Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

(2017 EDIT: Anime has JoJo references.)
Oreshura is just another harem rom com. It has nothing special about it and it doesn't stand out much at all. Yet it's really likable and you can't find many reasons to hate it. The reason is probably because as plain as it is, it does what it's supposed to do pretty well.

The story was decent (7). It wasn't special but it wasn't boring either. In fact, it didn't have much of a story. It's pretty much about a childhood friend trying to get the protagonist back to her from his kind-of-evil girlfriend, while more harem members join the ... crew along the way. The different thing about this is the super lighthearted tone. To me this is what basically sets the anime apart from the others of the same genre. Oh, but it could also be because the protagonist ACTUALLY chooses someone in the end.

The art suited the lighthearted tone really well (8). The light colors gave off a watercolor like feel to it and it went well with the character design which together made it really cute, or rather, attractive. There should be more anime with this type of art, and I think it would go well with a lot of romance anime.

The sound/music suited the art and story perfectly (8). Of course it wasn't brilliant or outstanding, but it was fun and very well done -lol- , and the opening and ending were really cute, or rather, attractive. The BGM suited the comedic moments really well too.

The characters got me pleasantly surprised (8). For a generic harem, you can't expect too much out of the characters. You would expect (or I expected) the main character to be an ordinary, plain and boring person who can't make any decisions by himself, has the school idol at his feet every day but still refuses to notice her, who's parents are either dead or somewhere abroad, a non-blood related sister who would happen to have a crush on him, a perverted,wacko best friend who makes the MC look mature and reliable, when he himself has a porn mag stashed somewhere, etc. I could go on and on but that isn't the point I was trying to make, which is that the main character is actually likable. The essence of a harem anime are the harem members, not the leader himself. If the leader was more interesting than the members he would seem like a member himself. This MC is neither almost non-existent nor is he super fancy. He's just a nice guy who isn't overly anything and isn't annoying in the slightest. There is no imouto. There is no wacko friend, but instead a super sweet trap/friend. Yes, his doesn't live with his parents, but there's a story as to why things are like that. And his chuunibyo makes him pretty hilarious too. Most of the other characters are based on regular harem archetypes, but what makes them different is how funny, embarrassing and nice they all seem to be to each other. No two characters are alike, which is another plus point in harems.

The enjoyment is over 9000 for me (even though I'm limited to putting a 10). This was a short and entertaining anime with the least offense I've seen an anime of its genre pull off. I'd recommend it to anyone who's just finished watching Corpse Party or something.

Overall, this anime is one of the neatest of its type and is a fun show for anyone who doesn't hate Harem with their life (9). It's just a quick, fun way to spend some time.

(My first proper review)

"Ore Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru" Quite a long and complicated name. As the name states it, yes, it's a warzone between a childhood friend and the girlfriend with the addition of another two comic relief character.
Story, 6/10:
For the story, well, people may thought, 'Hey, this must be another simple harem show again. whatever, i'll just watch it for fun'. Yeah, at first, i was like that, then, after a certain episode, the story was getting even more exciting. And to think that each and every one of the girls were given fair chances in getting the guy.
One thing that i really like ... about this show is that, it didn't feel rush. Everything went smoothly with the flow. Although there were moments where you would be like, ' whuh?' but it was still good.
I gave it a 6/10 score because the story didn't reached the climax where it should have been. And a few other scenes that should be so powerful, but ended up with a 'meh'

Art, 8/10:
One good thing about this anime is the art style. Some people might be disturbed by the light coloured theme, but for me, i loved it! It was so refreshing and so cheerful. God, the opening was so full of colours, i was caught by the colours myself.
The character design was okay i guess. Although there were some scenes where the character's face was a bit weird.

Sound, 7/10:
I would say that the Sound in the anime played a not-so-much part in most of the massive scenes, where it should be. So yeah, maybe that's one of the reason why i feel the climax didn't reach the peak where i think it should have been.
The OP and ED played a major role in setting up the cheerful atmosphere. I love the OP. Hahaha.
For the second last episode, the ED played a major role in setting the mood for the last episode. I can't tell you what it's about, but it was aweesome.

Character, 8/10:
So in this harem, we have the genki girl, Harusaki Chiwa, the tsundere, Fuyuumi Ai, the chuunibyou, Akishino Himeka and the beauty, Natsukawa Masuzu.
Usually, in a harem anime, the main guy would be a total clueless dumbass that didn't even notice a girl likes him even after that girl confessed to him. But Eita, is not like that. he may be clueless at times, not because he is dumb, it's because of the family affairs which made him not to trust love.
And yes, i would believe that kind of reasoning, family problems could turn a person into anything.
Then, there's Chiwa, the childhood friend, fell in love with him after a certain incident(I won't spoil it). Also, has a bulletproof reason to love him.
Masuzu in the other hand, doesn't have any reason to love Eita, but she develops feelings for him later on. and i must say, watching Masuzu grew from the beginning to the end is really fun and sweet at times. although she can be a jerk.
Himeke and Ai, were practically the comic relief love interest. But even so, their reasoning to fell in love with Eita were both solid rock. Yes, even for a side character, i was rooting for Ai at some point.
A bunch of 'the usual' harem character but with interesting backgrounds and solid reason to why they like the same guy. Trust me, you won't get bored with any one of these characters, ever.
If only, every harem makes sense like this one...

Enjoyment, 8/10:
When the episode is getting dull, or the start of a new mission, behold! The Burning Fighting Fighter Notebook of Darkness!
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
YES, It was so embarrassing, i can't stop laughing.
Anyway, besides that, watching every singe one of the characters(including the aunt) developed at a same rate was really enjoying. every single one of them had a fair chance, even Kaoru. Yes, Kaoru. If only Kaoru was in the harem circle....

Overall. 7/10:
Like it's title, 'My girlfriend and childhood friend fight too much'. i agreed on that 100% percent. Because, it was all about a childhood friend and his gilrfriend. Ai and Himeka were just there. One of my favourite thing about the anime was watching Masuzu and Chiwa fought.
*cough* *cough* the last scene in the final episode, yup. i love that scene. eventhough there were no sparks between them, i swear i saw them inside my head.
it was so intense that it was so good.
Credits to the huge character developments in Masuzu. And yes, now i'm stuck between both of them.
If the harem is bad, you'll like every characters in the harem circle, if the harem is okay, you would like only one of them but if the harem is good, you would stuck in choosing which one is the best.
Yes, even now, i didn't see any winners yet. Not common for an anime but it's OreShura, where everything were for a reason.

P/s:
I am rooting for second season!! No notebook, less comic relief, more love pentagon. Instead of being 80% comedy 20% romance, my guess, it would be 25% comedy, 25% serious and 50% romance for the next season. I wanna know more about Masuzu's family.

If you really like something refreshing to watch, watch OreShura. But if you think too much and more towards serious stuffs, don't watch it.

Alright, here's the deal.

