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)
Providing some time, but not a lot, for the characters to get past some of the struggles they were facing after the accident was certainly interesting overall, especially since Koko and Oka got to have some quality time together previously. While it could have been wrapped up in one episode or made a main point for the remainder of the series, it ended up being a bit short overall and without quite the depth I would have wanted. But it’s able to move forward from there and now life is throwing another curve ball out there as Koko is being asked to front Nana’s group for the upcoming concert so they can have something of an edge for it. Koko’s not exactly keen on it but events work out in a pretty unexpected way due to Koko’s personality and Nana’s intent on achieving her goal.
While this is playing out, we also get a story that focuses on Banri for a bit as he’s off with Linda and a few others for a minor road trip. The main focus is on these two though as they end up at a class reunion of sorts at their old high school and it’s a source of immense stress for him since he’s so uncertain of everything there. His view that he’s not who he was then and nobody will know who he is now, and that he won’t know any of them really, eats away at him and he has some pretty natural panicked reactions to it all. Reactions that Linda thankfully is able to help ease him past and calm him down, while finding a way to get him to move forward. Which is what he wants, rather than being stuck with the fears he has. What’s welcome is that as everyone ends up there together, they’re all happy to see him. Which could be overwhelming to be sure, but it helps to show that they’re all looking to help and support him.
There’s a lot of simple fun that comes with all of this since it comes down to a big dodgeball game between the students and they really just get silly with it, particularly with some of the dialogue that comes up between Banri and Linda. But a good chunk of what happens is that a big fear of Banri’s is removed and he sees that he can reconnect with his past in some ways and it won’t cause him to fall apart completely. Fears aren’t always rational to be sure and even when they are, they may not be what we think they are. There’s also a little more clearing of the air between him and Linda, which is definitely useful after all that’s happened, and a nice little reminder along the way that she is glad he has a girlfriend in Koko and that everyone seems to get along. It’s all very positive overall, though you know they have to throw a little curve in at the end that makes you cringe with what it portends.
In Summary:
Golden Time gives us a little focus on Koko at the start that’s cute and shows where she’s going to end up next, but it expends most of its energy on Banri and Linda. With the two of them together back home for a reunion with classmates, it has a lot of potential to go very wrong but ends up playing out in a really good way. Banri is admittedly in a weird place where he’s finding himself starting to really feel comfortable with who he is and capable of dealing with his issues in a strong way, but he’s also struggling with the fact that it seems like more of his memories are returning and that creates an uncertainty amid everything. It’s a bit of a slower episode but it provides some amount of closure for an aspect of his life and begins to put the other piece more towards the forefront 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.
