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

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.

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.

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.

You know I was actually having a fun time with this one. I liked the premise. I liked the chemistry and dynamic of the main characters. I liked the budding romance. I liked the characters as a whole. I liked the drama and conflict. It was all pretty solid (I would like to point out this is all in anime romcom terms, it would still be cringe even if I stopped here). But there was one thing that pissed me off so much that I just couldn’t enjoy the show anymore. It was only in the last couple episodes but it ruined the entire show ... for me. Basically this bitch turned down this fat boy when she was younger. The fat boy worked out and planned to make her fall for him so he could reject her in turn. Kinda petty but whatever, it’s the premise of the show, what’re you gonna do? So it’s working, right? and I’m enjoying the show, having a good ol’ time, but then this fat dude comes along, pretends to be the fat boy that she turned down, and she, thinking that it was in fact the fat boy she turned down but apparently had a crush on, instantly falls for the imposter and becomes his girlfriend. This dude pretends to be her childhood friend and not only does it work, she instantly becomes his girlfriend. Fuck I’m getting pissed off just typing this. Fuck this show. Fuck it. I’m done, I don’t need to explain more. I don’t know why it Pissses me off so much but it does. I’m fucking out. I’m done. Fuck anime, fuck this show, fuck Japan, and fuck this fucking bitch.

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.

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.

I didn't have any hopes when I started watching this show, just watched it because I was bored and wantend to watch an easy to follow plot but I still got disappointed.

Story 4

It's about a boy who seeks revenge on a girl for being mean to him because he used to be fat. He tries to make her fall in love with him now that he's fit to finally dump her an break her heart (she doesn't know who he is anymore). At first I thought the story sounded a bit stupid but it probably could be funny. Well I was right about the stupid ... part and although I laughed about maybe 2 or 3 things it wasn't really that fun. If I think back at the show now the only thing that comes to mind is: absurdly big boobs (the boobs were probably half of the story plot), which for me is always a big turn off when watching an anime.

Character 2

The show could be better if the characters weren't so damned annoying and stupid. Most of the characters are stupid cliches or they're just plain stupid and do stuff that makes you wonder who in the world would do that and why? Most of the characters don't even have a background story and don't add much to the story.

Enjoyment 5

The show wasn't really boring to watch, just bad.

Overall 4

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.

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.

HEAVY SPOILERS (Entire Anime ruined, With Already Obvious Manga End Spilled, Progress At If You Know And Do Not Care):

This anime started well enough. Masamune's Revenge requires a little amount of disbelief in the premise, because of course it is going to end with the main girl he is trying to get revenge on become his lover, and while I would fault this anime for making it so starkingly obvious upon reading the synopsis, I am somewhat of a fan of these stories, where hostiles give way to mutual understanding and feelings of affection. How Masamune's will learn to forgive Aki could be execute ... well, but....

That is not what I received.

For the attempted progress in Nisekoi that did not happen to "acts of God", Masamune's Revenge suffers from plot induced stupidity just as often, and in frustration for the writer prolonging the development for more slice of life segments, this also makes the characters infuriating to watch. This, coupled with convenient prolonging inconsistency in the character's' attitude and actions, makes it an exercise in futility This leads to arcs being longer than they should be for the information known, with irrational display of actions to pile on, which is what makes my score a humbling 3.

But first of, let me argue the story: Masamune is trying to get revenge on a girl who break his heart when they children, by breaking her heart as an unknown High Schooler. This premise is already shaky. Besides establishing that Masamune being supposedly narcissistic, it also exclaims that Masamune is an asshole. A petty one at that. This does not mean we do not initially root for him, because conveniently, Aki, the one who broke his heart, has grown to be an even bigger asshole, fond of maintaining a schedule of constantly rejecting boys who confessed based on her misandry. Besides begging the question, “Why any of these boys would find a cruel, man hating bitch being prominent potential girlfriend material”, this establishes a conflict for Masamune to overcome, with his methods being...using shoujo manga as guides to woo Aki’s heart. For some, it may be funny, and I chuckled at times, but contrasting his intelligence, Masamune honestly believes they would work, especially without any real life innovation on his part, and consistently uses them for the first few episodes, making an alliance with Aki’s Maid Koiwai (Who has been Aki’s maid since they were children, despite the whole ethical nature of coerced child labor) in the meantime, who instead of just giving him advice, sometimes has to directly talk to Aki at times to push her in a certain direction.

