Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
DreamTraveller
I have genuinely impressed myself writing something so long for an anime like this, and resorting to so much profanity, but lo and behold: this is what Kokoro Connect does to a man. If you're in the mood for riding a shitstorm, get ready because this is gonna be a big one. Spoilers for the entire anime ahead, though trust me, you're better off this one. If you want a spoiler-less TLDR, read the last paragraph.
So, Kokoro Connect. Despite its efforts to bring out something convincing, like seemingly solid characters and a decent story setting, this anime unfortunately ends up in a fucking disaster, to put simply. Especially when it comes to dialogue and drama, this anime goes way too south. Even for supernatural standards, the actions of our heroes range from unrealistic to blatantly stupi…
Read at the sourcebearica
This review contains some spoilers.
I picked this up thinking it comes with the warm-and-fuzzy, slice of life package like AnoHana (AnoHana has lots of problems but I really dig the world it's set in and how it's presented to us), coupled with enough emotional drama like Kimi no na wa, but nope. Didn't happen.
-----------------------------
Story - 3
Kokoro Connect has a solid premise—that's partly what drew me to it in the first place. The main issue is that it didn't quite meet my expectations, because although it touches upon deeper topics specific to the experiences of older teens (the light novel is categorized as seinen, which I suppose is fair), it nonetheless does so in a sorta halfhearted manner. Although the meat of the plot stems from a supernatural element, it's clear that t…
Read at the sourceDangerKitty
Including the four specials, this show is arguably one of the more annoying series I've seen. If you're into pointless high school drama, this show is for you.
In a phrase, this show is "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME!" repeated for thirty minutes, seventeen times. The characters are repeatedly put into positions where it's determined (by the group) that they would all be better off if they talked about their feelings, and then proceed to not talk about their feelings. Everyone is a victim of some "pressure" from their friends, despite all of their problems being caused almost entirely by themselves. Everyone puts on some kind of selfless front "for the better of the group" and inevitably makes things worse for everyone as a result.
The story itself is a cool premise, it's just that the charact…
Read at the sourcewikikiwi
Kokoro Connect is a series I decided to watch on a whim after spotting it in CrunchyRoll one day, and I'm certainly glad that I did.
I felt like the story was, by far, the stongest point of the series and what made it stand out from your average high school romance/drama anime. While the audience is never given a full and proper explanation of why the main cast suddenly find themselves swapping bodies with each other, reading the others' thoughts or acting on their supressed desires, among other things, all these events are handled really skillfully to flesh the series' themes out.
All the apparently bizarre happenings have something in common: They force the main cast to lay their innermost emotions and struggles bare for their friends to see, no matter how much they might try to normal…
Read at the sourceemptyda
Hm, where to start? At the beginning the show kinda just throws you into what is happening to these people. There is no set up to learn and appreciate the "normal" state of these characters before they are forced into the mess of their situation. It's a common approach for stories with similar tropes. You wake up and your life is fucked up. The story then proceeds to combine deep analysis of internal trauma, pretending to be other people and masturbation. Surprisingly, that's not how it goes in Kokoro connect. Instead the scene is set with the knowledge that something has happened and more importantly, this is the character set. And there I think is where the show differentiates itself from other media that has used the trope. Switching bodies is an extremely personal experience, something…
Read at the sourceGoS1234
Kokoro Connect is a rarity in anime. It is a romantic drama that thanks to the strengths in its characters and writing avoids the annoying melodrama that shows like Golden Time and more recently Glasslip unfortunately fall prey to... For the most part anyway. This can probably be attributed to its satisfactory pacing, which again is something quite a few shows in this genre seem struggle with. The review will cover Michi Random as well. Now on to the review!
Story: Requires suspension of disbelief far too often, but is still well-written and well-paced.
Its setup we see far too often in anime these days: A club of misfits have to deal with a fantastical situation that leads to drama and lighthearted comedic moments. Not exactly treading innovative waters. However, Kokoro proves that exec…
Read at the sourcejesterthomas
Kokoro Connect is exceedingly mediocre. It is not bad by any definition of the term - the artwork, voice acting, and one particular character (you know who) are great and deserve commendation in an artistic medium saturated with high school romantic dramas. Additionally, the concept of body switching introduced for the first few episodes had a lot of promise and led to a lot of well-executed plot developments. The show never strayed into what could have easily been an ecchi bait premise and culminated in what was, to me, the climax of the show's story in Episode 5 with a (no spoilers) heart-wrenching decision to be made by the cast members that actually made me pause and think what I would do in a similar situation.
