Ranked #3195

Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai.

If you're looking for an ecchi show, one that's filled with fan-service, one that has a perverted teen in his puberty years thinking about lewd thoughts, or a High School DxD clone, then look no further. So, I Can't Play H (also known Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai) is a series about a group of breasts with a perverted protagonist who makes the deal of his short life with a beautiful Shinigami, or in English terms, a grim reaper during a wet and rainy night.

~ The Deal

Or maybe known as the story. Well, the overall tone of the story is predictable and filled with common cliché, gags, and fan-service. The young boy Ryosuke Kaga (also better well known as Ero-suke, which in my opinion is the better name that suits him considering his nature) plays the main role of the protagonist. He is a perverted at some degrees but at the same time surprisingly funny to watch for his charms and will to protect the girls, or in his words “girls are to be treasured”. He is sort of the middleman compared to other perverted protagonists of the common gag in today's anime industries. For one thing, yes..Ero-suke is perverted but at the same time has a heart of gold, especially towards the shinigami he made a deal with.

Surprisingly though, there is an actual plot to this series. Can you believe it? An actual plot for an ecchi series! Well, foremost, there are tentacle like beings in the beginning that seems to come after the duo like pouring rice. Later on though, a more direct plot seems to develop and mysteries fill the void.

~ Goddess and the Servant

One of the main focus of the series is the interactions, relationship, and bond between main protagonists Ryosuke/Ero-suke and Shinigami Lisara Restall. With her deep scarlet hair and eyes, she is seen as a beautiful goddess of death. It is seems at first glance that she just wants to use Ryosuke for her own purposes. Later on though, we see that she does in fact cares for her dear servant, showing tendencies of care and even jealousy. Oh boy, my tsundere sense is tangling.

~ Others of the Daily Life

Of course, there are other characters that drives the series. We have the childhood friend who has boobs that evokes the jealousy of the other female cast. We have the Shinigami rival against Lisara who lately have developed a sense of lust and love towards Ero-suke. We have an idol who is seen as the mascot of the series.

Talk about daily life being turned upside down for our poor protagonist.

~ When life gives you money, you make fan-service

Being an ecchi show, it is no surprise that the theme of tentacles comes into play. In fact, the first episode and nearly every one so far shows this theme. And of course, clothes being shredded in combat, Ero-suke supplying his powers towards his partner through eroticism, and the inflatable boobs of our teen star idol also gives the show its gags.

Strangely though, this series actually makes sense through its usage of fan-service. Can you believe it? It's actually part of the story. As clothes gets shredded, it symbolizes a loss of power and weakness. As it comes back together, so does strength and the will to fight again! And of course, curtsey of AT-X, the series offers uncensored (yum) for those who wants to avoid the dark shades, light, and fog of the series that hides our guilty pleasures.

The art and music of this anime series is just average although some of the character designs actually seems to be quite appealing, namely Lisara's Shinigami outfit. If you don't believe me, just look at that beauty. Some of the soundtrack also plays its role to convey the battle moody actions in the other world against the tentacle like beings while other times just seems to be there and not really noticeable.

Well, that's not entirely true. "Platinum 17" by yozuca (the Ending theme song of the series) seems to be quite noticeable. It seems to show a possible future romantic relationship between Ero-suke and Lisara, a “forbidden love” between master and servant. The flower, the bath, the bedroom, it's all there. Unfortunately though, he doesn't really manage to flower the pot.

~ The verdict

Well, to enjoy this series, I would say that focusing on the story and characters seems to be the key factor. Yes, there is fan-service. Yes, there are the gags. Yes, there is cliché. What did you expect? If you can't deal with it, then hit the drop button now. However, it does seem that the verdict is not carrying its bar so high. With some of the latter factors as well as the dull plot coming around, this series seems is going downhill. It's not as hot as it originally was before and that's not an understatement. Ultimately, this series is one of those guilty pleasures to watch but for those more into the advanced plot settings with more insightful characters, then look elsewhere. read more

'Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai' is your average ecchi rom-com with a few interesting twists thrown in here and there. That said and whether it's intentional or not, this anime has a lot of similarities with other well known series and if you're an anime savvy watcher it feels like many plot points here have been done before in a strikingly similar way elsewhere.

The story is banal and doesn't really require much in-depth description. The male lead, Ryosuke Kaga, is the stereotypical high school anime pervert and lives out his days oblivious to the powers high above. One day he meets a redhead death god, Restall Risara, who happens to be on a hunt for the human with the highest amount of spiritual energy, or the "special specimen" as it's called in this anime. The first episode already looks somewhat similar to Bleach, plot-wise. Those of you that watched it, you surely remember the first episode where Ichigo and Rukia meet - it's raining outside and she stabs him with her sword so that he can defeat the hollow. Same thing in this anime, minus the hollow part and it happens inside the house. From that moment on they develop a partner (professionally speaking) relationship. Again similar to how it was done with Rukia and Ichigo in bleach, where the male lead supports the female companion character as they strive towards a common goal. Of course this might be mere coincidence, stemming from the fact that there are lots of shinigami-based animes out there and through sheer probability, at least two of them will end up being similar.

There are secondary characters of course - Fukumune Iria, Okura Mina, Sellier Quele. The first one is just for pure fanservice as is the case with Sellier. They have no real depth, the story doesn't expand upon them and they're just there so that we can see more breasts on the screen. So is the case with nearly all other female characters and it makes the series more generic. The only plot significant secondary character here would be Mina, who gradually rises in importance, especially in the later episodes of the series. Out of all characters I would say she's the responsible and sensible type but one character is not enough to make up for dozens of shallow ones.

The story progresses from being carefree with romantic undertones to full-blown romantic drama by the end. Similar to Sora no Otoshimono, again whether it's intentional or a coincidence, these are only my personal observations. Risara and Ryosuke set out on an adventure which includes defeating many hollow-like looking monsters; another apparent similarity to Bleach that I personally noticed. The two main characters evolve from being mere strangers to something a lot more than that and we can see their relationship growing with each episode. The makers have done a really good job here and the tension between Risara and Ryosuke and how they come to terms with their feelings is a highlight of this anime. I for one, was excited to see the ending and how their relationship would eventually pan-out.

As for Art, it is nicely done. Characters are well drawn. The colors are crisp and the style immediately catches your eye's full attention. One thing to note however is that violence and nudity are intertwined in this anime. A lot of fighting scenes will feature the girls being completely naked - much like in Elfen Lied, but with less blood. Whether the makers have purposefully adopted that kind of style from Elfen Lied or it's just me - I don't know, but it is something worthy to notice and discretion is advised.

The voice acting is very convincing and the VAs themselves fit in nicely with this type of anime. The soundtrack as well as the opening and ending songs are catchy.

All in all, this is a decent anime. The story isn't too bad but there are a few shortcomings, the most notable is the large amount of shallow and completely pointless characters and the fact that the plot lacks uniqueness to stand out from a pile of similar anime series. However at the same time the romance component here has been executed in the best way possible and this is a good anime for all those people who like watching romance-based series. You'll also get a few laughs out of this anime, as it is filled with eyebrow-raising situations and one liners.

Therefore 'Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai' gets a rating of 7 from me. It isn't bad but it isn't very good either. Watch it for fun and definitively for the romance and you will enjoy it. read more