Besides being a little unimaginative, with various animes, such as The World God Only Knows, profiting off of this now trite humor, this was okay if you were a fan of the genre, with other tropperiffic romance hijinxs thrown in for good measure. People who want a better than “decent” romantic comedy should search elsewhere at this point. This was also a reason why it was rated highly, because many put up preemptive reviews before finishing the series, or at least the end of the Neko “arc”. It serves as an okay transition to the first appearance of Neko in episode 5.

Now to rant.

Honestly, I disliked the Neko saga. It was prolonged out of stupidity, and Neko's reasoning to be rather built up for no reason, and even a little bit of shallow randomness at that, even if she did end up loving him. For all she knows, Masamune could have attacked you with scissors or something, be in a relationship, anything, which bites Neko in the butt for falling in love before meeting him, seeing as he has admittedly cruel reasons for breaking off any potential relationships for the sole purpose of getting his revenge, contrary to the nice guy you imagine he would be. Nevertheless, in hindsight, one would ask “Why bother with the fake background story that Masamune knew was false? Why didn't he confront her then, or about the missing picture?” She could have easily just as confessed her reasons without hiding behind a fake love story, and the honesty would have been a lot more better for the show, especially as being a contrast to Masamune's deception with Aki. The reason was built up beyond importance, sure, but it isn't a bad reason in itself. I do not see any reason to hide it at all. Teenagers are extraordinarily stupid to think they should fall in love with someone at a distance, before a relationship starts. That is not how it usually works, and Neko might have been a subversion of that reasoning if she did not play it straight based on a photograph Masamune's Loli mother sent, out a heap of other suitors. To an extent, we can exercise the choice over who we love, and it is entirely possible to fall in love after repeated social engagements, even outside of dating, among other things. I mean, is that not the point of the Masamune's relationship with Aki? Although, he sure was accepting of Neko laying him on the bed after all that creepy shit that has happened in the previous 5 minutes. Never stick your dick into crazy.

That being said, Masamune is a hypocrite, for refusing Neko, on the basis of her love not being "genuine" (Partly because he did not interrogate her, partly because she thought the truth was "inconvenient, neither of which are really logical), when he is in a insincere relation with Aki for the sole purpose of breaking her heart, for an incident that happened when they fucking 8 years old. Masamune's standards are sorts of fucked up here to criticize someone for the same thing he is doing (In the case of Neko, it was an assumption bought by a lack of asking, of all things, not a truthful observation), even if it could be demonstrated to be an example of why revenge is bad, or that Masamune is unknowingly falling in love with Aki (Questionable after the scene at the school where he watches her laments her own struggles with love, angering him deeply), because we both know that he will end up with Aki because she is the designated heroine.

If I did not explain Neko’s reasoning good enough, she wanted to fall in love before her surgery, and thus seeked a relationship with Masamune, and ends up falling for him, having picked him as a potential suitor based on a photograph Masamune’s Loli Mother sent. Again, sometimes you fall in love with someone you know or just seem, but at other times, it arises out of a mutual physical attraction cemented by personalities that get along, not “love at first sight”, but a slow process of fondness growing out of being familiar and enjoying each others’ company. This is not bad, and Neko has no reason to “hide” it with a fake story. She should have just transferred, and expressed romantic interest in Masamune, however uninteresting that is.

Point being, the plot investigation of the mysterious Neko, who appeared her entirety in episode 5 and being promptly declared a liar without her motives being known, did not get any headway till episode 8, and promptly ended with a life or death situation in episode 9, without any real reason than teenagers gonna teenage, with the episodes in between being filler. Fuck, you do not state a plot point that the protagonists needs to address, fuck around for 3 episodes, then have it turned into a dramatic show of events, especially after episode 7 was a fucking beach episode. This is plot induced stupidity at its finest, and hamming it up with an inconsistent tone is nonsensical.

