Carole & Tuesday Episode 1 Review: True Colors

I’ve fallen head over heels in love with music anime, and these past few seasons haven’t let me down yet! But with Piano no Mori speeding towards its finale, I needed something else to fill the void and along came Spring 2019’s Carole & Tuesday. Created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of anime studio Bones and with acclaimed director Shinichiro Watanabe serving as the series’s supervising director, Carole & Tuesday is poised to be the next great hit!

Plot

Two girls from very different backgrounds meet in the most unexpected way. Together, they embark on a musical journey that will change their lives forever!

Episode Highlights

Opening/Ending Theme: Both the opening and ending themes for Carole & Tuesday are sung by the singing voice artists for the protagonists Carole and Tuesday (Nai Br.XX and Celeina Ann) and they are phenomenal! While the opening theme ‘Kiss Me’ isn’t featured in the episode, the ending theme ‘Hold Me Now’ does and it is a fun pop duet between the series’s main leads!

Beautiful Animation: I have fangirled over Bones before, but the animation in this series is simply gorgeous! They bring the futuristic world of Carole & Tuesday to life with rich vibrant colors, bold detailed settings, and unique character designs. I am in love with how gorgeous this anime looks, but, the beautiful scenery shots are enough to seriously blow you away!

THE MUSIC: What’s a music anime without music? Carole & Tuesday proves right out the gate that it can deliver on the tunes! Both Nai. Br.XX’s (singing voice of Carole) and Celeina Ann’s (singing voice for Tuesday) steal the show with their amazing vocal talents. The first song the girls sing together, The Loneliest Girl, is a delight for the ears, both as an instrumental melody and when they add lyrics to it later on in the episode. The harmonizing is superb and I love that the songs are in English, A++ work! And don’t get me started on how much I love the ending theme! I must have listened to it at least 10 times!

Themes and Trivia

Gibson Acoustic: The guitar Tuesday owns is a Gibson Hummingbird Acoustic guitar. Gibson is an American guitar manufacturer, founded in 1902 by Orville Gibson in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Their most iconic guitar is the Gibson Les Paul, a solid-body electric guitar.

Cyndi Lauper: Early in the episode Tuesday mentions that her idol is American singer/songwriter Cyndi Lauper whose career has spanned over 40 years. She is known for her distinctive glam rock image and an impressive four-octave vocal range. Her song ‘True Colors’ for which the episode is named was a number one single.

True Colors: The episode’s title is a reference to the Cyndi Lauper number one single of the same name. Released in 1986. ‘True Colors’ spent two weeks in the #1 spot of the Billboard Top 100 list and was the last single from Lauper to top the charts.

Bones 20th Anniversary: Carole & Tuesday was created to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of animation studio Bones and the 10th Anniversary of Japanese record label Flying Dog.

Comments

I know it’s really early to be saying this, but, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS ANIME! Carole & Tuesday is better than I ever could have dreamed it would be. With its gorgeous visuals and truly wonderful music, this anime is definitely the standout for me this season!

My first foray into the world of music anime was with Madhouse’s Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad and despite coming out 15 years later, Carole & Tuesday gives me the same sort of feeling I had watching Beck all those years ago. I don’t know what it is, but the series really speaks to me in a way most anime series don’t. There’s this very organic feeling to the characters that reminds me a lot of the shoujo series Nana, especially with how quickly Carole and Tuesday seem to just click. They’ve only just met and yet you can really feel their chemistry, both musically and as characters. They just have that spark.

AND THE MUSIC!! I wasn’t lying when I said I listened to the ending theme ‘Hold Me Now’ ten times, I just really loved the way Nai. Br.XX’s (singing voice of Carole) and Celeina Ann’s (singing voice for Tuesday) voices just seemed to resonate, despite having the kind of voice you’d expect from a young pop singer. Even when they’re just harmonizing without actually singing any words, there’s an ethereal quality to the melody that really sticks with you. My favorite scene is when the girls are sitting in Carole’s living room working out their first song ‘The Loneliest Girl’. It’s stilted with quite a few breaks as the girls suss out their sound and work out how to best incorporate Tuesday’s lyrics to Carole’s melody and then there is the look of satisfaction on their faces when they finally hit that sweet spot and the whole thing is just MAGIC! I will admit that I was a bit surprised when the English vocals started up, but, to be honest, having their songs be in English just really fits. It’s kind of like how I felt when Koyuki sang in English in Beck. When done right, English vocals can enhance a series and Carole & Tuesday most definitely knocks it out of the park.

Lastly, because I could seriously fangirl about this one episode for hours, I really appreciated the subtle way the team incorporates the futuristic elements of the series. Carole & Tuesday takes place on Mars in the as of yet undisclosed future, but, it still has its roots in reality; the giant flashing ads Tuesday sees upon entering the city are reminiscent of NY’s Times Square and the skyline of the city at night would be at home in most metropolitan cities. On has to wonder if this is a product of Shinichiro Watanabe’s influence since the world of Carole & Tuesday has the same rustic feel of the director’s previous series, namely Cowboy Bebop. Either way, I like it!

Singing With Heart

Carole & Tuesday is wonderful. With Bone’s gorgeous visuals and animation and the simply divine vocal talents of the lead singers, this anime has me hooked! This is definitely the standout series for me right out the gate and if you haven’t already, I strongly suggest watching it ASAP!! You won’t be disappointed.

I’ll be back next week with another Carole & Tuesday review, but in the meantime, be sure to check out MANGA.TOKYO’s other amazing Spring 2019 reviews!!