Insomniacs After Dark

 A recent anime called Insomniacs After School grabbed my attention as someone who has had insomnia since the age of 10, this anime shows a part of insomniacs that day enjoyers don’t know about and has the effects or feelings that people with this condition exhibit. I loved this anime so much when I was watching it, and it is the perfect anime to watch when you can’t sleep as well. What I liked about this anime is that it has a very calm feeling like you are laying down looking at the night sky and inhabiting those feelings so well. The feeling of this anime is so unique from its incredible styled soundtrack being a slow bpm with a soothing guitar or soothing vocals and the rest of the music being very cutesy with an amazing opening as well, just makes watching this anime even more enjoyable for me. The vibe on this anime is very sleepy or dreamy, kind of calm when it’s night and they are doing their activity or chatting, it’s like staying up in sleepover. You get to experience this via this anime and it is also very relatable to our generation as insomnia is very common now in teens, as it’s a genius way to develop an anime around because you don’t see a whole lot of anime set at night either.

The setting makes this anime very unique even though it is in an over-saturated genre known as school anime, however being a school anime doesn’t have a lot about but rather the school club known as Astrology Club. Ganta meets this girl called Isaki in this club and they both share insomnia, being both insomniacs they stay up to look at the stars and take pictures under the dark of night. While this anime has star seeing I wish it did focus a bit more on stars and constellations but the episode names are based on stars so I find that to be a super cool detail, it does touch on camera settings and little of what it’s like to catch a sight of stars. For its short length, I guess they couldn’t focus too much on that because it’s mainly about insomnia. The anime does a great job on showing the troubles of why someone can’t sleep and the psyche involved after dark, Ganta is plagued with fear of doubt and worry which causes him to waste time awake unable to sleep, while both share a common fear of being alone so they cannot sleep. They both help each other sleep by being together or doing a radio call where they just talk about random stuff while one listens and helps them sleep.

I find it super wholesome that this anime is an innocent romance within the anime without it changing the anime a whole lot. At the start they were punished for being the way they are, staying up late and found themselves isolated but there’s someone who is just like themselves, that is the sentiment of there’s someone for anyone even if you feel alone. The girl encourages Ganta to not lose hope and brings him out of being depressed, which is very wholesome and makes the anime emotional at times because it deals with mental issues from insomnia on the down-low. I think it’s perfect that this anime is also about seeing stars as well. I think it fits into insomnia and the night very well because the anime gives the feeling that you’re seeing the universe and stars around you which helps with the night feeling as well. The anime was constantly strong in keeping the tone of the anime and never failed to portray what it was going, resulting in the anime being incredibly enjoyable, fun and amazing. The marketing of the anime is also genius because anyone or everyone has experienced insomnia and so anyone can relate to this anime on a personal level making it a masterpiece in a concept. I love how it’s going for something new, but also has the familiar average anime setting which is where I have to give the anime props for being original because it helps with making it refreshing.

It also has their daily life aspect being for some episodes in school or on school trips which makes one get to know the cast of characters in the show, where they are enjoying what they are doing and having some funny moments as well. With the romance developing when they become alone having sweet moments which added to the endearing feeling that the anime had throughout the anime. The relationship may not be anything special in the landscape of romance, but I think how it relates to the average layman is that ordinary romance is something special because it is super realistic. That’s why I rate this anime very highly as it being an ordinary but realistic anime, puts you in their shoes and gives you a deeper connection to it like anime such as Just Because of Sakurada Reset. There’s something about these types of anime in the slice of life genre that I love which I can’t put my finger on, however I don’t think I need to think that deeply about it because anime is usually very far from reality but when a different anime is grounded in reality, that it feels like a secret gem.

For someone who wishes they could rewrite the past and experience what it’s like having friends in my teens or a normal school life, anime like this where it’s friends enjoying their youth and have fun without worries and can help losers like me having that escapism and feel good for something that comforts people who have lost the good days. I feel that is what slice of life for the older generation or people that are outcasts; the genre helps deeply for others and is why it is so loved by many. If you want a chill and relaxing or as I say chillaxing, then this anime is for you, it’s definitely a top tier anime from spring 2023 seasonal anime.

Thanks For Reading!