Anime Hajime Review: Just Because

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Just Because. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

For high schoolers, the last few months before graduation is a surreal time. The days of adolescents are dwindling. Adulthood is on the horizon. College exams are coming. People are saying their goodbyes. There is a lot going on. And the last thing anyone needs is their emotions running wild.

Too bad you never get to pick when you fall in love.

Eita Izumi (voiced by Aoi Ichikawa) has moved back to his hometown. With the end of his high school career a stone’s throw away, he has no interest in socializing. Yet as luck would have it, people from his past found their way back into his life.

When he was in middle school, Eita never could talk to his long-time crush, Mio Natsume (voiced by Karin Isobe). After all these years, he thought he had put these feelings behind him. But one look at Mio brought them flooding back.

At what seems like the absolute last minute, everything has turned complicated. Thus, the option becomes as such. Do you risk rejection? Or are you satisfied with living with a lingering regret?

Series Positives

I came into this series hoping for a love story. I wanted something to scratch my romance itch. Just Because was the candidate for the Fall 2017 season. Given what else there was available, this appeared ready to throw in a different type of spice. Then I saw Net-juu no Susume and wouldn’t you know it, Just Because found a competitor.

A strong one at that.

There was a big contrast between these series. One succeeded in crafting a fascinating world filled with fun characters and warmth. Before realizing it, the atmosphere was enveloping and it was great. The other was…not those things but was still fine.

If you read my Net-juu no Susume review, you know where I’m going with this. If you haven’t, spoilers, Just Because is the latter.

But that’s not how you judge a show. You can only determine a story's worth through its own merits. Too bad things aren’t looking up when early on, you see troubling elements from series that were underwhelming in the past. In particular, it was like starting up Tari Tari or True Tears once again. This did not instill confidence.

Both Tari Tari and True Tears had oddities that bogged down any enjoyment they could’ve had. Oddities that did appear in Just Because. The biggest being an overuse of whimsy.

Tari Tari and True Tears had decent animation. Except when True Tears kept trying to shove in a bunch of painful and outdated CGI. Nevertheless, these shows did have good looking moments. Too bad there wasn’t much to these moments other than looking nice. And that was part one of the problem.

These two show’s characters would speak in the most poignant way imaginable. Though these stories intended to add meaning, they sounded full of themselves. These series couldn’t get off their high horses. A few noticeable exceptions aside, it was hard to care.

Just Because dabbled in these areas. Enough to cause concern. We will get into those details in due time.

This leaves us with the most important question. How was Just Because? It was middle of the road. That’s a distinction I used in the Children of the Whales review. But where something like Children of the Whales was middle of the road at best, this was middle of the road at worst.

Although this series reminded me of Tari Tari and True Tears, it didn’t become those shows. There were elements about Just Because that helped it rise above them. There were things this series had that those other two lacked. There were still flaws to this one, but it could have been much worse.

Regardless, Just Because will most likely succumb to the fate Tari Tari and True Tears did. This will fall into obscurity. But there is one silver lining. Should I ever recall this show, it will be with appreciation and not dejection.

Haruto and Hazuki’s Relationship

For the majority of Just Because, this was the pair worth getting invested in. Haruto Souma (voiced by Taishi Murata) and Hazuki Morikawa (voiced by Yuna Yoshino), their story had my attention.

What went on between these two was, when compared to everything else, simple. One liked the other and that person tried bridging the gap between them. In this case, Haruto wanted to impress Hazuki. But try as he might, Hazuki was preoccupied with other matters. She wasn’t in the mindset to foster a romantic relationship.

Like I said, straightforward. And there’s nothing wrong with that. What was going on between Eita and Mio was enough complexity to deal with.

Haruto and Hazuki were in their own separate matter in this story. Neither of them messed with or were knowingly aware of anything bigger. I make that distinction because Mio did have feelings for Haruto. While that caused problems for her character, they were only that. Her problems. Those issues, more or less, didn’t affect our secondary “couple”.

Jumping off from there, I’m using the term “couple” for the sake of narrative ease. Haruto and Hazuki’s story didn’t involve them being together. It involved them coming together. An aspect I must split in two.

I’m issuing a spoiler warning, but hear me out before cutting away. I’m going to discuss what occurred at the end of the first half of Haruto and Hazuki’s story. This will give context for the second half. A second half that was solid. I won’t bring up the ultimate fate of these two, so I do hope you choose to stick around.

