Masamune-kun no Revenge

S.P.O.I.L.E.R.S. - Stupid Pissed Off Idiot Likes Emphatically Raging at Shit

This review is honest, but purposefully exaggerated so that it may be entertaining to some people, much like the anime itself except I believe myself to be halfway amusing. It also contains bad words like “fuck” and “dick” and “kittens”, so to all children who can’t handle a few motherfucking swears, avert your goddamn eyes!!

Let’s talk about the concept of Masamune-kun for a moment, and why I was immediately nervous about where the anime would go.

The plot has a clear ending that it is working toward: Makabe Masamune will get revenge on Adagaki Aki in a most grandiose and satisfying way. But you can’t just have a good ending; otherwise the audience would just skip to the last episode to see how it plays out. You need to somehow make the ending satisfying, but also balance the rest of the story so that the build-up is worth it as well.

And here’s where those spoilers really kick in.

Masamune-kun has neither a good build-up, nor the ending it promises. In fact, it has no ending at all. The final episode is a fucking karaoke party. Why the fuck did they even make this? I feel like a complete idiot for subjugating myself to watching every minute of this mumbo jumbo, which was admittedly okay and non-offensive for several episodes, but after a while it feels like even the writer didn’t know how the revenge was gonna work, so they started making excuses for some weeks or years or however long you’ve been experiencing this series. Oh god, could you imagine a second season of this? This is not any sort of narrative that requires more than twelve episodes to develop. It initially appears as a typical romcom, but with a twist ending and nothing more. The presence of a sequel would immediately imply that the ending is prolonged longer than necessary, like a really awkward handshake. Not like Hand Shakers tho. That anime was flawless in every aspect.

Yes, yes “it’s about the journey” whatever, except the actual journey towards the non-existent climax is about as fruitful as an average expedition in The Oregon Trail. Masamune, being a charming young lad, simply oozes with swagger and sex appeal. Yes, this little piggy got /fit/, and now every teenage girl within a five-mile radius wants to bang him. But instead, Masamune would rather reject these fine 2D women and chase after the dumb ugly bitch so he can end up rejecting her too. You know, even though chasing after one girl for your entire high school life is probably the worst thing you can do as a high schooler, I can respect Masamune for being so determined to work towards his goal. You know, IF THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

And while you sit back and watch Masamune make irritating decisions, Masamune-kun will do its damndest to make you laugh. If you love WITTY ANIME HUMOR then this is about as much WITTY ANIME HUMOR as you could possibly need. Characters overreact because their actual personalities can’t carry the scene, people often compare scenarios to those seen in anime and manga, and the main character comments on so many things in his head that the Fine Bros would’ve sued Silver Link a year ago. No, I’m not saying you should feel bad for finding these things funny. I’m just saying that I didn’t. Masamune-kun doesn’t have any strong nor original jokes, and the only thing I can say about its general style of comedy is that it’s “very anime”. The ONE joke I actually laughed at is Masamune’s mom looking like a five-year-old girl, because it's so weird and illogical and out there that I just kinda like it. Doctors HATE her!

That’s really what I could say about Masamune-kun in general, it’s “very anime”: A decent but not particularly unhealthy dose of “underage” partial nudity, the leading female as a high-and-mighty bitch quee--I mean tsundere, an oblivious main character, and a high school containing all the silliness. Masamune-kun never sets out to break the mold or add anything new, although a twist ending would’ve been nice. Maybe at the end of the series, Masamune could’ve said “ha, PRANK’D” and dunked Adagaki Aki into a shark tank as his way of getting revenge. You know. Just a suggestion. Any sort of revenge plot would’ve been nice to see. But anyway, Masamune-kun just wants to be a plain high school rom-com. And you know what? I’m okay with that. For most of the season, Masamune-kun failed to evoke a single reaction from me. Nope, not one. I watched episode after episode week after week and didn’t crack a smile, didn’t have any particular thoughts, didn’t twitch an eyebrow, didn’t slit my wrists, nothing. It was a perfectly acceptable five out of ten, and if it sounds negative, it's actually something that I am 100% okay with.

But then something happened later.

Now, the lack of delivery on Masamune-kun’s part is bad enough. Since I keep mentioning it, I really don’t like the fact that it doesn’t bring about the ending it promises. But before that cuckening even ignites, we get this abysmal “final” arc where an actual antagonist is brought in. No, the antagonist is not Adagaki Aki, it’s just a random kid who looks like Masamune when he was fat, and he’s to take Adagaki Aki’s hand in marriage as some sort of business arrangement or something. So, this kid is an obstacle for Masamune to tackle so he can not get his revenge.

The problem is that I’m expected to believe this is a bad thing.

I don’t care about Masamune. He’s not an interesting character. I like the fact that he was a fat kid who ended up getting buff, and uhhhhhhhhhh, yep that’s pretty much it. Beyond this, he’s just a high school protagonist who gets a small harem that’s still big enough to include a trap, because that’s WITTY ANIME HUMOR. I don’t care about his revenge plot either. Yeah, I would kinda like to see it, but I also see it as something worth giving up. Masamune has almost nothing to lose by not getting his revenge; all that happens as a result is that he’ll feel a little bested by that one prick from his childhood--who the hell cares, anyway? Just leave that shit in the past--if you want, you can aggressively bang one of the eighteen billion other girls in school and think of Badagaki the whole time. I’d watch that hentai. Or anime. Or cartoon. Or attack helicopter. Whatever the community is arguing about. Hey, isn’t that what that shitstorm Scum’s Wish is doing, anyway?

Yet, despite these things, Masamune-kun thinks I do actually care about Masamune’s endgame, ‘cuz he’s the main character and all. So this lookalike dude is apparently a bad thing. And to that, I say…

Fuck you.

Masamune-kun actually made me angry at this point of the story, because this abominable terrorist is a nice kid who just wants to do the right thing. He’s sucked into the marriage just like Whaki is, but his intentions are angelically good. He even approaches Adagaki’s friends in private to clear up any misconceptions they have, because he truly respects his to-be bride. What’s the problem? Yeah, Adagaki Aki is an obnoxious bitch who deserves to trip and fall into a vat of rotten donkey milk. But you know what they say: bitches ain’t shit. Why do we gotta worry about them so much? Just let them go. She might’ve embarrassed a few people in brutal ways (even though they were all basically fedora tippers so they got what they deserved), but it’s not like she throws rocks at kittens and steps on fennec foxes in her free time. She’s not so horrible that she NEEDS a taste of her own shit.

I’m just baffled at how completely pointless Masamune-kun’s Revenge is. Really, all it needed to do was set up this grand revenge, but instead it insisted on taking this weird detour so that it could evolve the romance. Give me a break. I didn’t want to see that in the first place. Not just because I’m expecting a revenge plot, but also because I don’t like these two characters, and seeing them form a relationship isn’t satisfying. In fact, Adagaki Aki is meant to be unlikable, so why would I want the main character to date her? She’s supposed to be the villain, but then at the last minute they throw in this secret side of her that actually found fat Masamune to be attractive?? What???? All of the sudden the revenge plot is gone, so now she needs to be presented as likable. Ten episodes is a bit too late to change my mind on someone’s personality. It’s also too late to rewrite the entire show. Man, I thought I avoided the new Rewrite this season.

The other thing about Adagaki Aki that strikes me as odd is how she’s supposed to be the most beautiful and magnificent creature in the entire world; that world being the high school. They demonstrate this by showing people I don’t care about saying that she’s beautiful. Adagaki Aki in the flesh has a fairly tall and slender figure with a sharp face and uh… oh yeah, NOTHING. Remember, this is the most beautiful girl in the entire school, according to literally everybody in the school. So the anime then dumps all of the jiggle physics and panty shots onto Aki’s sidekick, a maid girl with short hair and big tits voiced by Inori Minase. Now that's some good casting. Good job, Silver Link.

If this were a live-action series with actual human beings and all of their many physical flaws, these comments wouldn’t exist as Adagaki Aki could look like an actually attractive person with as few flaws as possible. But when you have an anime (or manga) where every character is painstakingly drawn to be beautiful and perfect and eye-catching to the audience, I have no idea how I’m supposed to believe that any single one of them are considered attractive in comparison to the others. I guess if you have a domination fetish, yeah, Aki’s your girl, but if you’re one of… *ahem* THOSE people… then you might prefer Mr. Boipussy~ over there with the weird yellow pluses in his or her eyes. Why is that a thing.