Well, there's no deal; not for a certain lucky or rather unlucky guy named Eita Kido anyways. The thing is, he gets blackmailed in the most embarrassing way possible. Now he's nothing more than a little boy toy to a certain admired beauty at school. But hey, at least he's getting a hot girl with a manipulative personality yet someone “cares” about him in some way right? That's not what it seems to be...

Wait, this is a bit too fast. Let's start from the beginning.

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru (God damn that is a long name, so I ... will call it 'Oreshura' instead), is an anime series that debuted in 2013 based on the LN written by Yuji Yuji. The Japanese title literally translates to:

“My Girlfriend and Childhood Friend Fight Too Much”

YA THINK?

Well, the series does display that theme quite a bit. For starters, we got this kid named Eita Kidou who is in his puberty years in high school. He's a normal high school student with a healthy body. At that age, most boys would think about girls, right? No, in his case, the only thing is in mind is to study, study, and study. In fact, he hopes to become a doctor. (for a friend's sake) Well hell, if anyone tries to make that into a goal, we should all envision on the journey to get there. It's not an easy task being a doctor and saving lives, not to mention the amount of education you need to obtain the occupation. This also came from some bad memories from his past related to his parents. (poor kid) And beyond that, he has decided to eradicate the thought of “love” from his thoughts. In other words, the only focus on his mind is to achieve his goal, with absolution regardless of the costs. Oh but life just isn't so easy for this kid because there's one BIG problem:

Masuzu Natsukawa

She's a mysterious transfer student where after nine long years came to his school all the way from Sweden. She has silver hair and in anime logic, we all know that's an attractive trait. In real life though, that's probably bizarre. But at any rate, this girl quickly becomes the talk of the school where boys instantly becomes attracted to her. On the other hand, Eita is just being Eita there with no second thoughts related to her. That is of course till one faithful day. After a certain incident, it seems that Eita becomes blackmailed by a certain notebook (Death Note reference anyone?) and now is literally forced to play the role of a “boyfriend” for Masuzu. It's basically an offer he can't refuse!

Of course, in today's anime industry, the concept of the 'fake boyfriend/girlfriend' theme is not new. It's literally a palm in the face at occasions where we watch a fake couple doing fake things that are expressed as fake romance. It's overused all over the world but hey, it's still here. The fact that Eita and Masuzu are a “couple” means that they are the talk of the school and among other things, an obstacle for both Eita and his childhood friend Chiwa Harusaki. That's because Eita promised to become a doctor in order to help her with the injury that she endured during her times as a kendo specialist.

Now regarding Chiwa, this girl gave the word 'annoying' a whole new meaning. With a lack of any sex appeal, an annoying mouth, and obliviousness to a lot of things, she plays the mascot of the show. In fact, she is even nicknamed as Chiwawa as a pun for chihuahua. This is because her petite figure and hairstyle resembles those of a puppy. Well, let's not forget about her mouth of course because a puppy barks when annoyed and Chiwawa here is no different. Sorry Chiwawa fans.

She brings on some early drama in the series after finding out about the whole fake 'boyfriend/girlfriend' ordeal. Being herself, she lacks the knowledge of “romance” and its ideas so she tries her best to break them apart. With her persistence, she often tries to interfere during their moments of “romance”. However unlike Masuzu, Chiwawa lacks confidence. Unfortunately for her, it seems that Eita only sees her as a childhood friend although at many occasions, he seems to put her in high regards and does truly care about her. Among other things though, Eita-kun also meets other girls which puts Chiwawa on even more stress when she realizes the many rivals to love.

Those rivals would be Himeka Akishino who self-proclaims herself as Eita-kun's “ex-girlfriend”. Her introduction invokes the wrath of not only Chiwawa but also Eita's fake girlfriend Masuzu. It becomes a battlefield and Himeka portrays herself as the “Burning Princess Saint Dragon Lady of Dawn”. It all happened after a certain event and after being a witness, she is determined to prove to Eita that she is his destined one. Too bad destiny doesn't land her well on the side of love. Speaking of which now, destiny presents another girl, the all loveable pink haired girl Ai Fuyuumi. She seems to play the role of the antithesis with her tsundere like features and delusions. In fact, she even has a little cute history but that would be spoilers. Watch the series and you'll see.

With these girls and Eita-kun in the mix, we have the formula for a harem. They all have different colored hair too but with different physiques. It also seems that at the same time, Eita can't seem to pick which one to choose. In fact, he still wants to escape from the idea of love and pursue a dream as a doctor. Well tough luck to Eita kun because this kid can't ever catch a break. From some of the episodes, he gets humiliated by the notebook, beat up by thugs, and caught up into countless misunderstandings in what some may see as an unwanted harem. It's a battlefield for all the girls and everyone to themselves. It also seems that at some occasions, Masuzu may generally care for Eita in a more romantic way as opposed to their fake relationship. Still though, it doesn't avoid the typical harem themes. We have the jealousy from the girls that often results from misunderstandings, the stalkers on dates to “observe” what Eita is doing, and hell, even the traditional CPR scene. It gets old and overused . Let's not also forget the “transfer student” theme, the childhood friend relationship, and even a case of the naked apron idea. It's Harem with a capital H.

The series is labeled as romantic comedy and surprisingly, it does have its comedy side. The idea of “love” is really played out during many episodes is weak though as I've yet to sense that feeling of real romance from any of the character. However, I admit that the comedy of the series is done surprisingly well.

Let's see, there's the fun references of chuunibyou presented in many episodes involving Himeka and Eita. They imagine themselves as the “Burning Fighting Fighter” and “Burning Princess Saint Dragon Lady of Dawn” respectively. But of course, this theme isn't new to the anime industry especially in terms of romantic comedies. Yes, I'm looking at you, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Other little fun gags in the series revolves around Masuzu who presents herself as a hardcore Jojo fan. In fact, she often uses references and quotes throughout the series to make humor. These often puts Eita in an embarrassing situation but amusement for Masuzu herself. It's not surprising though given her manipulative personality. Additionally, there's the idea of 'obvious lies' involving Ai. It's so obvious that her “boyfriend” doesn't really exist that it should be a big sign for anyone. Additionally, her strict policy of being a “hall monitor” contradicts her personality as she herself seems to want fun. Yup, I personally found these little gags here and there amusing or at the very least presents comedy in a fun way.

Unfortunately, it seems that not all of these doesn't work out too well in the end. There's still fan service and the typical beach episode, the festival at night (with yukata for decoration), the obvious love triangle/square, and Eita being oblivious to certain things in life despite his intellect. I also personally found that Eita is a bit annoying to watch. Being a nice guy, he often wants to help others by putting himself at risk but I feel like he's not using his brain much. Although I admire his care for the other girls, I find that his actions presented are a bit weak to my liking. Additionally, I also find that Himeka's character to be way too blend and hardly stands out at all. In fact, at some occasions, I forget her existence in the show just like her delusions that are nonexistent. The love triangle is also weak too in my opinion. It seems that Eita doesn't wants any of them as a real girlfriend. In fact, it seems that the only thing he would marry would be a career and that is of being a doctor. Maybe, one of the girls should pursue a career in medicine or something to stand a better chance.

