So close yet so far.
What They Say:
Transistor Smartphone
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While the opening story in this four part standalone series wasn’t hugely special or out of this world, it was something that gave me more than what we usually got by a country mile. Stepping away from our standard anime experiences are what I seek with this block and it’s starting to his that potential more. With this episode, entitled Transistor Smartphone, we do go back to the whole high school realm which might not be the best thing to do at first. But providing something new through this form is what makes these things so engaging.
The show revolves around Kumeno and Koizumi, two high school girls that are at very different places in their life. Kumeno is pretty much your popular girl in the nice way while Koizumi is your loner. Kumeno is doing her best to reach out to her and include her in things, including being friends through their smartphones. Koizumi’s resistance feels very real, especially against the almost pushier Kumeno in how she keeps trying to break through to her. Koizumi does her best to ignore her for the longest time and Kumeno works through the verbal barrage she gets when confronted about what she’s doing. There’s definitely a difficulty at play here with the personalities and desires, combined with the uncertainty of being a teenager, which makes it all resonate – even years after I’ve finished high school myself.
In Summary:
When it hits that critical moment, however, and you wonder more of what’s going on behind the scenes with each of them, it just hits all the harder. Your views of both of them have to shift quickly from the preconceptions you have, and that’s what got me with the first episode in the series as well. You think you’re getting one thing, it reveals more of itself that forces it more and becomes even more engaging. There are a lot of questions that come up here and you can see an entire series that could be built from this, showing them in past and present, and that’s very engaging. The possibility is all there – if we reach out and take it.
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.
