Once in a while, I will get in the mood for something serious, yet heart-warming, so when I saw the premise for Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky, I figured that this would be the type of anime to sate my need. After all, A Silent Voice was an incredible love story that dealt with disabilities, so I was willing to see if this show could replicate the feeling I got from a story such as that. Did it manage to start in a way that could capture that magic?
Let’s go!
First Episode Synopsis
Sorano is a college student who likes to keep to himself. Due to him constantly moving and staying with different relatives, he learned to keep his head down and fade into the background so that he wouldn’t make trouble for anyone. He was invited to a mixer by his college roommate, but the atmosphere just wasn’t this thing. Eventually, he was asked to head over to a table that had two girls… Fuyutsuki and Hayase. When they sat, Sorano quickly learned that Fuyutsuki was blind.
On the way home, Hayase strikes up a conversation with Hayase. They talk a little bit about Fuyutsuki until she asks if he’s in the computer class. When he says that he is, she mentions that Fuyutsuki is in that class, too, and even though she’s a guide to help disabled people, she can’t cover her 24/7, so she asks if he would be interested in becoming one. Naturally, he is hesitant to answer, but she becomes pretty pushy and takes his contact information, stating that he needs to watch her tomorrow.
When he enters that class, he notices her. She’s reading a textbook in braille, and that’s when she drops her bookmark without realizing it. He picks it up for her and then takes his seat. After class, she tries to get up, but drops her cane. He’s about to leave her by herself when he looks around and notices that the class had emptied and there was no one else there. He begins to reflect on his emotions and how he was against watching after her, but ultimately helps her out and walks her home.
On the way, they begin to talk, and the more he listens to how happy she is, the more he begins to wonder how someone can be so carefree when they are disabled like that. As they sit and talk, his mind continues to wander about her as our episode comes to an end.
Worth Watching?
YES – There are shows where you can tell that it’s going to be touching straight out of the gate, and this is one of those shows. Just by the first episode, you can already tell how this is going to go. Sorano is going to continue to interact with Fuyutsuki, and it’s going to cause him to reflect on things… how he’s been acting, how he’s been reclusive, and she’s going to enter his heart and change all of that. On the flipside, he’s going to learn more about her and begin to appreciate her more and more, but I don’t think it’s going to be all happiness and rainbows.
Typically, when you have a disabled person who is overly excited, energetic, and just seems like one big ball of fun, they are typically hiding their pain underneath. I can already imagine that there will be a moment when Fuyutsuki breaks down because she struggles every day just to live, or maybe Sorano will say something wrong to upset her at a point where he just doesn’t fully understand. Whatever the case may be, a series like this is bound to have that one big dramatic moment that ultimately brings them together, and from the way this show’s first episode presented the material, it almost feels like a given.
Then again, I could be wrong. It could go the route of Fuyutsuki remaining happy, and it’s Sorano that has to overcome himself and learn to become more outgoing through her, and that’s what leads to him falling in love.
Whatever route this show takes, I can tell we are in for an amazing ride! This is one that I will gladly keep watching!