However, the story and remaining characters of the show are mundane, unre…
Read at the sourceaiyuu
**Takes into account of the 4 extra episodes.
Kokoro Connect is an anime that is not going to appeal to everyone. Why? Because many episodes are dedicated to the characters and how they deal with their inner conflicts and problems. Of course on the surface their daily lives are not anything interesting until Heartseed greets them and they are faced with certain phenomenons which force them to change. And how they change is the true gem of this show, as it becomes from any other slice-of-life to a supernatural and mysterious that drags viewers in.
These unusual phenomenons range from switching minds in bodies and to give in to their impulses, something very haunting the characters find themselves losing control of who they are or who they thought they are. How would people react if they di…
Read at the sourcearcticWildlife
This one caught me off guard. I was expecting a somewhat lighthearted anime, the usual romcom type. I was pleasantly surprised however. Also please keep in mind that this is my first review and I'm still relatively new to anime.
Story
The story is driven by the five main characters, the different phenomenons that happen throughout the series and how they affect their relations. This is due to Balloon Vine (a weird "being" that can take control of people's bodies) causing the phenomenons. Sometimes a few side characters are involved, but they are usually only there to add a bit of comedy. That is fine, as the main characters are well designed and not paper thin.
Characters
I really liked the characters. Even though they are based on existing archetypes, they manage to bring something ne…
Read at the sourcedabagonsmith
There is alot to say about Kokoro Connect, it was a rather odd, yet extremely enjoyable experience for me. I can kind of understand why this anime gets alot of flak from people, but that's not the animes fault, the problem that the anime "has" isn't a problem at all, it's disliked in the same way school days is, not because it's badly designed, but because it's something people don't like. People confuse something as being bad because they don't like it, but that couldn't be farther from the truth, hopefully my review sheds some light on this anime and can help anyone that's on the fence about it make their mind up, also this is for the whole anime, that includes the 4 "extra" episodes, they are essential the story and should have been aired at the same time as the original anime, but for…
Read at the sourceSavepoints
NOTE: This review includes the 4 “Michi Random” episodes.
“What defines humans... Defines us? Nobody will notice a change on the inside if you look the same on the outside.”
What happens your desires and thoughts are no longer simply your own, but are also shared with your closest friends? How will it affect your friendship when you uncontrollably make a move on the guy your friend likes, or even if you find out a dark secret that your friends kept from you?
These are all questions (among many others) which KokoroCo tries to bring to light. In a way, you could say this is as much a SOL-series, as it is a psychological test.
Story: (8 / 10)
The basic plot is very simple, to be honest. A group of friends encounter, and have to deal with, a multitude of different phenomena which in differ…
Read at the sourceSeitenSoushi
Is it just me, or do I only review shows beginning with the letter K?
Anyway, just so you know, I'm also including the Michi Random specials in this review.
Story: 10
What would you do if you and your friends started randomly switching between each other's bodies? Or if your deepest darkest desires were suddenly brought to the surface, out of your control?
Here we have a series that takes a supernatural storyline, adds some well-written high-school romance and plenty of compelling drama, and pulls it all together into one amazing package. Although some of the ideas may have been done many times before, Kokoro Connect manages to make it fresh and funny, whilst also being surprisingly realistic with how it portrays the effects of each of the phenomena. I felt the drama wasn't overdone at al…
Read at the sourceBushiBooz
I've already finished this series, and the last 4 as well. I would like to post my review on the 1st 13 episodes. Since Kokoro Connect really made my day. And I want to share it with everyone who are thinking about watching this truly amazing anime.
There are so many things I can say about this anime. But to be on the safe side I won't say any spoilers to first time watchers. I would rather want them to watch it themselves to see how great this anime really is. You guys should already know the Plot of the story. But I would like to give you guys my outlook and impression on how Kokoro Connect left for me.
The reason I made this account is because of this anime "Kokoro Connect". I've seen a lot of anime, enough that I understand that it's pretty redundant, and repetitive how most animes a…
Read at the sourceNonOtaku
When I first heard the plot summary for Kokoro Connect I thought it sounded like some hentai series. Even if it wasn't, it seemed obvious that it would be a provider of ample fan-service, it of course wasn't though. After all, if you swapped bodies with someone of the other gender, what would be the first thing you do?
Yep, the obvious, see how well they masticate. Read it again, what were you thinking of?
