Sing ‘Yesterday’ For Me: Season 1 Episode 1 “Scene 01” [Series Premiere] – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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“Sing ‘Yesterday’ For Me,” as it addresses the regrets that come with early adulthood, makes you hyper-aware of what is and isn’t going right in your life.

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Created By		Toume Kei
Directed By		Fujiwara Yoshiyuki
Written By		Fujiwara Yoshiyuki, Tanaka Jin
Aired (Crunchyroll)		4/4/2020
Genre(s)		Comedy, Drama, Romance, Young Adult, Animation, Non-English
Introduced This Episode
Rikuo	Chikahiro Kobayashi
Shinako	Yume Miyamoto
Haru	Kana Hanazawa
Kinoshita	Tatsuhisa Suzuki

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Plot Overview

Uozumi Rikuo has graduated college, but rather than work a full-time job that would take up all his time and potentially stress him out, he works at a convenience part-time. But with being 6 months separated from graduation and his college crush, Shinako, coming back around, alongside this girl named Haru bugging him, Rikuo finds himself pushed to act. To maybe not coast anymore and lie about who he is, what he wants to do, and his fear of failure, but take a risk. An idea that may spark Haru to do the same, or live in fear as Rikuo may consider continuing to do.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. How old is Haru exactly, especially for her to be one of Shinako’s former students?

Highlights

Rikuo’s Life Is So Relatable It Hurts

While not in the exact place Rikuo is in, anymore, there is something about that fresh out of college and have no idea what the hell to do that hits HARD. Especially if you see college as less of you taking the first steps into adulthood and more so extending your adolescence. For in college, yes, you can accrue debt, but you still have all the things high school forced you to have but now on your terms. So it is like the ideal version of high school.

But then you lose the ability to make your own schedule, meeting new people on a fairly consistent basis and then all you find are dead-end jobs which barely will support you. Never mind have no interest in supporting whatever lifestyle you grew up with and want to help you with this debt you have now just to get that terrible job. One that shouldn’t even ask for a degree.

I think I was triggered.

Anyway, where Rikuo is in life reminds me why I continue to check every season what anime is coming out. For while it isn’t as big of a part of this site as it was one or two years ago, we still enjoy the art form. It’s just the action genre, fantasy, sci-fi, and all that, we either outgrew it, or our taste changed. And while it comes to slice of life or dramas, often they feel so dry or so mindless that it makes the idea of dedicating ourselves to it difficult.

Getting back to the subject at hand, however, Rikuo’s life stirs something up within us that makes the idea of following his path of interest.

Rikuo’s Friendships

While I’m very unsure about the relationship Rikuo has with the young man who visited him, as with the chapter Rikuo is in, everything clicks when it comes to his friendships. Be it the girl you were close with who you have a crush on, get along with, but think asking her out would lead to a rejection, to the co-worker who, like you, isn’t really passionate about much but is exploring this one thing just to kill time. Though, the best thing about Rikuo’s friendships might be that, outside of Haru being the eccentric kid she is, you can easily see everyone as real and having their own story. That, when they exit Rikuo’s purview, there aren’t people polishing them up, changing them, and getting ready to position them for their next scene.

Overall

First Impression: Optimistic

Clearly, “Sing ‘Yesterday’ For Me” is bringing a strong sense of nostalgia, and hitting so many emotions for me. And I think, depending on your experience, or where you see yourself going in life, it could have the same effect for you. Rikuo is more than that basic guy who is made so bland anyone can see themselves in his shoes. He is actually just stuck, perhaps in his own way, and lacks any real stimulus to know which way to go.

Leading to why we feel optimistic about this show: It could act as your wake up call. For if there is one thing art is supposed to do, be it prestigious, escapism media, or what have you, is to trigger something within you. Now, for some, they might be looking for calm or distractions, others a call to action. What “Sing ‘Yesterday’ For Me” gives is melancholy, depending on your life choices, or a sense of wondering if it is too late. Feelings that usually mean a slow and arduous production to watch, but this show is a breeze. So check it out either through Crunchyroll or VRV.

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