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Cromartie High remains as one of my favorite manga/anime of all time, top 5 material easily. Though I’m surely not breaking any new ground by saying that. You can travel across the web, or attend any anime convention and find plenty of others with that same opinion. As I always say with my write ups, namely when it’s for my personal favorites since they tend to be comedy/shounen/motivational series, ‘Comedy is subjective’! If someone has a sense of humor that doesn’t align with a series, then their mileage will inevitably vary. This too isn’t a groundbreaking take ... either, however I bring all this up because I find it absolutely preposterous that despite the anime getting the acclimation across the world that it rightfully deserves, the manga does not nearly get the same amount of appraisal. So I’m here today to convince you that, although you can’t go wrong in either way you decide to engage with the series, the manga is infinitely the superior option. For it’s a funnier and much more complete package than its anime adaptation. And hell, I’ll even toss in a personal side-quest just for you toots, to also answer why this STILL manages to be one of my personal all time favorite series ever all these years later.
Okay, I’ll be honest I went a little harder than I intended to with that introduction. Not in regards to my love for the series, for I’ll get into that later. But in regards to how well others, aside from myself, treat the source material. Let’s not beat around the bush though, the manga itself is far from unpopular. According to stats taken from various sources it had a whopping “4.5 million copies in circulation, won the 26th Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen category in 2002, and it was one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Manga Division at the 7th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2003.”- (Kodansha Manga Award, n.d.). So yeah, saying that this manga doesn’t get the praise it deserves is pretty frickin far-fetched now that I think about it. Especially given everything it’s spawned in its wake such as both an anime and live action adaptation of it exists. But what exactly does it excel in so well that made it so beloved and why do I consider the manga the superior format?
Wow, maybe that should’ve been my opening paragraph instead. Definitely a more substantive thesis if you ask me. Anyways, firstly a brief synopsis, even though it really doesn’t need one at this point. A smart boy named Kamiyama finds himself enlisted “no no trust me, this word is much more appropriate than ‘enrolled’.” in the most badass school of delinquents and hijinks ensues. Given that this is source material, we’re given more of what makes the series so good. And that’s the main reason I decided to pick up the manga in the first place, with a measly yet golden assortment of only ten episodes I thought it was absolutely criminal how short it was. So thank god the manga has 338.3 chapters plus a short lived official spin-off focusing on the teachers, to make up for the adaption’s short length. And as expected it has everything that it’s anime counterpart has in spades but it also contains aspects worth praising that are unique to the manga alone such as the art, the use of multimedia, the amount of unpredictable plots/situations, the genius paneling that lends itself exceptionally perfect to its comedic timing, lore, plenty of insight into Nonaka himself, and the vast array of characters that are unforgettable. I’ll be touching upon each of these in my write-up.
The artwork lends itself exquisitely to the jokes and situations characters find themselves. Initially though not as concrete, the characters have a broad build, a stoic face, eccentric features across their face/head, and have the super angular yet thick character outlines that gets even more refined as the series progresses. Not only that, but many of the characters share the same ‘copy & paste’ tough guy sort of face, EVEN Maeda’s own mom! Nightmares from her aside, I found the illustrations themselves to not only enhance the jokes and hilarity of the situations themselves, but gorgeous to look at as well, especially in pages dedicated to a character portrait. I specifically remember a chapter introductory page with Kamiyama on it, poised by a motorbike-erized mechazawa “don’t ask” that I was enamored by. Not only did I feel like I was looking at a poster for a Dean Martin film, but it was then that I got the feeling that Nonaka was heavily inspired by 1950’s western pop-art and comics. As the series goes on, the individual characters begin to lose the same face look and develop concrete visual designs. It’s as if Nonaka saw the cover of GTA: Chinatown wars and went, “lol, that’d make for a funny chapter” and base the look off of that going forward. Anyways, I often feel as if the art-style is the most overlooked aspect of the manga, for not only do I find it aesthetically pleasing, but also extremely varied.
This varied artstyle not only comes from the “less human characters” like freddie, mechazawa, banchou-chan, ara-chan, and masked-takenouchi, but from the volume covers themselves. Seriously, these are all gorgeous and uniquely stylized. Volume one looking like a communist propaganda poster with an eye-grabbing color contrast of red, white and yellow. Volume 4 and 5 are unabashedly influenced/parodying warhol’s style with the former being a blue freddie shredding a guitar with nonaka like hair, and the latter literally being a can of soup, oops I mean soup can-erized mechazawa “don’t ask”. Hell the cover of volume 13 being a human masked takenouchi taking porky pig’s spot at the end of a melody melodies “that’s all folks” closing card is what inspired me to cosplay as him. This is also far from the only time Cromartie high utilizes real life images, as it also uses it as a means to open up or close a volume with a hilarious scenario. What I’m trying to get at is that the visual component of this series is often pigeon-holed as “stoic and stiff” and while that rings some truth in the anime, aside from the di-gi-charat cameo, in contrast the manga is actually so much more. Which is golden since this is a book we’re talking about. Each volume is uniquely illustrated, most of which exhibit a unique artistic technique or style that I find mesmerizing to look at, with the final volume and thirteen being my personal favorites, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Another aspect that the manga dunks over the anime is the insight on Nonaka himself. Throughout the series we’re given an insight into the man that I’m sure I’m not the only one who related to, who created this very series. These ‘bonus’ chapters are not only hilarious on their own, but also gives insight into the environment and work behind maintaining relevance on such a popular series. All the glitter is not gold however, as funny as they are they also paint the manga-industry in a realistic, stressful light. However Nonaka demonstrates not only in these chapters, but by creating Cromartie as a whole that even when hard times come your way it’s not only important to see these as experiences to learn and grow from, but also to look on the brightside. We often fixate on the negatives in times of distress, however it’s at those times that we should look on the positives and make the most out of our time in these circumstances.
This theme is mostly at play in these Nonaka centric bonus chapters. As I’m certain, getting the news that his series wasn’t hitting high marks with readers, or that it was getting canned were not all sunshine and roses. But despite that, he turned those very scenarios into some of my favorite chapters, in which despite the darkness he was still able to find a light at the end of the tunnel and humor throughout. So all I can say is, despite the odds being stacked against him and his creation, he still managed to come out on top.
Anyways enough wanking off Nonaka, as I’m sure that’s something he’d dismiss entirely. The last aspects I’d like to focus on are the vast amount of characters, situations, and lore exempt from the anime. Listen, I’ve said it 100 times and I’ll say it 100 more, comedy is subjective. And ultimately, Cromartie’s sense of humor just so happens to tick all my boxes. Situations such as Takenouchi’s time in America, Kamiyama’s backstory, the Sumo-Club, Planet of the frickn Apes, and even a bunch a chapters where we’re actually introduced into the staff at cromartie! And that’s not even including the spin-off written by Nonaka that came out in 2018 (which is also something I can’t recommend enough). Basically, if you loved the sense of humor of the show and were curious about the lore (or if you didn’t give a crap about the lore for a comedy series until reading this) than you’re slapping yourself in the face by not reading it. I literally could not stop myself from putting down the series because of how much fun I was having reading each chapter. And I’m aware that some people may need a break every now and then with gag humor, but I am not that person. The more obtuse, ridiculous, and nonsensical the better, so I never tired of this series' gags. There’s also so many chapters that I can choose any page at random and instantly make my day 10x better just by having a hearty laugh reading it, it’s the pinnacle of timeless. Whether it’s a unique spin on the boke-tsukkomi routine, juxtaposition between character designs and actions, the utter insanity of the predicaments they find themselves in, a running gag, deadpan humor, or even introducing a new character who feels like they’ve been with us the whole time, this manga nails every comedic style in comes in contact with. In my opinion, (well duh).
Cromartie High remains as one of my favorite manga/anime of all time, top 5 material easily. Though I’m surely not breaking any new ground by saying that. But what exactly does it excel in so well that made it so beloved and why do I consider the manga the superior format? Well instead of summarizing everything I’ve gushed about up until now, simply put, it’s funny! And is much more layered than people give the series credit for, or hell, how it may seem on the surface to others who equally enjoy the series as much as me. I dunno about that though, for I have mechazawa on my bboy sweats, a plush mechazawa, and a HUGE cromartie high poster on my wall, anyways I’m not autistic I swear, I just have a very childish sense of humor and a deep appreciation for media that can make me feel warm at any given moment, I promise!

