True Tears
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"Because I gave my tears away." |
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True Tears is two things: A visual novel from 2006 and an anime series from 2008. Asides their name and credited author, they have nothing in common. This entry deals with the 2008 anime series.
Nakagami Shinichiro finds himself in a rare situation for a high school student: Yuasa Hiromi, a well-liked girl from his school lives in with his family ever since her parents, old friends from the Nakagami family, died. As they live together, Shinichiro noticed that while she is always upbeat and happy at school, she's very cold and reserved at home. He just knows she's just holding her tears in. Having an artistic tendency, Shinichiro makes watercolours of her and thinks about wishing to ease her tears.
With this initial sketch of his situation, the anime introduces Isurugi Noe. This strange girl inspires Shinichiro to think about what he has been doing with his life and starts off in what is a slow and natural Love Triangle story.
- Abusive Parents - To say that Nakagami's mother is not very fond of Hiromi would be an understatement. Things got better after Hiromi got involved in an accident, and Nakagami's mother even went as far as spoiling Hiromi with ice cream.
- Accidental Pervert - Shin kind of does this in Episode 1.
- Arc Words - Anything to do with tears
- Art Shift - On occasion, the current shot of a scene turns into a watercolor drawing.
- Brother-Sister Incest - Hiromi thought she was Shinichirou's half-sister and was thus very scared to admit her feelings. Another example is Jun, who harbors romantic feelings towards his sister, Noe.
- Cliff Hanger - Almost every episode ends in one.
- Crash Into Hello - Noe has a habit of jumping out of trees on top of Shin as a greeting.
- Cloudcuckoolander - Noe.
- Dogged Nice Guy - Miyokichi has this in spades. He shares this trait with his crush as well.
- Extreme Doormat - Hiromi acts this way around the house
- Festival Episode - During the flashback.
- First Girl Wins
- Hidden Depths - Present in every character in the series.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy - Miyokichi is all about this trope. Other characters play with it as well.
- Love Triangle - Hiromi, Shin, Noe
- Luminescent Blush: Noe when Shinichirou confeses to her. Also, Shinichirou when Noe kisses him.
- Meet Cute - Noe's first meeting with Shinichirou happens when she's awkwardly stuck up a tree. Other than that, she ends up cursing him, what sets the plot in motion.
- Narm - The constant talk about tears can come across as something very creepy.
- Now or Never Kiss - Aiko gives one to Shinichirou out of desperation upon hearing that he's going to go out with Noe. Unfortunately for her, it doesn't change his mind. See Unlucky Childhood Friend.
- The Nondescript - Shinichirou is initially pretty much this.
- Relative Error - Episode 3. Shin mistakes Noe's brother Jun for her boyfriend.
- Romantic Runner-Up - Noe
- Scenery Porn
- Snow Means Love: Oh so very much.
- Sparkling Stream of Tears - What did you expect from a series called True Tears?
- Unlucky Childhood Friend - Subverted and Played straight. While Hiromi becomes Shinichirou's girlfriend, yet Aikou is flat-out rejected.
- Victorious Childhood Friend - After a period of doubting, Shinichirou finally hooks up with Hiromi at the end.
- Wham! Episode - Episode 6, when Shinichiro finds out why his mom hates Hiromi so much.
- What Happened to the Mouse? - It was never made clear what was the grudge Shinichirou's mother had with Hiromi and her mother.
- Subverted at the end. Shinichiro's mother was, for many years, under the impression that Hiromi was her husband's illegitimate daughter (with his best friend's wife no less, giving him a reason to accept Hiromi into his household after her parents dies), hence her coldness and hate towards Hiromi. With The Reveal, she finally realizes her mistake and accepts Hiromi as his daughter too (at least in practice, and seeing that Hiromi's romance with Shinichiro goes well on his way to something more serious at the end, well...).
- Yamato Nadeshiko - Hiromi.
- Zettai Ryouiki - Aiko Ando