Myself; Yourself - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[Southern Cross]

Despite all of the suspense thrown into M;Y, the only things to come out of it were slightly disappointing and underwhelming outcomes. Although there were some nice curve balls thrown, much of the potential the anime seemed to present at certain points ultimately spiraled downwards in poorly placed plot twists.

Honestly, the anime really did have a lot of potential in my eyes. As it seems to be based on a visual novel, I assume there must of have been a lot of depth in the game's content and progression that those working on the anime would have to consider and condense to nicely present it in the form they were working on. I think the most obvious flaw in the anime is that it fails to condense and present such depth throughout M;Y's duration that would have provided the best impact and enjoyment. Instead, M;Y was filled with twists and turns all around. Some scenes were very powerful, while others seemed misplaced or totally unnecessary. The anime didn't expand as it should've - instead it threw blow by blow on the audience in a desperate struggle to "stick". I'm sure there was a lot that the anime wanted to say - but by making its progression breathless, it fails to convey essential messages and points to the audience.

Despite the aforementioned, there were a handful of notable scenes that seemed to successfully stress mood and immediacy, creating a nice bit of suspense every now and then. The anime definitely gets a plus for execution of such scenes, as there are actually a few memorable moments in M;Y, despite the anime lacking a true sense of direction.

I gave the anime a 6.5 (estimated up to 7). I was generous with the scoring because I felt that M;Y really made an effort to appeal. The only problem (and a big one, indeed) was that with the huge amount of depth M;Y seemed to have, the producers looked as if they had a very rough time condensing it all, making the ultimate presentation come out as a little lackluster compared with what I would've liked to see from the anime.

[harmonious]

I really liked it, especially after watching School Days. School Days has basically made me leery of every single anime in the romance genre.

[outcast_within]

Ack i was dissapointed at the end.

It ended so suddenly and crappy.

The first few episodes had a nice build up and gotten me really into the story.

But the 2 fillers with that little child was a absolute waste of time.
Suddenly A girl is stabbed, the twins leave town, the guy did cut himself and the girl remembers all and they end up together.

Good start but let down near the end

[snarf2691]

7.6

im glad i kept watching the show after the first episode. the whole part where they were kids threw me off because i knew it was a romance but not that sana would come back after five years so thank goodness the part where he came back came soon enough or i wouldve stopped watching. i enjoyed the humor in the episodes, especially in the hinako episodes. i just think they shouldve made it a 24-26 episode series so that the loose ends couldve been easily resolved earlier on. i mean wtf was with the sanaxnanaka arc. they avoided it till the end and it wasnt even that convincing. i wouldve liked to know why sana didnt recognize nanaka in the first ep because it seemed pretty obvious to me. just be cause she was gloomy doesnt mean she changed her face. i think they should have developed their relationship earlier on instead of making nanaka a needy tsundere because it was unlikely that she wouldve ended up with sana. you cant just go "hey we both cut ourselves. lets go out." i mean sana showed very little emotion towards nanaka but was handing it out to everyone else. so i believe if they had more episodes they couldve resolved some issues by fixing sanas and nanakas relationship early and developed the characters more. they couldve improved that last episode which was disappointing although it happened to have tied up the loose ends in a very unsatisfactory way. they couldve at least taken out the ed song to add more content instead of ending after nanaka plays the song, i mean wtf?

so overall i gave it a 7.6 because it kept me watching and had the potential to be great if it had twice as many episodes as they had. its too bad the budgets on some of these shows only allow for 12-13 eps but i guess they want you to play the games instead to fully enjoy them. hopefully they release an ova to show more of the other arcs or at least more content on the dvds.

[Pakxenon]

This show was practice for me to see how bad a show can get and why it does, so that in the future I may pick more enjoyable series to waste my hobby time with.

Review (very one-sided point of view) available in signature.

Other things (bad script, forced drama, no motives and good reasons, etc.) have been said. I'll give it good points for the anger the drama evokes from me.

4/10.

[combat kitten]

the idea and plot of M/Y is pretty decent. buut... its poorly paced, and generally too short.
the plot should be for a 23-24 ep anime. there are simply not enough romance scenes between the 2 main char. sana looked clueless and dont give a damn till like... the last 5 mins of the last episode? where he proposed i guess with the ring? NOT romantic at all...

[Anime Hate Machine]

If they intended to spark controversy and make you want to buy the game (to see all the lose ends resolved): they may have done their job right. But in terms of making an anime, they've mostly failed.

How could they squander such a good voice cast?

[stardf29]

Okay, I'm reading all these negative reviews of the series, which is starting to make me question my sanity.

Because I cannot give this series anything less than a perfect 10.

Yes, I'm aware there are many flaws with the storytelling. It definitely could have used better arrangement of events and more episodes so that it isn't as rushed. And I could probably name many other flaws. But then again, I could name many flaws for pretty much any anime.

