Another surprisingly relaxing anime I’ve been following is Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia, or Insomniacs After School, about two high school students who learn to lean on each other to help overcome trouble sleeping. It’s a great example of how anime can tell fresh and fun stories even while sticking to the traditional framework of the romance anime genre.
The Story of Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia
Nakami is a high school student who’s always struggled with sleeping at night. One day, he discovers that the school observatory, which hasn’t been used in years, would make the perfect place to take a nap.
There’s only one problem: there’s a girl already sleeping there. Her name is Magari, and she’s a free-spirited soul who also suffers from insomnia. The two decide to restart the school’s astronomy club so they can share a secret spot to sleep.
Nakami and Magari find that they both sleep even better if they’re near each other, and become closer and closer, becoming a super-relaxing low-burn school romance.
Why is Insomniacs After School so Relaxing to Watch?
I did not expect to enjoy a show about insomnia as much as I am. Here are some reasons why it’s so good!
Relatable characters. We’ve all watched hundreds of anime featuring OP main characters who travel to fantasy worlds, but here’s one about normal people like us struggling to get to sleep at night. The slice-of-life genre is even better when it’s about characters we can relate to.
The romance element is great. For the longest time, we’re led to believe that Nakami and Magari are just friends, each happy to have a partner-in-crime to assist with their secret napping during school. But slowly we realize that they’re falling in love.
High-quality animation. The animation by LIDENFILMS, who brought us Tokyo Revengers as well as many other works, is gorgeous to see.
Sleep is Super Important to Me
I was nervous about starting an anime about insomnia for a ridiculous reason: sleep is super important to me, and I guard my sleep time fiercely.
Back during the early days of running J-List, I was so busy that I’d meticulously map out the bare minimum of sleep I needed each night. I’d aim for five hours of sleep, but when I started getting health problems like random eye twitching or tinnitus in one ear, I’d grudgingly switch to 5 1/2 hours until the problems went away. Then I read the book Why We Sleep, about the importance of sleep and how low sleep is associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Now I make damn sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.
(I also recently got a CPAP machine, which has been amazing. Once I got used to sleeping with the mask on my face, it basically adds 1-2 hours’ worth of sleep each night. Highly recommended, if you think you may have sleep apnea!)
Thanks for reading this post about the Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia school romance anime. We hope you have sweet dreams tonight!
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