In terms of visuals, I had a hard time adjusting myself to watch this. Even being a manga fan, I would have to say that A-1 Pictures dropped the ball on this one. The characters are generic, washed out, and not to mention most of the scenes from this series are so bright that one might need sunglasses to get a true experience. The girls themselves also lacks any realism at all. Well, I guess some of the more humorous scenes are presented better visually but ultimately, this series only gets a '5' in the art department. I'm disappointed.

I don't have too much complaints about the music/soundtrack of the series. However, that OP song "Girlish Lover" by Mizukara wo Enshutsu Suru Otome no Kai is like a buzz to my ears occasionally. It's very girlish (sticks with the title) and really tries to tell the viewers that this series is what it is: a romantic comedy with a harem. It's also funny how Eita doesn't seem to be in the OP song at all. It's almost if the girls in this show is the more dominant characters, not the guy. This is especially true for Masuzu. As regarding the background music, I find it just fine and sometimes amusing especially during a few of the guitar rhythms during those 'notebook scenes'.

Ultimately, I will give this show a '6'. It's definitely a threat towards to a '5' scale though with its lack of characterization in Eita's harem. The main male protagonist, despite being kind, lacks any distinct features from what I see him as. As for the drama, it is presented in a more causal way rather than anything too serious. With seemingly no real winner in fact, this series is just a romantic comedy with a harem that our friend Eita-kun can hardly stand. Well, I could barely stand this series at many times but if you want to find some fun with its comedy parts, Oreshura might be worth a shot. If you want to pursue a doctor career yourself though, then save that precious time that you'll never be able to buy back; not even with blackmail.

Oreshura is the typical romantic comedy/ harem with a light hearted tone. It goes around the idea of conflict between the cunning of the protagonist "girl friend" and jealousy from his childhood friend over him. Throw in some secondary characters and this love triangle becomes pentagon.

Story: At times its quirky, funny and light; a perfect feel good anime story. I felt that some of the character development stories were too cliche, uninspired and just boring to watch.

Sound: Decent music, good voice acting, and appropriate sound effects. What more could you ask for.

Art: the art style of bright and water colored characters really helps ... give out a fun and non-serious tone that the anime projects. It excels at that point.

Characters: It is Cliched to the max in character plots. There are two Childhood friends, one tsundere, one odd ball and one cunning schemer. The protagonist also falls into the former delusional middle schooler back-story.

Enjoyment: Hey the show itself was a lot of fun with a lot of nice feel good romantic conflict. I love the Romantic comedy genre and its clichednees to be fair but hey it was a good laugh.

Overall: If you like the clicheness of a Rom Com go for it. This provides the expected cliche story with no plot twisting or anything unexpected. However, for anyone who does not enjoy the genre or expects any significant plot or character development get ready to be disappointed .

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

To be honest, when I started this series, I was expecting a fresh, new romance anime about interesting character that “gave up” on love. This is not the case, the show had an opportunity to start an original Rom/Com by matching a hopeless guy who focuses on his studies rather than women who is then thrown feet first into a relationship he has no control over thus leading into shenanigans and mishaps but I was sorely mistaken.

Story 6/10:

The plot was unoriginal and poorly executed. It lives up to its name as a Rom/Com by being unable to build ... up a viable plot by relying heavily on comedy and simply sets up all the girls for Eita’s harem. The pacing is rather fast as it only has 2 episodes to set up the story behind each of the girls and how they came to love Eita making sympathy hard to make with the characters. The characters are quite 1-dimensional and don’t really have much outstanding features to them. There are a few exceptions to the plot’s execution, when the story turns to the drama section, trying to touch the viewer’s feelings, it succeeds. In the end, OreShura is mainly a show for the laughs and focuses on the comedy and romance is a side-dish.

Art 8/10:

From background to character design, overall the art was great. It gave a happy atmosphere matching to that of a Rom/Com. The characters look unique and don’t, magically, look the same as some animes tend to do. The lighting was well done but shadows seem somewhat lacking. Effects don’t happen very often (love hearts and such) but in certain scenes for example, when Masuzu reads from Eita’s notebook, it looks wonderful and nice to watch.

Sound 9/10:

Sound was great overall; it achieved engaging sounds which catches the viewer’s attention with its background music and ambient sounds such as the sounds of busy streets and the ticking of a clock and is quite consistent as it doesn’t suddenly become silent. The OP is very cheery and catchy which gets you into the show.

Characters 6/10:

The characters are very cliché and unoriginal.

Our main character, Kidou Eita, who seems to be an interesting character by “giving up on love” first, seems like a good idea but it has the opposite effect. Because of this, Eita is completely clueless in romance and is very dense about the girls around him. He is a recovering victim from “eighth-grader syndrome” which is held against his own will by the likes of Natsukawa Masuzu who uses it as blackmail.

Our female leads aren’t any better, our supposed idol, Masuzu, doesn’t seem popular at all after the first episode despite this is one of her main traits, then we have the childhood friend (>_>) Chiwa, who is a failure in love unable to show her feeling to Eita, now we have Himeka, another victim of eight-grader syndrome who sticks to Eita like super glue, and finally we have the wonderful tsundere with pink hair, Ai, she uses her best friend (Whose gender can't be defined) as a wing(wo?)man. We now have a fleeting team of flavorless women lined up for Eita's harem. Not much exciting here.

Overall 7/10:
If it wasn’t for the art and the big laughs every now and then, I might have given up on this series. If you are looking for an intricate plot with twists and turns, this is not for you. This is more of a comedy than a romance. The comedy certainly will make you laugh or at least chuckle once. If you love comedies, this is show if definitely for you.

Warning: Spoilers

Ola, now I've finished watching this 13 ep anime, I'm gonna have to make my evaluation of this show. What we have was more like a generic harem, romance with comedy kind of anime where everything was predictable, except that this anime deviated from it's plot, where after ep 2 one would be surprise if the main character's role was no longer what it was suppose to be, in fact studio A-1 Pictures, focus more on the mismatched tandem than anything else.

So, my category ratings:


Mediocre 5.

Story- like I said, it was a basic harem type of an anime where the plot ... was secondary and the focus was on the 2 mismatched pair namely Masuzu and Eita, the other members of the chico's harem were merely obstacles for the pair.


Fair 6.

Art- I'd probably say that, there isn't much any fanservice for the pirreos to howl about, and I have no qualms them girls being in bikinis, though Masuzu wasn't wearing any underwear it didn't look that malicious. I like the girls' uniform, however I don't like the boy's school uniform, now c'mon, that blue shirt with white collar matched with white pants? OH, this anime's illustrator has poor sense when it comes to guy's fashion.

Good 7.