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I was given this manga. The front depicts a pale boy, and a fiendish looking girl beside him standing in a classroom of what appears to be melted bodies. Being a fan of horror manga, the cover made me even more enticed to start it ASAP. Because even if a horror manga doesn’t manage to make me wet myself, I can always appreciate the art, or sheer absurdity of the story. With that said, was Dissolving Classroom as scary as the cover depicted?

The story is created by Junji Ito, a famous horror mangaka mostly ... known for his series Tomie. A series I’ve yet to read as of writing this, but have heard nothing but great things about. Recognizing the name did make me more excited to see what was in store. So what was in store?

A story involving a brother and sister, both of whom are odd, must keep moving place to place after leaving behind a trail of peculiar instances. The boy, Yuuma, constantly apologizes to everyone on account of his sister causing mischief for everyone they encounter. Though apologizing is actually his way of communicating with the devil. Anyone he apologizes to gets caught between him and the devil in a sea of electromagnetic waves that slowly causes them to melt. When he praises someone’s beauty, he’s actually praising the devil and thus anyone he directs his compliment towards turns more and more hideous. His sister, Chizumi, has a much more sadistic appearance and goes out of her way to torment anyone unlucky enough to cross her path and enjoys devouring the bodies that her brother melts. The manga is an amalgamation of all their misadventures, culminating into one book.

As usual, the art is amazing. Aside from the attention to detail on the deformed victims, melted bodies, or even the normal humans themselves, Ito is able to convey such an uncanny and uncomfortable feeling through the expressions of the character's facial reactions. Sure, I won’t lie, before we see anything gory our first encounter with something out of the ordinary is Chizumi. And I thought she looked hilarious, maybe that was intentional but she did not freak me out in the slightest, at first that is. While her design was nothing too frightening, the way she interacted with others, aside from being an edgelord saying she wants to eat their brains, was off-putting and awkward. Her ugly appearance only enhanced her disturbing nature, which was much scarier than her physical appearance alone.

Though I’d say the same applies to her brother as well. Chizumi is constantly telling the people who they encounter that her brother is a freak who performs these rituals as a way to get closer to the devil. He gets off to both apologizing and complimenting others. He also enjoys bringing his abusive parents from back to the dead to beat him. Disturbing stuff I know, but his normal appearance juxtaposed with what he does behind closed doors makes him more intimidating than his sister. Both siblings constantly point the finger at each other for who’s to blame for all this wicked stuff happening. Yuuma tells people that his sister is possessed by the devil as a punishment for him killing animals as a kid, hence all the terrible happenings surrounding them. While Chizumi tells others that her brother killed animals as a ritual to appease Satan and that he’s the one creating all this madness as a means to get closer with the devil.

And the craziest part about all of this, is that by the end of the story, it’s still unclear who was telling the truth. Though there’s no doubt in my mind that Chizumi is possessed by a demon at the very least, I believe her story over her brothers. Though there’s validity to what he says as well. I think that as a kid he wished death upon his abusive parents so much that he wanted to send them to hell. And what better way to do that than to befriend the devil himself to give him the ability to do so? The devil making a demon possess his sister only makes his apologizing ritual easier to pull off, and whoever’s the demon inside Chizumi gets their payment through eating Yuuma’s victims. The final arc reveals that a detective that was using one of Yuuma’s victims, who managed to survive despite incurring brain damage as a result, to find the truth behind the siblings was, satan all along? Or did Satan just possess him as the siblings attended a press conference? Again, it’s unclear and up to the reader’s interpretation. Mine is that he possessed the detective spontaneously at the end, as Yuuma had performed the ritual enough times to bring Satan as close to him as he could. And the series ends with the author saying that nobody knows what happened to everyone who watched that press conference through their TV’s and that it’s up to the reader to decide what happened.

My only gripe with the series is of no fault of the story itself, but rather the translations. There were times where I had an inkling that something was supposed to be scary or conveyed in a different way than intended. Sometimes the dialogue felt very literal with zero subtly. For example, seeing a panel with text along the lines of, “Yes, I am chizumi and I love to suck brains. Muwahah.” was very common and lacked the same punch that the rest of the page had. Maybe it’s stilted on purpose and that’s just Ito’s unique style of writing. Who knows, but I personally felt it detracted from the horror aspect and made it more comedical at times. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but I’m not sure if that was the intended effect.

Getting this book filled me with joy and confusion, and seeing Junji Ito’s name on it only made my craving for a spooky comic that much more voracious. Did I get what I wanted? Most definitely, I got much more than I expected. The combination of the art, grotesque imagery, and disturbing nature of their situations caught my intrigue and held it long enough that it only took me two sittings to complete. If you’ve yet to read this then please do yourself a favor and read it, especially if you love body horror, and guro.