Kokoro Connect revolves around the daily, not so normal lives of Taichi, Iori, Himeko, Yoshifumi and Yui and their encounters in the Cultural Research Club. Up until recently they thought that they and their friends lived normal happy lives, but now the Heartseed is pulling their lives apart and exposing their inner secrets through body switching, urges and age regression.
The love an…
Read at the sourceksyndrome
Story: 8
Angsty teens switching bodies at random, and now having to deal with the awkwardness of being someone they are not ?
sounds like a "Freaky Friday" remake...we all know where this is going...right?
WRONG!
Not only the series expand far beyond this anomaly to incorporate far crazier (and somewhat disturbing) phenomenons. This is the only spoiler I will provide.
Art: 6
This is the same studio that brought you guys gems like Usagi Drop, and Bakemonogatari, the latter of which got uber bonus points for style without having to dump too much into the art budget. KC however, is more like Usagi in that it isn't known for its art. Don't get me wrong, the characters do still look good, despite the mundane setting & background.
Animation is mediocre, and if you pay close enough attent…
Read at the sourcepakin
Friends... What can we do without them. I thought at first that Kokoro Connect was going to just be pure romance, but I was totally wrong. This anime truly brought about the emotion that the characters are feeling in to play. I would say that those who want something realistic probably don't wanna try to watch this, because it's filled with phenomenon, which I believe could be possible in a way. In any case, Kokoro Connect is a great anime, with amazing drama scene for viewers to enjoy. So if you like drama, romance, and some comedy, only some, then I really recommend this to you.
Story: 10
I've been seriously trying to find an anime that's like this for such a long time. The emotion that was in this anime was just enough to match many others that could be considered the best. The plot w…
Read at the sourcezannett
Kokoro Connect begins with a pretty ordinary setting. 5 friends belonging to the same club with an absentee adviser, spending almost everyday loafing around. Then everything took a downturn when a mysterious entity named Fuusenkazura appeared and forced them into his game so they could entertain him. His "game" involves abnormal phenomena that often take place at random intervals. The first arc features body-swap, during which the 5 may switch bodies at random, and every arc that follows has them deal with other similarly bizarre situations.
Before anyone starts watching, all of this might sound pretty entertaining -- except each of these games that Fuusenkazura brings them into produces big waves in their lives. Just imagine for a moment that your deepest secrets and darkest thoughts ar…
Read at the sourceOrangeMilk
“One of the most beautiful qualities of friendship is to understand and to be understood.”
What Kokoro Connect essentially delves into, is exactly that, the notion of what friendship is, and how do we keep it alive when your true desires, love, selfishness, fears, pasts and fragility are all unleashed and out in the open.
One day a sudden paranormal occurrence of body-switching haunts a small group of five friends, which in turn alters their relationship and every day lives.
Since the plot is pretty much straightforward with a slight twist, Kokoro Connect is more of a character motivated Anime; with it being more ambitious on the interactions and chemistry front between the characters. I think the characters are not only convincingly believable, but have a real depth and insight to th…
Read at the sourceStellio
High school is essentially one of the most important four years of someone’s life. Throughout these years, not only does one fall under peer pressure, indecisive dramas, and separation into different clicks/social-groups, but you are often greeted with the unsatisfying feeling in overcoming mostly difficult, inexperienced tasks. However, the point of entering High School in the first place is to move onto secondary educations and learn not just fundamental cultures of others, but also about where you want to be in society for the rest of your life. During these times of hardships, not many people can gain true confidence; insecurities may rise from the past, make many doubtful of themselves, and as a result contemplate loneliness, violence, etc.
But what every human really desires is the…
Read at the sourceYume_to_Tsubasa
Yet ANOTHER update on this review. This is one tricky anime to write a review on- Here goes.
In a school where extracurricular activities are mandatory, there exist five "outlaws".
Yaegashi Taichi, the pro-wrestling maniac
Nagase Iori, your typical spunky, bubbly, lovely character type
Inaba Himeko, the intelligent, cool computer expert... who is maybe just a tad bit too cool at times
Kiriyama Yui, lover of all things that are cute
Aoki Yoshifumi, frequently subject to rough treatment by the girls around him. These five students form their own club, the "Bunkenbu" (Bunka Kenkyuu-bu)- and each day spent together is as ordinary as can be.
Until.
Kokoro Connect is best described as unique. It does not follow the plot of traditional romance anime, but instead, adds its own splash of color…
Read at the source