Otona Joshi no Anime Time

Talk about a palate cleanser. After these latest duds that I watched, I'm so glad I get to talk about this anime, especially on women's day!

With such a simple name, being literally just - Adult women's anime time, it's hard to know what to expect. What we got are 4 heartfelt and poignant episodes that are all standalones, each episode covering a story of a different woman. Despite each woman getting only 25 minutes to tell her story, the characterization and storytelling is impeccable. The score is great as well, and all of that combined pulls you in with ease. I always loved vignettes but I hardly ever find myself watching these short oneshots in anime form, which maybe I should do more often now that I think about it.

One common theme of this anime is about adult Japanese women that find themselves in different situations due to their romantic relationships. Without spoiling anything I'll sum up all 4 episodes.

The first story is about a successful and educated woman that met an American guy in university and moved to the USA with him - while also being about infidelity and the longing we get for our home once we leave it.

The second story is about a woman with very low self worth that ends up in a loveless arranged marriage out of which she escapes, but she can't get a divorce. In the meantime she finds herself in another man, which could merely be a continuation of the cycle, or maybe not?

The third story is about a single woman in her 40s who loves to reminisce about her past. Despite being a beautiful and successful woman, she only ever had a boyfriend in middle school, and she wants to get together with this guy again at her middle school reunion.

The fourth story is about your standard miserable lower middle class Japanese housewife. Her husband lost his job so she started working part time night shifts, her children don't like her - particularly her teenage daughter. She lacks her sense of self, shown symbolically by not even wearing her own clothes - instead opting out for her daughter's hand-me-downs.

All 4 protagonists have vastly different personalities, and the artstyle and overall tone changes with each story as well. It was easy to find parts of myself in each woman in this story, or even think of potential versions of me, it definitely caused me to self-reflect. Speaking of self-reflection, the "plot" of these stories is driven by introspection. All of the topics are explored with grace and meaning, nothing is done lazily. This was so tightly packed and short, yet so, SO enjoyable. I am glad the 4th episode was the last one of the bunch, probably by no means done accidentally, because it ends with a freeing moment.

This anime isn't for everyone, if you don't like short vignettes of peoples' mundane lives and don't think something like this would strike a chord with you, I wouldn't say it's a must watch. But if this stuff is your thing, I honestly can't say I watched many anime on par with it before! Usually I find this kind of introspective and poignant work in book or manga form, so it's really nice this one stands out as an animation.