If you want to jump to the next section, it’s labeled The Second Half. If you’re still here, let’s continue.

There came a point in this series where Haruto and Hazuki were alone. This gave Haruto the perfect opportunity to confess his feelings. This scene was well done. Plus, it was interesting it happened when it did. There was quite a bit of series left.

To Haruto’s dismay, Hazuki said no. But their story wasn’t over. After Hazuki’s rejected Haruto, the second half started.

Hazuki later confided she acted on instinct. Her “no” was a reaction, not an answer. She felt she didn’t give Haruto a fair shot. Therefore, she took back her rejection in exchange for more time to think. Afterward, she would then give a genuine response.

First off, this was a cop-out. And yes, I mean that as a negative.

Hazuki’s initial answer was pretty definitive. There was no wavering in her demeanor. Just Because gave us no reason to think she would hesitate. Or at least, not in a way that makes sense.

We did learn why Hazuki would be so resistant to a romantic relationship. The timing wasn’t right, and she wasn't in a position to put in the effort required to make such a prospect work.

Yet, we learned it after the fact. Hazuki said “no” and then we got the why. This was annoying. It meant the power of Haruto’s confession scene could have been much stronger. Had we known this information, had we known Hazuki’s reasons, it would have added an extra layer to this story. As well as giving more to these characters.

That notwithstanding, what happened, happened. This led to a much more engaging second half. There was something on the line. There was something for these characters to work towards. This also gave Haruto and Hazuki more opportunities to grow closer. Thus, this made the prospects of them becoming a couple much more enticing.

It was this kind of engagement that was missing in Tari Tari and True Tears.

The Second Half

Not only did Haruto and Hazuki's story get better, but the entire second half of Just Because did so too. Many of the problems that were in the beginning episodes were no longer around. They evolved into things that were much more interesting. That and there was a more concrete understanding of what was going on.

This improvement was a gradual build up and it’s hard to pinpoint when it actually started. Yet there was one episode where it was clear something had changed. And not only that, this change was good. And not only that, this change was here to stay.

I’m not going to call out the episode, but you’ll know it when you hit it. The story will become super tense. Up to this point in the show, this was not a thing Just Because had been doing. And not to give too much away, there was one scene in this episode that was fantastic.

A reoccurring subject in this series was Mio studying for her college entrance exams. The day came, and it was hectic. While on her way to the test location, Mio’s mind was running a million miles an hour and she could not calm down. Fortunately, Eita was there to give his support.

How Eita did this was super effective, and it was his best moment of the series. This signaled the start of when our main couple finally became worth looking into. This was a long time coming and I actually didn’t think it would come. But when it did arrive it did so with force. This created the momentum that allowed this show to finish strong.

And when there were a compelling plot and characters, it was easier to notice something else about Just Because. This series knew how to tell a story.

While this show did get a lot better, I won’t pretend it did anything that remarkable. That’s a shame too. Had Just Because been more consistent, this would be a go-to example of effective storytelling. There weren’t that many times when things were explained to us. Instead, this series would show things to us.

We never got a play by plays of scenes that were happening. Characters didn’t read off bullet points. People had conversations. There were reactions. Everyone had emotions. Through these things, there was a much stronger connection between series and audience.

What’s more fun? Putting a puzzle together yourself or have someone tell you step-by-step what to do? For me, the former is much more satisfying when it’s over. The same is true with storytelling. When an audience connects the dots themselves, they're more likely to feel invested in a story. It becomes more meaningful in the end.

Take the scene I mentioned a moment ago. The one where Eita was comforting Mio. In it, Mio never said, “I’m happy you're doing this for me.” Or, “thank you, I’m feeling much better.” Or, “this is a great help Eita.” But she did say something.

“Keep going.” Two simple words, but they conveyed the entire message.

And this wasn’t only dialogue either. Just Because had some standout moments of visual storytelling too.

There was a scene where Haruto threw something away. What that object was and the manner in which he tossed it said everything that needed saying. You knew what was going through his mind. You knew how he was reacting to his circumstances. You could see where he was in this story. And no one said a single word.

Whenever I see this kind of stuff in action, I can’t help but be impressed. This is something only a visual medium can do. Plus, its animation, in particular, that can do it better than most. So, cheers to Just Because for pulling this off.

But there was an issue. Though this series didn’t have much exposition, there was something else that was irritating.