This series (the anime at least) is my go to example for a great concept done horribly wrong. Maybe that’s a bit too harsh, but it’s because of how much this series let me down. In short, this series is about revenge, it asks the question, “if you could send someone you hate to hell, at the cost of also sending yourself to hell after you die, would you?”. Sounds enticing doesn’t it? It portrays this question through letting people access a website at a certain time, then receiving a doll with a red string. If the string is pulled, their victim of choice is ... sent to hell post-haste. As aforementioned, while you get to live the rest of your years peacefully, once you pass your soul will also be taken to hell. The person who takes you there is Ai, the hell girl, and her followers known as the Hell Correspondence. After rumors start spreading about people being dragged to hell, a blackmail artist and his daughter (who has some sort of telepathic link with Ai) spend the series getting to the bottom of the hell correspondence and asking themselves if this is something they should be intervening with. Now, with a premise this awesome, why do I hate it so much?

It’s because this premise is diluted by the repetitive nature of this show. If you’ve seen one episode, you’ve seen them all. That’s not to say there aren’t episodes that have different premises. But those are few and far between. On top of that they’re always sandwiched between a plethora of other episodes that follow the same beats as the rest. Each episode usually goes like:

- Person A goes about their business

- Gets bullied or mistreated by Person B

- Person A finds out about Hell Correspondence

- Uses it to get back at Person B

- END

This wouldn’t be so bad, if it didn’t go on for nearly 26 episodes, with only slight variations. It gets so predictable, and if there’s something I dislike more than a show with zero effort or heart put behind it, it’s a show that wastes my time by being so formulaic. Now I’ll give it props for having some very interesting episodes splintered throughout. Some of my favorites include; a hikki-girl who refuses to go to school and only texts one friend. She’s constantly checked on by her teacher to come back to class. Annoyed, she sends him to hell. Only afterwards finding out that her friend was the teacher. Both are relieved they’ll meet each other again in hell. Any episode where we learn the history of Ai/Hell Correspondence. An episode where they visit a haunted sanitarium where Ai meets her match. An episode where a fraud-psychic challenges hell girl. And lastly, an episode where a random drug addict tries to send an innocent girl to hell and this conflicts with the morals of Hell Correspondence. Yes you read that right, these demons have morals and standards.

Had this series been 12, or maybe 16(and even that’s pushing it) episodes, this series would’ve been better. I’ve heard the subsequent seasons of the anime and chapters of the manga add more variety and spice up the story, but after 26 episodes of nothing but a story with foreseeable events, I was in no hurry to pick up the next season. Aside from its repetitive nature, the other aspects are nothing to write home about either. The character designs(aside from hell correspondence) are ugly, they constantly reuse the same animation sequence when they’re about to send someone to hell, though the tormenting sequences are always unique. The music was okay, but the OP and ED were killer. The animation was serviceable, the backgrounds did their jobs. To the show’s credit though, it is very satisfying to see these assholes get their just desserts. But after a certain point, it almost loses that satisfaction because of how often it happens. If I’ve sounded like a broken record this entire review, I apologize, but I think it’s very fitting given the show I’m talking about.

What do you get when you combine idols and the romance of the three kingdoms? A clusterfuck presumably right? Wrong, you get a fun romp of Koumei from the Three Kingdoms being isekai’d into modern day Japan. With a mission to make aspiring idolstar, Eiko, world famous. Since he believes her songs have the power to bring world peace. The series reminded me of another series called “Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad” in more ways than one. How did it do that? And was this anime able to keep such a ludicrous concept interesting throughout its run?

I’m unfamiliar with the Romance of Three-Kingdoms and Chinese history ... as a whole. So I was hesitant on picking up the series feeling that it wasn’t for me. I was relieved that “The Romace of the Three Kingdoms' ' wasn't required reading. Nonetheless, I was surprised at how much fun this show was, given the concept. I was expecting it to be the usual “smart man enters foreign territory that the audience is familiar with, and now has to get used to our culture.” I’ve seen that done in all kinds of media. Personally, I don’t think it can be executed more flawlessly than the way it was handled in SDF: Macross, but I digress. Koumei, being as smart as he is, doesn't stay in his dumbfounded state for long, and ends up throwing the world he’s in for a loop rather than vice versa like I’d presume. In fact most of the early episodes follow a monster of the week like structure, but more on that later. For now, I’d like to focus my attention towards the music. Possibly the most crucial component for making such an odd story work.

Once again, I’m not too big into idols, or its culture. I think idols peaked with Lynn Minnmay from SDF Macross, dammit there I go again. Anyways, it presents a handful of idol songs that might have left Koumei speechless, but me being indifferent. Despite the show being centered around idol culture and that kind of music, the show also presents the audience with bits of rap, folk, and rock. The standout track from the OST the OP. BAN BAN A CHIKI CHIKI BAN BAN, is such a great opening song and the visuals are a wild trip of wild flashing colors and silly looking dance moves. The song never appears in the show itself, but still holds as one of the only worthwhile tracks for me.

Despite the bombastic visuals of the opening, the animation and art style does its job. The animation only becomes notable when there’s a performance. The dance moves along with the eccentric on stage antics/exaggerations is clearly where the show’s budget went. Otherwise, I found the show pleasing to look at. I think it was a tasteful move to demonstrate what it was capable of only when absolutely necessary.

Similar to the visuals, I found the voice acting to be quite well done. Eiko, Koumei’s (and Eiko’s boss to a lesser degree) seiyuus went above and beyond. Okiayu Ryoutarou does an exquisite job giving Koumei the cunning and calculated, yet warm demeanor his voice holds. But it’s a shame that once we enter the second half of this series, his voice becomes a faint voice echoing in the distance more and more. Because once we enter an arc dedicated to getting Eiko a spot on a world famous music festival, the scope of the Koumei’s strategies expands as does the cast, for better or for worse.

Though many saw Kabe’s inclusion to the story as a detriment, I did not. Actually, his debut episode is still one of my favorites in the show. I thought the way the show presented his rise and fall from fame was a well executed change of pace from the norm. The way his story was cleverly implemented into the story was seamless. However I do think that from the episode after his debut onward, the show does slowly lose the magic it once had. Early on I had wished that the series wouldn’t be a monster of the week ordeal. Each episode presents a hurdle that spells out the end for Eiko’s singing career, only for Koumei to miraculously pull through and come in clutch with his stratagem. I got my wish and as stated, I was pleased, initially. But the more the series progressed, the more of what made this series so fun became relegated to the sidelines. That being, Kongming. And it’s a gradual deviation, because instead of the series focusing on the titular duo of Eiko and Koumei, more and more side characters get introduced. And as a result, the focus shifts and the time spent with Eiko and Koumei in the same area becomes infrequent.