What determines my grade for an anime is the impact it has on me. And it's this reason why this show is as good as it is. For some reason, I just felt a real connection with the characters, as though they were my close friends, too. And I was really absorbed into their lives and troubles for that reason. To explain why I felt this way about the characters is difficult; I might just be weird like that and it might be one of the reasons why I'm one of only two people to give this one a 10.

The highlight of the series was Shuusuke's and Shuri's arc, though. I've always been a fan of sibling relationships (incestuous or not), and that arc was just one of the best portrayals of such a relationship I've seen. Even if the last two episodes failed horribly, the series would have gotten a 10 from me for that arc alone.

[HayashiTakara]

How is it possible to connect with characters that makes no sense?

[stardf29]

Good question, because I've been doing exactly that for the past few years. Maybe it's because I myself make no sense.

But I didn't think the characters in this series made no sense. Yeah, there was a lot left out of their stories that could have otherwise explained things, but when that happens in stories, I think up of my own explanations, so that doesn't bother me.

Again, maybe I'm just weird like this, and I understand if others don't see it the way I do. I just thought I'd throw in my thoughts.

[snarf2691]

i think the problem most people, including me, had was that the show had so much potential that was wasted. i believe if they had like 24-26 episodes then they couldve fixed those problems. who knows, if the game is a really big hit then we could see an expanded series like what happened with kanon.

[Featherine B.]

Spoiler for Kinda long:

Hm... Myself;Yourself, eh... Sounded like a promising series at first, except that in the end it turned out not as good as I expected it to be. The first time I saw the opening, I was like "Woah, I'm definitely watching this !". Even though these kind of animes are not my thing (most of the time they are boring as hell, too prectictable, or extremely cliché. If not those three combined), I'll watch one if its OP is good or if the storyline seems different.

First of, I blame the anime adaptation of M;Y for having useless characters. In the game, Yuzuki, Hinako, and Aoi have specific routes which you can enter only if you are Shuusuke for Hinako's path or Sana for both Yuzuki's and Aoi's (I think). With those many characters, M;Y shoudn't have had only 13 episodes. It was way too short. That's how the game differs greatly from the anime, and that's not good, because an adaptation isn't an adaptation if it doesn't look any like the original game. In the anime, I even wonder what the heck is Aoi's doing here. If she doesn't do anything to the storyline, then why even bother including her ? Because M;Y wouldn't be M;Y without Aoi ? The heck, if you knew you wouldn't be able to include her story in the series, I think it would have been even better if she hadn't showed up. And what's up with her voice ? Some might find it moe~ and such, but personally I find it terribly annoying. Just to give you an idea, when my sister is around, I usually lower the sound so that she can't hear it very well, because then she's all "oh, whatcha watching ? is it goood ? what's the stooryy ?", but everytime I watch M;Y, even if I lower the sound, she tells me "hey, what's up with that horrible voice ?!"

Second, Yuzuki. So okay, she met Sana when she was a middle/high schooler. Then what ? The anime doesn't go any further into her story. Then again, why even bother showing that she has something to do with Sana ? And last, Hinako. Okay, she has a big crush on Shuusuke, then what ? Some might say "well, yeah, but she's important, unlike Yuzuki and Aoi; she's in love with Shuu". Okaaay, if you think that's a valuable argument... She doesn't make the plot go any further. Plus, to me it seemed that she had some problems with her parents. But, of course, they thought it wouldn't be worth it to explain a little bit more. That's like giving a question and not even giving the answer; what's the fucking point ? And what the heck was she doing at Sana's place ? "Oh, sorry, I think I'm just gonna live here from now on. Oh no, there's no apparent reason at all". What the... ?! That was just stupid.

M;Y was a so-so series in the beginning, then got much better with the Asami thing and the Wakatsuki twins affair, but then it all went suddenly down. In episode 12 I actually thought that we might eventually go into Aoi's route when she called Sana to tell him she had a cold (I think she's supposed to be sick, isn't she ?), but because it was just a joke, I ended up thinking that she's intended to be a useless character till the end.
And I don't know about you, but Nanaka seems to have a rather strange personnality. She's cold and a real tsundere, then towards the end she's all sweet, has an adorable voice, and speaks exactly what's in her mind. I might have missed something there, because frankly I don't know. Is she schyzo or something ? I know their relationship has gotten better, but still... Just take a look at episode 12, you'll see what I mean.

One thing I liked though was that Nanaka and Sana were both pretty open when they were together, unlike those usual couples where the only thing they seem to know is to blush whenever the other does something...
Towards the end, I was kinda forcing myself to watch the remaining of the series.
Sorry if I sound aggressive, but I'm really, really disappointed... (there's not even a KISS ! I mean, a romance show isn't really one if there isn't a kiss...)

Now... the good points... well... the chara-design is really good. That's what hooked me up in the first place. Then, the story is a little bit different than other random shows, and has some interesting plot twists (it's not like I was expecting Asami to be in love with Shuri o_o). Im my opinion, Nanaka remembered a little too easily, but her past was well handled and quite surprising. I thought the last episode was pretty good. At least... the first half of it. Ten years later. What the fuck ?! That was just wrong. And how come Aoi's voice didn't change, even slightly, after tne years ?! That's just so wrong too. And Yuzuki didn't change at all. It was nice finally knowing where the title of the series came from, but in my opinion those 10 years later scenes were very wrong and useless...

