The format, however, is largely to blame for the uninspired writing.

But if the lesson is “Well, sometimes friends fight, but we just have to stick together,” c’mon… what are we? Twelve? Oh, you yelled at a friend when you’d normally just bottle it in? Oh, you ate a bunch of snacks when you really wouldn’t have pigged out? These examples are all very mundane, but in Kokoro Connect, they’re somehow supposed to be life-changing incidents that our five friends are supposed to learn from. I put those words in quote because the characters never come close to even actuating their ids.

For instance, it would seem as though Taichi’s bland, gotta-help-them-all personality could actually be his downfall.īut none of this is fully explored as we instantly jump to the arc where everyone’s “innermost desires” are realized. With all the body-swapping going around, the anime had a chance to deconstruct not only gender roles vis-a-vis anime, but also the character stereotypes that typically plague these types of shows. In my mind, the first arc was the best as it seemingly spawned the best discussions. As soon as something intriguing is about to develop, the arc essentially finishes and the story starts over.

I need more shots of the friends walking in a line!Īs much as its fans would like to toot the anime’s horn, the problem with Kokoro Connect is that its problems never get very deep. A simple talk fixes everything, the deadbeat wife-beater is thrown out, and then the episode–… no, the entire show ends. Like a Sunday morning cartoon, all’s well that ends well. Speaking of unsatisfying conclusions, Iori then has a chat with her mom and… that’s it. It is a wholly unsatisfying conclusion either way. ” Is this a rush job because of the bullying incident I mentioned above, I can’t really tell. Heartseed #2, we’re told, “will no longer be able to meddle with. So even when Heartseed #1 offers to send Iori back to any point in time in order to fix her domestic situation, she refuses. Iori blames herself, but her friends convince her otherwise. Iori’s mom sounds like she’s in trouble, because her second husband is a deadbeat wife-beater. I suppose it’s first necessary to address the content of this “final” episode. I firmly believe the first arc was the best arc, and as such, it should’ve been the only arc, if that makes any sense. Besides, it’s not as though Kokoro Connect was reaching some high point before having its life cut tragically short.

If you’re curious about the bullying incident, it’s everywhere so it’s not like it’s hard to find. In the end, however, I can only judge what’s in front of me. I’m told it’s true, and it’s supposed to explain why the show ends so abruptly. There’s this outrageous story floating around right now linking Kokoro Connect to a bullying incident.

Kokoro connect manga ending