Kabe is often seen as the catalyst for the downfall of this show. But I disagree as I think it was Nanami’s arc that sealed it’s fate into mediocrity. The last exciting moment dedicated to kong-ming that reminds me of why I love the first few episodes so much, shows up again in Kabe’s rap duel with Kongming. Arguably the best moment of the show as we get an insane spectacle of their raps being personified into dragons and ancient chinese soldiers. Couple that Kabe’s solid verses getting decimated by Koumei’s eloquent soliloquies had me in stitches.

Afterwards Kabe doesn’t have much impact on the narrative, with his ‘hoora’ being a diss track he made for Azaela being performed live in the climax of the show. Calling her out for being two faced and fake like she is. Speaking of fake, Nanami’s “bond” with Eiko was my least favorite aspect of this series. Eiko’s relationship with Kabe at the very least was relegated to being nothing more than co-workers and being decently acquainted with one another. Eiko comes across Nanami performing on the street for fun and is moved by her performance. This wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that their relationship moves at lightning speed. And before you know it, they’re already at the “the bffs split up phase” when, shocker, it's her band that’s been Eiko’s rival for the 100k follower challenge. Episode 7 onwards is dedicated to the following: Kabe bonding with his old pals, Nanami’s relationship with Eiko, Eiko trying to find her voice trying to impress a snobbish producer, and Azalea's group's uprising. Koumei is hardly present and most of the three kingdom references are completely dropped.

It doesn’t help that the episodes become padded with Nanami’s song being played by both Eiko and Nanami spontaneously throughout. Not to mention, the laziness is only more apparent when these scenes are accompanied by stills or just shots of their audience smiling. Although I was never a huge fan of Eiko in the first place, she served as a good foil to Kong-ming. Being this young woman who’s in touch with current trends and being eager to rise to fame nicely contrasts Koumei's calm, smart, and whimsical demeanor. And though he’s from a different time period, he assimilates to the new world he’s presented rather quickly. And as I said earlier, the show didn’t let this trope overstay its welcome and for that I was pleasantly surprised. However, I would’ve preferred it if the series took this concept and experimented more with it than just dropping it completely. Perhaps if it were to show one of Koumei’s stratagems being foiled by either modern tech or something that exists now that didn’t then. Though it does show that Koumei wasn’t an infallible person in a touching scene where he feels guilt about not partying with the soldiers of his king's army before what would be their final battle. It doesn’t focus on Koumei or his stratagems after a certain point, and instead we’re given backstories to characters that aren’t nearly as interesting as the man who this show is named after.

Paripi Koumei reminded me of another series called “Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad”. In that both are music series that deal with the long road it takes to become a superstar. But not only because of that, but because both develop a habit of playing the same few songs the in-universe characters created ad-nauseum throughout the series. And it’s done so often that it makes emotionally gripping moments feel like a parody of itself. The show started out with a ridiculous concept that surprised me with how well it worked. Once the show enters the “100k like” arc, it becomes a slow downward spiral into mediocrity. And if I want more of the magic that made this series special, I’d pick up the Romance Three-Kingdoms before I’d pick up the manga.

I was not expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did. In fact, I wasn’t expecting to watch this at all. I went to my local movie theater with the intent of watching Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko, and if you’re curious about my opinion on that film then you can read my review and analysis for it. However, this is all about the unexpected bonus that accompanied the film called,”Deiji Meets Girl”. Did I stumble across an amazing series, or was it nothing but another brick in the wall?

For starters, this film isn’t even a film at all. Rather it’s a collection of ... shorts culminating together to make one large piece. In fact, I was thoroughly confused until about the third short. Because before Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko played, there was a foreword by the director and producer of the film. Not long afterwards, there was a message that told the audience to stay tuned after the credits to see a theatrical version of “Deiji Meets Girl”. I figured I’d be watching a theatrical exclusive trailer for an upcoming series, not the entire series itself! (and one that had already aired the year prior at that). Despite my confusion (only bolstered by the abrupt ending of Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko) I was captivated by the unique artstyle this compilation of shorts had.

The visual aesthetic and character designs are what stuck out to me the most. With each character having a shiny glow to them, almost as if they were plastic, with a dark blue (almost purple) outline and shade to them. The series takes place on an island, usually in the dusk hours, which only makes the scenes that much more beautiful.

In this story we follow a girl named Maise Higa, who works at her dad’s hotel. One day, a boy who’s a famous celebrity/performer named Ichiro Suzuki checks in, and not much later strange happenings begin to occur. Such as the entire hotel being enveloped in water, a giant beanstalk that goes through the hotel, or a bunch of mysterious large frog-like figures looking to take Ichiro with them. To my dismay it’s never explained what’s causing these events, or what they have to do with our characters in the first place. I also failed to find any symbolism behind them. So I assume they’re just meant to be weird abstract adventures for the sake of being abstract and fun. Maybe occurrences in this world aren’t completely out of the ordinary. I mean, there’s even a bit where Maise’s relative is a legit medium. Who’s able to sense sorrow in Ichiro just by looking at him through her hand.


The ambiguity to these occurrences is my biggest gripe with the show. Given the length of them, I wasn’t expecting anything too in depth regarding the characters or lore to their world. But I was expecting more of an explanation for why any of this is happening in the first place. Why did Maise accidentally crushing Ichiro’s glass vase cause their environment to go back to normal? Is it all make believe? Is everything we’re witnessing just an exaggeration of events that actually played out? That’s what I assume at least, but even then I’m still left with lingering questions.

So did this series of shorts match the wildebeest of the flick that played before it? No, but it did tonally fall in line with it. While I wouldn’t call it an Iyashikei, it’s still just a series of random events in the lives of the characters we follow. Though I’d say this has a more definitive plot and central conflict than Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko. I admit though that this is a great companion piece to that movie, so kudos to GKIDS for screening these together. As for the movie on its own, if you have 25 or so minutes to kill, using it to watch this would be a great time. Don’t expect anything too life changing from it though. But do expect a very unique visual aesthetic, and some beautiful backgrounds that serve as a nice backdrop to a unique spin on the,”boy meets girl” type of story. Or should I say “Deiji meets Girl”....Who even is “Deiji”?