Anyway, my point is the character designs all suck and that NotRem is the better girl because her tits are bigger. Masamune doesn’t even look muscular despite that being his entire character, but whatever.

You might think that the lack of strong character designs could imply more movement, but if you believe that then you probably thought that Masamune would get his revenge, didn’t you. No, there’s not any single bit of interesting art direction or animation or anything. It takes place in a boring school with a decent dress code--the boys’ uniforms look a little unusual with the yellow and dark blue color scheme, but calling them garish would be extreme. The girls’ uniforms are equally decent at the top, but the yellow skirts are a weird combination.

“shut up lux who cares”
Me.

Now, the soundtrack is an interesting sort of entity. For the most part, it’s obnoxiously loud and mind-shreddingly irritating, but in a way that could’ve possibly been ideal. The OST places heavy emphasis on each scene, making simple decisions more dramatic and making characters more imposing than they actually are. The bigger problem is that the art direction is completely lifeless and boring, making the grandiose soundtrack utterly pointless. If the show looked as intense and excessive as it sounds, this could've made things funnier in a way that Nichijou has mastered, but of course that wouldn't happen. I hope Silver Link gave the composer a nice participation ribbon for his effort, he deserves it.

The OP and ED suck. I don’t have anything to say about them because I skipped them every episode except the first, because they’re completely boring. Too bad I couldn’t skip the entire show tho. Next.

Oh wait, that’s all I need to say.

Masamune-kun could’ve been a strong four to a light five, which I’m okay with, and I could’ve let it go about its business without a care in the world… but the complete lack of delivery alone brings it down to a 2, a number I use to notate something that’s SLIGHTLY watchable, because you could argue that Masamune-kun is a decent and funny rom-com even though it should be a revenge story.

The non-existent ending and last few episodes just pissed me off so much that I need to let myself go and burn everything in my path. Damn you, Masamune-kun, let it be known I shall have my own revenge by posting this 2228-word review on a Western database not seen by anyone significant in the industry, for it’s currently the only platform I have to post upon! Muahahahahaha!!!!

Story - 1/10
Art - 2/10
Sound - 4/10
Character - 2/10
Enjoyment - 2/10
Revenge - 0/10
Overall - 2.25/10 (Range: 1.75 - 3.0)
Favorite episode - 8
Favorite character - Legal Loli Mom
Recommendation level - Very low

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This is a story about... revenge?



Masamune-kun no Revenge is definitely an anime that gives enough to talk about. Just by reading the synopsis you get attracted and curiosity makes you watch it, and what do you find? Masamune wants revenge. Why? Because his feelings were rejected as a child. How will he do that? Wasting his life finding the chick who rejected him, and then wasting even more time making her love him back to reject her and breake her heart. Wow, how mature of his part!

This is supposed to be a romantic comedy, so the plot should not be taken so seriously, but that's the main problem. While it has comical moments, the serie wants you to take the revenge issue (the main focus the serie gives) as something totally serious and justified, which fully collides with the fact that the serie is EXTREMELY CLICHE. Having cliches is not the problem, as long as they are used in a way that makes something entertaining to watch at the very least; this is not the case, the "serious" revenge issue is contradicted by cliches, ending up in a ridiculous, pitiful and generic development, since the revenge gradually fades off to make way to the inevitable: Masamune and Aki end up falling in love, then the serie resorts to plot devices out of nowhere in order to force the revenge and introduce unnecessary drama (Gasou and the moron bodyguard trio), because we already know how this will end, as the synopsis itself tells you: "However, his friendship with Aki begins to grow, Masamune begins to question the objectives of his devious plans".

All this also carries the fact that, with the passage of time, the goal of revenge disappears, leaving the serie's main focus as a nonsense, and emphasizing how poor and predictable the development is. But do you know what's the worst part? At the end, nothing happened! Revenge? No. Real love? No. Absolutely nothing happened. THIS is the real nonsense...

Some people defend this serie saying the initial approach to the revenge is something original and rarely seen among other animes of this genre... Which is true, but no matter how original the approach is, if its development is disastrous and it's supported by cliches, then the serie will end up being more of the same with other condiments, exactly what happened here. In this sense the serie reminds me to Oregairu, where it pretends to be something different from the usual and ends up falling in more of the same already seen in other animes of the genre.



But if there is anything worse than the poor plot development, those are the characters. EVERYBODY AND EACH OF THEM are awful. Starting with the central axis: the protagonist. In the case of many romantic comedies (with or without harem), no matter how fun it is or how nice the girls are, if the protagonist is insufferable, the serie becomes insufferable too, albeit this obviously depends on how much focus it gives to him. In this case, the whole serie is shown from Masamune's perspective, so it's expected this character to be interesting or likable at least. Of course, it's not the case. I will not deny that Masamune stands out for not being your typical dense loser harem MC, and his internal monologues add some depth to the plot and the character in general, but a lot of people think that this, and only this, make him a good character, which is false:

-His revenge motive is stupid: as a child he was a target of bullying, and when he met someone who accepted him, he was rejected by that person, which motivated him to change. This is actually not bad, but this change was driven merely by the fact of wanting revenge and not by personal improvement. Not to mention all the time wasted on something so empty. Also, just by getting fit he thinks he matured, how innocent...

-His narcissistic attitude is both annoying and unnecessary. It's possible to show self-confidence without resorting to narcissism. Besides, the serie focuses TOO MUCH on how every girl that appears on screen drools for him (something VERY ridiculous to see), feeding more his ego. As if they wanted to force his philosophy of "only handsome boys win in life", or narcissism was a necessary and obligatory part of his characterization.

-His personality is ambiguous, and changes at script convenience. He goes from being bold and self-confident (supported by the aforementioned narcissism), to an insecure boy who is afraid even of talking to a girl, and gets lost in his own plans. Basically, he turns in that typical dense loser harem MC for moments. Where is the supposed maturity he was talking about? A very bland characterization, and a very bad written character in every way.



Then we have Aki, "The Cruel Princess". The girl who is cruel to everyone but is actually insecure and has a "cute side" with chibi faces included to make up for her bitch side so half world can treat her as waifu... This is by far the worst character in the whole serie, and one of the worst "tsunderes" I've ever seen. A poorly written character, with a shallow and non-existent development, and a very insufferable attitude that changes to the script convenience, as well as Masamune. Her motives for being cruel are quite questionable and her current personality doesn't go according to them. Her attitude contrasts with her "feed me with 20kg of food while I make moe faces" and "I want you to kiss me or tell me you like me... but you're still a piece of crap. Get away, you scum!" traits. The worst thing is that, I insist, the serie wants you to take this bitch side so badly written seriously to justify Masamune's revenge.

Similarly, the way her attitude goes from being aggressive to being totally passive according to Masamune's plans is quite fictional (again, as the plot forcibly requires it), and from one moment to another she goes aggressive again. You can't see an actual evolution on her, how her hard exterior breaks and she reveals her dere side little by little. No. you see how she changes from "tsun" to "dere" in a very fake way when the setting requires it. This is not to be "hard in the outside, fragile in the inside" as normal tsunderes, and neither is a gap moe, this is to be hard and fragile at the same time, a mixture of personalities, as if they didn't know how to give her a fixed characterization, and it remains as something that changes conveniently. Something that is demonstrated in Chapters 4 and 5, for example, hell, even Masamune himself says it in Chapter 9!

And if all that was not enough, she ditched all this tiny characterization with Gasou's coming. What happened to what she said about "I always hurt people so they don't hurt me"? Someone who said to have changed and promised not to fall in love, said to hate men and rejects everyone in a cruel way, then falls in love instantly... That's plain stupid. Even if she thinks this is the Masamune of her childhood, it's not justified if she said she has changed. This is just to force the plot in a terrible last minute plot twist. Now do you see what I meant with ït changes at the script convenience"? I insist: the worst character in the serie, and one of the worst "tsunshits", because she doesn't even deserve to be called as a "normal tsundere".



