Boys Be...

I don't tend to write reviews publically about anime I watch, and this would be my 1st. In fact, I only share and talk about it with friends (like most people would, I assume).
People make mistakes, resulting in regret or the growth of a person, that's how life works and a big part of being a human. Love is a difficult topic for most people and you can't really paint a medium that expects everyone to understand and appreciate it. I was genuinely surprised by this anime coming in with no expectations at all and I enjoyed all the rides along the way.
I came to ... watch it out of nowhere and expected it to be mid like a 5-6 show with aged-like milk comedy and a typical love trope theme.
The build-up of character was greatly enjoyable and realistic. The humorous factor was not as predictable as I expected, maybe it's just bc I like most comedic stuff unless it is offensive and personal or a sensitive controversial topic. I did feel that the characters here were painted and written pretty realistic and have complex personalities.
Unless you come to an anime expecting escapism media, you will not find it here, this anime was a bit slow-burn, slice-of-life type of show that you try to uncover the "ikigai" of youth or some of the different aspects of love.
I can even relate some scenarios to the triangular theory of love (Sternberg) for these characters. Building up and committing to a relationship is never easy, admitting how you feel, and being self-aware about it is not that simple either. I don't think there's a single character here that I felt was underdeveloped and boring, they also have time hesitant and even forget the time passing by, you would not know their internal dialogue like most shows as well so they gotta say what they truly meant. I don't want to spoil or force anyone to watch or don't waste time on anything, I believe that everyone has their own choice and path.

>Character: 9- I love what I have experienced and did not disappoint.
>Music: 8- Good song choices, I felt sentimental and somewhat nostalgic tho I was not born in the era and BGM was not annoying or off-topic as well, the lyrics relate with what was happening, the timing was pretty spot on.
>Story: 8- It did not really have a main story every episode has its own uniqueness, might be improved but pacing-wise were very good coming from an old anime like this. Almost every episode left me something to care more about, somewhat like a rollercoaster of emotions and vibes.
>Art/Animation: 4- Tbh It was dated but I'm not the type of person who cares too much about it like most fans nowadays
>VA: 8- Sync well, clear, good pitch, felt dynamic and engaging.
>Impact: 9- It's pretty rare that I was amazed by a high school rom-com after watching a dozen of them. I got some pretty valuable lessons and enjoyment from it.

This show has proven to me that, even after 25 years, I can still discover a unique gem like it. Honestly, I feel that many newer anime series often feature surface-level character development and shallow interactions, leaving little to reflect on after watching. However, this show provided meaningful content in every episode. I highly recommend it for anyone who is tired of typical shounen, fantasy, harem, or mediocre rom-coms and is looking for deeper character interactions.

Fav ep was 8 (after I found the scene she sang on a random Spanish YT) some sites also weirdly cut off the after-credit ending of 13 ep

Overall rating: 7.5-8.

A few reviewers mentioned how this anime is slightly more realistic with its depiction of relationships, and that is true for the most part. Many character fall in love and out of love, are rejected, and circumstances keep them apart.

The problem is that for one or two cases it seems like a romance was just cobbled together, and sometimes the reason for it working/ not working is so "anime" it takes away from the realism of the others. The episodic nature of the show also means that its swings from cliched over the top anime romance to drama style romance, only sometimes finding a ... happy medium.

The characters aren't something we haven't seen before, but their interactions are feel a bit more natural than most anime. But like I said, some are grounded in reality, while others feel like they should've been in a different show altogether, the problem being the stories intertwine and these clashing depictions of people and their interactions meet.

Finally, there was a clear point in time where the art suffered from budget or time constraint, one episode being painfully obvious. The show picks back up to a point where its art is comparable to become, but by this time the use of stock footage from previous episodes came more into play.

The anime begins by mentioning the vastness of space and time, endless stars, the meaning of life, it hypes you up for something that rivals Legend of the Galactic Heroes in scope, and then… it becomes a generic romantic school comedy where nothing ever happens. Thanks for nothing, you piece of shit.

Whatever the show pretends to have as a plot is no more than done to death hentai premises where a bunch of teenage boys are objectifying women, before conveniently bumping onto said women who immediately get interested in them, and silly adventures begin.

And by adventures I mean endless cock teasing where you are constantly ... made to wonder do they like each other, will they kiss, will she hit him for being a peeping tom? To its defense, everybody eventually kisses some girl for a couple of times.

To its offense, the plot is basically episodic so no matter what progress seems to be achieved in one episode is immediately rendered meaningless by the next one, and the boys keep jumping from one girl to another, essentially sleeping around without ever showing us anything besides kissing. Their love is so meaningful.

And I have to question the intelligence of these girls. They seem to be oblivious to everything that is going on around them. Half the time they have derpy faces and they are spacing out as if their brains stop working. No wonder they don’t even see how they are being sexually manipulated.

The show as a whole was promoted as a well-made romance when it first came out, which is why it was recommended to me. Which is a lie, since just like any other romance in anime, it’s only about sexual frustration and awkwardness to speak with members of the opposite sex, before ending when an actual relationship is about to begin.

In reality, this anime is not about meaningful romance. It’s aimed at virgin teenagers who want to escape reality and be in a simulation where women are stupid and love you for no particular reason. Proof of which is the promotional art, which only shows the girls and never the boys, since you are supposed to self insert instead of considering men as actual characters.

The lamest part is that the anime in general is very low budget, so it’s not even doing a good job as escapism fantasy. The characters are often off-model, have derpy faces, and the animators went as far as using live action footage in the opening and during the intermissions, in a cheap attempt to save budget and enhance realism. Yeah man, show an actual half naked woman in suggestive poses; this will totally enhance the illusion of you watching a plausible animated romance.

It is far from the first time anime try to save money with live action footage, but this does not excuse the lazy way it is used. Kare Kano used it in a way that was more about artistic expression and psychology. It was enhancing the romance and the characterization, instead of simply covering up animation weaknesses and objectifying the female body.

Boys Be is a throwaway show, made for virgin teenagers with very low expectations who have no idea what romance is and who for some reason cannot watch any other harem anime. I do not recommended it, it’s bad.