As Pretty As The Flowers: Asagao to Kase-san Review

It’s quite rare to come across one, but sometimes you stumble an absolute masterpiece. For me, personally, this has taken quite a while to find, but at last – here it is, in the form of a beautiful romance.

Asagao to Kase-san (or Morning Glories and Kase-san in English) is one of the most outstanding pieces of anime I’ve seen. Arguably, I could also consider it to be of the most outstanding pieces of film I’ve seen in recent times. (I’m aware it’s an OVA, but for the sake of this review, let’s just go with ‘film’, okay?) It is certainly a piece made for the modern day, yet it has a simple story to it.

The hour-long OVA follows the story of Kase and Yamada, not too long after they start dating one another. We see some high points and some low points, but most importantly we see how the two girls continuously develop as people as they learn the importance of being in a relationship and being in love. There’s no hyperbolic drama, there’s no absolute disaster happening – it’s simple and that’s the charm of it.

The animation quality is outstanding. Zexcs have done a marvellous job of not only animating, but replicating the art style of the manga and choosing appropriate colourings for each aspect. Another outstanding aspect is the music. All of the musical pieces are somewhat relaxing and fit well with the story, the actions of the characters and their emotions. The OP reminded me somewhat of the style used in more popular films – the melody at the beginning reminding me somewhat of A Girl Who Leapt Through Time before it transitions into the vocals where it reminds of an OST from a Ghibli film. I was just as impressed with the ED. Both are lovely to listen to and both contain lyrics that are simply so sweet.

Rather than being one for yuri fans that are more into the likes of Netsuzou TRap, Asagao to Kase-san tones things down an awful lot. It’s fluffy whilst also showing the natural progression of a relationship. It shows the awkwardness that the couple goes through, particularly as this is Yamada’s first relationship. For me, a rather bi-curious girl, this was certainly a nice watch. I was hooked from the moment the film started and there wasn’t a time where I looked to see how long was left. It was the perfect length, covering just the right amount of story. There wasn’t a time where I was confused about something, there wasn’t a time where I was perplexed about something happened. It was all just so natural.

If you’re wanting a cute romance story that covers the theme of LGBT relationships, I’m yet to see a better example than this. (Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t anime that conveys LGBT relationships better!) I recommend you watch the original OVA Kimi no Hikari: Asagao to Kase-san. before you start though! This one is only six minutes long and will not only give you a taste of what to expect, but will also give you a little bit of back story as well.

Rating: 10/10