Now for Gasou, oh poor Gasuo, pretending to be Masamune. Apparently, he is a rival for Aki’s affection, despite the truth later being found out. The difference being, that his intentions were expected to have actually good consequences for people besides himself, even if the deception requires taking advantage of a girl, who hates men, because she thought the very same Masamune had left her….causing her to hate men? Does not compute, not at all. Not to mention Aki wants to marry this imposter off the bat, despite supposedly never seeing each other for years? No offense anime, but the childhood tag kind of feels ridiculous when things ended the way that they did, with reverberations to the modern days, and for love to blossom right where it picked off….because? I mean, Gasou might not have try to seduce Aki out of love for her, but Masamune is exceptionally more self interested and obsessed for his own self satisfaction, which makes him seem more villainous if anything else. I think Aki is a bitch, but she is not one worth obsessing over, even if she does deserve a comeuppance. She is worth less than spending most of your high school life breaking, which is not easy.

And now for why I REALLY despise this series. You might have heard of the source material’s imminent ending, I myself was able to figure it out quickly enough, due to inconsistent freudian excuses and hints that the characters know different stories, but…

Aki isn't responsible for what happened 8 years ago it seems, and that is fucking perfect. What is the point of revenge in the title then? This isn't so much forgiveness because she is the wrong target of his ire in the first place, and this subverts the premise to allow a romantic situation to happen without the debate of revenge versus forgiveness and love, with all those feelings included being irrelevant too, because it is entirely cast aside to another person who may or may not be forgiven. This still doesn't absolve Aki of her bitchiness. Everyone has a sob story in anime, but it does not matter, especially when you are a sexist brat in High School acting out childhood trauma that is not even so bad, if not a little enforced.

It subverts its “Revenge” tag entirely, something that the anime made obvious in the last 4-5 episodes, leaving only the question "Who caused it". This is a major plot point over the course of several years for the protagonist that doesn't get resolved in any way except that "She did not do it", thus leaving forgiveness out of Masamune sorting his feelings for Aki.

This is the equivalent of the murderer being a supernatural entity, or that the family has had a long lost secret twin, without the essential backdrop needed for the viewers believe it. It entirely uproots the story narrative, and for Masamune Kun, it is the plot point. It is a plot convenient twist that aims to settle for a romantic pairing without all those complicated working out of feelings, and honestly? That is crap. Complete crap. What a fucking plot twist.

I dislike the ending, but it is understandable why, and I personally prefer no ending than badly done anime ending or sequel hook. In any case, the fact that nothing comes from it within 12 episodes is why the ending is so jarring. If there is any change that would happen, it would be here.

Characters? Fine.

Masamune: I never found him to be that narcissistic, just overconfident, especially in seduction where he relies on shoujo manga. (Unless it was a realistic one, they're not step by step panecea to seducing girls like flies to honey, especially with Aki, which is a nice touch to the shallow world we we introduced in the first 5 minutes). In essence, his cynicism about appearance is wrong the first time he meets Aki, because looks do not "matter" to her (In more than one way). His talk with Neko in episode 9 was somewhat reasonable, if not brought on by unreasonable circumstances before, and that is really all I have to say that is decent about his characters.

First off, for someone portrayed as a searing knife of directness in a relationship, he never confronts Neko about her lies, despite being a detriment to his plan. Why? He also blushes and forgets to say stuff in the most important moments, specifically "Who the hell are you" to Neko, thus making his relation with Aki on the rocks. He also comes off as a hypocrite for his reasoning for breaking up with Neko (An "I do not know you enough for sexual intercourse" would have been enough), but is wise and kind when he carries the secretary, saying typical heartwarming lines, from the haunted house one episode before, something that is completely out of character. This is the same dude who relies on shoujo manga all the time, steals romantic quotes, and we expect to take him seriously when he says this line of maturity right here, a teenager trying to get revenge for what has happened as children? This is terribly done, and terrible consistency in his personality, often happening when the plot demands it, or merely hacked on to make him a protagonist we would be able to like. This is not a coincidence, but his personality is dictated by what needs to happen, rather than what happens as a result of his choices. This is common enough in dramas, where it demands dramatic inter-character conflict to happen, even if said characters were establish as being reasonable enough to work it out.

Now to take a break, you may wonder that "teenagers do act this way", and they do, but realism is hardly an excuse to create an entertaining story, with the author dictating everything as a God. For a romcom, that is the saving grace if the dramas comes off as overly hormonal, so to speak.

Aki: She is a bitch. For most of first episodes, that is what she is, complete with "cute" segments, such as her eating 3 meals a per lunch to compensate for her metabolism or something, moe face and all. She is also terribly in love with Masamune at some point, asking for a kiss and then freaking out and uppercutting him.

