- Episodes : 24
- Genre : Comedy, Romance, Seinen, Supernatural
- Airing Date :Oct 2013 – Mar 2014
- Producers : J.C.Staff, Genco, Starchild Records
Golden Time Preview / Plot (No Spoilers)
The story follows Tada Banri, a freshman who enters a university in Tokyo. Because of an accident which happened the day after the high school graduation ceremony, he lost all of his memory and his identity.
On the first day at the university, Banri meets Yanagisawa Mitsuo, a freshman like him, and the two quickly become friends. Soon after, Banri realizes that Mitsuo is followed and harassed by his gorgeous childhood friend, Kaga Koko. In love with Mitsuo since their childhood, she decided she was going to marry him and declares to everyone she is his fiance.
Interested by Koko, Banri will try to approach her and soon discovers she isn't really as bad temper as she seems to be. She demonstrates this when she tried to drive out other girls from Mitsuo. As Banri's feelings for Koko are growing, he will have to deal with his past and the feelings that come with it.
Who does Golden Time cater to?
According to the genre of the series, the fans of rom-coms will obviously be interested in the show. Because the story takes place in a university environment, Golden Time offers a more serious and mature aspect than other anime of the same genre.
Romance is present and there are a lot of relationships implicated in this show. With a lot of twists, you should not be bored for even a second. The relationships between all the characters are very interesting and seem natural and real with a lot of mature, deep conversations, as well as some dramatic situations.
If you like to use your brain while viewing an anime, this show should be for you, as the story is really deep and interesting, with a lot of turnarounds. At first, when you think the story is pretty normal for a rom-com, suddenly something arises from nowhere and surprises you in a good or bad way. But you would not know it if you don't watch it.
What's so appealing about this piece of work.
The scenario is really technical and you should enjoy it. The situation of the main character, who has lost his memories, can seem usual or normal for certain people. But the story is more complicated than that, and you realize how twisted the show is after seeing several episodes.
The setting is also interesting. The fact that it takes place in a university environment with students, characters are more mature and face more issues of the adult world. The human aspect is well managed and there is a lot of dramatic situations that you see in real life.
Banri, as others characters, is twisted and tortured. One of the interesting things about the show is that all the characters have deep personalities, and you can see them growing literally with the show. Falling in love, brokenhearted, and being victims of something they can't control, are all in Golden Time. And because of all that, you can easily empathize and understand the characters.
The relationship between the characters are real and, as it mixes a lot of different and strong personalities, you could identify to at least one of them on how an amnesiac guy, a stalker girl, a cool guy, an otaku, and a camera girl can deal with each other? You'll have the answer in Golden Time and it is so real you will be surprised.
GOLDEN TIME Promotion Video English Sub[Official]
Golden Time Main Characters List
Tada Banri
Voice Actor :Furukawa Makoto
The protagonist of the show. Because of an accident which occurred after the high school graduation, he lost all his memory, even forgetting his own identity. He spent a whole year trying to recover before going to Tokyo to attend a university. As he forgot every person who was close to him before the accident, he decided to stake a new start, which is why he choose Tokyo.
Kaga Koko
Voice Actor :Horie Yui
Really eccentric, she is in love with her childhood friend, Mitsuo, and has already anticipated her life with him. Wedding included. She used to stalk him everywhere and chase every girl away who gets too close to Mitsuo. Even if she plays the bad girl in front of her rivals, she is actually really nice, loyal and emotional.
Hayashiyada Nana
Voice Actor :Kayano Ai
A member of the Festival Research Society, she is a second year student at the university and is the senpai of Koko and Banri. Everyone calls her Linda, which is another reading for her family name. They last meet her at the university while she was participating to her circle activity, wearing her traditional dress for the Awa dance. She is the one who invites Banri and Koko to join the circle and always refers to Banri by his full name.
Yanagisawa Mitsuo
Voice Actor :Ishikawa Kaito
The childhood friend of Koko. They were always together since they were children, he tried to escape from her by going to the university he chose without letting her know. Even if he likes Koko, he sees her more like a sister and a close friend than someone he will fall in love with.