‘IMPROOVMENT’ is a phrase often used to demean others who might be more than pedantic in improving themselves. I always disregarded that insult as there’s not enough people motivated to improve themselves or the world around them. Though being so caught up in your image and how you look to others can become unhealthy, there is nothing wrong with doing good for yourself. But what happens when you’ve finally reached the top? You did the time, you reaped all the rewards, and your help isn’t needed anymore. What do you do then? This show tries to find the answer to that question and many more. ... It’s not the flashiest show of the season, but it tells a damn compelling story. The show is littered with helpful advice that you can apply not only to yourself, but also your workplace. I wasn’t expecting much from a story about a good guy turning bad, but the clever storytelling, twists and character interactions/development throughout made this show one of the highlights of my week. What was it about this show that made it such a joy to watch unfold? What separates it from your typical D&D inspired fantasy anime?

I didn’t expect a fantasy show (or a show about a post-dystopian future however you want to look at it) to educate the viewer on how to make their workplace more efficient. But also get deep into philosophy. Asking the viewers what is it you’re really living for? Are you actually living for your own happiness or just to please and seek approval from others? In the story we follow Leo, a hero, who is so overpowered that not even the humans, who created him to fend off creatures from another world, want anything to do with him and are afraid of his power. Feeling like a crumpled piece of paper tossed to the side, he sets out to join the demon army he single-handedly destroyed so he can have revenge on the humans. This raises many questions such as, why would the hero want to join the “bad guys”? And couldn’t the hero just eliminate civilization himself without the assistance of the villains he already defeated? The show answers all these questions in clever and emotionally gripping ways that I do not want to spoil. Though I will say that at some point it’s revealed that the demon army aren’t all bad people.

In fact, their leader (Echidna, and the entire army plus generals aside from Mernes) follows the philosophy of a goblin from long ago (Eibrad) who believed in peace between the humans and demons. Echidna’s only goal is to retrieve the philosopher’s stone so that the demons can live in a peaceful world free of bloodshed. The stone however, is sealed away in the human realm and of course, it’s human nature to attack that of which they fear. This presents a moral dilemma, that this entire time it’s entirely possible that Leo’s reason for existing was brought on by nothing but fear by the humans. We also learn of each of the general's personal dilemmas and have an episode dedicated to each. Showing Leo teaching them how to manage their duty better and learn new skills along the way.

Personally my favorite to least favorite general goes from Lily, Mernes, Echidna, Shutina, then Edvard. That’s to say I still liked all of them, however there’s no denying that Lily’s unrequited love for Leo, even up to the twist climax, is something I rooted for. Her issue is handling logistics, and let’s just say that a young girl who can shape into a 600 ft tall wildebeest isn’t the best at business management. In her episode, it’s Leo’s job to teach her how to become a better leader and to not be afraid to ask others for help. Mernes has issues socializing, Eibrad is unaware of abilities, power, and talent he’s born with and expects everyone to be at his level, Shutina doesn’t know how to delegate her workload onto her subordinates, and Echidna is tasked with making sure everyone is doing their job. Each of these episodes are great, and had it stayed with the episodic-like nature of Leo gaining the acceptance of a general per episode, I’d still consider this show a good time. But after Leo’s true intention and desires are revealed through flashbacks and him possessing something integral to Echidna’s mission. Once all is revealed a little after the halfway point, the plot does a 360 backflip and becomes something even more profound.

While the story and characters managed to leave such an impact on me, how about the other components such as the voice acting, soundtrack, and animation? Firstly voice acting, this was a case where I think everyone gave a solid performance, but I’d give the edge to Eibrad’s VA during the heart to heart conversation he had with a more stoic Leo in a flashback. And Lily’s VA for being so full of spunk. Staying in character and giving a great performance as Lily even when put in dire situations, involving being forced to attack the love of her life. And I just have to say, but SPOILERS! During the final battle where Leo is fighting everyone, I noticed that Lily takes the brunt of the beating. It’s bad enough that she’s seeing a side of her love that she’s never seen before, but to get the point across of how serious he is, he dishes most of his cheap shots onto her and berates her the most. That was probably the most emotionally draining part of the series. Had to get that off my chest, end of SPOILERS! But aside from those two, I think everyone was serviceable, and Edvard’s VA was also solid, doing a good job giving Edvard a brooting, but hearty and warm voice.

As I said earlier, this show isn’t particularly flashy despite it dealing heavily with both fantasy and magic. So in terms of animation, there wasn’t much to note aside from the fight scenes, which are fun and exciting to witness. My favorite being the battle between Edvard’s goblin army and these anti-demon mechs they’re made to fight and teach Edvard some humility. The final fight was well animated and fun as well, though the outcome and progression was rather predictable. Also I thought the foliage and Earth terrain covering modern office buildings in establishing/long shots was unique and cool to see, and reminded me of a moss covered stone. The music wasn’t anything memorable, aside from the second ED being a great closure to each episode. Though I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the amount of times I chuckled after hearing the OP each episode,”IKITE IKITE IKI TSUKUSE!” then the rest of the song plays and it’s alright. Reminded me of the opening track of Mieruko-Chan’s anime, with its “YAMETE YAMETE, MO YAMETE!”.

Anyways, was there anything about the show that made me go Yamete, Yamete, Mo Yamete? Well, as I said earlier, it’s a great show with plenty of surprising twists but it’s not particularly flashy. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel sluggish at times. In fact, most scenes are just people talking. If you’re expecting a fast-paced action oriented fantasy anime with explosions and magic spells galore, then you’ll get some of that here but you’re better off looking elsewhere as they’re few and far between and aren’t the focal point of the show. The conversations between characters can also drag on for a while and feel like they’re talking in circles just for the sake of padding out the run time. There’s also a handful of characters we see once or twice and never again. Only serving as temporary plot conveniences.

But despite the slow burn nature of this series, I was still bewildered at how many great morals and bits of great advice in a show I had no idea was about improving yourself and your approach to life. I was pleasantly surprised at the show making a statement about issues rooted in reality despite it being a fantasy anime, that’s what makes it so much more compelling to me than your run of the mill isekai or D&D inspired story. Which can all be great, but don’t usually offer as much substance or nuance to their dilemmas and morals as Yuusha Yamemasu does. Though it can get somewhat tedious, I’d still recommend this to anyone looking for a medieval fantasy show, but takes an introspective look at how it presents its story and characters.

I was thoroughly confused by Macross before sinking my teeth into the series. You’re telling me that these aliens, who are giant humanoid creatures, are usually, there’s exceptions, tamed and turned vulnerable through the power of Japanese pop idols and mechs that resemble a fighter jet with human limbs? Frankly, I was sold because that sounds like the sickest shit ever. My first exposure to this franchise was watching the original series, SDF-Macross from 1982. It’s one of my all time favorite mecha series, and I loved everything about it. The larger than life robot fights, aliens (zentradi), personalities, drama, and the music. The song ... “My Boyfriend’s a pilot” is a song I never grew tired of. In fact, it still pops up in my music rotation to this day. When I heard that they were airing a Macross movie in my local theater, I knew I had to be there. Macross on the big screen?! My imagination ran wild, but as long as the fights were epic, the idol singing got stuck in my head, and there was a love triangle that humanity's fate rested on, I’d be a happy man. So did Macross Frontier: The False Songstress meet my expectations?