She does shine for me in some instances, but a lot of these character moments are also her weakness. She is self aware of her personality, and acknowledges at times that she does not know why anyone would want her, demanding Masamune's reasons for choosing to date her, then reasonably being hurt when Masamune comes up with crap reasons. Then, there are similar moments, when she try to justify her current personality for what has happened to her in the past. Except this past hurt manifests as literal misandry, and it comes off as a "woe is me" type of deal, and it makes her far more annoying if not slightly more understandable. Everyone has a sob story, huh? This would have been great if she changed, but for the most part of the anime, it isn't earnest improvement, but brought on by the plot, with her reminiscing over young, fat Masamune before Gasuo shows up, seducing her, despite previous hints and flashbacks that explained her misandry arised out of the incident with Masamune supposedly leaving her. Yeah. I am not a psychologist or anything, but this is just inconsistency on her part. The change is so sudden that I wonder if Aki is the same person, which then boomerangs back when Masamune and Aki get back together after Gasou was defeated, and literally nothing has changed at this point. You had 12 episodes, what is with this lack of development?


That being said, hardly any of the other characters can justify watching this anime. They were cutouts that I found entertaining only as background characters, and based on what has transpired, I hope they stay that way.

Overall: This anime is terrible at worst, run of the mill at its better parts. The comedy is okay, but drama is a difficult beast that is not done well. You cannot just pile on more drama like you can do jokes on top of ones that fell flat. A bad dramatic event will usually stay with the viewers as does a good one. Unfortunately, there is a lot of mediocre drama facilitated by poor characters choices and personalities you cannot sympathize with for long.

So in short, I rated this a 3/10.

(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.

What a waste of time!

I thought the ending would actually get interesting,
but i was wrong don't waste you're time watching this.

I went into this with no expectations and was on the fence about even watching it and a huge mistake, i should've left this one alone.

Story is a basically a circle you'll end up where you started.
Every episode is the same storyline just different settings.

... It's basically nisekoi but worse and i dropped that one.
I was very disappointed and thought the story would actually get good as there was some
potential but of course very disappointing.

I had to finish the series or i wouldnt be able to write a review on it as it would be very hypocritical of me to not like it without even finishing it and I'm telling you now don't waste your time!
Goodluck

warning: spoilers
(The review has a tl;dr section as well.)

Once in a while you come across an anime which actually has a nice premise: a boy called Masamune seeking revenge against his former childhood friend Aki Adagaki. So far so good. Then you take a careful look at the genres shown on the MAL page - harem, comedy, romance and school - the absolute worst combination of genres, which usually indicate a mediocre story. Thus the first doubts appear. In the first minutes you are presented a “narcissistic” personality of the MC and think that he could be interesting despite of expecting a generic harem protagonist. ... Unfortunately, when his mother and Aki appeared for the first time, the death flag for this anime was set and the potential was wasted.

I will try to hold back cursing words and talk about the characters first. As I have already said, up to 2 minutes it actually looked decent with the promising trait. But then the clichés started to be used left and right. First his mother, who looks like a kid, not even able to give birth him and his sister with her physique , is used to draw out laughter with the viewer, which it doesn't. Because of the poor timing and bad execution of the joke, she is reduced to a generic one-dimensional character and has no further use in the story later on. Great!!!

Besides having a sister, who isn't explored and stays an irrelevant character as well, he meets his fated arch enemy (or not), Aki, when he transfers into the new school. We are shown his pretty delicate past with her and why he “hates” her as well. Thus he swears to retaliate by doing the same. But as it couldn't be made even more predictable, the writer decides to throw in the tsundere archetype besides making her a gluttony just to have a moe trait as well, in order to distract from the bigger problems, her personality. It's not enough to make her a tsundere, but an asshole as well (the way she rejects people). And the other students in the school become even more interested in her because of that. It makes no sense, especially because you would have at least a balance of haters and followers, if not only having haters. Just to make her a “greater existence” and live in her nice fantasy bubble even more. I'll come back to her later. Great!!!