Watching this pair of protagonists interacting is a real cringe festival. Their "love-hate" relationship feels so forced, so poorly executed and without any sort of charisma. However, in most of chapter 6, Aki does not show up, so there was not much of this interaction and revenge issue was barely touched. They also explored better the relationships between Masamune and the other characters, which was kinda nice to see. In the same way, in chapter 9, where a fairly mature discussion happened between Masamune and Neko, and then some comic relief among the other characters, again, the revenge issue was not touched. These two chapters were the most tolerable ones of the entire serie. Coincidence? I don't think so…



Yoshino is the typical clumsy and moe kuudere who has a "dark side". That stereotype has always seemed illogical and senseless to me, since you can't take this dark side seriously (again, what the serie tries to do) with a deadpan chick who barely talks and keeps falling down showing the pantsu. Nonetheless, she is arguably the most decent character in the serie, her role is actually interesting and adds to the plot, even her actions can be unpredictable and leave to the expectation... But her characterization is not, and makes you quickly lose a little interest in her. I also dare to say she is maybe one of the most decent Inori Minase characters, something that is not very difficult to actually achieve...



Neko is the top of the cliche between the characters: a generic rich girl who falls down from the sky and then immediately falls in love with MC "just because", and in the end, she will be the first friendzoned girl from the harem (well, that was the class rep)... So many cliches and so little creativity in a single character! literally she is a Tachibana 2.0. Even is just as sickly! She seems to have no personality beyond Masamune. What is the real reason why she loves him so desperately? "Because he is kind"? Albeit she said her motives, those are not enough justification to why she loves him with such determination. The only answer I find is: because the plot says, and they need another waifu bait that shows love interest in him so the story doesn't feel so linear, even when her intervention didn't contribute significantly anything more than the classic Team War. It's worth clarifying, that I think her rejection was right (although Masamune's motives remain stupid), after all, we are talking about a liar who is in love with him for questionable reasons, the logical thing to do is refuse. After that, we were shown a conversation between them where they clarified their motivations in a kinda clear way, showing maturity from both characters and a good management of the subject of a love rejection. Point for Masamune and the serie in general, because not everything has to be "That stupid Masamune should accept her... Because she's my waifu!... And she's the best girl... And... And she kissed him!"



There were other characters we can summarize with a simple archetype, like the genki girl (it's a shame she has fallen in love with an idiot like Masamune who, aside from rejecting her, he didn't care about and only increased his ego, more negative points for this character), the trap, the loli and the sassy sister. We also have Gasou... Who shouldn't even count as a character, since he has no characterization, he's literally a plot device with legs (and a very forced one), someone who only got introduced to set up unnecessary drama and force the disastrous plot development even more, like Aki's "bodyguards" trio, stereotyped girls that only showed up at the end to works as a wall between the inevitable. A whole cast of characters with almost no glow or charm. I don't ask for complex characters or deep development, only likable characters, according to what the serie tries to be. They don't have to be 100% original either, but that doesn't mean they have to be archetypes already seen a thousand times pasted on it without subtlety and basically any change.



There is no reason to talk about the audiovisual aspects: nice but generic designs, decent quality, an acceptable but very forgettable soundtrack. The important general aspects of the serie are pitiful, the comedy, even when it made me laugh in several occasions (after all I enjoy this genre), is just cringe most of the time, and characters are mediocre and horribly written. The plot from the beginning is ridiculous and stupid even when it sounds attractive in lyrics, and after focusing on it in a serious way (because I insist that this is what the series tried, even with all comedy in the middle), the minimum to be expected is an acceptable development, but this is lousy. It's worth mentioning that I usually like harems no matter how generic they are, as long as the girls AND the MC are charismatic and interesting. This is not the case. This will undoubtedly endure as one of the worst romantic comedies I've ever seen, only surpassed by Nisekoi.

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There are a lot of things that factor into creating a well-rounded enjoyable anime title. It’s a combination of the story writing, uniqueness, sounds and animation poured into the creation of the work that produces that golden quality to it. But there’s another category that needs to be touched upon to create a good anime and that is characters. Smart intellectual characters and ones that strive from the common cheap use of stereotypes make a title memorable due to the unique ways these characters are presented through dialogue and interaction. Your characters are the fore-front in the anime, they are the lens the viewer experiences the story through, and so having them well fleshed out and smartly written enhances the experience for the viewer.

But contrary to my statement listed above, “Masamune-kun’s Revenge” brings nothing smart to the table. In concept the show is about some revenge plan thought out by a prepubescent child after getting rejected when he was about 6 years old, a “lovers” squabble that has lasted around a decade, why is he so angered that he can’t move on in life and accept fate? I doubt we will ever know. Our main character Makabe; is optimistic in his revenge plans. Accompanied with tedious actions and that cocky and cool attitude that make me want to fist the table in rage whenever he’s on screen, he makes Subaru look like the second-coming of Christ in comparison. Having a likeable main character should be what many anime strive to portray, this is the character we are supposed to be rooting for and hoping his plans go to success. (if we can scuttle through the ridiculous idea of the plan in the first place that is) stereotypes may piss you off after seeing that same trope rehashed over and over again over many titles of anime, but having a character who is un-bearable to watch due to his unintentional cringe aspects really burdens the show down a lot. His whole “revenge plan” is some of the stupidest shit I have seen in my life, who honestly gives a fuck if he was rejected years prior, his character just comes off as immature but not in the good sense.

Hey I’m sure immature characters can be enjoyable to watch at times but Makabe emits the entire opposite enjoyment of that, he’s unlikeable, unfunny and one dimensional all around, I really don’t see the appeal of having this guy being the perspective we enjoy the show through. Next we have the evil, misandristic; Adagaki Aki or better known as “text-book tsundere.” She’s the main target and antagonist of Masamune-kun’s Revenge. Though has more characterisation to her compared to our main character, and is overall a better more tolerable character to watch; even if she may just be pretty stereotypical. She is the stated “antagonist” of the show, but due to her past and better development in helping us understand her she becomes greater than Makabe. Overall the cast is a bunch of dumb, unlikeable assholes which are painful to watch.

Though I’ve only touched upon the surface of characters, alongside the two main characters we have some more terribly written side characters. Firstly; Yoshino Koiwai who is the most enjoyable out of the bunch; and no that’s not just because she is voiced by Inori Minase, she serves as the “master” role for Makabe and plans to assist him in his execution of his dumbfounded revenge plan. She’s cute, and funny at times that’s about it. Then we have Neko Fujinomiya who is another rich girl, but she’s mysterious, she knows Makabe prior, but Makabe does not recall ever meeting her. But to be honest I bet if you had an encounter with Makabe he would forget you within the next ten minutes of your conversation (evident in how he forgot of Yoshino’s existence entirely.) Then to top that off we have weird Lolita mom who tries serving Makabe food but whenever there is over a certain amount of calories he becomes extremely triggered by the situation due to him trying to keep up his muscular fit body to impress the ladies. Oh and introduced near the end we have this painfully un-needed and unlikeable fat kid and the SJW brigade who turn to illegal acts to stop the straights and turn Aki into a lesbian man-hater.

The weaknesses of these said characters is most evident in their interaction; there’s always an awkward pause mid-conversation. With Makabe’s one track mind on the path to revenge nothing said to him ever enters his mind and flies past him; he may have recollection of those words but prefers to ignore those after a while and snap back into his revenge mind-set. The drama in this anime is god damn awful as well; it is impossible to take seriously with the nature of the show and is just as awkward as every other character interaction; bland, stupid and un-meaningful. Most of it is started by Makabe’s dumb irrational attitude constantly messing things up; he can’t fix the problems because he is so mindless on top of that and the quite common “comedic” part where he falls over constantly.


Aside from this the show does have some redeemable capabilities that don’t drag the show down into devastation. For the most part the animation is pretty decent; it’s of course nothing special but the bright colours help with the lively atmosphere of some dumb-founded romance revenge plan, so it’s a pleasant sight to the eye for this factor. Its atmospheric shots are pleasant of course bringing light to sights that look pretty generic in terms of animation as a whole but work well.

For the sound department we are met with an “odd” soundtrack to say the least; nothing really stands out and sticks in your head; but overall it weirdly goes along with the shows sense of direction; the opening theme: “Wagamama MIRROR HEART” hypes up the show and creates brilliant anticipation; which is how I found myself watching this show in the first place, and contrast to the opening “Elemental World” provides a calm yet upbeat theme to lead out the show.

I understand that this anime is simply here to provide a romance comedy; but the problem for me is it wasn’t funny, compared to other romance comedies, the effect and experience I gained from this was weak, and of course mainly because of my statement against the characters of the show which drag down the quality. But even if this was intentional and I am just over analysing this; the show really did not work for me. The show is obviously enjoyable, even if I’m hesitant at watching each episode most of the time provides a decent experience with not the best enjoyment the show could have produced but not enough to create a bitter taste of disgust when watching. On top of that the show features an anti-climactic ending which I will not delve into here; but there’s a possibility that the show will receive a second season.

