Rating: 8.5/10

Overall Series Rating: 9/10

Impressions:

I’ve never been a fan of endings, as I’m usually left wanting more. But strangely, True Tears does such a nice job of wrapping things up, that I don’t really feel like watching any more anyway. Everything feels complete (except for how I was hoping Noe would finally cry in the end). All in all, a great romance/harem series, and a great ending as well. The story, music, pacing, and especially the quality, are all exceptionally high. And you can always argue about whether the characters are well-picked or not, but in the sense that they make the show interesting, I will have to say the writers came up with a pretty nice cast.

Honestly, I’m surprised Shin ended up with Hiromi, BUT only because by the standards set by anime, if someone is occupying a guy’s heart for two episodes before the finale, then usually, the guy will stick with that person. Thankfully, True Tears doesn’t really follow the conventions of anime, but rather, the conventions of life, which dictate that, you can be really thankful and close to a person you don’t necessarily have any romantic feelings for. In this case, Shin shows that it IS possible that in an anime, a guy can have a normal relationship with more than one girl. In the end, he declares his love for Hiromi, but there’s no problem in being grateful for Noe, is there?

In the end, I was quite content with the final developments of all the characters, so it didn’t really matter to me who Shin ended up with. Noe becomes rather normal, and Hiromi throws away her momentary bitchiness which is obvious in the previous episode. It’s also nice to see how Aiko’s relationship with Nobuse has improved drastically, now that they’re just ‘friends’. If anything, I would really love to see an aftermath episode, something that would depict the lives of Shin and Hiromi as a couple, or how things end up with Ai and Nobuse (it would be good if they ended up together). But that’s not anything to complain about. If you like romance, True Tears is a must-see.

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

I hate how animes can change a character completely in one episode. I liked Hiromi’s personality. Quite a lot actually. But quite obviously, she has been portrayed as the ‘villain’ in this episode, with her ‘leave us alone’ rant and tears/makeup, acting all high and mighty…and I can’t help but like Noe better. I also think it more likely that Shin ends up with Noe, which would be a good move if the writers wanted to NOT follow the traditions of harem anime. Noe has always been the main girl anyway, so I guess it would only be natural. She simply doesn’t seem like hte romance type though…

Either way, the writers have been awesome up to this point, continuously making the story captivating and unpredictable. True Tears is definitely one of the better romances out there, and in my opinion, it’s a harem done correctly. Speaking of harems, the third harem member, Aiko, has never really been a contender, which probably makes it more realistic. Surprisingly, her involvement in the story has not seem to ended yet, and although I doubt any major development, I wouldn’t be taken aback if they squeeze in some final elaboration of her relationship with Nobuse or Shin. There’s still the question of who Shin is going to end up with…if anyone…

Rating: 9/10

Impressions:

Uh oh, the part I’m most worried about now is Hiromi’s vengeful glare after informing Shin about Noe’s disappearance. I definitely hope the story doesn’t become highly unrealistic, like School Days, though a bit of fighting or angst wouldn’t hurt. I still have doubts that Hiromi will end up with Shin, but of course this is the path I would like the show to take. Perhaps the uncertainty at the moment is what’s creating a large portion of the excitement—even the well executed kiss-on-beach scene doesn’t wrap anything up. Ai making up with Nobuse was a quick and efficient way of concluding the two up, but also shows that they were never really in the heat of things.

I’m really not following the urgency behind Shin’s search for Noe after visiting the hen cage. Does he believe she is going to jump? That’s highly unrealistic, so I have no idea what he’s thinking (unless he cares for her THAT much). This is why it’s still quite unclear what’s going to happen with Shin’s romantic interests. Personally, I think he still holds Hiromi at heart, and only really saw Noe as a refreshing change of his usual every day life, and attracting him with the prospect of new experiences as well. The preview shows Noe trying to make Jibeta fly, and I foresee this as a perfect opportunity for her to get her tears back (with the dramatic sound effects and waves beyond the peer…)

Rating: 9.2/10

Impressions:

Hiromi is love! Aiko has definitely lost what little chance she had with Shinichiro, while it doesn’t seem like Noe is having much luck either. I guess the next few episodes are either gonna have Shin break up with Noe, or re-realise his love for her. I like the former idea much better, as you would imagine. Shin still has to confess to Hiromi, who I’m sure he is now hot on the trail for after discovering they really aren’t related (though in a real situation, there’s always the possibility that the parents are lying, or have been deceived themselves). I really hope they finish this awesome series well.

