Kokoro Connect

What would you do if you and your buddies began unexpectedly switching bodies? Or what if your darkest, most secret passions came rushing to the surface and took possession of you? One of the most crucial four years of someone's life is high school. Throughout these years, in addition to peer pressure, indecisive dramas, and division into several cliques/social groups, you are frequently met with the disappointing feeling of succeeding in primarily challenging, unfamiliar activities.

Here we have a series that combines a supernatural plot with well-written high school romance, lots of gripping drama, and other elements to create a great whole. Even though some of the concepts may have been used before a lot, I give you Kokoro Connect.

The 2012 anime series Kokoro Connect (Kokoro Konekuto) is based on the corresponding light book series by Anda Sadanatsu. It consists of two distinct parts: the 13 episodes titled Kokoro Connect and a 4-episode special titled Kokoro Connect: Michi Random that adapts the next story arc after the season. Silver Link and Shinya Kawamo worked together to create the animation. Fumihiko Shimo wrote the anime's screenplay; Toshifumi Akai created the characters, and Toshiki Kameyama handled the sound design.

In Japan, the anime premiered on July 8th, 2012, and ran until September 30th, 2012. A few weeks later, on November 19th, 2012, Michi Random began broadcasting and ended it on December 10th, 2012. The complete anime series was licensed by Sentai Filmworks, a North American distributor; an English dub was made available on Blu-ray on October 22nd, 2013, and was available in Australia on December 4th, 2013.

Between October 22nd, 2010, and August 23rd, 2013, a Cuteg-illustrated manga adaptation was printed in Enterbrain's Famitsu Comic Clear online manga magazine. The Light novel series, Shiromizakana, authored by Sadanatsu Anda with drawings by Yukiko Horiguchi, served as the inspiration for the creation of Kokoro Connect. Its genres included drama, romance, and supernatural, while its themes included love, polygons, and education. Each episode ran 24 minutes and was given a PG-13 rating for teens 13 and up.

Enterbrain released five tank-bon volumes between May 14th, 2011, and September 14th, 2013. Kokoro Connect On Air, a second manga based on the anime adaptation, was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Nyantype magazine between the issues of August 2012 and April 2013. It was illustrated by Na! On February 16th, 2011, Enterbrain published the drama CD Kokoro Connect Natsu to Mizugi to Bfu. On January 6th, 2012, Kokoro Connect Haru to Date to Imōto Gokko, a second drama CD, was also made available.

Five students at Yamaboshi Academy come together to start the Student Cultural Society, or "StuCS," after realizing there are no clubs where they fit in. Taichi Yaegashi, a devoted lover of wrestling; Iori Nagase, an ambivalent optimist; Himeko Inaba, an excellent computer whiz; Yui Kiriyama, a small karate student, and Yoshifumi Aoki, the class clown, make up the club. A weird incident occurs one day when Aoki and Yui unexpectedly trade bodies for a brief period.

The five buddies start to suspect that the supernatural occurrences are not simply for fun, as this supernatural phenomenon keeps happening randomly to them. They are soon compelled to grow closer than ever because of this, learning about each other's emotional scars and hidden secrets, which could ultimately cause the StuCS and their friendship to fall apart.

The members of the Cultural Club are as dissimilar from one another as the civilizations they study. This is partly because all students at Yamaboshi High are required to join a club. Despite this, the StuCS are considered a very close-knit organization, and most of their colleagues concur that discontent is uncommon among their ranks. None of the members initially wanted to join the Cultural Club but were forced to do so for various reasons.

One of the Kokoro Connect series' key characters is Taichi. He is the series' primary male protagonist and a participant in the Student Cultural Society. In general, Taichi is shown to be a kind and considerate person. Even if it costs him money or doesn't benefit him directly, he will go to tremendous lengths to help others. He was given the moniker "Selfless Freak" by Inaba for this quality. He enjoys watching professional wrestling and holds jobbers in the sport in high regard.

Another one of the primary characters is Iori Nagase, who also serves as the president of the Student Cultural Society. Iori is typically depicted as upbeat, playful, and adamantly opposed to unpleasant emotions. She works relentlessly to reduce stress and keep things lighthearted. She has also developed a habit of changing her personality to meet the expectations of others as a result of having a violent stepfather in the past.

The show's characters are well-written and endearing. The flow of animation and imagery was impressive. Unique is the greatest way to characterize Kokoro Connect. It injects its own unique splash of color into what would have been viewed as "trite" and overused.

Three opening themes and four ending themes make up the seven pieces of theme music for the anime. For the first ten episodes, "Paradigm" by Eufonius serves as the opening theme. In the episodes made available on Blu-ray and DVD, Sayuri Horishita's "Kimochi Signal" replaces it. Masaki Imai's "Kimi Rhythm" is the premiere theme starting with episode 12. Team Nekokan and Junca Amaoto's "Kokoro no Kara" is the first closing theme for the first five episodes. For episodes, six through ten, Team Nekokan and Atsuko's "Cry Out" serves as the second ending theme. For episodes 11 through 13, "Salvage" by Team Nekokan ft. Rekka Katakiri serves as the third ending theme. Overall, the sound effects and music were effective.

Overall, the plot has been successful, and the voice work and animation are trendsetting makings for a unique offering. It was a strange but enjoyable experience. More or less recommended, though you'll constantly be on the verge of falling asleep with Kokoro Connect.