Overall; Masamune-kun’s short comings lie in trying to create a decent romance/comedy which falls flat due to its unbearable main character and generic side characters. But the side dishes to the show create decent sides to the anime which stop it from plummeting down into the abyss. If you want a bright show with some mutual redeeming factors and decent enjoyment, look no further than this show. There are of course many greater titles out there, but I’m sure if you are the average Joe who doesn’t really care much for the criticisms against this show you will find this for the most part enjoyable. If you do care about the above; I advise you to move on, as this offers nothing new.

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Since there are only 4 episodes out, I will be giving my first impressions for this anime.

Masamune-kun's Revenge seems at face value, the virtue of blandness. A plot of blurb that anyone can read so generically and your typical protagonist. However, I don't find that to be the case as I actually find the protagonist quite likable. The revenge theme is also something that rarely happens in the romance genre so the plot isn't exactly linear and boring.

Masamune-kun's Revenge is interesting as it is able to take a rehashed idea and execute it with the sort of panache that leaves you wanting more. By the end of the first episode, I was left speculating about what directions the anime could take. The second, third and fourth episodes are also pretty decent so far.

The music of the romance genre is notorious for being generic. The OP and ED animation sequences are overdone-to death cuts from your typical romance anime. They are either happy-go-lucky or sad depending on the sub-genre. However, the songs accompanying this anime are actually ringtone-worthy.

The art and the animation in a simple sentence, I would say it’s not at all masterpiece level, but it is gorgeous. I have no complaints here. The character designs look very appealing which I also have no issue with at all.

All in all, Masamune-kun's Revenge is an anime I will definitely be seeing through this to the end, even if it ends up going downhill later on.

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Watching Masamune-kun no Revenge (Masamune’s Revenge) feels like listening to a depressing story from a friend that got terminated from their dream job. I can’t exactly say this show is something for everyone. It’s a dramedy teen soap opera that some will find entertaining while others will leave with the thought of never getting their time back. Listen. This show isn’t really hard to understand but to appreciate it? That’s another story.

Adapted from the manga of the same name, the series is pretty straightforward. Well, it is straightforward at first glance considering the premise. You got this hot main male protagonist (Masamune Makabe) who is popular, handsome, athletic, and pretty much the IT guy that every woman wants to get their hands on. Except of course, he was totally the opposite before. When he was a kid, Masamune used to be fat, unpopular, and subject to being bullied. To add to the injury? A girl he used to have a crush on rejected him while giving him the cruel nickname, “Pig’s Foot”. You can probably guess Masamune didn’t take that well so he is set out to commit the ultimate revenge against Aki Adagaki, the girl who wronged him.

First things first, while the show sounds like it can be a potentially heavy drama show, it’s really more of a lighthearted romantic comedy. Sure, it has the ingredients for cooking up a melancholic heavy story but it’s really not much so throughout the course of the series. Viewers will come to understand that revenge is far more complicated than how Masamune plans out. Every episode serves as a step forward or backward for Masamune in his plans. And while we also find out more about the characters, the series likes to have fun often with what it has to offer.

However, I can’t exactly say fun is a term to describe while watching the characters in their roles. Masamune Makabe is a straightforward guy that shows a bit of narcissism. Don’t believe me? Just watch what he does in the morning before going to school or how he eats his food. In the meantime, there’s Aki Agadaki, a character that many viewers will probably dislike from the start. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Aki is a make or break factor for the fans to drop this series. With a cruel personality (she’s even nicknamed “Cruel Princess” at school) and has a hobby of tormenting others, the show seems to intentionally make people hate her. I would also say that she’s a spoiled brat as her reliance on Yoshino (her personal maid) is very evident. So at this point, you’re probably asking yourself “Should I really watch this?”

At its core, Masamune no Revenge emphasizes on relationship developments and how Masamune’s story develops as context gets more and more complicated. This includes the appearance of other characters. I’ve already mentioned Yoshino but viewers will also discover that she is more than she appears to be. Neko Fujinomiya, a transfer student also enters the story and formulates what viewers may designate as a generic love triangle. On top of that, the show seems to be saturated with generic characters. From best friend trap to fujoshi, this show pulls the oldest gags from the book. Still, Masamune can actually be a decent character once you see through his flaws. Although he is narcissistic, he isn’t necessarily a cruel person. In fact, he is actually an ideal character that anyone would want to be friends with. Hanging out with the most popular guy at school gives social status and Masamune is a symbolic image of that. At times, Masamune also shows genuine concern for his friends and even comes to aid of total strangers. Unlike Aki, Masamune’s relationship with others isn’t always one sided either.

Speaking of relationships, what can you really expect from this show? At its core, Aki and Masamune’s relationship is perhaps the most complicated. There’s mind games going on between the two in almost every segment. While Aki often asserts herself to be the superior individual, Masamune’s clever tactics helps him understand her better. The two even goes out on dates and some episode shows that Aki has a vulnerable side to her as well. On the other hand, Masamune’s relationship with others are generally casual, friendly, and straightforward. He gets along well with most people such as his best friend Kojuro Shuri, transfer student Neko, and close friend Tae Futaba. As he is a handsome guy, Masamune is also the ideal image of girls at his school. The only other complicated relationship he has with is with Yoshino. In retrospect, the relationships in this show is nothing impressive and on the surface level, you can probably discover them in any romantic comedy literature or on TV.

As a manga reader, I confess that the series didn’t do justice in adapting the show. While it starts off in the right direction, certain parts of the story is cut off while other parts are overemphasized. In addition, the opening song is very spoilerish and a degeneration of crafty storytelling. As such, I express not only disappointment at the length of the series but also at what they really adapted. On the other hand, the comedy of the series can be entertaining at times. Popcorn entertainment might be a better way to put it as we see how the characters interact under certain circumstances. Remember, this series is lighthearted and not something for mature audiences.

If there’s one major thing they handled right, it would be the art direction. I have to admit, Tiv (the author of the series) has a talent at creating attractive characters. Silver Link brings that attractiveness in full color and animation. In general, the show has a decent production and every main character has their physical appeal. Fan service appears from time to time ranging from full commando scenes or the infamous beach episode. Putting that aside, Masamune no Revenge is a pretty show.

There’s not much impression I can say about the overall soundtrack or the music. It just seems to be there and does its job although easily forgettable. The OP and ED theme songs reflects the show’s theme and agendas while dropping many hints at the storytelling. Finally, there’s the voice acting, something that I found to be slightly above average yet nothing too impressive overall. Ironically, I find Aki’s voice to be the best performed as the character really does sound like a cruel princess. The way she speaks to others with her sarcastic tone while mocking others fits her personality just right.

So by the time you’re reading this part, you’re probably thinking a lot of things on your mind. Just know this though, Masamune no Revenge is still a romantic comedy regardless how the premise appears to be. Revenge is a controversial word and for some of us, it’s something we may even have experienced or want to inflict upon someone we have intense feelings towards. For Masamune, it’s his story and one that begins with his revenge.

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You might be thinking, “Ugh, is this just another typical harem anime?!” Well, to that I say, “Yeah. It is…" But, at the same time, "No. It isn’t.” Let me explain why without spoilers:

The reason why I say “yes” is because if you’ve seen a few harem anime before, you will most likely be able to predict how the story will end from the first episode. There's no concluding ending (probably because it's setting the stage for a second season). This series reminds me a lot of Nisekoi: the story isn't too amazing and doesn't stand out too much, so you most likely won't like them if it you don't like harem anime in general. The reason why I say “no” is because this isn’t actually a typical harem anime because Masamune-kun (main guy) does actually turn down potential love interests in this season. Also, the route that masamune-kun takes to get to the ending is a new one that I haven’t seen in any other other harem-like anime, but the characters are all pretty much dumbasses in romance. The story's not bad unless you really just don't like harem anime.

TL;DR at the end

Story: 7/10
The story is actually pretty good and relatively unique among harem anime, but it's not anything spectacularly different at all. For example, this anime’s plot is a bit special because rather than trying to find his old love interest and win her over to live happily ever after, Masamune-kun actually trains to become a very “hot” and “muscular” guy that seeks to win her love... and then he wants wreck her (Adagaki Aki’s) feelings as revenge for rejecting him as a kid while giving him the nickname “piggy”. Luckily, she doesn’t recognize him, but she is extremely difficult to win over since she is well-known for turning down everybody that asks her out and giving them terrible nicknames.