Then the next girl, Tae Futaba, who just pops out of nowhere and confesses to him, is another character who makes an appearance for a short time and just serves the purpose of showing, how “popular” Masamune is. Why or how did she fall in love with him? No idea, it just happened. She has a severe case of “falling in love with transfer students” syndrome, which can be found in multiple run-of-the-mill harem stories. Masamune, “determined” to have revenge, rejects her and then she follows him for the whole anime while staying in the background. So what is the point of her character? Probably just to establish a harem and pander to viewers who like girls like her. Great!!

But fear not, for there is a guy, yes, you read correctly, a guy, in this show. How could he possibly fit in? There is only one correct answer, as the trap archetype. He receives no development or exploration whatsoever either because his main objective is to pander to fujoshis and he has no deeper reason to be there. You can blank him out and move on, but he actually appears a few times, so you still remember that there was someone like him in the show. If you were to recall one of his traits (not only superficial ones), congratulations, you seem to have more information than me about him, because he is only presented as a bland character in the series. If you want his name, look it up, I've forgotten it. Great!!

Just when you think it can't become any worse, a “ninja”, Yoshino Koiwai, joins the scene. While serving as fanservice in the first two episodes, she becomes the supporting pillar for Masamune's revenge because he can't manage it on his own. Unfortunately, the motive for her support is insufficient and doesn't dive any deeper like for the other characters. So she ends up resembling the “kuudere” archetype and who would've guessed, she receives no further development of her motivations either. She is just there like the trap, and while she has a few good moment (her schemes), in the end she is another shallow character. No point in introducing her as a character either other than showing another “cute” girl. Great!

Furthermore, the author expands the harem even more by introducing another childhood friend, Neko Fujinomiya. Her convenient introduction looks more of a plot convenience rather than a natural one though. Of course she has to “love” him from the beginning of her introduction. Even she is used to pander again as she is commonly referred to as the “panty-less girl”. Problematic are Masamune's interactions with her. He is distracted by her to the point that he thought about stopping his initial plan against Aki even though this event apparently deeply “scarred” him. Furthermore, he's so dense to the point that he doesn't even notice Neko's issues or her intentions. I'll elaborate later why that is a problem. While her past and issues are a bit explored, they're swept under the rug and forgotten again. In the end she doesn't play a bigger role than just serving as a side lover. Compared to the other characters, she actually seems to be quite decent in terms of writing, although overall (compared to other stories), it's still mediocre. Great.

If you thought that they reached the tip of the iceberg, you're wrong though. By a very convenient chance, another boy, Kanetsugu Gasou, with a same build as Masamune in the past appears and attempts to steal Aki. What a way to accelerate the relationship between them. Besides dragging the story out even more and annoying the hell out of the viewer by including more tropes, he has just as generic motivations to act like he does. The studio/writer probably assumed that it would be enough to just show a short flashback, but that makes it come off as weak motivation and feels like an unnatural twist again. Not to mention Aki's affection to him, being deceived so easily. It starts off a series of events which are rather cliché and ends up conveniently advancing the relationship with Masamune with the play and the kiss at the end. After that he seems to become unimportant again. With his introduction also followed a few annoying girls who messed with Masamune (borderline kidnapping) and got out of the whole mess without even a scolding, pointless characters again for the sake of advancing the plot and creating drama without actual essence. Great...

After talking shortly about the characters, I want to further elaborate on Aki and Masamune and their relationship, as they are making up the main cast of the anime and represent the biggest weakness of the anime. As the story progresses, Masamune seems to lose sight of his initial target to crush Aki's heart as well. That is especially bad because 1. it's the premise that Masamune is out for revenge and 2. he was so much scarred by it that he changed his complete appearance and behavior. That isn't just simple resentment, it's way more realistic that he'd hate her to the point, where they can't go back. And yet, he almost falls in love with her. Another example of the convenient way how the story works. The motivations tend to be weak and they change from one scene to another. Not to forget how dumb he behaves at times even though he is the best student in the grade. Although grades aren't everything, they're a general indicator how smart and diligent someone is and when you see scenes where he acts like he can't even calculate with basic operators, I feel slightly hoaxed by the writer. The same applies for Aki at times. Not great.

As for the story itself, it's very bad because neither does it have a general direction, proven by the amount of generic events (beach scene etc.) and other ones to draw out the plot, nor is it original because of the amount of clichés thrown into the plot. The series doesn't even flesh them out so that the viewer wouldn't mind the initial use of clichés. Thus the story doesn't really feel like it has any worth or wants to leave a lasting impression. Definitely not great.

