Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.

Hachiman Hikigaya is an apathetic high school student with narcissistic and semi-nihilistic tendencies. He firmly believes that joyful youth is nothing but a farce, and everyone who says otherwise is just lying to themselves.

In a novel punishment for writing an essay mocking modern social relationships, Hachiman's teacher forces him to join the Volunteer Service Club, a club that aims to extend a helping hand to any student who seeks their support in achieving their goals. With the only other club member being the beautiful ice queen Yukino Yukinoshita, Hachiman finds himself on the front line of other people's problems—a place he never dreamed he would be. As Hachiman and Yukino use their wits to solve many students' problems, will Hachiman's rotten view of society prove to be a hindrance or a tool he can use to his advantage?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hikigaya, Hachiman Main

Eguchi, Takuya Japanese

Yukinoshita, Yukino Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Yuigahama, Yui Main

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Hiratsuka, Shizuka Supporting

Yuzuki, Ryouka Japanese

Totsuka, Saika Supporting

Komatsu, Mikako Japanese

Hikigaya, Komachi Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Kawasaki, Saki Supporting

Koshimizu, Ami Japanese

Yukinoshita, Haruno Supporting

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Zaimokuza, Yoshiteru Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Hayama, Hayato Supporting

Kondo, Takashi Japanese

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Maruyama, Hajime Producer

Tanaka, Junichirou Producer

Hirano, Tsutomu Producer

Reviews

May 26, 2014

AttackOnWaifu

Recommended

Yahari Ore isn't the first anime to tackle the anti-social protagonist, but it certainly captures it perfectly with its characters and deadpan writing. Like others have said before, you may go into this expecting a typical rom-com but will instead come out of it lashed by the harsh views of our characters. This however, is why this anime stands out from so many in the genre. It's charming, funny and yet bluntly realistic. Far too often rom-coms get stuck in the fairy tale realm of romance stories, or get too wrapped up in the emotional drama/turmoil that can be present in youthful romance. Those ... elements are fine. But what about the bitter, and rejected? Or those that aren't allowed to fit in, or who choose not to fit in.

Not everyone of course has had this experience, but it's certainly something that people experience. And so this is what Yahari Ore does best, it gives us a perspective of those in school who have been rejected so much, they decide to play by their own rules, and that of course is excluding everyone else from the game. Afterall, it's much easier to get on by when you only have yourself to rely on.

This anime doesn't preach to the audience. And certainly, the view points of these characters are sometimes flawed. But it's an interesting look at how some people deal with their failure to connect to others (or rather, what can happens to someone when people reject and shut them out). Yahari Ore also looks at it from the other perspective, and isn't trying to paint one side as the victim/aggressor. We get a look at how mean and cruel we can be to each other when trying to fend for ourselves by fitting to the status quo. But this is true of both the rejected and those that reject.

At its core this show is very funny. The MC's biting sense of humor and harsh views of the world is hilarious (even if it always has an underlining seriousness to it). And to be clear, this isn't a serious drama. However, my praise focuses so much on the serious elements of the show, because I think that is what elevates this to a truly great Anime vs. a typical comedy. There is a lot of truth to this show, and it feels very realistic. Through the lens of the MC's harsh view on the world, we get a deep look at social behaviors and how often everyone is just trying to be something that won't be shunned from the pack.

If you are someone looking for a romance anime to watch, this might not be it. The romance in this anime isn't non-existent, it's actually well written in a realistic manner (it doesn't fall into the typical tropes). However, if you are looking for romance with a lot of action, then you might be let down. The romance in this anime is more about feelings, and how they can grow towards others. This is to say, the romance feels like something special here, but you will not get any closure or sweeping action between specific characters (maybe later in the LN or if we get a season 2). Although I don't think that's what this anime is about, as ultimately its focus is more on how people internally deal with their emotions, and the fear of sharing them with others.