Even if it seems like I hate this anime with all the negative points I stated, overall, this series was "good". I'm tempted to consider it average, but it has some good points that I've never seen in any show before. Because I can't vote 6.5/10, I'll just round it up to 7.

(I've never played the game before, so correct me if anything of what I've stated previously is actually wrong)

[SeedFreedom]

Well, finally got around to finishing the series and luckly before this got moved to older series.

I'm going to break up my rating and review into 3 different sections because i feel thats the only way i'm going to be fair about this

First 10 eps or so:

Nice start. It did a good job of catching my attention. I also got something i thought i would never see in this type of series, a smart protagonist. The comparisons to school days from the replies almost drove me nuts and i think that would probably be my only complaint about the series in the beginning.
Overall :7

Middle 10 eps or so:
Really picked up. Instantly got hooked and found myself unable to wait for the next episode. The development of Shuu made the second strong protagonist making an argument, if the developed Shuu earlier it would be debatable on who the lead was. Loved every moment of the twins arc, even the controversial ending and arguments against twincest. thought the good times would never end...
Rating 9

Last two eps:
Unbelievable how fast they can destroy a series. No development to lead up to it at all, and basically just a sum up end all. They either ran out of time or plain forgot they needed an ending. Pacing went out the window and fast. So much talent and so much potential and they wasted all of it.
rating 2

overall Id recommend just watching the show up to the end of the twin arcs and make up your own ending. Or just spoil yourself and think of how that scenario would look like if they have another 10 eps to work with

i didn't want to give it a too low rating overall just because the majority of the show was simply spectacular but the ending really killed it and it was a good choice to put it off.

OVERALL RATING: 7

[maymay]

It started out kind of mediocre but the middle episodes were really good. Just when I was starting to really enjoy this show and its plotline they rushed into a rather hasty ending, leaving me wanting more explanations and character development. It feels like the suspense was built up so much throughout this short series that there was simply no time to offer any kind of substantial ending. I wish there had been more emphasis on the twins. As for Aoi...well she really didn't get any character development at all and she was one of my favorites in the beggining. Also I don't really think that Sana's past was explained very well. All of the shots of the bloodied knife led me to belief it was something involving the death of a family member or something like that. I would have liked to know the reason behind Sana being bullied. It doesn't really make sense because he was obviously capable of making friends prior to his new school. Anyways, for me this could have been alot better but overall I still liked it. Despite the ending it was still worth the time. I'm going with a 7/10 for this one.

[anti-random]

Yeah, the really managed to make an Ok ending. Kinda of disappointing because the set the first few episodes hooked me.

[Narumi]

The anime had all the plot points to make a good show, but instead of introducing something like character development or even character resolution, it just tossed it all out there for the initial shock factor.

And then we're supposed to get up and walk away happy that all the characters turned out happily ever after when we didn't get the proper time to sympathize with them in the first place.

I'm hoping the point of the anime was to draw more sales for the game, because as a standalone anime it did not achieve anything.

[Liddo-kun]

First off, I'm glad Myself; Yourself didn't turn out to be another School Days.

The animation quality is good, plot has unexpected twists which I haven't seen in other game insprired slice-of-life animes like this one. Some episodes actrually made me smile, like the Carnival episode and the time where Sana shouts something to Shuu and Syuri as the twins were leaving on the train (quite emotional moment ^-^). Asami becoming the unexpected villain, while some found to be unpleasant was ok to me - it actually freshened up the story imo.

My only major complaint is the anime could have been longer like they could expand on some characters more, rather than trying to squeeze everything into just 13 episodes. Overall, I gave the series 8 out of 10 - would have given it 9 out of 10 if they've made it 15 episodes.

[mist2123]

This series needs more kissing and some simi-H scene's

[anti-random]

The ending kinda of bored me and frankly it was really rushed, the last few episode were. 7/10

[wixia]

Just finished watching this anime and I actually enjoyed quite much even tho there was some flaws.

It was to short to begin with. Everything was so fast and forced. It could easily been 24/26 episodes instead. There was so many characters that just were there for a moment and then disapeared again.

Since it was so short it sometimes felt as they really smacked in misery scene on misery scene. In 13 episodes, not even 13 since it was kinde easygoing in the begining, they managed to have like every single thing that can go wrong. Dead parents, parents hitting their children, crazy grandma, friends that gets knifestabbed, suicide attempts, people running away, weird teachers/parents etc etc etc. This could have worked out good if they had made more episodes and put some more thoughts behind the characters.

Blood are red, NOT black!

No kiss in the final episodes, all aboard the failboat imo.

Even tho it had some of these flaws I still liked it. The story was an extremely sad story that actually made me think how awful life can be and I really felt sorry for the persons in the anime. In last episode when you got to see what actually happend the night of the fire I just felt extremely bad. It was so cruel.

This anime gets an 8/10 from me