Being mostly unfamiliar with the franchise outside the original series, I was worried I’d be missing vital information, crucial to understanding this movie’s plot. Thankfully that wasn’t the case at all. Upon research after watching the film I found out that this is actually a movie adaption of a TV series of the same name, with some slight differences, at least in this movie. I knew enough of the lore to pinpoint Zentradi in the crowd, understand the vocabulary they use in this film with words like, ”deculture”, and a handful of references to SDF Macross. The girl who’s working to become an idol even sings the classic, “My Boyfriend’s a Pilot” at some point. That being said, even without my basic understanding of the universe, a viewer could watch this movie on it’s own completely blind and still be thoroughly entertained.

The movie centers around Alto, a young pilot for the Macross, who’s unit and area get ambushed by aliens called the Vraja while on an expedition across the galaxy. Meanwhile his friend, and head commander’s daughter, Ranka aspires to become an idol instead of following her “Nii-san” footsteps. He’s not her biological brother, but took on the role of raising her after her actual family was killed in an attack by the Vraja, and she lost her memory as an effect. Coinciding with the invasion is the appearance of pop idol legend Sheryl. Who’s claim to fame is that she’s not genetically enhanced, or biologically altered with robot parts and sings/performs as impressively as she does. It’s up to Alto to fend off the Vraja, find out if there’s a lineage between their attack and Sheryl’s arrival, and make sure Ranka is in good company while on the road to becoming an idol.

This story is remarkably similar to SDF-Macross’s story, and for that reason you’d think that I’d be peeved, but I wasn’t. Maybe it was the relief I felt that it was going to be similar enough to SDF-Macross that I wouldn’t be lost. Regardless of the reason, I was glad the plot was more familiar than I’d anticipated. I was surprised the love triangle wasn’t drawn out long, or held much significance at all. Ranka and Sheryl held little to no ill will towards each other, even before the climax of the film where they perform together. Maybe it’s a different case in the sequel, but the love triangle drama wasn’t as strong as the dilemma that Alto faced when dealing with Sheryl and his CO (Ranka’s brother) when he was convinced she was a spy. Alto even goes as far as to slam into Sheryl like a professional football player after he thought she was going to hurt Ranka. As far as the plot goes, there’s only two gripes I have. The first one being that, either I missed a scene or it’ll be explained in the next movie, but the significance of Ranka’s pet alien rodent, Ai-kun, is never fully explained. The other is that Alto’s learning the ropes of what it takes to be part of the fighter unit he joins is glossed over, as are the other people in his squad. They’re given distinct designs, but aside from Michael, hardly anyone else part of their platoon has any lines. Again, maybe this touched on more in the sequel or the TV series, but our roster in this movie is very small. I was also confused about the significance of Sheryl’s earring and how Alto was able to see into her past while wearing one. None of these problems had deterred my enjoyment, in fact, it motivated me to learn more about the Macross universe.

The characters are fun and unique, with their dialogue and banter between one another being endearing and feeling natural. It wasn’t ground breaking dialogue, but it did more than serve its purpose as a vehicle for what I was looking forward to most from this film: The mechs, the space kaiju, and a cute idol performing her guts out to a background of space warfare. And boy did this film deliver on that front. I was slightly disappointed that the ships and Vraja were CG, but something about the way it looked appealed to me aesthetically. It wasn’t good CG, or particularly attractive to look at, but something about it was endearing and I liked it. Sometimes the camera would spastically jolt left to right instead of just staying still and focusing on the action. Instead it felt like it was trying to be a part of the action, which was done right for the most part, but it was something I picked up on. Aside from that, the fights, explosions, and final performance culminating together at the end elevated my experience from an 8 to a 10. It was amazing stuff, great powerful songs being played while these huge robots, ships, and aliens are all fighting each other in an effort to save Sheryl’s unit from being annihilated. Sadly they’re not able to take all the ships they set out to save as refuge, but they regardless put up a great fight and arguably came out victorious.

Macross Frontier surprised me with its charming sense of humor, larger than life fight scenes, and tantalizing romantic drama much more than I’d expected. Being only familiar with the first installment of the franchise, I was floored that this gave me a similar vibe as that series did. Though my theater’s audio wasn’t as loud as I wanted it to be, and the film itself seemed compressed and not set at the right resolution. From what I’ve heard, this was not mutually exclusive to my theater. So I don’t dock it any points for that, and I’d recommend this in a heartbeat to any fan of mecha anime. Did this movie meet my expectations? Yup, all I wanted was giant robots, explosions, and cute girls singing and it did more than delivered.

I came out watching the first Macross Frontier (the False Songstress) pleasantly surprised and thoroughly satisfied. I wasn’t expecting much, and as long as the movie delivered huge mechs, jets with big arms making big explosions, idol performances, and a love triangle I’d be happy. Suffice to say the film did just that, but left on an open ended note, and I found out that there was actually a sequel film. And this time, it deviated even more from the anime tv-series than the first movie. Not that it really mattered much since I’ve yet to watch the anime tv series. But knowing that served ... as a reminder that this was not a supplemental recap film of the tv-series a la something like Gundam 0079. Anyways, did this film manage to exceed my expectations more than first, or did it crash its landing?

The movie follows the same trio from the first movie, only this time the two idols are experiencing dire health complications. Sheryl is deathly ill with her days being numbered, and Ranka is having stomach ulcer-like pains that seem to be related to the Vraja. Alto is still with the SMS team in the war against the Vraja and is tasked with defeating them once and for all and finding out what is the matter with our two idol stars. While the plot is nothing too crazy to write home about, it raises the stakes pretty damn high compared to the first film. So right off the bat, this movie means business. It was also neat and sad seeing someone as exuberant as Sheryl become more timid and soft-spoken as her illness grew worse. And Ranka becomes more confident than she was in the previous film, finally being taken seriously as a premiere idol-star.

Alto largely stays the same, only this time we see his days as a child actor come into play towards the final act of the film, which was rewarding. Since during the first film I was waiting for that to be more plot relevant, and was figured it was just an excuse for why his character design looks so effeminate. There’s only one major addition to the cast, and even that’s a stretch. The person in question is Ranka’s brother and he doesn’t have much purpose aside from showing what the evil forces behind those controlling the Vraja in the first place are capable of. And the only times he has any impact in the story, is when he breaks free of his mind being controlled and capturing briefly subduing his sister, to bring him to those controlling him.

