Akebi’s Sailor Uniform

Genre(s): Slice of Life, School

Age-Appropriateness: 12+ (Occasional scenes of girls bathing)

Platforms: Crunchyroll, Funimation

Episodes: 12

TheAwersome Rating: 7.6 / 10 (Feels like a dedicatory art piece)

Premise: Ever since she was young, Komichi Akebi has always adored sailor uniforms, even going so far as to ask her mother to sew one if she succeeds in getting into her mother’s alma mater, Roubai Academy. And thus, when she gets accepted into the prestigious school, Komichi is ecstatic. However, much to her surprise, the middle school no longer uses sailor uniforms as its dress code—making Komichi stand out from her schoolmates. Despite this, Komichi is granted permission to continue wearing the traditional attire.

With renewed confidence, Komichi meets fascinating classmates as they experience school life together. Under the colorful shower of blossoming prospects, an exciting tomorrow awaits them!

TheAwersome’s Thoughts: This one was interesting. The artwork for this show is ridiculously high quality, which is odd for a slice of life, and particularly one that doesn’t have much going for it other than the art. As far as content of the show, it’s mostly Komichi making new friends and appreciating the small special moments with them, forming memories. As such, I’d put this in the “breather” category, but not quite entirely the “comfy” category. Think of it as a cross between Komi and Sound Euphonium: Main protag is a girl who everyone loves and she loves everyone and makes friends with the whole school, with a side of high quality art and low-key yuri baiting (where while not explicitly addressed as more than friendship, scenes definitely lean in that direction).

TLDR: The artwork is amazing, but I felt I lacked in connection with the characters. Good for when you don’t want to think hard or invest yourself too much.

Overall it felt like someone’s love letter to their daughter’s teenage years, and Komichi is just a bit too perfect for me to really be interested in her as a character. It can be argued that this show is meant more as a tribute to/representation of the teenage years of girls rather than telling a story, and I feel it does a good job of that.

I feel that the distinction of the soundtrack as being primarily a solo piano, with occasional accompaniment of strings or light percussion is very representative of the show as a whole. There’s a rare, but distinct time when you want to listen to that kind of music: to either calm down, meditate, or just relax in general. That’s very much how this show is; nothing too crazy, nothing too interesting, just some vibes and aesthetic that, at least in my experience, if done too frequently can get under-stimulating.

You’ll Likely Enjoy This if You Enjoyed:

• The low-stress “everybody loves her” dynamic and quest for friendship of Komi Can’t Communicate
• The high quality art and low-key Yuri Baiting of Sound! Euphonium
• The occasional frames that feel like high quality stills of Ganbare Douki-chan