SPOILER ALERT: Many spoilers follow, read at your own risk
Anime(2022) Series, Season 1, 12 Episodes, 24 minutes each
D: Miyuki Kuroki
W: Rino Yamazaki from manga by Hiro
M: Kana Utatane
STUDIO: CloverWorks
ANN 7.605
MAL 7.74
IMDB 7.3
Characters:
MC
Komichi Akebi (明日 小路, Akebi Komichi)
The Akebi family
Sato Akebi (明日 サト, Akebi Sato) Father
Yuwa Akebi (明日 ユワ, Akebi Yuwa) Mother
Kao Akebi (明日 花緒, Akebi Kao) Younger sister
SC
See the Wikipedia entry for supporting characters
ANTAGONISTS
None
STUDIOAkebi’s Sailor Uniform Official Trailer
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform is most definitely an SoL (Slice of Life) / CGDCT (Cute Girls doing Cute Things) anime without any doubt.
There is literally no plot and no action. There is not even any angst or heavy drama. If you are a fan of “Non Non Biyori” or “YuruYuri” or “K-on”, then you will love Akebi who is the singular Main Character, where everything that happens centers around her.
Akebi’s mother went to Roubai Girls’ Academy and she wore the Sailor Uniform which has been very traditional in Japanese Middle Schools. Akebi wants to also wear the sailor uniform and so her mother makes her the uniform. But on her first day, she finds out that uniform has been replaced by more grown up suits so she is conspicuous and stands out for all to see. But the school administration allows her to wear the old style because it was at one time, an official Roubai uniform.
Roubai Girls’ Academy is a rather upscale, elite Middle School located out in the country where many of the best family’s send their daughters and many board in the school dorms.
Akebi’s class 1-3 has 16 girls including Akebi and most of the anime focuses on these girls. All 15 girls are given stunning and detail characters. Most of the anime is about Akebi’s adventures with all 15 of her homeroom girls. They are so finally drawn and brought to life that they seem so very real!
And yet, “Akebi’s Sailor Uniform” is not realism by any stretch. Akebi lives an ideal life, with a beautiful loving family, and she literally lives in a fairy-tale Gingerbread house! (What no dysfunctional family? Is that not against some modern rules?) Everything that does happen in this anime is good, really good, and wholesome enuf to twinkle the cockles of your heart.
Warm and fuzzy is the emo spread very thick, and its a wonderful feeling. “If only reality could be like this”. So the charge against the anime of being unrealistic is specious, and nonsense in the face of any anime itself which writes its own rule book on realism.
The first charge by critics is that this anime is Sol and very boring because there is no action. Well there is no accounting for taste. It is what it is. If this is you, then you will not enjoy “Akebi’s Sailor Uniform” and you should stay far away.
The second charge by critics is that of being unrealistic, a fairy-tale. Who doesn’t like fairy-tales? Well once again, if you want Noir and grit, you will not find any in “Akebi’s Sailor Uniform”. Everything in this anime is covered in pixie dust.
But the third charge is lewdness, that the sexuality of “Akibi’s Sailor Uniform” is obvious and unmistakable. This is an outrageous and preposterous charge. There is nothing lewd in “Akibi’s Sailor Uniform” which is one of the most wholesome stories in quite some time. I suppose for some critics, they have to object to something, and should two girls show caring, concern, and affection for each other then that is obviously lewd. This attitude is simply exasperating and is literally preposterous in the most egregious form possible.
Affection among human beings is not necessarily sexual. We have a name for special kinds of same-sex relationships in bromance/sormance, i.e. brother love, sister love. These are real relationships and they can resemble a Romance in intensity, but we distinguish them by using a similar name to Romance in using the “-mance” suffix ending. These kinds of relationships can be just as intense as a Romance, and sometimes even more so, but they are not sexual. As if all things about affection and love were nothing more than sex! Some people have sex on the brain, and filter their reality through some very dark lenses.
Now it certainly is obvious that “Akebi’s Sailor Uniform” does indeed have some voyeuristic elements in its art work. The frame of the story often likes to linger on certain scenes and subjects, such as girl’s feet or legs. This exists in the art work of the manga by Hiro. But we would hardly call this lewd in any sense of the imagination. The framing of the story also likes to linger on the gorgeous scenes of the bucolic countryside where Roubai Academy is located. This work is, after all is said and done, an SoL, slow moving story of 16 girls in Middle School all interacting with Akebi. Framing and lingering is what SoL does, it is almost required by the nature of a Slice of Life story.
And if you enjoy gorgeous artwork in your anime, then you will be fulfilled by “Akebi’s Sailor Uniform” where, as one pundit said, you could take just about every scene from this anime and mount it on your wall as a work of art. It really and truly is stunning, the artwork involved and on display by CloverWorks.
This is an excellent review of this wonderful anime,
Live well and thrive!
If you enjoy Slice of Life anime, then “Akebi’s Sailor Uniform” is
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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