delolmo

This anime is without a doubt a hidden gem. I am not sure how popular it got when it was originally released but having just watched it I was blown away by it! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE. This review is spoiler-free.

Story

The plot is very well described as in the summary for this page. At first glance as with the first episode, the plot is quite confusing. There is some magic, a girl on an island, and some teens with a weird relationship/friendship. You have to stick to the first few episodes to start grasping the plot.

I personally found the story quite original and to be very well executed. I never knew for sure what would happen next as the characters play time and time again with logic in a world that is hardly reasonable to begin with (magic… hint hint). Although the story is complex at first and continues to develop just as much throughout, the plot becomes easier and easier to follow with each episode and is highly entertaining. It does not help that almost all the episodes end with a cliffhanger which makes you want to binge watch the whole series in one day.

The pace was quite adequate as a considerable amount of events happened in each episode, but not a lot to make it too overwhelming. I suppose there were a few episodes that summarized the story here and there but other than that the pace was great, no complaints there!

The story itself is quite serious since we experience the emotions of revenge, fear of the unknown, sadness, and so on; yet, we are able to experience some comedy here and there which was appropriately placed to balance things out. Overall, I really think the story was amazing with an original plot, good pace and well executed from beginning to end. You never know for sure what will happen next and the ending was amazing.

Animation

I found the animation to be excellent! From the characters, to the fighting scenes, and the landscapes, it was very well done. The studio did a great job in producing this anime.

Sound

I did not like the first opening song as much but the rest of the soundtrack was fantastic. Incredible touching soundtrack for the remaining of the opening and endings themes with lyrics appropriate to the story line. I particularly enjoyed the music throughout the story for the background when setting the mood for a Hamlet’s quote or from The Tempest.

Characters

The main characters are quite different from one another. From their backgrounds to their personalities they really don’t have much in common with one another. For causality or fate their lives intertwined and as a consequence serious things take place in the future. I think the complexity between Mahiro and Yoshino (which is rather static) goes far beyond the surface. With Mahiro driven by feelings of revenge and selfishness he becomes well balanced with the witty and calm Yoshino.

The mysterious Aika is quite a treat. She does not resemble any stereotypical character that I have ever seen in an anime which makes the whole concept of her role in the story very unique. She is intelligent and unpredictable and her relationship with both Mahiro and Yoshino is strong and dynamic.

On the other hand, the character of Hakaze is quite intriguing as well in its own way. She is strong willed and smart in her own way. Her character changes consistently throughout the story which makes her interesting and it’s entertaining to watch.

The anime has a lot of other characters that play important roles to the story including several secondary characters that are fairly involved throughout the whole series. This made the story likeable and “realistic” as all the characters played one role or another during a relatively long period of time.

Overall

I loved every aspect of this anime with the original story and the non-stereotypical characters being the best features of it in my opinion. I recommend this anime to anyone who is looking for something new to watch with action, mystery, and a bit of love. Very strong feelings are portrayed and examined thought the story so be prepared to experience a lot of intense and emotional moments.