Another aspect hindering the series is the comedy because it feels out of place. When the anime is actually featuring a serious development, they drop a weak joke (generic joke like it's taken from another anime) and completely destroy the atmosphere. So did it actually make me laugh even once? Maybe once or twice in the whole series, but not more because the transitions were weak and the gestures weren't supporting the joke. Generic empty eyes don't make it funny, if that's what I want, I could watch any other run-of-the-mill comedy. The effort put into the comedy is so low, that it drags the drama and series down. What's left of the drama is, just like I described in the previous paragraphs, pretty bad as well and leaves the anime with a weak balance of drama/comedy. If the series attempted to be more serious about the whole revenge theme, it could have actually been pretty decent. Or if they made fun of the whole revenge affair. But working with the middle ground damaged the quality a lot especially because of its poor execution. Bad.

The other genres (harem, romance, school) are dragging its quality down as well. On one hand, the harem is poorly executed because the girls keep popping up left and right just to disappear completely from the plot or losing all relevance as well. It's unoriginal and generic and doesn't contribute at all to the series. Even if it's meant for pandering, the characters feel so lifeless and unappealing that the pandering itself is actually poor as well. On the other hand, the school genre is just there to make it relatable for students, but even the school aspect is poorly executed, evidenced by Aki's standing (acting like a scumbag → being treated like a goddess) and the lack of real life school themes. Very bad.

The only aspect I want to talk about before coming to my conclusion is the final episode. With the final episode always comes the responsibility of a series to either make a satisfying conclusion in the best case or leave it off at a cliffhanger at an ideal moment. Unfortunately, the final episode provides neither. After the kiss in the play, they only go to the karaoke (yes, another typical cliché) and draws out the conclusion even more. By the time you've finally survived the pointless subplot, it ends without answering important questions and using a pretty bad cliffhanger, not hyping up the viewer for more. As a final episode, that's unforgivable. Furthermore, it also looks like Masamune is even torn between revenge and real love. So what was the point of making his past like that? Not to mention that his thoughts are still way too pure. The ending was basically a slap into the face. Atrocious.

Overall Masamune-kun no Revenge tries to aim for a pretty interesting idea, just to fall down from a cliff with its execution. Its countless clichés and plot conveniences feel out of place and make the story very unnatural, especially the school setting and Aki's behavior. The characters themselves are also consisting more of stereotypes than being fleshed out during the episodes. Even the main characters flip from one moment to another and stay bland until the very end. Thus most characters feel like they were copy-pasted into the anime and just there because of either pandering or because the writer had no idea how to write characters. Either way, the story and characters have a bad synergy and drag down each other. Even the comedy was, just like I mentioned, more of a hindrance than increasing my enjoyment. It didn't succeed with anything in any of the categories and will stay in my memory as a bad anime, which I couldn't even laugh at. If the writer perhaps excluded the harem, put more emphasis on the school setting and using it to his advantage for a battle between Aki and Masamune or just using better comedy or relying solely on drama, I could have enjoyed the series at least a bit. Neither did the art or animation change my thoughts significantly because neither is the art pretty original, nor was the music memorable or improving the atmosphere. Especially the OP and ED were very average.

The final words from each paragraph of this review have more development than the whole cast of the series.

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tl;dr:

- very cliché and bland characters with next to no character development
- main characters flip personalities and their motivations are forgotten at times
- out of place comedy and unfunny jokes + weak transitions with drama
- plot conveniences at times just to advance their relationship (especially into the direction of Masamune actually loving Aki and not into the direction of revenge)
- harem and romance contribute nothing to the story
- weird school with a mentality to worship Aki
- drawn out plot
- no general direction
- weak final episode (especially with the karaoke scenes)
- average to mediocre art
- not memorable soundtrack and weak OP + ED

scores:
story: 1/10
characters: 1/10
setting: 2.5/10
art/animation: 4/10
music: 4/10

overall: 2/10

You expect Masamune to get his revenge like you know the title says and since it's all he cares about but no. It ends with a karaoke party and like no clear ending what so ever. It was pretty funny and had like one intense moment where you think someone's gonna like commit suicide. You expect the 12th episode to have a conclusion and for Adagaki to admit ho she feels or remember Masamune as pig foot but no! Unless they plan on making a second season this was a complete waste of my time.
The storyline made sense and the expected other love interest ... was there and even the cute overbearing mother. There's even a character who reminds me of Yukimura from Maid Sama a bit.