The story starts out with a series of convenient coincidences and some random one-time only pantyshots occur (did somebody say plot convenience panty shots?! mmm... my favorite…), he then discovers an embarrassing secret about Adagaki Aki that actually makes it too risky for her to just give him a bad nickname, which sets the groundwork for this series’ progression. There are a good amount of plot twists, which allows the anime to put you through the wringer with suspense occasionally. The pacing was great, the comedy was entertaining, so I really believe that the story deserves an 7/10.

Art: 7/10
The art’s not particularly impressive. The background art’s pretty good and relatively detailed, but I don’t think the characters were detailed and/or expressionate enough for me to give this category a higher score. The visual effects, angles, and lighting were all pretty good. The animation’s frame rate is low enough that you can see some lack of fluidity, but it’s fluid enough that you probably won’t be able to notice it unless you really look for it.

Sound: 9/10
The characters are all voiced well and their actors/actresses fill the roles very well. The music in this series is great! This is another factor that I think sets this anime apart from other harem anime. The background music style ranges from this one dramatic flamboyant orchestral piece that sounds like music played when a really fat noble is walking, to other orchestral and harpsichord pieces that are all just generally pretty great background music overall. The opening fits the anime and sounds pretty good. The ending sounds pretty generic, but also fits. Sound effects are good enough. Overall, I think the sound deserves a 9/10 overall.

Character: 7/10
I actually enjoyed the characters in this series. Masamune’s character actually sucks pretty badly (because he turned down best girl), but all jokes aside he’s a pretty solid character and is actually pretty funny. Adagaki Aki is pretty much just a generic small breasted tsundere, but she’s not voiced by Rie Kugimiya, so that’s always a plus. Koiwai Yoshino… she’s essential to the plot and has lots of PLOT material herself (if you know what I mean). The characters get pretty well-developed by the end, but they are still pretty generic. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the characters in this series.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall, I think the series was pretty entertaining. The story kept me in suspense as we watched Masamune kun teeter on the edges of getting caught during his revenge and all of the various plot twists that came up. It was actually a pretty enjoyable series to watch!

TL;DR
Overall: 7/10
At first glance, Masamune-Kun seems like a generic harem anime but it has elements that sets it apart from other harem anime: while the characters are indeed generic, the story line has a major difference from other common generic harem anime (it reminded me of Nisekoi, but without Shaft’s studio skills). This is definitely one of the better harem anime out there, so I feel that it does deserve a 7/10. The art’s good, the characters are good, the music’s great, and the concept of revenge sets this anime apart from other harem anime.

Bottom line: Should you watch this?
If you like harem anime, then of course.
If you want to see an unusual harem anime, then yeah.
If you like dramatic romance anime, then ehh you can give it a shot... but both the drama and the romance weren’t really central elements of this anime.
If you like tsundere small breasted characters, well… this series has you covered.
If you’re looking for some mesmerizing inspirational story or serious anime romance, drama, or anything other than a romantic-harem-comedy, you’re definitely in the wrong place.

Hope this helps you decide! If it didn’t help, or you disagree, feel free to let me know by sending me a message so I can be better next time!

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Yeaaah ... It's not that good... but it's not completely bad. Just really average.

The story of Masamune-kun is pretty much your generic RomCom harem anime but a little twist in it. Masamune is trying to hook up with the ''Cruel Princess'' to dump her later and getting his revenge on her. Why ? Just read the synopsis, it's not really worth to write about it again here. Fair enough, this could be potentially good but you can pretty much see miles away what's going to happen next and its filled with cliché. Also the comedy in it is really hit or miss.

However, episode 4 gave me good hopes that maybe it's going the right way with the story ... but something at the end of the episode pretty much ruined the development between Masamune and Aki and at this point, looks like its going to be a good old love triangle/harem thing with some drama in it. Definitly was not a good time to introduce it and its more annoying than anything else.

Also, Yoshino, Aki's maid, is pretty interesting. Can't really say too much though because.. spoilers. But she's definitly one of the 2 reason that i keep watching it.
Oh yeah, we have a trap and Masamune's mom is a loli. Of course.

The art and animation are pretty decent, nothing to write home about but Silver Link. does a good enough job. They definitly has done better though. Most of the girls designs are nice, specially Yoshino. Masamune's design is pretty disappointing since he looks like a protagonist from a generic light novel.

The music in the anime is pretty average. The OST does it's job but nothing really standout so far. The Opening is your usual RomCom opening. The ending song by Choucho is pretty nice thought.

Sooo, is it enjoyable ? For me not really. But i'm still going to watch it since i'm still interested enough to see where this goes right now. Wouldn't be surprised if they do the predictable route of Masamune not getting his revenge and actually end up with Aki though. I also want to know more about Yoshino and see what's going to happen with her since its pretty much the only character that i still enjoy to watch.

So yeah, right now i'm at episode 4 and it's pretty much average.

5/10.

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I know most of you people didnt like the anime probably bcu of the way it ended. I agree, the ending was not justified in the anime nd its one of the reason why so many criticized this anime. I will tell you one thing, if you're a hater it means you were actually hooked with this anime till the last season, it just shows that you were liking the story as it was ongoing. Look, dont hate me, i respect your opinion , but there are many just like me who are really attached with this anime. When you guys give it low rating nd talk meanly bout this anime then it hurts our feelings.

I really liked this anime as it has a story line which is so unique. Two main reason why I like this anime so much, nd am still hooked with the story is cuz:
1. The characters and there unique personality. I like the character of MC, nd ofc the female protagonist, aki.
2. Story: Never have i ever imagined a story and concept which is present in this anime. absolutely loved this story. I've never seen such an interesting concept and story like in this anime.
A guy tried to take revenge from his old crush who rejected him during childhood, and ultimately falls in love with her again unexpectedly. But this time the love in not one sided anymore. WOW. Just hoping for season 2 anyday.

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Seriously an amazing anime. Yes, it is cliche at times, and yes its cringe. but I find it very relatable. A highschool boy searching through manga or magazines for tips and tricks to impress the girl he likes even if its for revenge. This is why I've grown to love this anime making me experience feel as if I was living the moment myself. Yes its immature of him to waste 8 years of his life to get built to get this revenge. BUT then again that's what it means to be young and immature. We've all had that thought of wanting to get revenge on someone whos rejected you or dumped to but never have because it would be a waste of time. But this anime did it and its amazing and cliche to see it happen. I do find this anime extremely frustrating leaving us at such a terrible place in the anime to end off, and I hope for a season 2 but find it unlikely.

But you must read the manga to truly get why this anime is so good. Start at chapter 29 as this is how far the anime got up too. I never really liked manga but this was truly worth it. after going through a roller coaster of the story and finishing it off to watch the OVA I'm left sad. wanting more. wanting to see more Adagaki x Makabe. I seriously fell for this anime and its story. Also with its great character design. I seriously think this anime is underrated and is let down heavily by its ending but the manga makes up for it trust me :)

I honestly feel really empty and sad now that I've finished the series. watching the anime then continuing the manga and the after story manga. I want more. I'm lost, I've grown so attached to this show and the character. I wanna just say a massive thank you to everyone who made this masterpiece. The character design and art I think is amazing and will always have a place in my heart and I doubt I will ever find an anime to fill this animes spot in my heart

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Watching this anime is somewhat similar to drinking cheap supermarket cola. It's not outright disgusting, but it leaves a rather unpleasant aftertaste. In effect, Masamune-kun no Revenge is certainly not a terrible anime, but it's not really worth investing time on either.


Story (5/10):
Creating a mediocre anime by throwing in a bunch of tried and tested cliches is a sure fire way to earn some cash (by appealing to the otaku audience), and that's exactly what Silver Link has done here.
The story is absolutely nothing new - a fat kid works out and diets, becomes a pretty-boy and tries to publicly humiliate the girl who rejected him... only to find that he's falling for her. Of course, when he starts getting somewhere, a couple of other girls appear and voila!- a harem is made.
The developments are all rather abrupt and tasteless. It lacks any semblance of flow and the pacing is quite erratic. All put together, the story aspect is average, if not slightly below average.


Art (5/10):
I'm usually not one to criticize an anime for its artwork, but this one has some major issues. The main thing I found is that the character designs were rather weird - the faces and limbs were all elongated beyond an level that could be ignored, so much so that it almost felt like Code Geass. Other than that, the animation was alright and the color palette used was quite bright. Yet again, average.


