@donewithlifeitself I think the main problems are a mix of budget and 'vibes are too pretty.'
Their manga confrontation is detailed even in the smallest of panels, but since animation is expensive Lerche saved their limited budget for the big scenes. That's a smart decision but not doing the tiny details have a cost: just compare this little panel that we won't look at for long, the one where Aoi hold on to Akane's bloody vest and leans on him with unblinking eyes.
To this scene that we will be looking at for a while, a scene where Aoi only slight lean forward and instead of animating her slowly leaning closer as she speaks, everything remain static.
There is also a lack of background change. We can feel the manga slowly set a tone, going from a fully white bg to a intentional black on top of Aoi's head, her face gaining a light shadow.
I can't expect the anime to mimic this by making the clouds move above Aoi and cast her in shadows (that would be wonderful but also A LOT of budget!!) but the anime went out of is way to keep the beautifu background colors and make her look cute. There is no shadows on her face, there isn't even a desaturation in the sky: Everything is beautiful.
And despite their fight in the manga being in black and white, we know that wasn't the intended vibe. The anime is way more pastel and bright than the dark bleeding sunset of the first page of their chapter:
(Credit where credit is due : The anime stopped playing their calm OST when Aoi raised Akane's watch, and that's an anime exclusive tool (sound) that they used well here)
Speaking of vibes. The anime felt less personal.
A lot is the budget's fault but I am still staring at Lerche about some tweeks I dislike. In the anime, after the watch reveal, the Aois are just sitting there, in this bright and colorful place, not moving an inch as Aoi vent. Even the dialogue feels less intense with Aoi either not being that sure what were Akane's exacts words or trying to play it down.
While the manga give us flashback of when Akane lied.
This smiling Akane is from Aoi's POV, is who she associates with a liar. The background and uniform change shows these lies are not close together, it took time to ask him things, and each time she had the gall to ask, Akane had lied.
In short: Aoi have a vivid memory of every lie he has told her.
Is also important that in the manga, while they are physically next to each other, Aoi is NOT actually looking at Akane, she is trapped in this memory of a liar. Take a look at the full page with the flashbacks, notice how small the panel with the present Akane's reaction is.
She is not looking at him. She does not want to listen, instantaneusly cutting him off. The real Akane doesn't matter right now. Only the one in her mind does, she has an image in her head and act according to it: She is a hypocrite.
That is not shown well in the anime, where they are side by side, and we get no flashbacks or even a shadow to cut a line between them. There is nothing to artistically show their distance, we rely only on Aoi's dialogue to grasp her feelings.
The idea this chapter is mostly in Aoi's POV is very important and somewhat loss in the adaptation.
This focus on Aoi and the way aidairo went out of their way to not show Akane's eyes make it clear this is Aoi's POV. This is how she is perceiving Akane. Is terrifying.
But the anime skips the animation of her being pushed down entirely. They skip such a important tone setter, and they show Akane's eyes. They show us these cold eyes which are left as an enticing mystery in the manga.
For comparation do you know when we first see Akane's eyes in the manga? AFTER HE SAID HE HATES HER + even here Akane's eyes are closed.
This is a chapter where Aoi accuses Akane of being so blinded by his own perception of her that he can't seeing her. Ironically, her firm belief of that make it so she can't see Akane. It speaks volume about her that she can't give him a face when he is acting strange (she does not associate him with violence) but the moment Akane says "I hate you" she start seeing his face.
There is no more confusion left "Of course he is being cruel. he hates me"
I don't get that feeling in the anime.
She still seem to take a while, to need convincing that Akane hates her instead of assuming right away. And again, showing Akane's face here (the sky still so beautiful??? The colors still so bright??) instead of making her trapped inside her head is not a good decision, not in my opinion.
In the manga, we first see Akane's eyes here. Look at how unstable going out of his way to hurt Aoi make him.
This chapter is "a milestone to their romance" BUT ALSO "Aoi listening to all of her fears becoming reality." + "Akane hurting the person he dedicated his life to make happy"
There is a palpable difference in brutality.
The anime is... too pretty.
This chapter does have a lot of romance but! This isn't the romance part! This is the part where Aoi fully believe she is unlovable!! DON'T MAKE IT A PRETTY PASTEL COLOR LERCHE!
The scene where Akane goes "you can't be honest with anyone and it serves you right" felt more violent than the moment he says he hates her because of the lighting.
(i like how they did this part btw, is more impactful at making her feel alone than the one in the manga)
The OST while they fight is way too beautiful too. I personally would have done this part with no music at all.
I love the VAs and the choice to give a moment of silence after Akane yells that he hates 'that part of Aoi', even if my og critique still applies: It looks too pretty + The way Aoi hold on to Akane's hand in the anime is less striking than the way she is limp like a doll in the manga, not fighting anythings Akane says, just... staring... absorving everything he says.
I do like how the Va's did the "why are you crying?" "I'm not" scene. You can tell that's were the budget went.
However the constant focus on Akane's face keep taking away some of the darker vibes of the manga. When the manga does show Akane's face, it captures how insanely tired Akane is much better than the anime.
The romance part where Akane kiss her hands is nice, cause the colorful sky works, the ost, and the art looks great, I love how goofy yet soft he looks when he asks Aoi if she likes him.
This is an anime exclusive Aoi POV btw. Which kudos for her I am 90% sure we didn't get a panel like that in the manga because manga Aoi could not look at Akane in the eye.
Speaking of avoiding to look at him, we did not get this page adapted:
Which changes the vibe a lot! Make it even more frenetic and 'omg what is going on??' than the more gentle anime adaptation where Aoi was allowed the time to breathe and look at him in the eye before going:
There are some pacing issues too (who decided to adapt all of chapter 69 and 70 + some of chapter 68 in ONE episode??) which I won't go over in here. This is already long as it is, I need to wrap it up.
In short, the anime prioritizes romance over tension. The anime isn't bad, but the manga is just that good, every panel says something, and putting the two side by side make the anime pales, unable to keep up.
