Slow Start [Review]
“Unbeknownst to her classmates, 16-year-old Hana Ichinose was a year late in enrolling into high school. Although it may not seem like a big deal, it is a big deal to her. She wants to catch up with everyone else someday. ” Slow Start (manga)
There’s no way I can say no to a CGDCT anime so I have to have at least one of these shows per season. Slow Start had me at the artwork and hooked me with the animation and cute characters!
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Story:
Slow Start’s story singles in more on the day to day life aspect rather than have a concrete event that progresses through the anime. Yes, there is the fact that Hana had to be a year behind everyone else and how throughout the show she tries to bring it up with her new friends. That was very important in the beginning but in the end, it didn’t even matter because they all like her the way she is anyway. So even if she wasn’t a year behind, it would have made little to no difference in the story
Artwork & Animation:
The artwork was one of the main reasons why I was motivated to watch the show, but what I didn’t expect was the incredibly smooth animation! Typically, for shows like this, you don’t need that much animation to get the point across. As long as you have cute girls doing cute things with a reasonable amount of effort into the story and artwork, you’ll pass with positive feedback. Slow Start goes above and beyond and smoothly animates most, if not all, of its scenes. The fluid flinging of the arms or a simple twist of the body to showcase a new clothing that they bought, all of it was articulated through the animation and made the shows aesthetic that much more pleasing!
Character(s):
With so many Moe/Cute girls doing cute things type of anime coming out, it’s easy to fall into using common character types such as tsundere, air head, shy bookworm, etc. Slow Start’s characters stand on their own without having to rely on those tropes and that in itself makes the anime quite refreshing to watch.
Sound (OST & Voice Acting):
The soundtrack consists of subtle instrumentals which gives the anime a very light atmosphere. Shoutout to Uchida Maaya for making Hannen one of the most awkward and funniest character I’ve seen in a long time!
Enjoyment:
Thoroughly, enjoyed the art and the characters, though I wished there was more foundation around the year gap situation.
Overall: Score 8
Although Slow Start lacks a strong central story element to make it stand out more than your typical “cute girls doing cute things” anime, the art, animation, and character make up for some of its flaws and makes this a good anime!
Best Girl: Hannen Hiroe
Uchida Maaya and awkward shut-in trying to get back into society… if that doesn’t make you love her then I don’t know what will.
KiritoNarukami 