A Story With a Kafkaesque Touch 520http://03.deviantart.net/31b3/i/2013/003/b/7/kokoroconnectv2animeiconbyrizmannfd5qboa3.png Story: Kokoro Connect is a story about five high school students who form a club known as the Cultural Research Club. The objective of the club is to publish newsletters but the five members just often end up doing random things because of the amount of free time they have. It may seem easygoing at first but then a sudden phenomenon of bodyswapping occurs between two of the five members. It doesnt stop there because the same phenomenon then happens to the rest of the members. They then find out that it was caused by a person known as Heartseed. Heartseeds intentions are to see how various phenomena affects the relationships between the five members and he is doing it for entertainment. As the story progresses the five members slowly start to uncover each other for who they really are. The various phenomena throws the relationships between the five members into a disarray but it also offers them a chance to help each other and become greater friends. 320https://67.media.tumblr.com/8f26a34cb9d262bec4a52d9fddde311e/tumblrn8isowfAW51s5mgubo1500.gif Kokoro Connect is basically an anime that adds a supernatural twist to the schooldrama genre. It has many interesting concepts such as dealing with mental disorders and how the value of ones identity fares against human relationships. As the series progresses we get to see the characters overcome the various problems that happen. We get to see these characters learn to accept each other for who they really are and we also get to see revelations of a lighter note. As a first impression Kokoro Connect can be perceived as something that is capable of becoming great because of not only the concepts which it deals with but also because of the fact that it can be described as being Kafkaesque. Characters in a Kafkaesque setting often lack a clear course of action to escape a labyrinthine situation. A setting that straddles fantasy and reality and a sense of striving even in the face of bleaknesshopelessly and full of hope. Kokoro Connect starts off fast by introducing the first phenomenon and the catalyst behind it. The catalyst or Heartseed as he is known instigates these events just for the sake of entertainment. By the end of the show we are left with no story behind Heartseed. We never find out what he plans to learn or achieve by doing all of this. In short he is just a massive troll. The characters lack a clear course of action because they never try to dig deep by trying to figure out the reasoning behind all the supernatural happenings. The story fills the characters with hope as they try to go through the various phenomena but there is always that lingering sense of hopelessness because they know that Heartseed will just keep playing with them. This is what makes Kokoro Connect seem Kafkaesque. The characters are going through a complicated experience where in things are not made clear. They struggle and struggle against the issues but they can never stand a chance against the force that is Heartseed. If you dont get it then you pretty much got the idea of how complicated a Kafkaesque story can be. Im pretty sure that the creator didnt know what he was doing though because the story does have many flaws. Kokoro Connect did have the potential to be great but it squandered it and the fact that it was cut to 17 episodes It was intended to be 24 episodes contributed to that. The series was too fast light and forced. Although it is common gimmick the first phenomenon of bodyswapping was good because it let the characters open up to each other. The execution however was so quick that they ended up needing to introduce more phenomena in order to keep things entertaining. These phenomena just ended up turning into mere plot devices. The fast pace sticks around for the entirety of the series because they never go far enough with each phenomenon and they just end so suddenly. They should have just stuck to bodyswapping and used creative ways to execute the story. The second problem with Kokoro Connect is its lightness. As I stated earlier there are revelations of a lighter note which are revealed. Things like confessing to someone that you masturbated to them. There is unnecessary humor that shouldnt have been involved such as the case with erotic jokes and jokes that prevent the series from being taken seriously. If youre going to bring in comedy then dont do it whilst dealing with a serious issue in a series because thats just insulting. The last problem with Kokoro Connect is how forced it is. There are tons of issues that are mostly dealt with through exposition and friendly chats. The ending is also forced because it puts the characters in a nonsensical situation and does not conclude everything. Sound and Music: There is nothing much to say about Kokoro Connect when it comes to sound and music. There wasnt anything bad but neither was there anything spectacular. There wasnt really anything memorable but the sound and music did serve their functions well enough to make the scenes seem a tad bit better. 320https://67.media.tumblr.com/98ae4261f6a7c001590ab9ab6bf7d015/tumblrn1drwll4zk1s4cujlo1500.gif Art and Animation: For the visuals Kokoro Connect had some nice cinematography and there were some nice backgrounds that really fit their scenes because of the lighting but everything else was pretty average. I was actually surprised that this wasnt made by Kyoto Animation because the character designs are very similar to that of KON. Kokoro Connect did have some drops in quality when it came to its animation. The backgrounds were spotty and there were also frames that shouldnt have been extended but used in different ways. This anime did get cut to 17 episodes so its no surprise if they did have problems during production. 320https://66.media.tumblr.com/9de39e335329cfac20a339ce58f87e3f/tumblrnw9r64f1KH1uipy4io2500.gif Characters: Kokoro Connect is a story that is driven by its characters and the interactions that they have with each other. The show starts off with the bodyswapping phenomenon. Its a phenomenon that has been the staple of several genres because it is not only used for humor but also for character development. The overall screen time for the characters is unfairly balanced though. The series feels like a harem that revolves around the main character Taichi even though that is not the type of genre it is. The romantic tensions in the series often center around the female characters and Taichi leaving the other only male club member Aoki to be a useless character. Taichi is meant to be a representation of selflessness but he comes off as being selfish which is even something that he himself admitted in the series. The strongest characters in the series are definitely the female characters because they each struggle with a form of selfidentity. For the most part the characters were handled well. Apart from the screen time they should have also given us a backstory of Heartseed. He shouldnt just be there for the sake of exposition because he is a force to be reckoned with. 320https://67.media.tumblr.com/c2f6228671564ca7f6b16679e728c78a/tumblro89pa9AM9U1rcufwuo1r1500.gif