Though the love triangle persists, it’s less of a focal point in this film than the last because about halfway through the film, Sheryl just about gives up knowing her soon impending doom and Ranka admits her true feelings towards Alto not long after. Despite this the three remain buddy-buddy till the end, where two of the characters meet their fate for the sake of humanity. I'm not saying who, as you should watch the film, but it’s really not that hard to guess.

The highlights of this film to me are, as you expected, the fights, performances of the girls, the soundtrack, and the sheer magnitude of idol performances with giant fights happening right above them. Both of which are not only more epic, but also more frequent. So that only increased my enjoyment even more so than the last film. The ships and Vraja remain CG but much like I mentioned in my last review, this did not bother me as I felt the CG adds a unique charm to the movie. Almost as if I’m playing a gamecube or old pc sci-fi mecha game. Which, go figure, does exist in this game, though everything in that game is 2D. Anyways, the visual and audio department of this film are flawless. Particularly when it comes to the idol performances and the big fights. With my favorite scene being the prison escape/battle where we see everyone working together, and Alto dressed as a maid kicking security ass.

I watched this in the theaters recently (as of writing this) and was surprised by the amount of people in my auditorium. But there was another bonus, that being 3-4 different extra idol performances by Sheryl and Ranka after the show finished. One of which was almost all 2D (because most of these performances used their 3D models) and focused on Sheryl and had an AMV aesthetic and idol song with a high BPM that blew my mind. The visuals were extremely lewd and intense, and the impact it left on me was inspirational as I love making similar type of content. The visuals of that piece perfectly matched the song, and Sheryl’s character and I can’t help but appreciate when a work of art has all the pieces working together so seamlessly.

So that was my experience with Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell (or goodbye in some cases). As someone who’s only exposure to macross before this was SDF-Macross which is one of my all time favorite series, I was glad that these films carry many of the same aspects of the original series that I liked so much intact despite taking place, at least a millenia later. So suffice to say, this film, much like the first, filled me with delight and I’d place this slightly higher than the first. Despite the fast pace and intense nature of this film, I’m glad to say that it aced it’s landing and I recommend this to fans of cute girls and explosions.

Right off the bat, I was confused at how this show garnered so much attention so fast. In fact, I initially wrote it off as a flavor of the month show and one that would serve as many’s only anime of the season they’d tune in for. However before watching I decided to read the source material and was pleased with art, message, characters, and story. Then I’d tune in each week for the new episode and always looked forward to it. It wasn’t my personal highlight of the week, but it was a nice edition and I always had a cunning, dastardly smirk while ... watching it.

The part that threw me for the biggest loop about this show was the fact that it’s almost a one to one adaptation of its source material. Hardly any liberties or deviations were taken, and the few times that it did, it only benefited the romance between Gojou and Marin. Also enhanced the mood and beauty of certain scenes, namely the time with them on the beach when a bird steal’s Gojou’s food, or the bit where they’re in the love hotel and you can actually hear the moans of the neighboring occupants having a rough fuck. The tension in the following scene where Marin and Gojou are reflecting on the events prior is drawn out and silent, adding to the cringe, awkward and naughty atmosphere. But I’ll be honest, as much as I enjoy and root for Marin and Gojou’s romantic relationship, that is not the main attraction of this series for me. If I had to rank the aspects that I found compelling from most to least it’d be: the message, the illustrations, the cosplay autism, the romance, and then comedy. The message has to do with the story, so I’ll give a brief rundown of the story so you can have a better understanding of the message.

Our main character Gojou is a hina-doll maker, ever since he was a young boy he was obsessed with the beauty and craft of Hina dolls thanks to his gramps, who was a professional hina-doll maker. However it’s not normal for boys to be into hina dolls, let alone any sort of doll. It’s because of this that he gets reprimanded by a girl his age for liking something so effeminate. He feels ashamed and humiliated, and this feeling followed him throughout his entire life. Being afraid to open up about his hobbies, or to feel comfortable being himself around others became his normal. His introverted and quiet nature led to others taking advantage of him, or finding him odd. This all changes one day when a girl named Marin(popular girl and open otaku) finds Gojou tailoring a hina doll at their school’s embroidery/crafts room, because his own sewing machine at home broke, and asks him to fix a cosplay for her. This leads to a bond between the two where Marin helps Gojou come out of his shell and into his(while helping him become a better craftsman/tailor/ and otaku) and he helps Marin become a sensation in the cosplay community.

Now I’m sure with that summary in mind you can imagine romantic comedy hijinks ensuing, but I’d like to touch on the aspect of the series that I love. The idea that you shouldn’t be ashamed of what you like and that you should be yourself and be proud. If others aren’t fond of you, well then that’s their problem. You can take that message and screw it up into something twisted without trying too hard, but at its core, it's a positive message that rings true more so today than ever before. We live in an age where many people feel they can only enjoy things with fifty levels of irony. That if you’re taking anything beyond its surface level, and if you’re letting a piece of art or media impact you on any level, you deserve to be ostracized, called cringe, weird, a loser, or any other name with a negative connotation. The reason I hold both the anime and manga in high regard is because I strongly believe series like these can help both the youth and jaded adults alike that it's better to be yourself than becoming the person who made you hate yourself. I’m not telling everyone to wear a hentai jacket, and I’m not telling you to hide your power level all the time. I’m saying that people need to focus more on being comfortable and content with themselves. If someone wants to wear a hentai jacket, good. If someone wants to dress modestly, good. The point is to learn to accept yourself for who you are, and if you’re discontent with that then it’s up to you to make the changes necessary to make you like yourself.

Speaking of things I like and I’m sure many others do as well, the illustration, and animation. The stills of Marin and the other characters in their cosplays are absolutely gorgeous. I find myself often pausing and admiring the detail and beauty of each illustration. Now when it comes to the animation, it doesn’t show it off the animation through fights, no it does it, usually through the lewd scenes. I’m willing to bet most of the animation budget went towards the scene where Marin is being lewd or teasing Gojou with her body. The fluidity of movements of her breasts, torso, tongue, and feet in these scenes are seamless and hot to look at. And I don’t even find Marin as all too attractive, don’t know how she got all the praise she does.