Sound (6/10):
The sound in Masamune-kun no Revenge was alright. The opening and ending songs were decent, but the voice actors sometimes felt a little emotionless and flat. The soundtrack was rather bland.


Character (2/10):
I'm actually rather impressed with the creators of this series for being able to make characters this weak, while using only the common cliches as raw material. It's not that the characters are terrible or anything - they're just so shallow and two-dimensional that they can't even be taken seriously. I'll give a short description of two of the characters, just to give you an idea of what I mean -

-Makabe Masamune: The 'hero' of the series. Previously a fat kid who was constantly humiliated, he worked extremely hard to improve his appearance. Now that he's hot stuff, he wants to take revenge on the girl who humiliated him in the past... Sounds all well and good, until you find that he starts falling for her within 3-4 episodes. And that's it - That's the entirety of his character, nothing more.

-Adagaki Aki: The one-word description of her is (forgive my language) bitch. She has no positive points other than being rich - as for what draws all those men (including our protagonist) to her, I have absolutely no clue.

Other than those two, there are no characters of any real importance. Then again, having those two as the main characters already makes Masamune-kun no Revenge a failure.


Enjoyment (3/10):
It's extremely difficult to enjoy something you've seen hundreds of times before, but executed far worse than most. I, for one, couldn't go any further than 7 episodes before dropping it (although I would've dropped it long back had I not wanted to review it)


Overall (4.2/10 ~ 4/10):
The end result is that Masamune-kun no Revenge is a mediocre anime which doesn't bring anything new to the table. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone, but if cardboard characters, boring story and somewhat weird artwork is what you're looking for, then by all means, give it a go.

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Sometimes revenge may never be a solution to a problem in the real world. Sometimes, it can make things worse and create a bigger problem. But Masamune wants that revenge, no matter the cost.

I'll be reviewing the episodes as a manga reader. Who is currently following the manga.

Story (8)
Masamune is a person I know I never could be. Becuz of his past with the deadly Cruel Princess Aki Adagaki, he then goes through self improvement and exercising for how many years to make sure that he becomes the hottest Kirit- I mean guy in the anime, and boy does he succeed. All the girls get horny over him, which is quite the success. Masamune wants revenge on Aki, which is technically the whole point of the anime. It shows his process of achieving revenge and obtaining victory over Aki, who oh soever destroyed him in his past. It's time to strike back...

Art (9)
Silver Link never fails to disappoint when it comes to school anime, I say never, but uhh. Yah not never, but I love most of the works they do (However I still haven't forgiven them regarding the Kokoro Connect Voice Actor Prank >:( . Since like 99.9% Of all silver link anime'a have a school genre or setting. The art is Fandibbly Dastic. Good art and very colourful.

Character (8)
Aki- The Bitch
Makabe- Slave of the Bitch
Yoshino- The Hot, Big Breasted Maid
Futaba- The Rejected (rip)
Neko- The Hot, Big Breated Girl THAT SILVER LINK SCREWED UP HER HAIR SHOULD NOT BE THAT COLOR SJDJSKIDFKDENWJ7-72$2);&;' >:(
Kojurrou- That trap with the cute eyes that has clovers in it. Voiced by Saori Hayami (which I swear is in like 80% of Winter 2017 Anime)

These character are nothing incredibly special. But damn are they fun to watch. All you need to know is, Aki is a Dere Bitch, Makabe is not your typical Harem MC. He has a set of balls and doesn't nose bleed when looking at a pair of Yoshino'a HOT PANTIES DAMN HER ASS IS FINE. Whoops, inner horny me came out for a second. *clears throat.* Futaba is that side character that most people love including me. I low key wished she and Makabe became a couple tbh. The Character Interactions are funny and we get to see Aki starting to open to Makabe as the show progresses.

I see why ppl call her a tsundere, but she only hits him like 2 times. After that, the Tsun begins to fade, and it's left with Dere.

Sound (8) OP and ED and BGM'a are great. But sometimes the music over intensifies or over dramatizes the situation (not that I have a problem with that for it adds a nice comedic effect) But no problems here.

Enjoyment (9) As a manga reader, I am satisfied with how the adaptation is going so far. I really hope that they can cover the whole manga for it's about to end soon. I swear it can't be done within 12 episode unless they rush or skip some arcs (with some arcs I'm ok with them skipping .-. ) Cuz in 4 episodes which would be 1/3 of the whole show, Neko was just introduced. Maybe it can be done idk. I just hope they can adapt the whole thing. Unless they end it with concluding OVA'a like Kokoro Connect. Overall. Very enjoyable, (still kinda [just kinda] salty how they identify this as 'Harem') Only like 3 girls like him basically, with on getting rejected in like what episode 2 or 3. So yah, not everyone will like it. But I sure as hell do.

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Yeah, no. I'm not going to force myself to suffer through this anymore. Basically, the anime is about this guy who is putting in all this effort to make a witch fall for him so he can publicly reject her. But of course, he is starting to like her himself.

I read ahead and found out the plot twist but I won't spoil it. In the end, it probably doesn't add much of a twist anyway.

The dropping point for me was with this random Neko chick comes out of nowhere and basically, acts like a slut and doesn't explain herself. I'm not going to stick around to figure out what her deal is.

But honestly, before that, I was sick of Aki's attitude. How are you going to act like you are better than everyone around you when you don't know that it's okay to wear normal clothes to a date?

And the guy is some good looking freak who doesn't know how to play it cool despite looking like a cutie. And constantly calling that idiot maid master? I'm done.

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When I first read the synopsis I was quite interested as this anime seemed pretty unique and I was expecting to be not just your average harem anime but as the anime proceeded I was utterly disappointed. While the anime started off pretty good it started getting dumber and cliched week by week with pointless fanservice.
The major downfall of the anime with the introduction of Neko a.k.a. Marika Tachibana 2.0 as with her introduction this became even more of a generic harem and our Tsundere girl has started acting even more irrational. The protagonist is a narcissist who acts in the most weirdest ways to whom I can't relate in any sense. If this anime keeps on proceeding as it is now then there would really nothing more to be it then your normal harem anime.

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Masamune-kun no Revenge in my opinion was a fine anime that deserved 6 or 7 till the last episode. I enjoyed the characters story was ok and the show wasn't boring.
However the last episode was such a disappointment that I ended up giving the show a 5. The show has left so many thing unanswered so it felt like the ending was just a regular episode and when I realized there was no episode 13 I was shocked.

(After this point review will contain spoilers.)

Last episode felt like writers just changed their mind and decided to end the show halfway through and burned up everything they have worked for up till this point. Masamune completely abandons his revenge plan he worked so hard for without any explanation and changes to a completely different guy. If you are reading this without watching the show, do yourself a favour and stop watching halfway through episode 12. It might not makes sense but if you seen what a mess the last parts were you would have agree with me.

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Unlike most reviewers, I did not come here to rant, although I do have something to rant about. Nevertheless, this anime was not as bad as most people say.

The beginning is clichè; it involves a smart, handsome teen who recently transfers schools. However, there is a twist. He transfers not because of educational reasons or because he got bullied in his old one but because he wants to date a girl and break up with her. What the actual f*ck? Yeah, that was me when I watched it.

Nevertheless, I gave it a try, and it was fine. The flashbacks which were told later on on the anime were really important and I understood the main characters desires at last.

Although his reasons were quite childish and immature, the main character still had his own ambitions and points to prove.

The character development was going very well, until a lot of obstacles came. Things started getting crazy and unorganized. A girl suddenly proposed to the MC, and another guy was about to date the girl. The other guy was a douche, but he deserved to date the girl much more than the main character. The girl was stupid as crap too.

Onto the ranting, I really despised the fact that the main character rejected a cute, perfect wife-material girl who was deeply in love with him to date a tsundere, bully, agressive, unkind, and selfish girl. Honestly, I don't know if the MC is smart or not.

Additionally, if you haven't known, all characters who are not the main ones are plainly stupid. They are just the "extra" characters who only react accordingly without any self-identity.

Nonetheless, this was a fun anime. It is definitely original, and it has pleasurable art and sound. But if you are competent and do things based on common sense, not by your gut, you would find many scenes relatively irritating.

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Masamune-kun no Revenge is another one of those anime which sounds quite interesting on paper, but never comes anywhere close to reaching up to its own potential. What could have been an intriguing story about a man's almost lifelong quest for vengeance through devoted self-improvement and utilization of deceit against the girl who made his childhood a living hell instead ended up being nothing more than a cliché, predictable and rather generic romcom. Ultimately, it only leaves you thinking about what it could have been.

