Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate Final Impressions

Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate was the only show which truly interested me right from the beginning of the summer 2012 anime season. Not only is it a romance-themed show, it flawlessly integrates various aspects of comedy, dark drama, and slice-of-life into one invigoratingly original show. Being a huge fan of romance genre shows myself, seeing something so uniquely different and one-of-a-kind certainly is a treat. Most of the characters do fit into some sort of stereotypical category, however it is done so in a diverse way, allowing for each character to develop their own personalities and showcase their abilities individually. Add in a couple prolific voice actors including Nakamura Yuuchi, Asakwa Yuu and Kugimiya Rie just to name a few, and we have a show that's destined to appeal to a variety of people.



The storyline of KoiChoco was presented in a way which mirrored the visual novel. The first couple seconds of the premiere episode showed a very dramatic, eerily dark scene, almost like some sort of mystery. This really set the tone of the show, which was highly effective since the darker, mysterious side of the show didn't show itself again until much later on in the show. Instead, the extended introduction really focused on creating a slice-of-life impression on its viewers, introducing each character somewhat wholesomely. This was a very efficient strategy, as it allowed viewers to form connections to the actual characters very early on in the show, before the actual story really began to take shape. The main premise of the show is definitely centered around school life, however it offers a fresh take on school life by throwing in some very political issues, such as corruption in the student government, along with scandals and conspiracies. In that sense, KoiChoco can be regarded as the "grown-up" version of a school-life show, with subtle hints pulled in from almost every genre. There's mystery, action, drama, romance, suspense, slice-of-life and comedy, it's really all there.





I can say with confidence that I loved the high quality art style, I loved the characters and their own unique personalities, but what really hit the spot for me was actually the title of the show, Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, which quite literally describes the anime itself. There's koi, there's senkyo, and there's chocolate, the latter which actually players a major role in foreshadowing which path the romance aspect of this show would veer off to. Sumiyoshi Chisato, our main female protagonist, lost her brother in a tragic accident at a young age. She blamed herself for not eating her brother's chocolate that day, causing her to have a rather traumatic mindset of chocolate build up in her head. Oojima Yuuki, our main male protagonist, is childhood friends with Chisato. Unfortunately, Chisato fails to see Yuuki as a friend, as a lover, instead she sees him as a replacement for Daiki, Chisato's deceased brother. Mind you, these revelations were introduced earlier on in the show, with more details slowly leaking out each episode. I can't comment enough on how much I enjoyed watching these flashbacks and see the two individuals progressively learn to lean on each other. It was really quite like solving a mystery, putting the pieces chocolate together to get the big picture. If you take a step back, it's really surprising to me how many things could be going on at the same time in any particular given episode. There's always a conflict, and a solution, presented in ways which really engage the viewer, promoting the mind to work its wonders and think of the various directions the story could go. I personally enjoyed watching Chisato get over her trauma and learn to love Yuuki for who he is. Chisato really reminded me of Nakatsugawa Ui from Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi, which is rather coincidental because Nakamura Eriko, Chisato's voice actor, also voices Ui in Hoshizora. Not only do the voices sound very similar, their character designs also seem similar to me, so that definitely stood out to me as something cool.






KoiChoco is a show that confronts many issues no show has dared to include up to this point. As someone who studies political science, I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the behind-the-scene struggles which this show tackled in an intriguing fashion. It really stated a clear point, that politics don't always appear the way they do on the surface, and in reality, they don't! The show definitely does have its flaws, though they're rather irrelevant since the story keeps up at such a perfect pace it's simply too much work to explicitly point out those flaws. KoiChoco is a show that must be seen in order for someone to appreciate. Unfortunately, it's a show that I'm sure most will overlook based on its school romance premise. However, if you have yet to see it, I highly urge you to do so. KoiChoco certainly exceeded my expectations, and I definitely recommend it to those who really want to juggle things up a bit.





Good day.