Yahari Ore is an example of why comedy is such a great asset to art. Comedy allows us to look at aspects of life that aren't always good and allows us to examine the darker aspect of our humanity, and laugh while also getting a better understanding of it. Yes, this is a comedy that is for the most part, snarky, sarcastic and deadpan. But it's also a very interesting perspective on how we treat other people, and how those that don't fit in, (or those that choose not to play the game and try to fit in), deal with a world that heavily relies on being social.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jan 26, 2014

SwamiJesus

Mixed Feelings

This is an average highschool romance story. The twist? The main character is repulsive, and intends to stay this way. Otherwise, the series is quite lackluster, and frankly did nothing that stands out in my mind to make it very enjoyable.

Story (7/10):
Hikigaya is a die-hard introvert who enters high school that is 100% uninterested in forming a relationship. The plot revolves around him joining the Volunteer Service Club and meeting it's two members, Yui and Yukino. A love interest develops between both, but doesn't get very far due to Hikigaya's nature.

His adventures constantly involve him being the bad guy, and while there were a ... few good moments, they were never very outstanding.

Art (6/10):
The animation was not an eyesore, but it was frankly rather mediocre. It's a bit clear that not too much attention was given to the illustration, although the viewer (probably) won't be bothered too much by this.

Sound (7/10):
If I take anything from this series, it's the opening track. I loved that song. Otherwise, the soundtrack isn't anything to brag about.

Character (5/10):
The characters are the very definition of flat; they stuck to their natures 100% of the time and each fulfilled a trite, overdone archetype: the outcast, the floozy girl, the ice-queen, etc. I felt like there could have been more to Yukino's character that lie underneath her surface, but the series did little to explore this.

The decision to make Hikigaya an unlikable outcast was not the most original choice, and it certainly wasn't the best. He constantly makes a deliberate attempt to make people hate him, and while I recognize this fact, it still bothers me to the point where I cannot care for him.

Enjoyment (5/10):
It calls itself a romantic comedy, but I didn't find myself laughing very much. On top of this, at no point would I consider this series' attempt at humor outstanding of another. I also didn't care much for the romantic part, or at least what passed for it since Hikigaya rejects all notion of it.

Overall (5/10):
I came out of this series with few fond memories for it. While opinions may differ on its humorous and light-hearted nature, few can deny that it is rather shallow. If you enjoy a simple, shits-and-giggles anime to watch, you may consider this. If you're looking for something with depth, continue your search.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jun 30, 2013

Orsonius

Not Recommended

My youth romantic comedy is wrong as I expected. But my expectations were not.
Spring “blesses” us with yet another highschool anime about a guy who comes into contact with a bunch of girls in a school club.

What started out generic also ended generic and nothing of value has been gained.
It’s not only sad for the industry but also sad for Brains Base to produce such a subpar work, when in the past they were responsible for great shows like Baccano and Mawaru Penguindrum.

Story/Content:

“Yahari” has no overall story, it’s just about a boy named Hikigaya and his school life. The show goes in no direction, builds ... up no goal to aim for, no romance no drama, no big lesson. While other slice of life school romcoms have at least something to aim for like, graduation, a romantic relationship or a different goal in life, Yahari stays true to slice of life and just shows us character interactions and some events.

If it doesn't have a story, does it have anything else to offer?
Yes and no.
While shows without story have normally things like, great artwork, soundtrack, interesting characters, settings or concepts. None of this was found in Yahari, the jokes were sometimes funny and sometimes you didn’t care. I was wondering why I am even watching this anymore as it was clear nothing was going on. It revolved around the same thing the entire time without any clear path to go. Stumbling from one boring school event to the next it felt so dragged out and couldn't keep me interested.

Even for its genre it did nothing new or groundbreaking. There are a lot of better shows similar to Yahari that were at least enjoyable to watch.