As far as cons are concerned, I don’t find all the jokes to be funny. That’s not to say it’s not funny at all, but there are other series that handle the hot girl teasing the shy MC much better in my opinion. When it comes to comedy, I find it hits its stride when they’re both in a red-faced, blush filled conundrum. I also prefer all the side characters to Marin. Juju and Shinju are so cute to watch interact. A kind younger sister, bringing out the sweetest aspects of her otherwise bitchy and pompous older sister all out of love. There are other characters I also find interesting, but I’ll save that for the manga write up. As far as the anime is concerned, this is a wonderful adaptation. An instance of an anime only adding onto the greatness of it’s manga-counterpart.

A lot of romcom manga has been coming as of late, and it’s great! But it can be a bit formulaic at times. Heard this one before? The cast is quirky and the socially inept boy has the highschool’s hottest girl teasing him. What does she see in him? Doesn’t matter, the point is, he's like us spergs, but managed to hit the jackpot. Anyways this will go on for at 100 chapters, gets an anime adaption, and it’s great. The Mangaka can finally eat more than one small meal a day, and more fans are introduced to the series. Fast forward one year later, ... let's check up on that source material. Little to no progress is made, the jokes are getting old, the cast is now huge, and the fanbase is dwindling. 200 chapters of just teasing the nerdy highschool boy gets annoying. Initially, when Aharen-san came on my radar, I said screw that noise and didn’t pick it up for the first few weeks of it airing. But word spread around, and people were praising it. I figured why not try it out and proceeded to watch. What was in store for me, was this show really that much different and better than its contemporaries?

I fell head over heels for this anime after watching just the first episode. Because even the smallest adjustments to overdone genres such as highschool romcoms (rc's) can make it stand out tremendously from its competition. In this series we follow the relationship between Raido and Aharen-san. Two socially peculiar highschool freshman who make a vow to themselves to not let their quirks stop them from having a social life like it did in their preceding years in school. Raido is a stone faced, but extremely kind natured and well mannered, young man. People are often put off by his serious looking demeanor and no pan face. He suffers from over analyzing everything and being reserved. Aharen-san is a tiny pale japanese girl who looks more like an elementary school kid than a highschooler. While not completely mute, she is extremely soft spoken and unable to properly express her emotions through conventional means. Despite this, after Raido talks to her since she sits next to him in class (by the window in the corner of course) they both become friends with a mission to help understand one another. Neither character are flustered, nervous nancies, and are genuinely interested in making the effort to make the most of their highschool years despite their quirks. Throughout the development of their relationship we find out that everyone else around them from their other friends, family, and acquaintances that no one in this series is “the straightman”. Everyone is an oddball, and that’s why I love this romcom so much.

I would’ve called this the romcom of the season (which it is) for just having an MC who doesn’t piss himself when his love interest makes eye contact. Instead we have two characters who are legitimate weirdos, and this isn’t exemplified through them saying, “Oh geez, what do I say, this is so bad I can’t believe I’m so awkward!” This is instead shown through example. Due to the miscommunication between the two, Raido usually assumes that the most extreme scenario to be the reason for something he doesn’t understand. For example, Aharen doesn’t show up for school? Spec ops mission. Making tea? Well she’s the reincarnated spirit of an old chinese shogun of course! You get the picture. This is a recurring gag yes, but here’s the key component as to why I’m not complaining, it’s because it has plenty of other jokes as well. The banter between characters, the gags, the characters themselves, the situations, the reason behind something happening. It’s all cute, funny, heartwarming and refreshing.

I genuinely enjoyed all the gags, characters and situations so much that we’d be here all day if I told each and every one of my favorite gags/episodes. But by far, my favorite episode has to be the rap episode. Though the fidget spinner bit after the rap part wasn’t as funny, I still found it to be a cute addition to the episode. But Aharen and Raidou finally discovering an effective means to converse with each other through the art of rap was not only endearing, but their rhymes were fire! But Raidou thinks this will backfire since now that every convo they have is a rap, he feels that they always have to battle each other to see who’s the better rapper instead of having a legitimate conversation. The teacher confiscates their mic and their hip hop beat and now they can no longer rap at school. Earlier while at home Raido practiced his rap on his younger sister who initially dismissed him as being weird, but after he comes back from school she feels bad and tries to compliment him, through rapping herself. He’s confused, she’s flustered and runs away giving him a fidget spinner leading to the next arc of the episode. That was a perfect segue! It’s not taking the 4-koma like gag structure of a series like Lucky star or Azumanga. In those, it doesn’t matter what order you watch the series and you can cut and replace gags from one episode and replace it with another. It has a narrative and unlike other contemporary Rc’s, it is committed to making legitimate progress not only in their relationship but also the plot of the story itself.

The characters all slayed me too. From aharen’s younger brother who looks exactly like her but is more genki and up beat (Raido accidentally confuses him for her at an arcade and spends the day being creeped out by a cheery version of Aharen-san) to her older sister who’s extremely protective of her sister to the point that she constantly threatens Raido. She loves her sister so much that she’d rather him deliver goods to her even if she bought them herself, because she knows how much Raido means to her. This is too sweet for me to handle. Then you have their classmate friends like Oshiro. A girl who stalks Aharen because she feel indebted to keeping her safe and happy and feels jealous and threatened by Raido. There’s also their two other chad and stacy like friends who are the closest thing we have to a “straightman” they just want Raido and Aharen to get together by any means. There’s two teachers, one of which constantly passes out at the sight of something she deems “high esteem” (pure, cute, lovely would be better words but they chose esteem for some reason) and the other looks after her. There’s an elementary school girl named Futaba who’s my favorite character, always making each scene she’s in funnier than it was. She’s jealous that the boy she likes looks up to Aharen as a king (no romantic implication at all either) and despite hating both Raido and Aharen, she still considers them acquaintances. Even wanting Aharen to teach her how to cook to impress the boy she likes.

The animation and score are nothing to write home about, but I do love the style. Characters all have this roundedness to them and no one in this show is particularly angular in their design. Every character radiates a glow of the lighting and colors that inhabit that background and environment. Speaking of which, the camping episode at night is the most visually remarkable episode. You feel the coldness of the night as Aharen tries to confess her feelings to Raidon over a glistening lake, reflecting the moon’s light, with whispers of the wind flowing from one ear canal to the next. Maybe that last bit was me since I wear earbuds while watching anime, but I digress. The visuals fit the vibe perfectly and it was a very attractive show to watch.

The spring 2022 season of anime is the season of subverted expectations. I went into this with no inkling of enjoying it as much as I did. Aharen-san managed to captivate me with its unique twist on the highschool RC genre that’s popular to pump out like hot cakes these days. It managed to keep me engaged with the variety of gags, memorable characters, and a romance plot that makes legitimate progression between two unlikely individuals. Did this show live up to the hype I read in those threads? Absolutely, modern and future highschool RCs take note. This is how you properly do a highschool RC adaptation.