Persona 4 the Animation, Kokoro Connect Recommendations
Credit must go to NoNameNoOne's 3-4 word (deleted) recommendation, for this. Judging a man for being one of few words is harsh--Kenshiro wouldn't last long on MAL!
What was so unusually interesting about Persona 4 was its all-out-in-the-open, character breakdown style of development. Its cast each had a dungeon crafted from their inner desires - including but not limited to a homoerotic sauna - and, for the story to progress, each character had to face up to their true selves--accepting both the good and the bad, in front of their friends. Since it was first and foremost a game, the manner in which the cast got
over their issues (following a boss battle) did come across a tad rushed and take some polish off, but it was a pretty unique method of characterisation, nonetheless.
Going into Kokoro, I figured it'd be this silly, perverted 'we swapped bodies; our genitals are different!' school club anime. It isn't. Like Persona 4, it's reliant on a supernatural element forcing its way into the lives of the cast and making the five lead characters confront themselves. They swap bodies, are forced to say and do what they're thinking... basically everything insecure kids going through puberty don't want to happen. Instead of this playing out individually, everyone suffers from the same problems at the same time, and this means that everyone's dirty laundry gets distributed evenly. The series is one full of soul-searching, following arguments fueled by what draws the five closer and, at the same time, pushes them apart.
...so, yeah: Persona 4 is the only other anime that springs to mind that's comparable. The best thing about this is that, with Kokoro's origin being a series of novels, its dialogue and execution are both a lot more polished than that of a JRPG.
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