Didn’t think studio FEEL could produce anything with feelings.
Studio FEEL hasn’t really got the track record for producing shows with a lot of depth. There’ll be undoubtedly some within their repertoire, but the majority borders along the lines of ‘Do I feel comfortable telling somebody I’m watching this?’ Therefore they pleasantly surprised me with Tsuki ga Kirei which was quite the different production.
Young Love
The story kicks off slowly with the romance between Mizuno and Azumi, which can also be the first deal breaker the show has, it starts slow. We’re used to shows giving away a lot during the first episode or at least create some tension for us to stick around. Tsuki ga Kirei in that respect borders in the realm of Slice of Life mixed with Romance. This might be off putting for some, but a breeze of fresh air for those who were looking for a mix that is mostly hard to find in the slice of life genre.
As said the show needs some time to develop, but it won’t stray into unfamiliar or taboo territory later on. Tsuki ga Kirei sticks to the mainstream and gentle part of romance, the young and untainted romance. The interactions between Mizuno and Azumi remain fairly subtle, not like Kuzu no Honkai which might just be better off just being a full blown hentai, but we’ll leave that topic for today.
Another very interesting part of the relationship between Mizuno and Azumi is the way they use texting, again fairly innocent, but the producers try to make the show more according to modern times. Adding this element, gives a more dynamic and approachable element to the storytelling for a younger audience.
Way corny
I’ve mentioned in the previous paragraph that Tsuki ga Kirei is a story about a more traditional, idealized way of romance. While this in itself is not an issue, since it delivers the necessary escapism for the audience, but at times it becomes too much. I won’t tease the ending, but once you’ve seen the credits you’ll be overwhelmed by how sugar coated the show actually is.
Luckily Tsuki ga Kirei, does suffer from the terrible, almost agonizing portrayal of romance like Golden Time. While at times going near utopian, it gives a sense of realism since it dips in the necessary struggle. Combined with the slow pacing, the story has time to grow on the viewer.
Look and Feel
On the visual end of the spectrum, the show remains pretty steady. The visual design is something we’ve seen a lot of during the time of Plastic Memories a few years back. The colors are light and instead of using hard shadows, more white tones are used.
The soundtrack is more laid back and not overly present. It does not create the same level of detail or drama in productions such as 5 Centimeters per Second which treads along the same lines as Tsuki ga Kirei in terms of genre and storytelling. Given, budgets may vary greatly when comparing both productions and creators.
Verdict 7/10
Tsuki ga Kirei delivers a steady slice of life mixed with romance performance. It takes some time to build up and may be a little to corny for some viewers, but in the end its a pleasant watch from a studio that normally creates vastly different shows.
Ninety's Blog 
I’ve heard folks compare Tsuki ga kirei to 5 Centimeters per Second on opening, but when everything is said and done, the thematic elements differ considerably. The end result is that Tsuki ga kirei captures awkward love in a plausible manner and delivers a conclusion that is, while perhaps not quite as realistic as that of 5 Centimeters per Second (I know this from personal experience), nonetheless remains quite satisfying to watch. Usually, and perhaps owing to my naïveté with the industry, I do not care which studio made what anime: if it’s a good anime, it’s a good anime.
It was refreshing to see that this studio decided to stray away from the regular path. I suppose the producers wanted to create pure escapism or target a younger audience with this production when looking at the storytelling.