The past is starting to catch up with Banri in ways he can’t imagine.
What They Say:
Banri Tada is a newly admitted student at a private law school in Tokyo. However, due to an accident, he lost all of his memories. During his freshman orientation, he encounters another freshman from the same school, Mitsuo Yanagisawa, and they hit it off at once. Without any memory of each other, their lives become more and more intertwined as if set by the hands of fate. But what is their fate, and will it lead to happiness or another memory to forget…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After some fantastic if difficult character material in the previous episode that made Koko completely human and engaging. Banri started to go through his changes as well. With him returning home for a bit, he ended up discovering a place i his memories that he hadn’t known before and it’s starting to draw back some of who he was, making him want to know more but at the same time hugely afraid that it would eliminate who he is now, which is someone that he actually does like. Having gotten to the bottom of some of his emotional issues in the first couple of episodes with a real heart to heart with Koko, both of them have been quite engaging to watch and there’s a good truth in the kinds of fears that Banri has when it comes to his lost memories.
Seeing a bit of what happened to Banri with the accident is kept simple and without emotion really as we see him watching it from the outside, living almost as a ghost of sorts that watches over the Banri that has taken over his body but cannot hear who he was. It’s an interesting way of presenting it and shows that who he was is always there just under the surface looking for a way to connect and come back. While he does dwell on that to some degree as he returns to the city, it can sustain itself only so long in the face of Koko, who is just thrilled that he’s back and is happy in a way that we haven’t seen often in the show so far. She is, of course, over the top and comical about things as she draws him back into her life after he’d been away for a bit and it’s just so dramatic and filled with what you’d expect from an extrovert actress that it does manage to work right. Especially when she gives Mitsuo some of the opposite impressions that puts him in the dog house, making it clear that they’re done.
As events do progress, we see Koko and Banri spending a fair bit of time togther at different things, but she’s largely finding herself working through the breakup with Mitsuo, even though she’s done with it. That has her talking about her feelings, regrets and issues with him with Banri. There’s obviously a comfort between the two, but Banri is still seemingly at a crossroads as to what he may become – the good friend and nothing more or the rebound boyfriend. Both options aren’t all that good for him in the end if he finds himself really wanting to pursue something with her. And Banri has the additional problem of Linda, the girl from his pre-memory loss time that he was involved with who could be significant factor in his life as things progress and either his memories start to come back or she tries to make some sort of move to help or simply reconnect with him. And what we get with the bit of flashback here just cements it all the more that there’s a lot going on with Banri beyond just the memory loss.
In Summary:
Golden Time doesn’t hit the highs that it did for me in the previous episode, but that’s not a surprise considering what it was trying to accomplish. With this episode, it’s more about the way Koko is handling her ending things with Mitsuo, and turning to Banri in uncertain ways at the moment for what she really wants, as well as delving more into Banri’s story and past. There’s a really interesting way of presenting it here that works well for me and makes me like both versions of him quite a lot. It also starts to draw in more of what’s going on with him and Linda in the past and how that’s about to become something more in the present, which can certainly alter the direction of events with Koko as well. As I’ve found many times over the years, shows with college age people or adults tend to be a lot more engaging when it comes to relationships, the complications and feelings involved. Golden Time just reinforces that once again.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.