In the distant past, Makabe Masamune was a fat kid who found himself being a victim of bullying from numerous other people his age, but especially bad was the abuse from the spoiled rich girl Adagaki Aki, who among other things gave him the nickname "Pig's Foot" for his chubby appearance. This experience seemingly traumatized Masamune growing up, and he started working hard at improving himself through excessive body training and studying shoujo manga to learn what girls are into when it comes to boys. Many years down the road, Masamune has become a handsome narcissistic asshole by the time he starts high school, where he once again meets Aki. She fails to recognize Masamune due to his drastic change in appearance but he identifies her immediately, and vows to finally have his revenge on her by making her fall in love with him only to cruelly dump her on the spot once she confesses to him. Perfect.

Honestly, if that was all the anime was about, I think I would have liked it quite a lot. Having a smartass MC trying to seduce a cold-hearted bitch, only to then promptly enact his revenge upon her by breaking her heart... I mean it sounds like something really amusing and unique on paper, albeit in a somewhat sadistic way. But unfortunately, that is not how the story plays out at all. In the first four episodes, the story mostly consists of Masamune trying to get closer and closer to Aki with the help of his newfound insider accomplice in Aki's maid Yoshino. We get to learn more about Aki's habits and what she's like as a person, and although he has some difficulties with it, the revenge plan still feels like it is slowly moving forwards. However, with the start of episode five, things quickly start to stagnate as a love rival (Neko) is suddenly brought into the picture and the story turns into a more typical romcom all of a sudden. If this had been a series with a premise designed to be nothing more than that from the start then this would have been fine, but really this story did not need to slowly become a harem. The main plot concept revolves around solely Masamune and Aki, so bringing in outsiders merely results in them coming across as obstacles to the story's progression. More importantly though, at this point the revenge concept is all but gone because since this an anime, our MC and main heroine *obviously* have to end up falling in love with each other. Gone was the interesting original premise, and instead we are left with a narcissist and a bitch crushing on each other, but of course they're both far too dense to realize it, especially Aki. How incredibly original.

Another problem with this is that Aki as a character does not really function very well outside the revenge concept. No matter how you look at it, she is just a terrible person through and through. Even discounting the childhood trauma that she inflicted upon Masamune, in her current high school life she is known as the Cruel Princess: a girl totally abusing every single male person she comes across, giving them offensive nicknames, insulting them, rejecting everyone who tries to be nice to her, and just plain treats them like crap. Why? Well supposedly because some guys had been mean to her in her own childhood as well, but what right does that give her to treat completely unrelated people in such a discriminating way? Her entire character is perfectly suited for the villain role of the original revenge plot, but when she is suddenly forced to become a tsundere love interest romcom-style... it just does not fit her at all. And even more mindboggling, what the hell does Masamune of all people see in her to make him fall in love with her despite everything? What happened to your resolve? Even discounting her current terrible personality, did you also somehow forget about everything she put you through as a kid? You know, the reason you sought revenge in the first place? Just how mentally weak can you be?

On the other hand, while his romantic feelings may be questionable, Masamune can at least be somewhat manly about them at times, as he showcases to great effect in episode eight, which is by far and wide the best episode of the anime. But what does that all amount to? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Whatever strong impact one would have thought that seemingly game-changing episode would have, the anime completely throws it away immediately in the very next episode for seemingly no apparent reason. It felt like the author finally hit the right note for the story without even realizing it himself, and ended up backing on it too quickly. So not only did he first throw away the anime's original potential as a revenge story, but just as it seemed he might actually have successfully converted it into a promising romance story... he throws away that too? Goodness, why? Just what are you trying to do here exactly?

But as if that was not enough, the story then does not just return to the status quo, but it also gets much, much worse. The final three episodes of Masamune-kun no Revenge are simply horrible. I will not spoil any details, but basically at the start of episode 10, a new character called Gasou is introduced whose backstory and mere appearance are so far-fetched it made me twitch my eyebrows. Has the author ever heard of something known as suspension of disbelief? The whole story suddenly starts feeling incredibly implausible, but the way everyone reacts to the situation is even more ridiculous. To begin with Gasou himself is rather tedious to watch in general, but how Aki reacts to his presence is just absurd. It feels like her entire character changes in a split second as if she had some bizarre personality split, and while I technically understand why it happens, that is only a direct consequence of her being unbelievably dense and stupid. How can she possibly not realize the truth? I thought she was supposed to be a pretty smart girl? Again, it all just feels like too much of a plot convenience. And do not even get me started on Aki's so-called "personal guard" and how they decide to interfere with the whole situation for their own absolutely ridiculous reasons, they are just plain annoying and their actions are honestly borderline criminal yet the show treats them as if they are somehow okay or excusable. Furthermore, it is also painfully obvious that the entire story arc (if you can call it that) is just designed to be a roundabout way for Masamune and Aki to eventually get closer to each other, but really... we did not need this. If that was all you wanted, why did you not just continue from the plot development in episode eight instead?? The end result would probably have been the same, but the journey there would have been ten times better. It just baffles me.

Overall, Masamune-kun no Revenge feels like a story written without much initial thought put into it by the author, almost like if he changed his mind every few weeks while writing about what direction he wanted to take the story in. As a result, it just ends up all over the place but ultimately going almost nowhere. It leaves behind an uncomfortable feeling of wasted potential on multiple levels, and a story which could and perhaps should have been a lot better than what it actually turned out to be. However, if we look past whatever potential the series may have had for a second and just look at the final product instead, then at the very least it passes as an average generic romcom. That is certainly not what I wanted it to be, but it is what we got, and looking at it that way it is at least rarely straight-up boring. Yes, it is packed to the brim with clichés, but really what romcom is not nowadays? Masamune-kun no Revenge could have been a great anime. It did not become a great anime however, but it is still at least a tolerable one. I just wish premises like this could be left for authors who actually plan on doing something interesting with them rather than just going back to what has already been done in a hundred different other anime already.

Oh and Masamune's mother is also a loli who looks to be about five years younger than her own daughter. Why? I have no idea.

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Its just a shitty version of Nisekoi but devoid of actual humor and with unrelatable characters.

95% of the audience can in no way relate to the protagonist. He is a good looking rich kid that works out every day and watches what he eats.

The female lead is just a bitch with no redeeming qualities.

The jokes, if thats what you would call them, fail to deliver.

The plot is just a cliche romance that you can see from a mile away starting on the first episode.

The fan service is completely unnecessary where it is introduced because it doesn't make sense for the character that is doing it.


Go watch Nisekoi instead for an infinitely better version of this show.

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In spite of the many Masamune-kun reviews out, describing the show as “really pretty okay” or used words like “becuz”, I decided to write a semi-serious review to add to the mix. Revenge is a dish best served cold. I’ve heard of people exacting revenge on others due to everything from getting cheated on to a murdered relative. The reason I state this is to accentuate the weak premise Silver Link’s (Kokoro Connect, Strike the Blood) “Masamune-kun no Revenge” carries. It is a story about a tormented chubby kid (Masamune Makabe), who grows up to be a modern marvel of handsomeness, vowing to enforce justice on a vicious vixen (Aki Adagaki) by breaking her heart. Not necessarily the strongest basis for seeking revenge… he could've just, you know, grown up.

The TL;DR approach to the anime would be the dollar menu version of Nisekoi, with slightly worse art, protagonists and music... and without the delectable waifu Onodera. Knowing this fact, if you didn’t exactly care for the awkward love triangle that series presented, or the bodacious tsundere that was Chitoge, I would advise you to skip Masamune kun altogether. The added revenge element does little to enhance the series past developing a convenient crutch for the plot to hinge on. Though it doesn’t do anything cringeworthy, the anime is mediocre in almost every category.

The bulk of Masamune-kun’s story is eaten up by the relationship development between himself and Adagaki, and the constant inner monologuing of how he’s going to get back at her. After years of floundering through life as a plump and ridiculed young boy, Masamune kun arrives at Adagaki’s school, unrecognizable from the dark times of his past. He’s a perfect student, has a flawless exercise regiment and every room he walks into becomes his own personal harem. On the contrary, not much has changed in Adagaki’s demeanor. She’s evil, pretentious and constantly makes up degrading names for the various male suitors approaching her. Not to mention she has a ravenous appetite. The story continues with Masamune attempting to inflict his revenge on Adagaki by getting her to like him and eventually squashing her hopes, much like she did to him during their younger years. This story approach is predictable but strangely entertaining, if for no other reason than to listen to Masamune’s multitude of internal dilemmas. The comedy is also unsurprising, however it's still good for a few laughs.