Characters:

It all boils down to Hachiman, the anti-social protagonist with witty comments on the insignificance of school life and school friends. While at first I liked his cynical view on his surroundings as it reminded me of my own view on school life, it became very dry at some point as it was the same thing over and over.
He showed no real progression and he alone is not enough to save this anime.

Yukino was the other half decent character, she also had a very cynical outlook on life but was a more honorable student than Hachiman. Her personality though stagnated and became boring after a while. Besides being cruel and insulting she had nothing else to offer.

Yui was a possible love interest for the MC but the show decided to just leave that alone and make absolutely nothing with it. She is just a naive girl and totally bland and boring. Like the rest of the support characters.

Saika was the only one who had an entertaining interaction with the MC but only because of the homosexual tension. Besides that he was a personality less trap just for fan-service.

You know, if you have no story to offer then please offer an interesting cast. Yahari has only one interesting character and that is not enough to keep me interested and entertained for 13 boring episodes.

Art and Animation:

You know how well Baccano was animated? The surreal art style Mawaru Penguindrum had? Or the pretty colors in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun?
Well Yahari had absolutely nothing like that.
It looked so cheap, the character designs were pretty generic and bad executed. The surrounding were so boring to look at, it had no special effects or interesting artistic treats for the eye.

Yahari looked just really really generic to borderline bad. I’m confused how Brains Base could produce such a cheap looking show.

Really it fails already in 3 categories, no story, boring character and cheap look...

Sound:

But it doesn't stop there. The overall soundtrack in Yahari is so forgettable, even bad at points. It’s just such run of the mill music that plays in the background without sticking out for a second.

The voice acting is good as usual, I would have face palmed if they would have fucked that up as well.

The opening is terrible and I always skipped it, the ending song is just as bad.

Four Strikes... Yahari what are you doing?

Enjoyment:

As you’d guess from my previous sections, yahari couldn't keep me enjoyed through the course of 13 episode.
While I didn't hate it (because then I’d have dropped it without a second thought). I just felt really bored at some point and just finished it so I had it finished.
Here and there it was funny and even entertaining. The start was pretty okay as well, but around the middle it just dropped deeper and deeper into insignificance. Such a boring show, it didn't even had potential it wasted, it was wasted right from the start.

Scores:

(Story) Content 3/10

Premise and Setting -1 (highschool boy with highschool girls in a club...)
Genre Execution 0 (sometimes funny but mostly boring)
Dialogues and Cleverness 0 (some good dialogues but overall too mundane)
Interest Keeping -1 (nothing was happening!)

Characters 3/10

Personality 0 (weren't too bad)
Behavior and Chemistry 0 (very generic)
Development and Progression -1 (absolutely none)
Motivation and Backdrop 0 (simple)
Likability -1 (even tough 8man was good everyone else as terrible)

Art and Animation 5/10

Artstyle 0 (generic and boring)
Quality 0 (not impressive)
Background 0 (boring backgrounds)
Character Designs 0 (bad executed and bland looking)
Visual Effects 0 (simple)

Sound 3/10

Voice Acting 0 (normal)
Opening and Ending -1 (terrible)
Soundtrack -1 (unengaging)
Sound Effects 0 (normal)

Enjoyment 0/10

Art and Animation -1 (bad)
Sound -1 (bad as well)
Story and Content -1 (boring)
Characters -1 (annoying)
Value -1 (an anime without any significance)

Conclusion:

Yahari does nothing new or good in the romcom genre. it’s yet another school anime with an antisocial main character forced to interact with a bunch of girls. The events were mundane, the side characters annoying, art and sound below average. Truly a show not worth of any ones time.
If you want to watch an enjoyable RomCom try Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun made by the same studio last year. It’s not really great or anything, but by far better than Yahari.
Or why not try out really good ones like ToraDora or Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojou by JC Staff. Even Kyoto Animations Hyouka has more to offer and a similar cool main character.

3,4/10
~3/10 (Very Bad)

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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