Reviews

Dec 12, 2014
Disclaimer: My normal scoring preconditions go flying out the window. This is my first non-critical review. This show is mainly for humor so I review it as such. So my scores are based more on how much laughter I got out of it and less on critical appeal. See the rest of my body of work for something more critical. If you don't agree with my score, please don't downgrade it just because you think the show is stupid or what not.

Summary: Haganai is another average slice of life anime. It's humorous, kinda realistic, and in a club school setting. I didn't expect much and I pretty much got what was predicted. I'll just get right down to the specifics. I don't include the sequel although a lot of what I say in this review applies to the sequel.

Story (5/10): For a slice of life anime, I would say this anime had little story compared to some others i've seen. Basically just play out the strange club scenario with every awkward student in school in one club. They have fun, do weird things, and have a "school" life. Sort of. In any event, it lacked any real substance. The only noteworthy piece of storyline was the revelation between Kodoka and Yozura (I didn't name it to avoid a spoiler). Even that was relatively downplayed seeing as romance in this story takes a back seat to comedy. There isn't anything special about this story and there isn't anything to hate. I wrote a shorter story review because story isn't the main draw for Haganai.

Art (10/10): Girls are very curvy, cute, and Kodoka has weird hair. Alright being serious this art style isn't special but it sure is great to look at. No complaints. The color schemes are vibrant and bright. So everything is right in the world.

Sound (8/10): The opening theme is one of those multi-little girl songs that are really hit or miss. Think Toradora opening theme. I personally find those amusing, but after about 6 episodes the opening wears on my nerves. Other songs generally mirror this style. Dubbed version had little fault in voice quality.

Character (10/10): Before i get down to the nitty gritty, i just want to say one thing... MEAT! Yes if there is one thing I got from this anime, it is Yozora picking on Sena MEAT with lots of MEATy insults. But lets start off with Kodoka. He is the supposed boy delinquent who in reality is a good kid. He takes good care of his sister, he cooks well, and he is courteous. His only poor qualities are his a-hole looks and dirty blonde/brown hair. i really liked Kodoka for really simple reasons: he plays his part really well. He is the only guy in the Neighbors Club and he takes a lot of flak and dishes out a lot of humor without meaning to.He also has that little history with Yozora while his dad has history with the school prez. He had some development, but you have to love him more for his comical antics. Yozura is... an a-hole and a darn good one at that. I'm sorry but she is just on a whole nother level from Kodoka. She is so witty with Sena it's not even fair. I don't remember any of the humor from her being too forced. Sena literally walks in to so many of Yozora's pitfalls. She probably made me laugh the most and she was a great character. Oh and her romance/past with Kodoka is probably her only weak spot. Enjoy the mean Yozora because she is the bomb. Now on to Sena MEAT! Ok I'll stop with the meat but Sena really does have meat for brains. She is perhaps the antithesis of everything a talented girl is supposed to be. Sena is smart, athletic, hot, and... unpopular. Yes she is is the daughter of the most powerful figure in the school and she goes herself to the Neighbors Club to find friends. Now this might just be me, but I find this hilarious. More so is her fighting with Yozora. As I said with Yozora except in complete opposition, Sena is an absolute moron if it isn't school related. Oh, and what isn't hilarious about sex jokes with Sena. I literally died over Sena's embarassment when it came to those dating games. Sena is in my opinion the funniest character here because she is so stupid. Moving on to Kobato. Not much to say. She is an anime freak (haha like us all). She can be funny but mostly is just another character. She plays the little sister role perfectly. Next. Yukimura. Ok I found Yuki to be really frickin weird and before you ask, it has everything to do with his gender identity crisis. Thank god he is anime boy and so his looks don't look as awkward in a maid costume. Again sometimes funny, plays the confidence lacking cross-dresser to the letter. Next. Maria. Ok Maria is a nun... and a brat.I've loved many of these opposite social roles but Maria is second best behind Sena. LOL the 10 year old nun who is advisor of the club and gets smacked around by Yozora. I didn't get many laughs but looking back now this role Maria plays is hilarious. Finally Rika. OMG those comics were hilarious. I never would have thought porn and mecha could be so funny. And Rika makes it so much more funny. She is definitely the least realistic character of all (who heard of albert einstein living in a school lab unbeknownst to the public?). But her sex jokes make her one of the funniest characters here. Also the fact that Rika talks third person actually adds to the amusement (whereas the sisters in Railgun made me want to shoot myself after 2 episodes). There we go, all the main characters. The other side characters added to the amusement, especially the school prez.

Enjoyment (10/10): Meat, sex jokes, awkward characters. A diabolical mixture that made this show hilarious. Personally I found this show way better than Baka and Test (which in my opinion was stupid and not funny at all but thats just me). I think my first line kinda sums up how I felt about the enjoyment. It was a hilarious show. I'll leave it at that.

Overall (8/10): Yes you may be wondering why it stands at an 8. First off, the story was a little too mediocre in my view and while I did say I would grade off humor, story still factors in. Frankly I can't think of how to make the story any better because there was little solid premise besides the Neighbors Club. Second, I did factor sound more because I felt a review like this take into account more of art and sound. And the opening theme wore me down towards the end. But besides that, it was well worth watching these awkward characters get together and do hilarious things. As usual I am always up for debate but I have to leave one parting gift for this review. MEAT FOR ALL!!!

PS: If you enjoyed this version of critique please message me. I like to choose what anime I review and if my audience prefers this form a review, I will base my pieces as such.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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