There would be times when a bunch of no name characters would throw in their two cents. I say, “no name” because I do not know their names. Nor am I motivated to look them up. Each of these characters had less than zero bearing on this story. When one would start talking with no one else around, they added nothing.

The worse offender of this was one girl who only had the nastiest things to say about Hazuki. This series never gave a reason or followed up on why. But it was a thing that kept happening. What was the point of this?

It was these kinds of choices that held Just Because back. For every two steps forward, this show would take a step back. Although progress was happening, this series didn’t go as far as it could have.

Series Negatives

Product placement, this series had a ton of it.

In case you are unfamiliar, the main messaging app in Japan is LINE. Everyone has it and everyone uses it. I can’t tell you how many times I had to check my phone because of how often this show used the LINE notification sound.

Also, if you’re wondering why characters replied with goofy looking stickers, get used to it. This was not a mistake or an unusual detail. This was beyond accurate and a very Japanese thing to do. I myself am partial to LINE’s mascot bear, Brown.

By the way, for those watching the subtitled version of Just Because, your screen will get quite busy.

LINE was not the only company to find its way into this series. Depending on your knowledge of Japanese retailers, you'll see quite a few brand names. One that had me bursting due to its blatancy, happened when Eita was in a well-known department store. I knew exactly what store it was too because it’s annoying as hell jingle kept playing in the background.

Is this an actual negative to Just Because? That’s a debate for another time. But this tells me that many groups backed this show. And I’m not confident they got a good return on investment.

The Beginning

I can sum up the first half of this series in a single word. Boring.

Just Because took a long time to get going. It would not surprise me if there are people who never made it to the stronger parts of this story. Nor would I blame them for calling it quits. This series did not have much to offer that would keep an audience around.

And nowhere was this more of a problem than in episode one, On Your Marks. This was a poor start to this show. Nothing, and I mean nothing happened other than the barest minimum of introductions. There was only one thing I got out of this episode. This show would have characters. That’s about it.

I didn’t catch anyone’s name. I didn’t know a thing about anyone’s personality. I wasn’t even sure who made up the main cast. Everyone blended together, and it was hard to differentiate who was who.

That’s not me exaggerating. Episode two came around and Mio was talking with Haruto. What they were discussing isn’t important because in the middle of their conversation it hit me. “Oh, crap! That’s not Mio. That’s Hazuki.”

As this series went along, I got more comfortable with everyone. Through sheer exposure, I had figured out who was who. I’m bad with names and am even worse with Japanese ones. I often need to rely on a character’s appearance to know who they are. That is unless said character has a distinct personality attach to their name. Just Because did not make this easy.

There was another instance where Hazuki changed her hairstyle. She blew everyone away with how beautiful she looked. She damn near knocked Haruto off his feet. Except I was sitting there freaking out. I could not, for the life of me, tell what she had done.

And this happened in the better half of this series. So needless to say, this was kind of a huge problem.

Ena

There was no reason to have this character. That hurts to say since Ena Komiya (voiced by Lynn) was my favorite.

Ena was the one person who had any kind of life and energy before this series started getting good. She was funny. She was tricksy. She was a bit of a troublemaker. When there was something she wanted, she would not stop until she got it. This also made her confident and direct. This was a massive plus when most of the other main characters weren’t like this.

In the latter half of this series, Ena became a romantic rival to Mio. I have a fair amount of issues concerning this. But those are minor when compared to when she fell for Eita. And by “fell for” I mean that’s not at all what happened. She went from pushy to affectionate with no provocation. There was no build up. There was no trigger moment. This series went from point A to point Z and ignored the rest of the alphabet. And for what?

That’s a rhetorical question and the answer to it infuriates me. This show did not need to do what it did to Ena. So then why did it do it?

Believe it or not, this series came with an answer. It’s in the damn title.

Final Thoughts

I did not recommend Tari Tari. I did not recommend True Tears. This series could have become like those two. And on a few occasions, it almost did.

Except there was enough to prevent this from happening.

There were a number of solid character moments. The actual storytelling methods were effective. And by the end, this series wasn’t that bad. But you’re going to have to slog through a lot to get to that point. So, if romance isn’t your thing, you’ve given yourself the reason not to watch.

However, if you do like a good love story, then watch Net-juu no Susume first. After that, you can come to this.

That may not be the most glowing of recommendations, but Just Because does get one.

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? How would you advise Just Because? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.

And if you liked what you read, be sure to follow me on my social media sites so that you never miss a post or update. Also, please share this review across the internet to help add to the discussion.

I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.

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