Sound- well then, the VA's really did match the characters voices and I'd like both the opening and the closing part of the anime.

Enjoyment- it was enjoyable to say the least when the main chico character defends the girls who would be mocked and the situation where you would like to know as to what happens next. Also, what make it it more enjoyable were the girls would say those sweet 3 words to the main character ( Eita). I have to admit, that there were parts of this anime that I would like to slap the guys head for being stupid with the girls feelings.

Pathetic 1.

Argh! I hate when that guy (Eita) has chosen that no good girl (Masuzu) over Ai, so the score was for him (Eita). Frankly, either he's very stupid or he just uses Masuzu so as to keep romance away from him, since he known that Masuzu was not a typical girl that one might not want to marry and have a family with, either way, I fell bad for those girls who have confess their feelings for him especially Chiwa. Since his role was to be this guy who shuns romance, his character should've been this cold and hated guy with a tsundere attitude, not only to all girls but to Masuzu as well and that Masuzu wasn't able to exercise any leverage on him


Dreadful 2.

Aside from the fact that the main character (Eita) has chosen that girl (Masuzu) really makes this anime go downhill, now for studio A-1 Pictures to give this anime a U- turn by giving it harem ending was like adding insult to injury over us audience who are hoping that he'll pick anybody else than Masuzu. The said studio should have just let it have a harem ending than doing a U-turn.

Usually I'm not the type to watch romantic comedies, only because of how cliche most are. This anime isn't an exception. Although what most rom-coms try to do is have a unique characteristic that separates from the normal.

Story: 6
The romantic comedies I've seen always has a typical setting for it's story. You've got your typical male somehow attracting people of the opposite sex to do your dirty work for you. Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement but you know what I mean. You have a new student who comes around and takes advantage of our main character Eita. He is entirely not ... interested in love and is recovering from a middle school like syndrome where he has a mindset of thinking he's someone called "Burning Fighting Fighter". Because of this, she uses him as a way for other guys to not constantly ask her out by having him be her boyfriend, and to make sure he doesn't do anything wrong, she uses a notebook of his experience as the Burning Fighting Fighter. It sounds like a nice story to step foot on, but that's what really "starts" the anime.

Art: 9
A unique aspect of this anime is it's art. Bright, vibrant colors that separates other anime. It's opening and ending truly stand out to show it's nice art. Although at some points it feels really bright as if someone wanted to turn the contrast of the anime to unnecessary amounts. Doesn't bug me, but people seem to be a bit annoyed by it.

Sound: 8
You've got your catchy opening and ending, enough to bring the audience to actually watch the first episode. It gets in your head for quite some time too. It's use of music during the anime doesn't interests me that much, but it's nice really.

Character: 6
Now this is when I'm a bit annoyed about the main character. Eita is extremely clueless when it comes to the girls showing their affection. ALL the girls like him. That's the point of a harem, but it's irritating to see how narrow-minded he is. Yes I know he's uninterested in love. I just never thought he'll be this clueless. He's still a likable character by being a helpful person to all his women.
There's a total of four girls that appear in the anime. First you have your mean, tsundere-like figure who uses Eita as she slowly starts liking him. Next you have your child-hood friend who doesn't like that fact that Eita is dating someone, as she has feelings for him too. You then have a character who similarly has a middle school syndrome and remembers Eita from her past life and wants to be united. Lastly you have another tsundere-like character who has a crush on Eita. I'm just trying to be brief about this as you have to watch the anime to find more back ground information about them, as it's what really drives the story forward.

Enjoyment: 7
It's an ok anime. I expected more from what it presented. It has a decent amount of comedy that makes you like some characters. At the end of each episode it doesn't really bring me in to watch the next one. Still, it's something to watch when you have your free time.

Overall: 7
Not the best. Not the worst. It's unique in a way with it's story and a bit of the characters. If you are looking for an anime that is a romantic comedy harem. Then step no further as this will fit your needs.

OreShura
I didn't enjoyed this as much as i wanted to and this wasn't boring neither but i just can't find out why i didn't like it that much, maybe i was tired of seen harem comedies or because i didn't like how this ended but yeah i cannot find out exactly why.

Story
A simple story in this, just that a girl (Masuzu) that is seen as the most beautiful girl of the school wants to construct a lie by extorting this boy (Eita) and telling him that he must be her boyfriend so the boys at school stop asking her out but, he just wants to ... keep studying because he thinks that love doesn't exist and he accepts because of the extortion and his childhood friend Chiwa heppens to love him (obviously) and is like that every episode till the end where it really was good but personally i hate endings like that and i mean the last 5 minutes.

Art & Animation
This was really beautiful, it has light colors, it was catchy to the eye and it was colorful but in a light way, just beautiful and well drawn characters and the landscape too.

Sound
It was good, it really matched the situations but it wasn't amazing, the voice acting was good.

Characters
They really were interesting, i liked them all and i think what contributed the most for me to like them a lot was how well drawn they were and their personalities, even tho i hated Masuzu most of the time, she was well made and Himeka was a surprise for me, i liked her character and it was weird to see a loli with big boobs funny and eye catchy.

Enjoyment
For some reason i didn't enjoyed it a lot, I enjoyed the art and the characters but i didn't felt this anime that much but it was a good enjoyment.

Contrary to what one might believe, I actually approached 'Oreshura' with a positive mindset, and while I admit that I also approached it with a set of expectations, I was fully ready to abandon those pre-conceived notions if the series happened to differ.

The fact that Oreshura did indeed differ from my expectations is not a good thing, however. From the very beginning I expected that this series would take a sort of slice-of-life route, but this was in fact a grave misconception on my part as the series was actually a harem. Now, while I have no issue with a series making use with such ... a format, Oreshura really brings nothing new and exciting to the table. Thus, herein lies the problem.

As a means of illustrating the issue I have with this series, allow me to do what any reviewer should, which is to dissect the series into its fundamental elements (e.g. the art and animation, the story, etc.) and to comment on each one, detailing what the series does well and vice versa.



-Story-
While this is not the biggest flaw in this series, it is certainly a significant one and one that I must stress profusely. The story, essentially, follows a highschool student named Eita Kidou, who is black-mailed by a female student (Masuzu Natsukawa) as a means of forcing him into pretending to be her girlfriend. As such, other girls that are around him (who, for the most part, are childhood friends of his) begin to become jealous, leading into the show's harem aspects.

That, in all honesty, is the story of this show. Now, I should not be required to explain that such a plot is so unbelievably banal that one could easily predict how the series would play out from point A to point B. If one struggled with this, then they could certainly predict what sort ending the series would make use of. This is due to the fact that the series restricts itself to a rigid, linear structure. The protagonist is blackmailed and, as a result, ends up 'developing' feelings for the blackmailer. Because of this aforementioned linear structure, the show is unable to diversify and, in turn, fails to be unique in any aspect.


