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REVIEW: A Town Where You Live Sub.Blu-Ray




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SaitoHajime101



Joined: 31 Mar 2013
Posts: 280
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:25 pm Reply with quote
I only watched a couple episodes of the anime before i stopped. I read the manga a while back and I remember being exciting for the anime only to realize how much they butchered the characters due to time constraints. Suzuka suffered a bit from that same problem, but had it a little bit easier due to being a 24/26 episode series instead of 13 like Kimi no Iru Machi.

Manga is worth the time spent; the anime isn't.

Good review, definitely put into words the things I felt in the short amount of time I spent on the anime Smile
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zensunni



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 1290
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:37 pm Reply with quote
A fair review, especially if you have not read the entire manga.

As a reader of the manga (though I am wondering when Crunchyroll will make my reading of the first several volumes legit by getting them online like we were told they would way back when they first started doing manga) I was a little more lenient with the show.

For instance:
Rebecca Silverman wrote:
The Kyousuke storyline, hailed by manga readers as some of the strongest and taking roughly two and a half volumes, is over and done in two episodes, never even telling us what Kyousuke's particular illness was or what kind of operation would lead to either a cure or instant death. This gives us less of a chance to understand Yuzuki's feelings on the subject or Haruto's own conflicted emotions, merely mentioning that she has feelings because of the past and he feels conflicted without developing either angle. This glossing-over of the deeper emotions tangled up with the plot renders the characters much more unsympathetic than they need to be, making us question why Haruto is so invested in Yuzuki in the first place.

While I agree to a point that the Kyousuke storyline was fairly strong, not telling us what his illness was or what the operation was that would cure him is not a fault of the compressed time frame of the anime! Nor was the lack of understanding Yuzuki's feelings for Kyousuke. That in particular was one of the biggest arguments among fans of the manga for YEARS after the event, with pro and anti Yuzuki factions arguing over her choices on message boards with great rancor. She is a character that many fans despised and others loved, largely because the story was told from Haruto's perspective and her motivations were always a mystery to him and the readers. Even when they were clarified by later content, they were still interpreted differently by different factions based on whether you thought she was the heroine of the story or the villainess.

However, the compressed time frame and some of the other changes were troublesome for me. For instance: spoiler[In the anime she breaks up with him via text and in the manga it was a note inside the bag with the present she gave him when he saw her in on the Tokyo class trip, which he didn't see until a couple months later after she had cut off all contact with him, seemingly unannounced. He knocks over the bag and finds the note and finally reads it, but doesn't believe what it says. That is what makes him decide to move to Tokyo, because he thinks she is hiding some other problem by saying she is dating someone else. The text message makes it too immediate. The two months of not knowing why she wouldn't return his calls or messages was an important story point, in my opinion, since the last time they saw each other they kissed passionately and seemed to be doing OK even though they were having some issues.]
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Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 3:37 pm Reply with quote
I remember hearing the hype about this series. My biggest issues was:
Quote:
characters aren't sympathetic

While I can understand why some would't like Yuzuki due to the illness part of the story, I didn't like Haruto either...due to his treatment of others. I've never come across a couple that I would label flat out unlikable.

It's been awhile since I last saw this series, so I won't point to too many specifics. Now, while my dislike of Yuzuki could just be not knowing why she does what she does...to me, it made Haruto's actions come off as rather dickish. What I remember most is that, in my mind, it boiled down to spoiler[Haruto breaking up with Asuka (and not treating her well) to be with Yuzuki who broke up with him due to wanting to be with Kyousuke out of pity].

As I said, no idea what is behind Yuzuki's actions, but that is the impression I was left with. I struggled to get through the series, so much so that there was a couple of months between my viewing of the first 8 and final 4 episodes.

I'd say this is a memorable series, much like David Arquette's WCW title reign is memorable...
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Elric_Edward



Joined: 18 Dec 2014
Posts: 18
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:44 pm Reply with quote
Manga lost me with all that college crap. Overall it was a decent read 6-7/10
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4064
PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 6:36 am Reply with quote
Ali07 wrote:

It's been awhile since I last saw this series, so I won't point to too many specifics. Now, while my dislike of Yuzuki could just be not knowing why she does what she does...to me, it made Haruto's actions come off as rather dickish. What I remember most is that, in my mind, it boiled down to spoiler[Haruto breaking up with Asuka (and not treating her well) to be with Yuzuki who broke up with him due to wanting to be with Kyousuke out of pity].


And there it is, the reason this series will always be an also ran. Well, that and the stalking stuff. And Haruto's tude of "Why can't everyone see how awesome I am?" As well as Seo's approach at drama.

The only thing Seo learned from Suzuka is not to name the series after the girl he knows is going to be... sigh... literally the Chosen One. I personally can't fully complain about A Town Where You Live because we got Princess Lucia out of the character designs and I enjoyed the directness of that series quite a bit.

Wait, yes I can as I liked the initial idea of the small town romance where you can't run or hide... ah, this series was doomed form the start, wasn't it? Once you move to Tokyo and you're stuck with that title...

You know, what the anime should have done was keep the story in the small town and used the known Tokyo stuff as flash forward counterpoints. I think... if done the way I imagine how cancerous this series really is... would turn a slice of life romance into something akin to a "kill them all" downer action series.

Your dreams are meaningless, the love of your life is a flake, you are nothing outside your little pond and somewhere, your love lies bleeding.

I'm not saying it'd save the series but it would help give it some concrete meaning.
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