The writing in Masamune kun is where the series really starts to drop off in quality. It appears that almost every character and facet of storytelling (sans the chubby betrothed kid) is carbon copies from Nisekoi. This checks out in the manga world as well, due to Masamune kun’s release being over a year after Nisekoi’s. These undeniable similarities make for a less exciting plot overall, as the series becomes less about itself and more “Nisekoi did that better” moments. Once the plot is established, it takes a sporadic turn by implanting a random damsel who seemingly wants Masamune at all costs, and a rotund young prince who’s predestined to marry Adagaki. These characters are not eased into the anime, but rather plopped down in the middle of things, with very little backstory to boot. It's really what causes Masamune-kun to meander towards failure. Overall, the series does little to redeem itself and staggers aimlessly toward its bittersweet conclusion.

Masamune Makabe is actually a much better character than I initially presumed. His mannerisms played off as conceited, but through discovering the ghosts of his past and his countless acts of kindness, he redeems himself quite astoundingly. His counterparts are far less promising, with Adagaki being the only other character with any real depth among them. She fits the bill for Chitoge quite accurately in terms of tsundere-isms but seems to have less focus on her in the story overall. Perhaps this is a result of the reduced episode count from Nisekoi, but still disappointing nonetheless. There aren't any other characters really worth mentioning, as they either add very little to the story or exist merely as plot devices.

The art in Masamune kun is great to look at, but there aren't any scenes of astonishing animation present within its runtime. Character models are attractive and colorful, and the environments are drawn coherently, with no more detail than is required. I didn't notice any framing issues, and no evidence of pixel lag, so it's apparent the artists at least did the proper editing. That being said, I felt the OP was animated quite generically relative to the rest of the series, which is honestly the exact opposite than what I'm used to in an anime. It came by surprise, but it also didn't help me get excited for the series at all.

Sound wise, I can't say I really cared for either the OP or ED tracks. Generic and Jpop-py tones resonated with underwhelming animations, hitting par for the course for the quality of the rest of the series. The background OST was a tad more reputable, sparking the mood appropriately with tense or lightened styles, and the sound effects were well placed within the episodes. Voice acting is also very well done, with Ayaka Ohashi making a strong case for Adagaki and Natauki Hanae (Ken, Tokyo Ghoul) absolutely nailing the narcissistic Masamune. They certainly brought out the big guns for this one.

Though it certainly won't be in consideration for Anime of the Season, Masamune kun no Revenge is a series that can certainly be enjoyed by the right audience, and perhaps with the right mindset. Preferably if you have seen Nisekoi, do you best to forget the entire series as you watch, because the similarities are uncanny at times. Leave your brain at the door, for there aren't any veiled symbolisms or faint themes to be had here, just your run of the mill comedic romance series. Recommended for modern day anime lovers, or those looking for a laugh or two to change things up. As always, thanks for reading and be sure to check out my other Winter ‘17 reviews!

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I’ve known right from the beginning that it’s just going to be another generic school rom-com as I browsed among the entries for Winter 2017, but something within me wanted to watch this show. The premise made me hope that it’s going to be what I wanted it to be, an actual fulfilling story about revenge through love. As an overweight loser who daydreams about obtaining the perfect body and being popular with girls, I quite find Makabe relatable in his endeavor. I was interested how he is going to carry out his plan on Adagaki, but I guess I was asking too much. I know I shouldn’t be this disappointed, but damn this show went nowhere.

First of all, the story makes it too convenient for Makabe to get closer with Adagaki. For a cruel princess, she acts very inconsistent. You could say “Oh you know, women are really confusing” but I digress. What makes Makabe different from any other dude she has declined? I’m sure they also used the same tactics Makabe is using. To further add into the convenience, Adagaki’s maid Yoshino agrees to help Makabe in his plan for no really good reason. I mean wow, there are so many things in favor of Makabe but ultimately the greatest hindrance to his plan is really himself.

Second, the show has unwanted love interests. Sure, it attempts to create a conflict in which it prevents Makabe’s plan progress but all it does really is derail the main story and put unnecessary complications.

Third, why is Makabe’s mom a loli?

Fourth, Makabe is too naïve. While this is not necessarily a bad thing as it can serve as a lesson for him to be more careful and considerate, he is still the same overconfident musclehead at the end of the show. His lack of expertise in female interactions is already a bad signal why his plan is challenging to accomplish. Still, he persists in making his plan succeed out of desperation. I would’ve liked it more if some significant development actually happened due to his flaws.

Finally, I really had a hard time whether I should even take the show seriously or not. I mean, I liked some of its dramatic moments like flashbacks of Makabe’s past but how both the serious and non-serious moments flow together is mediocre. The execution also somehow lacks to put a punch on supposedly comedic moments, though I appreciate some of its subtle sarcasm. Overall, the show is a decent time waster if you keep expectations to a minimum. There’s no really profound development and it only serves as a failed attempt at making a dynamic rom-com story. However, it’s not downright terrible and a complete trainwreck. It’s just a show that had a strong start but then forgot what it really wants to go for and then tries to make you deal with its complications for the rest of the duration. Maybe I’m just too let down by this show, but maybe I should have never expected anything from it at all.

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(This will be my first review. It was orignally a forum comment that I cleaned up to be more appropriate. I'll stick to more detailed manga reviews in the future.)


The story seems pretty original at first but then it devolves into your generic RomCom, with all the cliché.

1) Story and Characters: 4 each

In the beginning, it looked like the main characters have it all. Yet, under the veneer of wealth, all is not so good. Masamune is popular but thinks excessively of himself. He also has a complex because of of his past. He is confident if we compare him to other MCs of the genre but he just as dense and stupid at times.

Aki is your generic run-of-the mill tsundere. She has underlying trust issues and often treats others with contempt. However, she will gradually open her heart to other characters. There's not much to say about it without spoiling the story. As our two protagonists get close to each other, they introduce various plot elements and we get to see their quirks. This their interactions rather entertaining. The side characters are gradually introduced, each adding some spice to the plot.

The most prominent one would be Yoshino. Presented early into the show as an innocent klutz, she fashionably proved that looks are often deceptive. Who would think that the seemingly innocuous Koiwai would be the catalyst behind the premise of the story? Yet, this is the case. Her past is the most tragic one amoing the whole cast and her interactions with the MC are fascinating, to say the least.

Kojuuro is your habitual trap. Gentle and shy, he is the opposite of the MC. This is a nice contrast. He is a loyal friend better taste that the main characters when it concerns matters of the heart. Tae Futaba aka Class President is also a moderaely fascinating character. The de facto tomboy genki. Energetic and extraverted, she brings life to the show. Her spontaneity often moved the plot when it began to stagnate and made the show much more enjoyable. Her candour would have won me over if it weren’t for Neko.

Oh Neko! Many dislike her because her introduction more or less ruined an intimate moment between the two protagonists. Yet, she remains my favorite Character in the show. She reminds me a lot of Marika Tachibana, with a hint of Rem from Re: Zero. Her past is heart-warming and her personality is enthralling. She is a very forward character and her moments with the other characters are fun to watch. It would be interesting to see a character like her in a leading role.

The show’s main villain was introduced fairly late, at a fairly inauspicious moment. He does have some genuine motications but nothing much to write about him. He serves more as a plot device and introduced some forced drama.


2) Art and Sound: 6 and 5 respectively

The voice acting is quite good but nothing spectacular. My biggest complaint would be the generic, annoying high-pitched girl voice opening song. It is way too overused nowadays. On the other side, it’s quite rare for the main Seiyuu (VA) to sing the OP. The sound effects are appropriately used but then again, it's a Rom Com not an Action Anime. The visuals are actually the best part of this anime. There are some gorgeous scenes and they do not suffer from budget issues. The animation is also fluid.


3) Enjoyment: 5

The pace was more or less satisfactory if we exclude the ending and the direction was average. It isn’t very deep but lies somewhere between a traditional romcom and a romantic drama. Masamune-kun no Revenge managed to portray the restless behaviour that accurs in adolescence in a somehow enjoyable way.

4) Overall Impression: 4

Overall, this was a passable adaptation of the manga. I would not recommend it though. The story isn't complete and some elements can get too childish.

Like we say in my country, je suis resté sur ma faim.

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