-Characters-
The characters, if one could refer to them as such, are the weakest aspect of Oreshura. Why, you ask? Well, there are two reasons. First and foremost, as this is a generic harem, each character follows the conventions dictated by common characer archetypes that are seen in anime. We have all of the typical cast of characters: The blissfully unaware protagonist (Eita), the childhood friend (Chiwa), the tsundere and other childhood friend (Ai), and finally, the highly irritating hussy that is Masuzu Natsukawa. The final mention brings me nicely into my explanation of the second reason for why the show's characterisation is its weakest aspect.

The second reason is, of course, that Oreshura's main heroine is the epitome of impertinence. As such, this renders her as a character that is difficult to tolerate, let alone one that the viewer can grow to love. While it is not necessary for a heroine to be likeable, it is necessary for the show to provide a valid reason for them acting in the manner that makes them so unlikable, which Oreshura tries to gloss over, so to speak.

Thus, we have a cast that is exceedingly generic and a main heroine that is very difficult, if not impossible, to tolerate due to the fact that a legitimate reason is never provided to compensate for her distasteful personality.


-Art and Animation-
The show's art style is definitely one of its stronger points. Each scene in Oreshura is vibrant and colourful, fitting in with the overall upbeat nature of the show. Even so, the art is not particularly detailed, making it seem somewhat lacklustre in comparison to other anime series.

The animation of the show is, for the most part, consistent and fluid. That being said, there were certain points in the show where the animation was neglected, resulting in the inconsistent and unrealistic movement of vehicles, characters, and so on.


-Music-
Unfortunately for Oreshura, the art and animation are the only redeeming feature of the show. The music used is not very memorable, and I personally found the opening theme of the show to be irritating, as opposed to catchy and enjoyable, which is what it was apparently trying to be.


-Conclusion-
Perhaps the most important question would be whether or not I would recommend this anime series. My answer to this question is, obviously, no. However, if you intend to watch this show despite having read through this review, then I have no intention of stopping you. I do, however, recommend that you stream this show via a legal streaming website such as Crunchyroll, as opposed to purchasing a Blu-Ray and/or DVD release of the show. If you are reading this on Crunchyroll, please disregard the previous statement.

Overall, this show is far too generic and bland for me to recommend to any person. The characters do not undergo any development as they are restricted by the archetypes that they represent. This, in turn, makes the intended emotional points in the show seem far less believable and they ultimately fall flat as a result.

Furthermore, a predictable ending makes the watching the show a pointless exercise, as one could easily surmise how the show would end, many episodes in advance.


-Afterword-
Well, if you actually took the time to read through this review, I thank you. If you agree with my review, please feel free to say so. Likewise, if you happen to disagree with my review or have any advice which could help me improve upon my next review, please leave some feedback on my MAL or Crunchyroll profile page, depending on which website you are reading this on.



TL;DR:
Please take the time to read the review. I refuse to summarise this review for those of you who are not willing to read through it in the first instance, or at the very least, skim through it.

Amazing... simply Amazing. Most of the time spent on anime involves romantic comedies or dramatic romance stories,so I figured I'd watch this one as well. Not only was I pleased to see not one but more beautiful girls but from most of the series in my list this was amongst the ones I enjoyed the most. "Why is that?" you would ask yourself. Well it's like this: from my point of view, the lucky bastard, Eita inevitably draws around these girls due to the fact that he is nice. He desperately tries to make them disappear but they end up in a pinch and he ... rushes over to help them thus deepening their bond with him.It makes me ask myself after watching similar series: "Why do they always get the good ones?"
Now, from Eita's perspective, a bunch of troublesome girls begin to pester him and he doesn't know why.He asks himself :"How did I get stuck in this mess?"

The Story itself is very enjoyable especially when it leads to open conflicts and for some reason it kept me happy while waiting for new episodes.
So if you feel like watching it I recommend it with warmth.

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru, or My Girlfriend and Childhood Friend Fight too much, is pretty much what the name says. This show is a harem. However, I found it quite different from a lot of other harems.

Story - 7/10:
Okay, so this show is a romantic comedy/harem. Usually, I tend to try and avoid romantic comedy, because they all have kind of a similar theme or story. This show was not an exception, though there were a few aspects that I did like and stood out to me. I have not seen a show where the main character is AGAINST love. This ... is because of family reasons. Typically in a harem, the guy either doesn't care, or wants a harem, like Issei from Highschool DxD. But the main character here doesn't, which just made the story funnier. However, I understand the he is against love, but sometimes, he's just oblivious. Enough said about that. So we have a typical harem plot: mysterious girl appears and likes guy and has to fight with his childhood friend along with other girls, to get the guy. Nothing we haven't seen, right? Although some parts of the plot are nothing new, I found the whole "Burning Fighting Fighter" thing a funny twist, and I believe that Masuzu using the notebook to blackmail him was a new element that I hadn't seen. I'll talk more about the character later though. I gave that story a 7/10, because while some of this was nothing new, Oreshura managed to bring some new and unique elements into the show.

Art - 9/10:
This show had very nice artwork. I really liked the style, and the bright colors matched the mood of the show well. Some people might not like it, or think it's silly, but I thought the art fit the show perfectly. The character design was nice, and they were easily distinguishable.

Sound - 8/10:
The sound for this show I believe served its purpose. I found that the OP and ED, Girlish Lover and Wonder Tale, fit the mood of the show perfectly, and were nice to watch. It was like a treat at the beginning and end of each episode. Not to mention the songs were catching, and it was nice to hear all of the main female cast sing in the full version of the OP. That said, there were times when music could have been better, like in the more dramatic parts of the show. Overall, the sound was enjoyable, and fit the show well.

Character - 6/10:
Oreshura had an interesting set of characters that made the show what it is. Eita is a high school boy who is against love for family reasons. Masuzu is a mysterious and beautiful transfer student who sits by Eita. Chiwa is Eita's childhood friend. Himeka is a girl who claims to know him in her previous life. Ai is a tsundere who has a crush on Eita. What do these characters have in common? They all have fellings for Eita. Chiwa has a great reason which I will not spoil. Himeka believes she was his princess in her past life. Ai also have a good reason that I will not spoil. Masuzu blackmails Eita into being her "boyfriend" so guys will stop asking her out, but grows to have feelings for him. The characters are not really unique, but nevertheless, fun to watch. It was nice to see all the characters progress and develop. What I found really great, was that there were times throughout the show when I was rooting for each of the girls, and it felt like they all had an equal chance at being with Eita. Although the rivalry was mainly between Masuzu and Chiwa, the girls all had a fair chance at times, and progressed equally.

Enjoyment - 8/10:
I really enjoyed this show, and it remains one of my favorites. It was very funny, and fun to watch. If you want a more serious, intense show, I would stay away, but if you want something fun and lighthearted, Oreshura might be for you. I enjoyed watching his girlfriend and childhood friend fight too much, and I believe the show did what it was supposed to: to entertain.