Contains Spoilers
Golden Time Review
With a majority of really good reviews, Golden Time will usually capture the viewer's mind because of the plot and the complex development in it. Even if you aren't convinced by this anime because of its soft supernatural aspect, the romance, the characters, and the story should have affected you.
The story was well done. In each episode, we discover a piece of the puzzle, and everything make sense when we reach the middle of the show. Some elements of the story and past events are not clearly discussed, but even without explanations the characters and viewers are aware of every element.
Some of us should be bothered by the amnesia part and its pretty unreal aspect, though. Technically called Retrograde Amnesia, Banri's amnesia is difficult to accept, especially because remembering his past before the accident makes him forget about his university days. The same thing goes for Banri's spirit, it's quite difficult to accept.... but.... well, there's nothing we can do to change the plot so let's deal with it!
Because of this trauma, Banri is quite a disturbed character. With his identity crisis, he happens to lose his mind throughout the show. But in a situation like his, I think some people would react the same, and this is why Banri seems very human-like when compared to other anime characters. It's the case for all Golden Time characters, actually. Even if some of us could think they aren't as mature as actual university students, they are however on a different level than high school students, and you can see the difference.
Every character is here for a reason and their story and past make sense. Even if the story is more focused on three characters, the others are there for support and help them through their troubles. Also, they all have a specific personality which is useful in some ways for the show. They are so real you can easily assimilate them to people you have already met, and some of them are probably your friends (in reality).
Because they are so real, their relationships are real as well. There is almost no cliché in this show, although it's a rom-com. About the relationship of Banri and Koko, you actually ask yourself if they are going to end up together at the end because of the suspense of the development. They are going out and then they broke up; will they get back together at the end? I think a lot of people actually doubt it. And this is also true for Mitsuo's case. First in love with Chinami, then interested by Linda, thought Chinami realized her love for him. Personally, I wanted him to end with Chinami, but I will get over it...
Despite the dramatic aspects and a lot of turnarounds, comedy is well present in this show. You can see a lot of role playing with the boys, and some chats are really funny because that's exactly what some of us would talk about with our friends. Koko is also really funny because of her actions and the situations she is involved with. Especially, the moment when she is doing the exorcist. I cannot get that out of my head!
As for the animation, it was actually really good, with a lot of detail and I love the character design. The soundtrack was also nice, though the openings and endings were quite forgettable, even if they was sung by Koko's seiyuu. For the seiyuu, precisely their acting, it was unexpectedly good. There was some great seiyuus in the cast, but most of them were actually beginners, like Banri's seiyuu, and they did a great job with their characters.
Generally talking, Golden Time is a great show and even if some parts are quite difficult to accept, there is obviously at least one or more things that everyone should have enjoyed about it.
1. Kaga Koko
Eccentric, lunatic, stalker and hypersensitive, Kaga Koko is quite a phenomenon herself. She is the type of character who could be very difficult to deal with, and it should be known, that is why she is so special. She can become a real demon in front of all the girls she sees as a rival, but she is actually really nice with her friends despite a cold attitude at times. Behind her strong carapace, she is quite fragile and it shows her pretty side. She can be difficult, but that is why we love her, right?
2. Banri's Spirit
After Banri lost all of his memories of his life before the accident, his past self appeared in the form of a spirit. Banri's spirit is known as the “new Banri”, a body without soul. Banri's spirit cannot be apart from his body, so he sees everything around him including his new life. The spirit cannot influence Banri's decisions, though he is able to take control of his body at certain occasions. At times, because he is frustrated for not being able to influence his body, Banri's spirit decides to haunt him and make his life a nightmare.
3. Lost Memories
After the disappearance of Banri's spirit, Banri's memories from the past are sometimes recovering. But this fact makes Banri forget everything which happened after his accident. When that happens, Banri loses his mind because everything around him is unknown and he feels like he is losing himself. At the end of the show, the mirror given by Koko acts like a catalyst and helps him remember his life in Tokyo. At this time, on the bridge of the accident, he can finally make peace with his past himself.
Even if some aspects of the show could be difficult to accept and to deal with, Golden Time is nevertheless an anime with a lot of success and it's worth watching. With a university environment, this series is an unusual rom-com which carefully mixes the most important parts of a cute romance with the mature aspects of a seinen anime.
Author: Nafarik
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