Nijiiro Days (Rainbow Days) began as the winter anime of 2016 and ran for 24 episodes far into the summer. Every episode doesn’t last longer than 15 minutes, which isn’t very long. The big question on my mind for this review is of course: Is this long enough to keep a viewer interested and portray a good storyline?
The series centers around Natsuki, Tomoya, Keiichi and Tsuyoshi. A dreamer, a playboy, a sadist and an otaku. These characters are supposed to make for a fun story because of their diversity. Nijiro Days is about friendship and the adventures (and failures) of this foursome with the main focus on love.
For those of us who have passed our teen years, there can be a lot of recognition for these kind of adventures. A young teenager trying to come into contact with the girl he has a crush on, a girl he ran into during Christmas who handed him a package of handkerchiefs when he was down about being dumped. And he himself has friends who all handle their crushes and relationships in their own way.
The boys seem to support one another in their search for a relationship. Eventually the girls in the story also come together, creating two friend groups. These groups also hang out together from time to time, which is mainly cause by the only couple in the series: Tsuyoshi and Yukiko. An otaku and a cosplayer.
There is some excitement in the story; because when is Natsuki going to confess to Anna, the girl he likes? In the meantime his friends also experience several adventures and is revealed what kind of guys they are. Keiichi loves using a whip, to put it lightly, and seems pretty open about that, although not all of the girls can appreciate this. Tomoya is known for being a playboy and has had quite a few girlfriends, but seems to suddenly be focused on Anna’s friend, Mari. She has a way of reacting in a pretty bitchy way sometimes and prefers being near Anna, who she loves, but Tomoya doesn’t back off because of this. Aside from the fact that he thinks Mari is very cute because of all of her non-friendly remarks; he has another concern since his little sister Nozomi is becoming familiar with his friend Keiichi, after a coincidental meeting on the beach.
Overall there are plenty of storylines and all of them were put into 24 episodes of not even 15 minutes long! The story itself didn’t end too soon, had a lot of cliffhangers and in the end you’re left with the feeling that this story is far from finished. There has to be a sequel, since the stories of all the characters seem far from finished! What is a bit of a pity, is the that fact that the episodes are so short doesn’t leave much possibility for a little more background information on the characters, but it’s not really needed if you realize the main focus is comedy (and with that laughter as well).
The manga has been ongoing since 2012, at the end of the anime I’ve got my hopes on a sequel after this story, which has a lot of cute and funny highlights. The series is mainly a success because of the humor, which caused reactions from smiling to roaring laughter. For those who want to escape the sadness of their day for a moment this anime is the perfect distraction!
Studios: Production Reed
Started airing: 10th of January 2016
Number of episodes: 24
Rating: 80/100