Overall: 8/10
I give Oreshura a 8/10. The story is good, the art fits the show great, the sound was nice, the characters were decent, and the show was enjoyable! I recommend this show and am hoping for a second season.

Just wanna let you know, before you start reading my review, I generally write short, on to the point reviews, simple and understandable. Hate reading overly lengthy reviews and going through every unnecessary point as some of the reviewers do, so expect this one to be short (Ironically, didn't turn out to be so short.)

Scrolling through the other reviews left me wondering.
Am I seriously the only one who thought this was such a wtf anime?

So, I loved the beginning, it sparked a great interest for me to see the rest of the anime and I liked the first half.

Then the seventh episode came along and ... things started getting... I don't even know how to describe it. I can't emphasize how weird and nonsensical the show started turning real fast..

The new girl, Himeka was introduced, there she was for one episode and was never noticable again. Literally one episode was all she got. She feels so unimportant, volumed down and received so much less screen time than the other three it makes me wonder why they even introduced her to the show. Hence, it was actually a fight between the other girls.

*Minor spoilers*
The two girls introduced at start, Chiwa and Masuzu, were going at each other in first half of the anime, then Ai came along and story mostly focused between the relationship between her and MC, main lead across 7-10 eps.
Now, that part about her crying when he promised her to heal her back injury wasn't even touched upon until practically the end and after going through the second half of the anime it felt so incredibly out of place
In fact, everything that happened in first part felt like that, as if it was all forgotten.
The pretending part was something I had completely forgotten about throughout the second part, as well as some other things I won't bring up since I already spoiled enough.* *

The last three episodes were so painfully uncomfortable and awkward for me to watch and enjoy. The relationship between the characters was so unclearly shown to me I couldn't even tell to which point did he come to with each individual girl.
You know that feel when you watch a typical harem and you know which one is going to be picked, which ones are just extras and which ones will get the short end of stick? Yeah, nothing of sort is even remotely apparent here, except for the completely discriminated one I mentioned before, himeka.

Maybe I'm being crazy and stupid. I don't know, that's just how I feel about the show as a whole.

It's doesn't matter how the sound is, or the quality is in an anime. What matters is how the anime impacted on the viewers. How it leaves an impression for its viewers. And how it leaves the mind lingering in a positive way.

It is what it is guys. I cannot say much any further. Honestly what'd you expect from this anime, is what you are going to expect. BUT, It's really funny. It's so funny that it is worth watching. Not all the characters are funny, and you can expect the sweet love and harem from this. But it's something that gets you laughing, ... and gives you that feeling inside. I do like the outcome though. I won't say any spoilers.

Summary:
Eita Kido, a bookworm that aims to attend a medical school. He'd do anything. He'd even shun anything that has to do with romance and love. Masuzu Natsukawa, foreign and popular with guys. Who just happens to return from another country and was assigned a seat next to Kido. After a few days, Masuzu confessed to him in class, and blackmailed him after school on becoming her "fake" boyfriend so guys would stop asking her out. As time goes by for these two. Love only comes to one person.

Characters:
Eita Kido, your main character. The smart guy that places at the top of school exams. Even though he's smart. He has these delusions and fantasies of addressing himself as "Burning Fighting Fire". A guy who win girls hearts, and battle monsters. After his childhood friend, Chiwa Harusaki's accident. He has to abandon his delusions. But his delusions still come out when things get too emotional. Oh, and obviously he cares for others and he's a nice guy. But you should expect that.

Chiwa Harusaki, childhood friend of Eita Kido. Also, a tomboy type. She used to be in the Kendo Club when she was little. Due to an injury from a car accident before high school, she has to quit. She's the closest one to Eita, out of all the other girls. Because she lives next to him, and loves Eita. It's a harem, just wanted to point it out their.

Masuzu Natsukawa, Eita's "girlfriend". Spent most of her times overseas, and is considered the schools beauty. Confessed by many guys, and always shot them down. She used Eita's notebook, which has his "fantasies" to blackmail him. She might seem cruel, but truthfully she turns out to have a nice spot as the time goes by.

Himeka Akishino, she has a one-sided crush on him. She also has some "fantasies" and "delusions" just like Eita. Since she comes in later. I'm not going to say much about her.

Ai Fuyuumi, to be blunt. She's Eita's "fiancee". She does come in late in the series. But she's really funny.

Kaoru Asoi, Eita's classmate and best friend. Who sat close to him until the seat change. I'll say this much, that I was surprised.

Overall
It's honestly one of the best anime I've seen that can keep my face smiling the whole time. I laughed a lot too. It's a simple Harem, romcom type deal. But it balances out. I would recommend it, and actually re-watch it with one of my friends. It's that funny guys, give it a shot.

Note: skip to anyways to avoid my backstory or Rating for the result I gave to this show I enjoy. Thanks for reading (sorry for terrible typing, sensor sucks)

Alright, Im not in the best condittion to write a review, considering I smashed my computer and using a phone but I really want to change the negative view cast on this show thus far.

Please try not to mind typos cuz error seeking sucks

- So I just began episode 7 confused cuz I totally forgot what happened last week. Ever fhave that happen to you? so I basically reviewed the last feww episodes and kinda get ... it better. Point? Ep 6 - 7, watch out:P

Anyways to the main section. Ill condense my whole review into this single section.

Tis is twery fun to view, enjoyable and a nice watch. Sure, you may dislike a few heroines or two but with all of them, one is ought to flow your boat (a few lolis, tsundere etc.)

The art, music and animation are near perfect in my opinion. At the very least it does not hinder with the anime.

The characters are nice, with many different kinds so you will like a few and maybe dislike a few. Even so, some are just so adorable you can forgive the ones you dislike.


Story, is mostly comedy, with a few jojo references that I have no clue what it means (better get to watch jojo) but it is few and does not hinder the enjoyability.

Rating-9

Why? I watch it whenever it is released, no questions asked and it cheers me up. Nice and good in almost every aspect and nothinng so harsh to make you go, crap lets hold it off, for like a year? (almost missed watching to aru majustu after touma got hit with the feather)

Message: WATCH OR AT LEAST TRY, mostly shounen tho. I have no clue how a girl would view this show but if you like harems, comedy, and multiple heroines, give it a shot. You have nothing to lose but a ton of joy to be gained from watching is terrific show

(This is my opinion and this review **MIGHT CONTAIN LIGHT SPOILERS**)
Overall score - 7/10
The anime overall uses has an uninteresting story and relies on cringe-based humor to keep the anime interesting. The characters were generic and not interesting. The sound and art was solid overall, no huge mistakes in animation was made either. It is a light hearted anime, so don't watch it if you are expecting a tear jerker.

Story(6/10)- The story overall is a generic school harem with the main character being an overall average guy with the girls being a childhood friend, a shy girl, a demanding girl, etc. There is not much ... making this anime different than others in the core aspects besides the fact that one of the girls pretends to be from the protagonist's past life which the protagonist made up when he was in middle school. The main protagonist is trying to hide his embarrassing past so he would not be seen as a chuunibyou that is where some of the cringe- humor comes into play. Besides the cringe-humor, there is nothing else that is really funny in this anime. The ending is both unexpected and disappointing at the same time.

