As enjoyable and laid back KC is to watch, the most flawed story point is the questionable motives of the villain Heartseed, who was unfortunately named Balloon Vine in Japanese. Kokoro Connect is as silly as The Change Up (2011) with its premise so there’s no point trying to pretend it’s pancakes with nutella because it isn’t. It is what K-ON would be if it actually had a story. It is a fun, simple and sweet story of facing adversity, overcoming fear and the joys of close friends. It doesn’t take itself seriously so neither should you.
Since it is more about the characters and less about plot, it has a fair share of touching, addictive and comedic moments. Yet it has everything a good soap should: interesting characters, a snappy premise, decent pacing, not too many love triangles… oh, and the anime ends. Like the drama Rumbling Hearts (2003), Kokoro Connect plays out like a soap opera.
Kokoro Connect is not a science fiction show.
KOKORO CONNECT CONTROVERSY SERIES
Compared to the rest of the series it comes across as generic and flat. You might as well forget there’s magical elements involved because those episodes deal with the romance part of the series rather than comedy or drama. Even though the phenomenons are interesting they are not the main focus of comedic entertainment. The second and fourth arcs (episodes 6-9 and 14-17) are the weakest. The first and third arcs have the most character exploration, heaviest themes and humorous dialogue. They transition smoothly into each other although they vary in terms of mood and writing quality. Each light novel represents a four episode “arc” of the anime and a different ‘phenomenon’ that the heroes try to live with. Adapted for the screen by Fumihiko Shimo (Kanon, CLANNAD) it has 13 episodes, then a further 14-17 to wrap up the story. Kokoro Connect is a 2012 production by studio SilverLink and is based on the light novel by Sadanatsu Anda, which is still ongoing. Who hasn’t wanted to know what life was like in someone else’s shoes? Kokoro Connect (literally: “Hearts Connect) takes five close friends and introduces a more erratic form of body swapping: it happens at random and no one knows when it will stop. It’s a simple premise that opens doors to many forms of entertainment. Who hasn’t seen Lindsay Lohan’s Freaky Friday (2003) at least once? And body swapping took a different turn with It’s a Boy Girl Thing (2006), where the two main characters swapped genders. There have been a number of movies over the last decade that have included the body-swapping plot element. Kokoro Connect (2012) Review: Freaky Friday Just Got a Lot Longer