Masamune-kun no Revenge was almost a really fun and likeable anime. However, it was just painfully obvious throughout the entire season that the team behind the show wasn't good enough to execute on their premise. From the start, you can see that the story will end one of two ways; he'll get his revenge on Adagaki Aki, or won't and they'll fall in love and live happily ever after or whatever. And then, for the entire season, nothing happens. Like, nothing at all. The story doesn't progress, they keep throwing in other characters that waste your time, etc. I don't have a problem with love ... triangles in general, but I do object to throwing characters into the show that have no personality and their only purpose is simply to be a stumbling block to the plot. The two main characters have some personality, but I know nothing about the characters of anyone else in the show except for their one gimmick that seems to define everything about them.

Next, the show focused more on the 'comedy' part of Romantic Comedy than the romance. This isn't a problem, and which you prefer is a matter of taste, but I think everyone can agree that something that focuses so strongly on comedy should at least be funny. The show's best moments, in my opinion, was when it had drama related to the motivations of the central characters, but these were so diluted by poor gags that they didn't have as much impact as they ought to have. Poor writing and poor timing changed a story that, with very few alterations, could have been a six or seven, into a clear four. What makes me sad about this show is that if a competent team had worked on it, it would already have the foundations to be a great show. The entire time while watching the show I wished I was watching something else that would have handled the same scenes and situations differently and better. So that's what I did; I watched Toradora again instead.

Masamune-kun no revenge review
Let’s talk about a revenge story that never happened with cliché characters set in a school.

Story 1/10

This is one of the those original stories that gives facts to the saying “Can I copy your homework ? Yeah just changed it up a bit so it doesn’t look so obivious”.Don’t worry if you are looking for worldbuilding and character development there is no such thing. Cmon be serious it’s a masterpiece!

It’s about revenge or a stupid grudge a fat guy has over a tsundere princess since childhood and can’t move on with his life because guess what that is a great idea to ... make a story for the author.Make a better story author next time!

The story is very cliché set in a school and the development is as it should be the first episodes focuses on the heroine and mc then other characters are added to spicy up the story or to make it more of a mess.
As every 12 episodes anime needs to respect his standards we have the legendary beach episode where we are shown plot and flat 100 years war , the transfer student who is always a girl preferably with big boobs because plot is needed , and the same rooftop scenes and action to conquer the heroine who guess what it’s a fck tsundere!
We also have a trap in this story who is treated as a girl because if we add a little spice to the plot it’s more entertaining or stupid and cliché.

I almost forgot the reverse trap girl who dresses as a guy because she has her circumstances and nobody notice that because everybody in this anime is stupid as fck.

Characters 0/10

These are the characters you can find in any anime so they’re copy paste characters starting from their looks to their personality.

Makabe is the main character of this show,his looks way of acting and level of density and dumbness fits him in a romantic comedy anime. Even his haircut is the same as other mc from rom/com anime. He is the “macho” type who does sport and eats healty food because he was a fat guy in his childhood. Such a retarded 1D character.He always saves the day or fails to achieve his goals because this anime doesn’t needs a conclusion and a story. He is dumb as fck too.

Adagaki Aki the heroine who everybody wishes for the princess from a fairy taile.She is tsundere of course what did you expect and flat chested too. What a joke of character. She eats a lot too and doesn’t get fat because anime logic.

Yoshino this is the joint character added to the love triangle usually has a bulb haircut and two personalities one of the silent type and the other a vicious predator. To fit the standards of this anime usually she knows the heroine from childhood and tries to protect her from other male characters.

Neko is the legendary transfer student with big boobs who every romantic comedy anime needs it . Usually she is kind hearted towards the mc and likes to act as a smartass and superior to other characters. She also has a important role in the plot vs flat endless war.

Animation 8/10
The only good thing about this show and the vivid colors will attract every pleb who has shit taste in anime to watch this anime.

Sound 4/10
I liked the opening

Enjoyment 2/10

The first episodes where enjoyable but the repetitive jokes and the tsundere heroine became so annoying that it ruined my enjoyment. The main character dumbness and retarded actions ruined the anime too.