Characters (5/10)- Like I said before, this anime has uninteresting characters. The main protagonist Eita is an average guy (for the most part) and he can't choose a girl he wants to be with, even though all of them would pretty much go to the semi-extreme to get him to like them. He knows that they like him, but, he is indecisive and that is another way this anime is not unique to other harems. Eita overall is uninteresting. The only interesting part about him is his relationship with his parent (which is skimmed over briefly which is a wasted opportunity) and his fantasies (which is highly over-used to a point where you don't care anymore). The main heroine Natsukawa is a popular girl that every guy had a crush on. She chooses the main protagonist because they are both "anti-love", meaning that they both despise love, which is ironic since they both of them start to make a liking for each other. You end up not liking Natsukawa as the anime goes on because she plots her plans to meddle with other peoples' lives and they show very little romantic angles with her and the protagonist. There are some romantic angles to remind the audience that she can still end up with the main protagonist. The childhood friend character Chiwa is the run-off-the-mill childhood friend who lives next to the protagonist and she knows "everything" about him. She had a big impact on how the main protagonist turned into how he is now in the anime as shown by the scenes from the past. But, it is too obvious that she likes him. It is painful to watch her try to get him to like her since it is very cringy. She stops relationships from forming with other girls from the anime which makes you dislike her as well. She tries to squeeze her way into the main protagonists's heart and that is what makes me dislike her. Himeka is the shy girl that is EXTREMELY uninteresting. She is just there in the anime. There is no point in her being there. The only thing she has going for her is her fantasizing with the main protagonist. Then we come to Ai, probably the only character who I really like in this anime. She is quirky in a good way. Her awkwardness just makes you want to love her. The way she tries to get close to the main protagonist and how the main protagonist's best friend helps her out plan out their next move makes her a likable character. She actually attempts to hide her crush with the main protagonist unlike the other girls. She is the most likeable out of the bunch because of the way she reacts to the main protagonist. But, she ruins her own character by being over aggressive.

Sound/Art (8/10)- The music and art in the anime overall is solid. The music came at the right times and the art was average to say the least. There were no obvious mistakes in animation when it came to the finished product. The music is not unique or interesting however. For me, music in anime is absolutely essential. If the music is good, it could give that anime a few extra points. However, the background music was nothing to write home about. It was completely average. The opening is very annoying and predictable. They had the main heroines sing and it was overall annoying. I would skip the opening every time because of how annoying it is.

Overall enjoyment (7/10- Skippable)- It was an average anime to say the least. There is really nothing that I think separates it from other harems. You can pretty much watch another harem to get your harem fix if needed. But, it is not horrible. Overall it is a light hearted anime that you can watch to the side since it is a short series. I would recommend this anime for anyone needing a harem fix or a light hearted anime, but it is skippable.

*Im not a huge fan of harems overall, so my opinion may be different from someone who adores harems.

Oreshura locks up a spineless male lead with a psycho, a tsundere, a vegetable and mother teresa in a small setting featuring a school, a house and some trees here and there. That's all this is. Oreshura in a nutshell.

The story really isn't that special. The character's aren't either. They're cardboard cut outs. Sexy white haired edgy psycho genius - check. Dense male lead who couldn't get laid with a donkey - check. Fiery redhead... emotionally dead girl, childhood friend etc. check check check. Straight down the typical romcom list.

The story doesn't go anywhere. It's a back and forth battle between 3 cardboard ... cut-outs and one potential serial murderer dipped in some drama. Club activities. Movie scene. Club activities with the psycho. Beach scene. Bada bing bada boom, series is over.

Redeeming qualities though : comedy. There's something amusing in watching a man be blackmailed by a cold hearted psycho just because he doesn't have the balls to say : "You know what, fuck you and that notebook. I'm just gonna walk away."

Art is fairly good. Trees and shit are animated nicely . Top points here. Sound was good too. Skipped the opening and ending songs.

Yeah no, walk the fuck away from this one. Unless you like stories about psychos.

Anime storytelling lives and breathes within its own special world. The better anime series radiate energy, creativity and professionalism: they may draw from many special anime "worlds" or genres while still appealing on several levels that transcend the limits of genre. Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru, or Oreshura for short, certainly strikes a chord with me (even tho its tagged as a Harem/Romantic Comedy anime). The staff prove themselves keenly observant and talented, and can deliver the goods in story, voice, art, music, and production.

I tend to let an anime reveal its story at its own pace, but ... beyond its romantic comedy category, I found Oreshura to quickly establish its thing: playing with cultural tropes and interpersonal relationships. The male protagonist Kidou Eita is depicted as a post-chuunibyou highschooler who is bent upon his studies, not all the "love on the brain" high school life he sees around himself. Nevertheless he's helplessly swept into the romantic plans of several girls around him; the girls even form a high school club named Society Advocating Maidenly Excellence For All Girls, and a skeleton in his chuunibyou closet past is a key to dragging Kidou along.

Oreshura can pop surprises: Eita's aunt Saeko, a writer/creator at a gaming company, triggers the concluding story sequences by enrolling the girls in her company's publicity-event contest. But throughout, this anime's strong points are its agility in turning up amusing displays of cultural awareness, its attractive artwork and color palette, and storyline flow. Oreshura: charming and engaging.

ORESHURA REVIEW:

MINDSET:
A point five better than Your Generic Harem.

SYNOPSIS:
Imagine Your typical harem plot: Male lead starts of living next with one chick who is the childhood friend. (do You know where this is going?) Then one day, he finds another semi-woman, who has majestically gushing silver hair, walking, she gallants over the empty battlefield of barrenity and storms of darkness, blinding her eyes of inner-cold heartedness... She finds, a regular guy, and procives... to play with he's mind like a playful whore, as she pretended to be he's girlfriend. If he tries to break up, she will give out he's note book to the rest ... of the school, embarrassing the heck out of him! (and basically black mailing him) So, yes, Harem happens. (obvious fact)

REVIEW:
Let's be real everyone, the whole show is pretty much a Harem all the way through, we have the childhood friend, the generic woman hoarding protagonist, the quiet girl, and the obvious love interest, tsundere, etc... Its also a “Light Novel Adaptation” which means it has a 95% to be turdful. However, this is the same case, but slightly better. Why it can only be summed up within two words: “Natsukawa Misuzu” Because:
Her character design is really beautiful. Period.
She's the very feisty type as she can be playing with the protagonists mind as she loves teasing him all through out the show.
She actually develops, into a very sweet character, but still keeps the feistiness which I like.
Most of the time, she always seemed very happy and playful with this enjoyable aura.
You just got to lover her personality.