Rating: 9/10

Impressions:

Just about everything turned out just the way I wanted it—the misunderstanding between Hiromi and Shin being siblings has finally been cleared up, Shin’s mother has ultimately realised her wrongs (though personally I wanted to see something bad happen to her for being such a bitch), and of course, the thing that all Hiromi fans probably would’ve liked; Noe brushing Shin off. From now, I guess there’s still a chance of her getting back with Shinichiro, but the fact that she went to Shinichiro first usually means she won’t be the one who ultimately ends up with him, as suggested by many other harem shows. It would be more suiting if she just got her tears back, IMO of course. xD

The only real complaint I have with this episode is the execution of the initial bike scene. The effect they were going for was obviously the ’silent but harsh truth’ feel, though personally, I would have preferred the more generic ‘instantaneous jerking’ effect, with the usual added sound affects and perhaps screams as well. The reason is, if I look at it from an objective point of view, the way that Hiromi and Jun fall but get up as if nothing had happened really suggests that none of it was at all important, though it is actually very important to the development of the characters that occur minutes later.

Rating: 7.8/10

Impressions:

So apparently episode 7 will only be released on DVD or something. I have no idea what it even entails, but oh well. Again, the value of the story of Ookami to Koushinryou is quite high, while character development continues at a nice pace. Hopefully, it won’t be long before Horo and Lawrence become much more intimate than they are now. It seems like they only view each other as travel partners—perhaps inseparable ones, but only that at most. The animation quality recently hasn’t been as high, but definitely at tolerable levels. Quality has little effect on a show like this anyway.

Rating: 8.5/10

Impressions:

The fact that Noe is becoming so close to Shinichiro when there’s still 5 episodes left suggests that the current pairings may not reflect the end result very accurately. Of course, it could simply be a sign that the two will come across some obstacle in the near future, and must work to overcome it, but this obstacle may well be the cause of their possible undoing. I sure hope so, since I just can’t come to like Noe’s personality. Hiromi is still my favourite, though I have to admit all three girls have undergone some significant character development that has changed their original behavioural patterns quite a bit.

This show manages to keep things moving at a nice pace, and does not spare a moment of peace as whenever something is resolved, another matter pops up, or a lesser matter becomes more important. Aiko’s crush on Shin seems to have been crushed (ok, bad pun >_>), but this allows the situation between her and Nobuse to come to light again, and we’ll see what happens from here. Also, while Noe seemingly has caught her ideal fish (aka Shin), new factors have arisen, such as the conversations and happenings between Hiromi and Jun, that may well complicate things again. And with 5 episodes left, this is almost guaranteed to happen.

Rating: 5/10

Impressions:

Honestly, I forgot about this show. But sorry anyways for being so behind. I find it rather annoying how simple things have gotten. If you take a look at all the complicated issues that the show once had, including Hirose’s blindness and the relationships between some of the characters, you’ll see that practically all of that has been settled. The problem is, these aspects of the show never produced anything other than badly executed quasi-drama and blatant harem comedy. I seriously can’t believe Yui and Kohinata’s relationship turned out so ‘friendly’. I hate to admit it, but this show has something wrong with just about everything it’s done…

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

Is this first major arc completed? I think it’s been handled rather well. Again, the development between Horo and Lawrence continues, with fairly high quality and an excellent execution of the underground scenes where Horo goes ‘wolf-form’. xD What surprises me is that no one has decided to come after Horo in the aftermath of the escape. And it seems her identity is no real secret anymore, which means there should be plenty more people like Chloe who will want to hunt her down. There’s also the church, which should be well aware of the situation now. I wonder how things will progress from this point, and what kind of plot the show will take on.

Rating: 8.5/10

Impressions:

The first half of this episode makes me kinda hate Noe. The second half shows her sweet side and makes me like her again. So it’s all good. The first half, however, does leave a big impression in me, as it tells me that Noe is either just really childish or extremely selfish—and both aren’t good traits. The way she accuses Hiromi and demands to know what’s not her business is quite irritating, so I’m certainly not hoping for her to end up with Shinichiro anymore. The latter half of the show shows her in quite a good light, though I still like Hiromi far better. Lastly there’s Ai, who’s made the boldest move so far, though I doubt she’ll get him in the end.

True Tears remains highly interesting as it’s easy to see that thing’s have been completely messed up now (and hopefully, not like School Days). As Shin says in the episode, there is a complex web of romantic feelings going around, and what’s more, Shin and Hiromi believe they may be related, Aiko is on the verge of breaking up with Nobuse and has stolen a kiss from Shin, and Shin himself has gone and asked Noe out when he’s not even sure of his own feelings. It basically means, there’s no telling what might happen from now, and since we’ve only just passed the halfway mark, I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more twists and surprises waiting.