Overall 2/10
The ending of this show is a total mess the interaction between characters is awfull and to make it worse the fact that a new character is added and never explained his past or circumtances and role in the story it’s like a trash can who is overfilled with garbage and somebody should empty it.The last episode crumbled everything and the ending is number one cliché spot in the history of anime.

The problem with this anime is that it struggles to find it's own Identity. Is it a Comedy harem? A seinen romance? Or perhaps a psychological drama?! The anime had mixed and match sub genres that were in conflict with each other as they did not, nor could not mixed without adverse affects.

Within this struggle are poorly developed characters that make no absolute sense, such as Fujinomiya - who represented the spontaneous insertion of harem as a sub genre. She and the characters were strangers and pretty much remained strangers by definition. Her backstory turned out to be anti-climatic, despite it having some potential, ... and frankly, her presence in the anime had no purpose, aside from trolling the audience. This redundancy with character traits and presence was a common sight in the anime.

In fact all the characters can be summed up with one world - "horrendous". You had your basics set of Visual novel characters. The Himedere, the Kuudere, the sickly observer/lover, the energetic/popular girl, etc. That set up is fine if you get creative with it, but in this case nothing extra was added to their characteristics. Most anime modify these traits - for example a self-proclaimed rich girl who's father is actually bankrupt, or a cold-hearted girl who enjoys the company of domestic animals. In this anime we get all the default traits with the default back stories.

The concept was great, but where it fell short was it's execution. It could have went down any route, but it crippled it's outcome - by choosing to make a story more suited for a Romance/Drama - into a cheesy comedy with unimaginative scenarios, and completely redundant characteristics - that obviously have the intent to amplify the comedy, but fail to do so. The story is honestly pathetic, with it taking short cuts to skip look dramatic build ups in exchange some progression. It's pretty much forced to since the comedy genre slows down progression and at times makes it stagnant .

What personally ticked me off was the fact that whenever the opportunity to thicken the plot came around, they ruined it with a gag or just outright ignored it so they could progress onto a beach episode or school festival scene that just reiterated the same sections of the plot and character traits, such as the Main character's motives.

The art wasn't that bad, nor are the special. The art is the sub standard 2 tone drawings with a bit of glow added in the few romance senses. It was simple with only basic creases outlined on characters and an environment that has minimal affects on the animation. I wasn't a fan of the over sized boobs, the clearly unrealistic uniform (which seemed to have no consistency) nor the comic comedy drawing style. The sound was decent - but again- nothing special. I liked the really audacious tune they played in sticky situations, but the rest again was sub standard and boring.

Overall did I enjoy the anime? No. Will you? Most likely not.
As a fan of comedy and an avid watcher of Romance anime, I can't advocate this to any anime veteran, considering how unoriginal it is. It seems like a nice starter for someone new to anime (If the understood Anime cliches and basic Japanese culture), but even then I can only imagine it putting them off anime or the romance genre. It's deceptive high school seems to be from it's heavy marketing (target at casual through something like Crunchy ads) and the appeal of it's synopsis (which likely has a few stubborn watchers on the defensive, as they wait for the plot to get better to tell the early sceptics "I told you so!")

This is one of those anime/manga stories where the plot tone goes off track too early. First it was all serious with a full revenge plot. By the end its a sappy happy mushy high school girl tone when they all cared for each other. Sounds about right but the sappy happy tone started before midway of the season. Leaving a confusing unsatisfying season not as a whole but for the most part.

The title literally has the word "revenge" on it. So if they are going to make a story about revenge then they should at least make it much longer and more serious.

Also don't ... trust manga fan readers for this series. I already read most of it and it was incredible accurate. However the plot still stayed the same without any fan service.

Not worth Watching

Overall - 3


The starting was good. The way they brought up the story was just awesome but it didn't continue well. At first it kinda off looked like an interesting story because it brought up an new idea to the anime world, like how he will take revenge on her because she dumps people for her problems and also dumped the main character bcas he was fat and stuff. As she didn't understand the feeling of getting dumped, so that was the main character aim, but in my point of view the main story line of this anime was not good. ... i know i am contradicting but wasting all 12 episodes just to show how he will take his revenge ( In my opinion he will not take revenge on her instead he will love her ) is just stupid. The characters are not relatable in any way and one of the character is a boy who looks like a girl and acts like girl, gross. Anyhow the whole point is whether it entertained me or not, right ??? So a "BIG NO"