Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue - Impressions - Eps 1-4

A wonderful anime that doesn't contain flashy fight scenes or weird fan-service. Honestly, in the overcrowding space of action, supernatural, and harem anime; something such as this stands out (at least for me).

At first glance, this anime seems pretty mundane; a typical loner-style character who wants to be left alone, but can gain no peace because of the people around him. But in this case, people also includes a cat, Haru. I was skeptical about this anime when I first started, but it's definitely something I would recommend now.

The pacing of the show may seem quite slow initially, but I think that's because I'm (probably most people too) used to the fast pace development of anime which condenses hundreds of chapters into a 13-episode anime experience. If I'm not wrong, the manga is only a couple of volumes, which already makes it so that 12-episodes is already much more fitting. But back to the point, the progression is something to enjoy, the pacing makes it enjoyable to watch and nothing seems too rushed. This anime is one I can use to sit-back, relax and enjoy without getting adrenaline rushed.

Another thing I absolutely love are the two sides that each episode offers. With the first half (more like 75%-ish) focused on Subaru (the main character) and his thoughts, followed by concentrating on Haru and her thought process of the same events. By doing so, questions that may arise as to why Haru is doing something in the first half of the episode gets answered in the second half. This allows us to understand everything that is going on holistically, and you may even gain new insight of why your cat does what it does if you own one!
Additionally, the two sides makes it so that each episode feels complete on its own while still following an overarching story.

Although, there are some things which I feel are not addressed very well. For example, I feel the side characters are not very developed besides giving us the basic exposition of something like "oh they're best friends for 10 years" and not saying much of who exactly the person is besides the bare minimum. Perhaps we'll see more development of other characters in future episodes?

Another point I want to raise is the lack of stuff happening, which I think is something which people may overlook and misunderstand. Allow me to explain, due to the lack of real stuff happening, the whole anime seems to be pointless and directionless. Instead, I personally think the anime isn't concerned with big things happening, instead, it is more concerned with the development of the relationship between Subaru and Haru through the small things, as ultimately, it is teaching us that it isn't always the big things that define who we are and our relationships, but the small things that really make an impact.

This anime also offers many themes that I haven't talked about, such as its focus on how pets can change someones life, or how one situation can be interpreted differently between people and how important it is to be empathetic. All these are valuable ideas which this anime both directly and indirectly conveys and something I'm happy it does.

Overall, I feel the anime has potential, but unfortunately not something for everyone. With the pacing of the show and the lack of big things happening, it can seem a bit boring. But I urge you to give it a shot, and perhaps you may come to really enjoy it.

Thank you for reading!

P.S. I am not the most knowledgeable person regarding this anime, if I misunderstand or messed something up, feel free to point it out. 

- SomDude