Golden Time anime is a romance-comedy that was released in October 2013. It is based on the light novel of the same name. Yuyuko Takemiya wrote the story while E-ji Komatsu illustrated for him.
Studio J.C. Staff produced the anime adaptation. Chiaki Kon directed the adaptation. A legend in the anime world, she directed Naruto: Shippuden and Higurashi: When They Cry. Additionally she worked on episodes of Boruto and Bleach.
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis from Crunchyroll
Golden Time Anime Review
Golden Time is the anime I’ve re-watched the most. I re-watch it almost every Christmas season. Not sure why, it’s just my personal Christmas anime. This is a 10+ year old anime, however I’ll still try not to spoil too much. The Golden Time anime is 24 episodes long.
This is another romcom anime. Golden Time is at the top of many romcom lists for a reason. Personally it is my favourite romcom anime of all time.
What I Liked
Characters
The main couple Koko and Banri didn’t hit it off too well at the beginning of the series. But over time they got closer and ended up together. A realistic couple that disagree on a lot of things but find a way to compromise.
The rest of the friend group Mitsuo, Oka, and Satou are great supporting characters. They bring more fun to the main couple. Going out on trips, visiting each other’s houses, or just talking at college.
The last of the ‘main group’ is Linda. She’s a senior to the rest of the group, she became close to Banri and Koko first since they joined a club she was a part of. She’s an interesting character that I shouldn’t go too in depth.
Story
The recurring conflict in the story is Tada Banri’s amnesia. He was a part of an accident right before the start of college. Because Tada Banri lost all his memories, he is basically starting a ‘new’ life. He wants to remember who he was before.
The audience learns about Tada Banri’s old self alongside the ‘new’ Banri. So you understand what he’s feeling, or not feeling, in some of the scenes. I think the amnesia aspect of the story is well written. You know it’s there, but sometimes you forget about it until it comes back into the story.
Another thing I love is that the story is set in college. Most romcom anime are set in high school. I think having more college or work romcoms would be great for the anime community.
All the OP’s and ED’s
The Opening theme (OP) and Ending theme (ED) of anime can sometimes get an anime ‘over’ or extra points. Both OP’s and ED’s of Golden Time are great. I would consider the OP’s to be unskippable, they fit the anime very well.
OP 1
OP 2
ED 1
ED 2
What I Thought Could’ve Been Better
The Ending
Many Golden Time fans will agree that the ending is the worst part of the anime. The author didn’t let the conflict play out. The major conflict arose and went away in one episode, which is the final episode. If the author let the conflict span maybe even one or two more episodes then it would have been way better.
Would I Still Recommend it?
Is this 10+ year old anime still worth watching? I think you should give it a chance. I am biased of course as it is my favourite romcom anime. And as I mentioned it is my Christmas / Holiday season re-watch.
