The Series (5/5)

    Just Because! follows Eitu Izumi, a teenage boy, who while in his final semester of high school ends up moving back to his home town.  He left in middle school due to his Father's work, and has now come back for the same reason.  The high school he attends is also home to his middle school crush, and former best friend (the former is crushing on the latter, while Eitu still has feelings for her, there is a lot of this in this show).  The show follow Eitu and a group of roughly 5 friends as they begin to look forward to their post-high school lives, and the changes they are individually going through.
 

    I cannot express how much I loved Just Because, but I had a feeling I would when I first saw the cover art a few months ago.   The film is a slice of life anime mixed with an odd-man out in high school drama. The show utilizes Eitu's sudden shift back to his old neighborhood almost as a metaphor for the changes going on with all these teens lives.   The show really neels a specific emotional tone for the characters and their stations in life that feels what I"ll call accurate enough to make them relatable, and of course fictitious enough to build compelling stories around them.

   The series uses typical high school show elements like worrying about exams, and falling in love (Especially when that person shows no interest back).   The show ends (no spoilers) with an epilogue that shows the results of the goings on in the show, and takes the characters past where we know them and into lovingly unexplored territory. The animation is pitch-perfect for the show,  and helps convey the ever changing emotions and atmosphere of the show.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    Sentai Filmworks presents Just Because in a splendid 1:78:1 transfer that brings the shows unique animation style to life (I don't want to say it's rotoscoped, but it does have that look).  Colors are vivid, and detail is fresh. Also, included are 2 audio tracks both 2.0 in Japanese and English. The dub track is fine and works well for the show, but as per usual I kept it mostly to the subs which seemed to flow quite well with the content, and everything sounded fine.

Extras (1.5/5)

    There are Japanese TV commercials, and a clean opening and closing.

Overall

    Just Because is a fantastic anime series, that brings the final days of high school to life in a vivid and entertaining way. The Blu-ray looks and sound quite good, but has limited extras. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.