Yesterday wo Utatte or Sing “Yesterday” for Me ( free translation: Sing “Yesterday” for Me ) is a slice of life – seinen, which differs from the other anime of the season due to its complex characters but with common problems, making the viewer feel relate to the characters easily.
Yesterday manages to show how mundane lives have special parts that normally don't receive attention, like deep feelings hiding behind trivial attitudes, the subtle value of everyday life.
The author Kei Toume started “Yesterday wo Utatte” inspired by the song of the same name by the band RC Succession (which was used as the 3rd ED in the anime ), which is inspired by the song Yesterday by the Beatles and to understand this work and analysis a little better, I recommend Strongly listen to them before reading.
The four main story core characters presented here are: Rikuo Uozumi , Haru Nonaka , Shinako Morinome , and Rou Hayakawa .
The following text is based on the beginning of the anime and not the complete work.
Attention! Spoilers below!
Rikuo Uozumi
Uozumi finished college 6 months ago, she intended to confess her feelings to her friend Shinako on graduation day, but she didn't.
Without any clear goal in mind and feeling lost, he started working at a convenience store, where he met a strange girl named Haru, who always came to visit him at work, despite feeling uncomfortable about it, he always finds himself thinking about her. .
However, Rikuo meets Shinako in Tokyo and ends up declaring himself and being rejected, and despite all the disappointment and sadness he finds a hobby in photography, but is always unsure of taking a step forward.
Haru Nonaka
Nonaka dropped out of high school because her school did not approve of her working at the “Milk Hall” cafe because it sold alcoholic drinks at night. Despite being a lively and positive girl, she has her moments of sadness, but always with consistent reasons.
Haru has feelings for Rikuo and says that he met him 5 years ago, but at first he doesn't remember her because of her big change in appearance, before being a girl in a uniform with her hair tied up and now a flamboyant and sincere person who has a raven named Kansuke as a pet.
Having dropped out of high school, he tries to avoid Shinako who was his old teacher, but after learning that Rikuo likes Shinako, Haru confronts her and declares war saying that he will not lose to his old sensei.
Shinako Morinome
Morinome is depressed because her teenage boyfriend passed away due to illness, which made her leave her hometown in Kanazawa and go to Tokyo, but her late boyfriend's father and younger brother live in Tokyo, and she visits them often. , which makes her have a hole in her heart, always carrying the death of her loved one in her chest.
In addition to the fact that her late love's younger brother, Rou, invests romantically in her, leaving her with a feeling of guilt for causing this type of behavior in someone she considers a brother.
For these reasons Shinako cannot close the doors of her past or open new ones for the future, not knowing how to respond to Rikuo's feelings and even with her former student Haru declaring war against her for Rikuo, their conversations always put her feet on the ground. , inspiring her to move forward.
Rou Hayakawa
Hayakawa is a high school student and the younger brother of Shinako's late boyfriend. He liked to draw, but after his older brother's death he stopped, returning only years later.
He has unrequited feelings for Shinako, he feels that he needs to provide the support that his older brother could not, forcing himself to mature faster so that Shinako considers him a man, but he continues to act like a spoiled child, seeing Rikuo as a rival.
Concept map demonstrating relationships between characters
Yesterday wo Utatte is an anime adaptation by studio Doga Kobo that consists of 12 episodes and 6 specials, premiered in April 2020 and was based on the manga by writer and illustrator Kei Toume, published between December 1997 and June 2015 by Shueisha in magazines Business Jump (1997-2011) and Grand Jump (2011-2015) with 11 volumes.
“Living is 49% about the past and 51% about the future”
