Rumbling Hearts
君が望む永遠At first, Takayuki Narumi is befriended by Mitsuki Hayase only because Mitsuki's best friend, Haruka Suzumiya has a crush on him; however since then, Takayuki, his pal Shinji Taira, and Mitsuki have grown to be the best of friends. Then one day, Haruka confesses to Takayuki her love for him. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Takayuki agrees to go out with her. After a few incidents, their relationship gets intimate, even while Takayuki and Mitsuki begin to realize their feelings for each other. But when tragedy strikes, things are never the same for these four friends again.
Reviews
eliza.thompson - 2016-12-14 17:29:09
More like rumbling we don’t always make good decisions, am i rite?
skautzer - 2015-07-14 10:43:07
So romantic and so sad it's really emotianal and beautiful to watch.
emoore - 2013-05-18 10:39:36
Back when I originally started seriously getting into anime, I used to carefully handpick which ones to watch, and generally avoided titles that I didn't think I'd like, such as comedies, romances and, err, romantic comedies. And I'd be pretty good at judging (usually from the description and artstyle) which anime I'd like and which I wouldn't. Some time down the line though, I decided that I should probably expand my horizons (probably due to getting into reviewing at the time - your opinions tend to not carry much weight when you give everything a 9+ rating :P), and started watching anime that I wasn't sure I'd like. "Full Moon wo Sagashite" and "Kimi ga Nozomu Eien" were two highly rated shows that I was skeptical about that I watched as part of my attempt to expand my viewing range.That 50+ episode series "Full Moon wo Sagashite" turned out to be roughly 40 episodes of disappointment, with only the last arc able to redeem the series, so I didn't start "Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien" (abbreviated as KGNE for the remainder of this) with much hope that it'll be much better than "okay" at best. After watching the opening episode, I concluded that not only does it look unlikely to rise above being "okay", it's likely to be considerably worse, because the first episode made KGNE look like a run of the mill romantic attempt-at-comedy show filled with extremely lame dialogues. Honestly, the only thing comical about it is how awful it is.Episode 2 was not much better, but ended with an unexpected twist that altered the dynamics of the show completely. After that, the series changed beyond recognition. As the episodes progressed, the characters quickly gained depth and realism, and I was soon completely taken in by the turbulent drama in the show. Each episode is more heart wrenchingly painful than the previous one, even when I thought the situations the characters in couldn't possibly get any more messy. Despite the occasional plot device and convenient timing used to set up some of the tricky situations, the problems faced by the characters are mostly very believable. This is not one of those "Saikano" type melodramas where the characters are always busy doing inexplicable things in order to make the story more "tragic". No, KGNE's drama arises more naturally, from characters being caught in realistic no-win scenarios, or making mistakes that I can't help but sympathise with. Comparisons with soap operas are certainly warranted, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing - soap operas can be engaging and addictive to watch too, at least in parts. And besides, KGNE has the advantage of being a tight, compact 13 episoder with a single storyline, so doesn't run the risk of getting tiresome after being shown for about 74 years like a soap opera where it might feel like the same materials are being recycled endlessly.KGNE is actually based on an H-game, but it's obviously done a good job of picking out the more poignant content while leaving out the more distasteful parts. Admittedly, some of the traits of a dating sim can still be detected within the show, which is a shame, but at least it's nothing as blatent as say, "Clannad", where I'd have to be blind not to see it. Though KGNE is occasionally guilty of being too melodramatic, in general the emotions contained in the show such as heartache, frustration, and guilt all come across powerfully and convincingly. Despite the cast being composed of plain, ordinary people, their compelling portrayal makes them stand out. A lot of anime can polarise viewers into separate camps that support their own favourite character, but in the case of KGNE, even as a single viewer, I feel my sympathies being almost ruthlessly divided between the different people involved, just like the main character Takayuki is torn between his two main love interests. Abandoning either is cruel, and the catch is, of course, the more he remains undecided, the more he hurts those two people. Hayase is another wonderfully developed character, her pitiful descent into depression is vividly fleshed out and heart breaking to watch. There is no easy answer to any of the characters' problems, and KGNE does an excellent job of drawing the viewer into this big, entangled web of conflicting emotions. A lot of people seem to think the characters don't act realistically because of their apparent lack of rationality that causes them to keep making stupid mistakes. But since when are humans renowned for always making rational decisions, especially when it comes to matters of the heart? The key issue is whether those mistakes are understandable given the context of the situation, and in the case of KGNE, this is very much the case.I'm not sure what to make of the comedy thrown into the mix. On one hand they can provide some nice contrast against the gloomy mood that makes up the majority of the show. On the other hand, you can also argue they dilute the atmosphere. Personally, I think it does more of the former than the latter, but there's one thing that I really hated about it, and that's the comedy previews they tend to have at the end of the episodes. Occasionally I come across previews that are really good actually manage to add to the show, but most previews are forgettable and don't really make the show better or worse. KGNE's previews are a rare case where the show is actually worse off because of it. This is due to the fact that most of the episodes end on a rather depressing note, and this atmosphere is completely ruined by the comedy previews that comes afterwards.There are a few other weaknesses within KGNE too, though they are mostly quite small ones. For one thing, despite its astronomical increase in quality in the later episodes, the dialogue still occasionally plummet down to the lowly levels of the first episode. Also, I think Taira should have been given more focus and development. Though he appears in a crucial part of the story, and plays that part perfectly well, his lack of screen time made him feel like a character that exists soley for that purpose. And then there's the animation, though mostly it's fine, the dynamic scenes (luckily there's not that many) are pretty poor in general. And Hayase's blue hair also sticks out in a show that's so down to earth.The last episode of KGNEdeserves special mention for being an incredibly emotional one. It provides a fantastic ending that brings the series to a near perfect closure. Is it possible to establish romantic feelings for someone over time, or do those feelings need to be there to begin with? Interestingly, the answer that the KGNE ending seems to be leaning towards is not one I would expect for a romantic show (though perhaps it's understandable, given its H-game roots). As a series, KGNE may not be as perfect as its ending, nor is it brimming with originality, but it's an outstanding anime that succeeds at what it's meant to do so well that it changed my attitude towards conventional romance anime, and that's saying something.