10

First bug-o-boo; I don't know what the hell is up with the character models in this show. They just look...off? Like the actual models look like the VN counterparts but they look really washed out. It might be just an A E S T H E T I C quality 8-bit tried to use to make up the show's visual style but it did not work. It ended up making the show look cheap and low quality. It however must be pointed out that the school dresses are really something to look at. Like holy mother of god they look like designer dresses.

The more actiony scenes in the show seemed animated pretty well but that is all ruined once they throw the CG monsters on screen. To be perfectly honest the CG monsters in this show are some of the worst quality CG things I have ever seen in an anime. They just look so out of place.

Sound: 9/10
Most of the voice lines are just poorly written but that does not take away from the actual performance and quality of what was presented in the show. From what I can tell they used the same voice actors from the VN which is great because all of them are excellent. They are literally the only reason each character actually feels like a character (due to the rushed pacing as explained earlier on). The real star though is the music in the show. They were smart and took most of the musical themes from the VN and placed them very well into the show. Seriously going to pick up the OST for this when it becomes available (although if the VN already has one get that).

Characters: 4/10
I want to make something perfectly clear before I dive into this category. In the VN the characters truly have a life of their own. They are fully fledged out, feel organic, and are some of the best well-knit casts. The anime retains in my honest opinion half of the feeling that the VN provided. The characters are there and the VAs bring out their feelings but it is just not enough. The characters presented in the show just do not seem to meld well enough with each other. In the VN a huge part of the game is laughing and enjoying the interactions of the whole cast as they do club activities. I really did not feel that same sort of organic feeling in the anime when the same scenes were presented.

Oddly enough the best part of the show was Kagari's personality. While I have played VN I don't really remember Kagari acting the way she does in the anime in the VN. This might be the new route that the new version of the game is going to include but regardless Kagari is the only character that I ended up liking in the anime. She feels fully fleshed out and honestly steals the screen when she is present.

Overall: 4.9/10

Again I want to make it abundantly clear that I absolutely love the VN this anime was based on. The VN tells a humorous and enjoyable story with a super well done cast that provide so many great scenes. The anime feels like a super watered down version of the VN. The lines are rushed, the character building/progression is rushed, the visuals look rushed, and the show in general is rushed. If this was a 24 episode show instead of 12 then maybe we would have gotten a worthy adaptation. We however got what we got; a rushed product that I still do not understand who the target audience is.

Let me make this better for you in the long run; watch the OP of the anime and the OP for the VN. If it at all looks remotely interesting to you then go play the VN. I honestly think that watching the anime first then going to play the VN might ruined the experience you would have if you just played the VN without the anime's influence. You would miss out of experiencing the VN fresh without outside things hurting the plot twists. Do. Not. Watch. The. Anime.

Enjoyment: 2/10

Thanks for reading my review! If you liked my writing style, would like to see some other reviews, or just want to talk, please stop by my page!

Sincerely,
Awesome Drummer