Kotoura-san

Haruka was abandoned by all her family and friends as a child because of her psychic ability and she's now given up on building relationships with people. She pushes away her classmates' insincere attempts at friendship. Until she's approached by Manabe who's honesty and laid back nature means that people can tell what he's thinking with out psychic abilities. Manabe's aloof nature attracts him to Haruka with out him really knowing why and (thanks to Haruka's psychic ability) the two quickly form a love line. Haruka is then introduced to the ESP research society where the club president has a few secrets up her sleeve. Haruka needs to overcome her past trauma if she ever wants to make friends comfortably and that's not something that can happen overnight. But it's not all serious! Haruka's a klutz and Manabe's a big pervert! Whilst the plot might sound serious the show itself is full of laughs and is not to be overlooked!

So the start of this anime is nothing short of a soap opera. A full 10 minutes of Haruka's dark and traumatic past with complementary dark animation and necessary rain scenes and I was about ready to jump out of the window (on the ground floor)! But Manabe's appearance immediately rectified that! The sillyness that ensued However, this is a sad and tragic story, I can't deny that. Overly exaggerated tragedies that really break my heart! They're cliched, but there's still a novelty which stops them being bad. But for a rom-com this can be distressingly sad!
Now, I probably say this way too often, but it's true: it's the characters that really make the show! Kotoura-san is one of those rare treasures in which I love all of the characters! Starting with Haruka who is at first traumatized and devoid of emotion she tries to distance herself from every one. But after she breaks away from her cold shell she is 100% adorable! Easily flustered, violent outbursts and a total clutz. Yes, that does explain the heroine 99%  of rom-coms but you know what sets Haruka apart? She's a freakin' ESP and if you don't think that's cool, we just can't be friends!
Then there's Manabe, a male lead like no other! He's such an airhead that he even has silly droopy eyes unlike any other character in the show! When he finds out that Haruka is psychic, his only fear is that he'll have to stop having sexual fantasies. He's totally oblivious as well. Yet, not all that cute because he's such a pervert! Constantly imagining Haruka in all kinds of inapropriote situations causes neverending fun!
Finally there's three other members of the ESP research society. Muroto, the club president. Who at first seems as cliched and injured as every one else but it soon becomes apparent that she's something more sinister than that. I'm not giving away any spoilers but what I can say is that Muroto is a pretty damn awesome character eccentricity and all! Mifune, Muroto's tiny childhood friend. Not only is he visually novel thanks to his chibi form he is also the only character who remains calm. A bit of a nerd and very intelligent, Mifune is a fun character but mostly treated as just a bonus gift that comes with Muroto, so there's not much to say about him unfortunately. The final member of the club is Moitani but I can't tell you about how awesome she is with out spoiling it! Trust me though, she is every bit adorable as Haruka!
Kotoura-san is produced by AIC Classic. This is my first time watching something produced by this company but I am aware that they assisted in the production of Another and whilst it isn't as beautiful and gothic as another and nowhere near as detailed, it is definitely of a high standard. It's stylized with extra shiny hair and typical shojo eyes to fit the absolutely adorableness of the series. But we also can't ignore how well the animation is adapted to fit the tragedy of Haruka's past. All those dark shadows, Haruka's 'dead' eyes and the careful use of slow-mo and other refreshing styles of animation. It's a very well produced animation, with totally adorable characters which are successfully comedic and serious!
Whilst the inconsistency in Haruka's mind reading is a bit annoying I like the novelty. I'm definitely glad I watched it! Along with the novel plot, amazing characters and lovely production that I've already mentioned it also has an amazing sound track and some truly hilarious jokes! It's a really awesome anime as long as you're prepared for something a bit more emotional than your usual rom-com. Get past the unusual seriousness of the series and you can find a really funny short series that's well worth a watch!

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