Asatte no Houkou

Information of Anime

Karada Iokawa is a young girl that is fairly short for her age.  Her brother, Hiro Iokawa, takes care of her when their parents past away.  The two share the housework, but Karada feels a burden to him as she gets tried of being treated as a kid.  Shouko Nogami returns to her homeland after coming back from the US. On the way, she meets Karada who is making a wish on a wishing stone.  As Karada wishes to become an adult, she & Karada magically switch ages.  Now Karada is an adult & Shouko is once again a child.

Storyline (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Below is a summary of the storyline I've seen.  If you haven't seen the series yet & don't want to be spoiled, skip this section.  If you want to know the story & want to see how I viewed it, read on.

When Karada & Shouko switch ages, the two try to get along as most people, including Hiro, won't believe the wish made.  Plus, the wishing stone is broken & it seems it's not possible to return to normal.  Because they only age by appearance, all their memories & knowledge are preserved.  The two get along as Hiro meanwhile is searching for Karada.  Because Shouko & Hiro use to date when they were studying in the US, Shouko reveals the truth to him & it takes time for him to finally accept the fact.  As a result, the three of them live together at the Iokawa place.

Over time, Karada discovers that Shouko & Hiro use to be lovers in the US.  Because she is an adapted child of the Iokawa's & Hiro came back from the US for her sake, Karada feels a burden to Hiro for destroying his life.  At this point, she decides to run away to leave the two alone & tries to live on her only.  However, she has a tough time living on her own as she tries to find a place to live & get a job to increase her wallet.  In the meantime, Hiro looks for Karada but she runs away from him every time.  As a result, Shouko is angry with his character & this makes the relationship between the three worse for Hiro.

In the meantime, Tetsumasa Amino, Karada's classmate, thinks that the story of her gone to her relative's place is incorrect & decides to look for her on his own with the help of Harue Amino.  Finding a place to stay for the night, they managed to find Karada working in Harue's old school teacher's pension.  Here, Karada uncovers the truth to Tetsumasa.  However, he doesn't believe it as he thinks that she's just pitying him for finding "her".  Later on, Shouko tells Hiro where Karada is & the three of them meet once again.  Things clear up with Hiro finally accepting the fact that Karada was with him all along & confesses his feelings to him.  Plus, she finally doesn't see herself as the reason for Hiro & Shouko's breakup.  We also learn that Shouko did make a wish of being a child again.

The story ends with Hiro, Karada, & Shouko clearing up their confusion & the three of them get along.  Thanks to Kotomi Shiozaki's gift, Karada & Shouko managed to change back to their original sizes.

My Personal Review

Asatte no Houkou is a pretty relaxing drama show.  However, it's not something that a lot of people will enjoy.  It's more geared to a mature audience.  The theme it uses is mainly love & family relationships, so some people may find it boring. 

Animation

The character designs aren't something I like.  I found the child Shouko's face to be more of an adult than a child which freaked me out a bit.  Even with her stubbornness, her cuteness level as a child still looks more like an adult.  The two appearances of Karada isn't bad as she does look like her ages.  Hiro has the weirdest outcome.  He's sloppy looking when comparing to his old self when he was in the US.  Much cleaner back then.  However, strangely enough, both of his appearances really matches his carefree personality.  But, the least episode has him a bit more cleaner.  As for the fashion, it's ok as they are simple looking to match the town they are in.

The backgrounds are on the dull side as the setting takes place mostly in a small countryside city.  The details are dull, but not plain.  It's more like brush art style.

For the colours, it's very dull on the backgrounds & a bit bright on the characters.  Very good balance I must say.

In terms of the animation movement, it's quite flowing & smooth.  There isn't any quick or silly movements involved in the show as it's mainly normal or slow paces.  Sometimes, there are parts were the characters seem to be "walking" on the same spot.

Sound       

Many realistic sound effects in this anime.  They are pretty soft & gentle, which eases the mood of the show.

The seiyuus here are not too great, but okay.  The seiyuus for Karada & Shouko don't seem to do much on their character's ages.  There doesn't seem to be any voicing difference in the ages between an adult to a child.  But Karada is a bit better.  This may be the reason why I can't view Shouko as a child.

The music is ok as it gently sets the mood of the show.  They are mainly soft ballads.  It's many acoustic guitars & piano.  But I don't find the music to be something that I would go out & buy.

Story

The show seems to focus heavily on the family & love theme.  To make this theme interesting, the characters have unique personalities.  Karada wanting to be a adult to avoid being a burden to Hiro & Shouko being stubborn & selfish for Hiro leaving her alone in the US.  The character development is not too bad for a short show that is moving at slow to normal pace.  We see how hard it is for Karada to become an adult even though she can do a lot of housework without problems.  Plus, we see how Shouku is being more carefree as she realizes the relationship in the Iokawa family.  Because of the slow pace & theme, it's fairly dry.  Basically, everyone is weak but manages to find their strength near the end when they admit to their weaknesses.

The ending of the show is pretty good as it ties up everything & put things back to normal.  However, the time it took to get there was pretty long. Karada refuses to believe Shouko as she thinks she does it in kindness.  Although it can be irritating, it fits Karada's personality well as she's really a kid.  Nevertheless, it has a good ending.

Overall Conclusion

Asatte no Houkou is a great show to watch if you like something with a family & love theme in it.  However, I recommend watching this if you are a mature person.  Unless you are a young person that values these things a lot, I won't even bother with this story as you would find it boring & a sleeper. 

Asatte no Houkou receives a 8/10 on its report card.  The story is dry, but has a strong theme on family & love.  It's a got a nice steady pace & keeps the show interesting.  However, it's seriously geared to a mature audience.  Plus, Karada's childish character can really drag the story very long.

Last updated on December 19, 2007