Golden Time Collection 1 Review (Anime)

You might know this about me but Golden Time is my favourite anime. So much so that I’ve reviewed it in the past, but here I am to tell you once again why you should watch it.
 
My first Golden Time review is still my favourite anime review that I’ve written to date, and I hope to do it justice once again although I might not get as personal this time because, well, you’ve already had an insight into how it effected me on a personal level but I’m sure I’ll get a little sentimental so please bear with me! Anyway, Golden Time is a story about Tada Banri, a college student who’s lost his past memories and struggles with his identity as he feels that his family and friends are waiting for his memories to return so that the ‘real Banri’ will also return. He makes friends and meets the gorgeous Koko Kaga, a wealthy girl who’s got stalker tendencies for Banri’s new friend Mitsuo Yanagisawa who’s known her since childhood. Banri pledges to befriend Koko who has no friends of her own other than Mitsuo, and it isn’t long until they realise that they want to be more than friends.
 
Golden Time is one of the most human, heartfelt and beautiful shows that I’ve had the pleasure to watch, and it genuinely helped to make me a better person by coming at a time when I really needed it. Golden Time isn’t only an amazing love story, it’s an enriching experience about friendship and on how to accept yourself and move on. Watching Banri, Koko and the rest of the cast interact in a way that seems entirely believable to me is a wonderful thing to see, as all the characters are flawed but cope with those flaws with the support of each other. I relate to both Banri and Koko in several ways as I can be hugely paranoid and spiteful like Koko can be, and I’ve faced several of the same issues Banri has when it comes to relationships – feel free to read my previous review for more details as I don’t want to rehash it all here! It can sometimes be a rough watch but it’s entirely worth it, and it really has helped to make me a better person – this is something I’ll forever be thankful for.
 
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It isn’t just the main couple that are responsible for the great character development found in Golden Time, as the other main members of the cast including Linda, Mitsuo, Chinami, Takaya who’s affectionaly nicknamed 2D-Kun despite the fact that he’s likely the most stable member of the cast, and Nana are also fleshed-out and I didn’t dislike anybody – even if you find yourself having reasons to dislike somebody in Golden Time, it’s hard to deny that their actions are anything but realistic and it’s easy to empathise with them. It’s 24 episodes of humour, pure emotion and brilliant development that wraps up into a neat package that’s more than worth experiencing.
 
J.C.Staff, the animating studio that also worked on Toradora! by same author Yuyuko Takemiya, were brought back to work on Golden Time and I’m very glad that they did. Many romance anime tend to follow highschool students and so it’s nice to see Golden Time take follow their characters in college instead and, something I found myself taking note of, is how the characters have several different outfits so you’re not seeing them in the same outfits day after day – of course, this means the environments are wonderfully varied too. The character design in general is creative, with some of the most gorgeous OP and ED visuals you’re ever going to find, and J.C.Staff have done magnificently in bringing the story and characters to life. The emotion is brilliantly expressed across love, happiness, pain and sadness, and it does a lot to tug at your heartstrings!
 
There’s no English Dub but I can’t imagine anyone else other than the lovely Yui Horie voicing Koko Kaga! The voice-acting as a whole is brimming with talent and it’s one of my most favourite performances to date, with the voice talent capturing the emotion of the characters perfectly. Yui Horie also sings the OP’s and ED’s which is a nice touch, as it shows Koko singing in them too. I might sound like a broken record, but I adore the OST which I found to be unique with some beautiful tunes to match the wide-ranging emotions and events that take place. The OST compliments the rest of the show and I find myself listening to it often – if it wasn’t obvious by now, I absolutely love Golden Time and everything about it. It’s a complete package that I wouldn’t want any other way, and it’s still as important to me as it was when I first watched it
 
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Golden Time, as I’ve probably drilled into your head by now, is my favourite anime of all-time and one that’s affected me greatly. I’m thankful to it, as well as to Animatsu for bringing it over, and it’s an amazing anime that you owe it to yourself to watch. Yuyuko Takemiya, who also penned Toradora!, has proven that she’s the queen of romantic comedies and outstanding character and plot development and I’m already excited to see what she’ll do next now that her latest work, the manga Evergreen, has finished. I hope that if you watch Golden Time, you enjoy it and return to either of my reviews and share your thoughts on it. It’s hard to end a review for an anime you love so much and can talk about for however long so I’ll end this by saying that it’s okay to be flawed and to struggle with relationships and other things, but you’re you and I wouldn’t change that for the world.

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