And Yes, she does have her emotional moments, and because of how well written she is, they actually work. However, for the rest of the cast; they are all Your completely generic archetypes used for like the seven millionth time! As they could not catch up with Misuzu's greatness, they are characters that I just can't take seriously as one of the repeated formula for Harems these are far too overused. The story feels like a complete Harem, and You can pretty much predict whose girl is going to jump on the Woman Hoarding Lead's bed after the first episode. There are also JoJo refrences. Like, the author really loves JoJo, and he/she written Misuzu as a fangirl of JoJo, with some moment even stating flat out that this is JoJo refrence at some points in there interactions.

So yes, Oreshura is Your completely 95% run of the mil harem. Why 95%? Misuzu, You will only watch this show for Misuzu if You do not enjoy the exact same repeated formula over and over again. Without her, this review would'nt even exist, as the show will only exist as one of the masses amount of generic Harems being released in Japan. I know I can't make my review as detailed as I wanted it to be, but its a Harem made in 21st century Japan, so what do You expect for such cheap writing?

The Animation, is more colourful than Your average work it is very bright and not so serious blending very well with the whole show. The character designs look a little different, yet refreshing unlike big bouncy juggernauts, with a darker colour scheme. It does the job in a slightly better manner.
Music however, is nothing to talk about, it just fits the mood, and that’s all what it does. And the opening can also jump right in to be on par with the shows OST.

LEGACY:
For some reason, this is one of the more obscure Harems I've noticed. Not as if anyone would care that this show exists, but for what its worth, people will only watch this show for Misuzu, even after 10 decades.

SCORES:
3/10 - 100% generic Harem plot all the way through.
3.5/10 – As added 0.5 points for Misuzu alone.
6.5/10 – For bright Animation and some really nice designs that sets itself apart from a completely generic Harem.
4/10 - A completely forgettable OST, that gets the job done, without anything kind of noteworthy.
4/10 – As Misuzu is the only character who will be entertaining You in a boring Harem.

FINALE: 4.5/10 – For Masuzu. (only added a 0.5 to the generic Harem score)e XXX.

I had no idea what I was going into, literally, I didn't know to expect a harem. And at first it seemed like a love triangle anime, and it was what first 4 episodes were about. And they were really really great! Then after that, with introductions of other girls, quality fell off. Some silly things started happening. It wasn't terrible but it was a sharp contrast to how great first arc was. But then when things settled into place, it just keeps getting better all the way to the end, and ends up surpassing the first arc.

It has great characters, with actual development ... (at least some of them). It's cute and funny, it has a distinct visual style that was pulled off well. It has high production quality. Great OP/ED. Great voice acting. But where it really shines among other anime, is that in the second half it takes itself seriously. It actually takes a bite at the harem genre and freaking deals with it! And deals with it well. Not in the School Days kind of way, but second closest thing to seriousness.

The whole harem setting is set up in an impressively believable way. The character dynamics just work. Though some of its tropes are stuff we've been seeing a lot lately in the genre, so I wouldn't say it's a deconstruction of the genre, but it the next best thing. I'd say this is the best harem anime. The only ones in league with it are Haganai and Korezom, but for completely different reasons. Haganai is incomplete so it cannot be fairly compared yet. And KoreZom is a parody full of craziness. And School Days is a full on deconstruction.

Mayo Chiki is generic traditional harem done right. In comparison to that, Oreshura is not something I'd classify as generic harem. It's a step above that. It's a great romcom that happens to tell a story that falls into a harem genre. But it goes so far and beyond in seriousness, quality writing and actual romance that it's a step above Mayo Chiki. But note that it is different from it, it even has no blunt fanservice. Fanservice is in the league with Sakurasou or Haganai, and maybe even tamer.

Opening Summary

There are many different harem anime, and many of them tend to be very similar (if not identical) to each other. In some ways, OreShura is no different than those. But with a great cast of characters and somewhat unique scenario, it manages to stand out, at least a little bit. For the sake of my own sanity, I'm gonna divide this review into 6 sections: Story, Art, Sound, Characters, My Enjoyment, and My Overall opinion of the anime. I'll make sure to keep it spoiler free. I'd just like to point out that these are my opinions and mine alone, so feel free ... to disagree. With that aside, let's begin.

Story

The story is essentially your typical harem affair: An extremely dense main character (Eita) is starting high school with his childhood friend who harbors feelings for him (Chiwa), then suddenly a new, stereotypical, foreign, rich, school beauty appears (Masuzu) and decides the MC is going to be her boyfriend (but not really). Add in the delusional but devoted to the MC 8th grade syndrome girl who believes the two were lovers in a past life (Himeka), and his childhood fiance who he met before his childhood friend that manages to continue harboring feelings for him (Ai) and you have the pieces of a generic harem anime. While the plot is predictable and bland in many respects, the latter parts manage to be at least a bit unique with a few twists and it should be enough to keep you watching. Of note though is the somewhat iffy pacing, with one of the girls being first introduced more than halfway through the 13 episodes. It could have been laid out better or more efficiently if you ask me.

Art

The anime has a very pleasant art style in my opinion, very colorful and vibrant with animations of faces and characters appearing smooth and well-detailed up close. Some of the background characters and art feels lazy by comparison, but it's not awful or something that would completely take you out of it by any means.

Sound

The opening and ending themes for the anime are "Girlish Lover" by all the female lead's voice actresses, and "W:Wonder Tale" by Masuzu's voice actress, Yukari Tamura. Both are fairly pleasant pieces and fit the feel of the anime, even if the former is a bit childish. The anime's OST is decent as well, with nothing in particular standing out, but the songs that blend so perfectly in the background doing just enough to keep it flowing.

Character

Now this is where someone could argue that OreShura shines. The cast of girls is one of the stronger you'll find in any harem, from the hopelessly law-abiding and marriage-obsessed Ai to the straight-faced and childish but terribly entertaining Himeka. Despite conforming to stereotypes of anime and manga of the same genre, the characters feel real and believable, with their dialogue going smooth and life-like, and their personalities being decent enough to feel compassionate towards them when the show calls for it. I especially liked Himeka and Chiwa's characters quite a bit, with both being great performances that can make you grow quite attached to them. Eita's character felt like a weak point (by comparison anyway), but then
again, many harem MCs seem to be.

Enjoyment

Sure, it was far from perfect. And some of the moments did make me cringe and shake my head, but it was an overall great ride. I can honestly say I wasn't bored once watching this anime. I was always waiting to see what happened next or how certain events would turn out. There were quite a few laughs too, even a bit of emotion (not nearly enough to induce tears if that's what you're looking for, sorry). Definitely an entertaining ride.

Overall

While the anime lacks in its story and doesn't wow you with its soundtrack, its lovable cast of characters and entertaining (if a bit cliche) moments should help you trudge through it. Definitely not a "MUST SEE OMG BEST ANIMU EVAR" type show, but if you're looking for a decent harem with a likable cast, you could definitely do worse.

Thanks for reading!