Adachi to Shimamura

Shoujo Ai/Yuri is a rather unpopular and controversial genre. Most people I've seen are quite indifferent when it comes to that genre and often try avoiding it; partly because same sex relationship has always been a sensitive topic, but mostly because of the fact that a lot of Shoujo Ai anime have been very ineffective lately.

I'm not a big fan of Shoujo Ai either. While I'm definitely not against the concept of lesbian relationships in anime, among the few Shoujo Ai anime I watched, not a single one managed to appeal to me. Rather, because of poor storytelling and especially bland characters, I found them mediocre to say the least. Suffice to say, my experience with the Shoujo Ai genre wasn't very pleasant.

Until I found Adachi to Shimamura, that is.

I won't lie, I was a bit skeptical about watching the show at first. Having had a bitter experience with the Shoujo Ai genre in the past, my first impressions of Adachi to Shimamura weren't promising. It just didn't seem like something I would enjoy. I probably couldn't have been more wrong, though, as I fell in love with it right from the get-go.

Adachi to Shimamura, or shortly AdaShima, is built on the relationship of two high school students, namely – you guessed it – Adachi and Shimamura. The story is told from the perspectives of these two, as they spend precious time with each other trying to figure out what they truly mean to each other. And I have to say, this show does such a beautiful job at portraying their relationship.

Adachi and Shimamura are initially introduced as typical buddies who merely hangout with each other during class time. We are given the early impression that they don't see each other as more than close friends. However, as they begin to spend more time together, they begin to realize that their relationship might be a lot more complex. And when I'm saying "they", I'm mostly referring to Adachi. I'll get to that in a bit.

Adachi and Shimamura are rather unalike, I would say. On one hand, we have Adachi, an unsociable and shy girl who prefers avoiding any social interaction and skips almost all of her classes. On the other hand, we have Shimamura, who, like Adachi, also skips classes; but unlike Adachi, she seems sociable and outgoing (which isn't entirely true). Shimamura, in many ways, is vastly different from Adachi. However, when they are together, their dissimilarities cease to become relevant and don't matter at all. It's beautiful, isn't it?

Since AdaShima explores the minds of both Adachi and Shimamura individually, we get insights into their thought-processes, and what they genuinely think of each other. Because of this, we are quickly informed of any sort of development in their relationship, even if it might seem minor or insignificant to most. This is one of the many aspects that separate AdaShima from other Shoujo Ai anime. And this is also where Adachi's excellence really shows.

Adachi is easily the shining star of the show for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Shimamura too, but Adachi is truly special. Her prowess as a character probably lies the most in her relatability. Yes, she might be reserved, timid, unsociable. Yes, she might even be a little clingy, jealous and possessive at times. But knowing her circumstances, all of it is justifiable. Adachi, just like any other person, wants to make lots of friends. She wants to talk with them, hangout with them, go to various places with them, and simply, have lots of fun with them. And Shimamura is just the person who can help her do that.

Insightful explorations into Adachi's mind is another aspect that makes her such a great character. Through these explorations, the show lets the viewers know more of Adachi's thoughts, internal struggles, insecurities, and Adachi herself. It greatly fleshes out her character and makes her a nuanced person. Her monologues about herself and how she feels about Shimamura are nothing short of beautiful and do a splendid job at making her even more appealing. Adachi's seiyuu Akari Kitou's contribution here is undeniably vital.

In a way, among the two, Adachi plays a more – for lack of a better word – mature role in the relationship. Despite rejecting her feelings towards Shimamura at first, she gradually learns to accept it. While Shimamura stays kinda oblivious of her feelings for considerably a long time, Adachi becomes aware of her feelings rather quickly and tries her best to advance their relationship, even if she doesn't always succeed. This explains what I said a few paragraphs ago (about "they" mostly referring to Adachi).

As I said earlier, though, Shimamura definitely is not a bad character. She is rather one of the most essential parts of what make AdaShima so great. Shimamura seems quite ordinary upon first impression, but it is quickly apparent that there is far more to her than meets the eye. She keeps up an appearance of a normal, friendly and outgoing girl to others. But in reality, she is a very self-aware person who has built an imaginary shell around her that most people, including her "friends", can't get through. She always stays very cautious of others when she interacts with them, and never really puts much trust and confidence in them, which explains her oblivious nature at times. Again, adeptly dissecting Shimamura's mind through monologues like Adachi is really helpful in this regard.

Shimamura's contribution in Adachi's development is irrefutable. It's simply because of Shimamura that Adachi is starting to change for the better. Like Adachi said, Shimamura is her sun – who makes her everyday life a lot brighter and a lot more exciting. Because of Shimamura, school has turned into something Adachi now looks forward to everyday. Contrary to her past self, she has become a lot livelier and a lot more cheerful. And that truly is a remarkable achievement.

That isn't to say Adachi didn't have any affect on Shimamura at all. In fact, she did. Shimamura might not have realised it right away, but Adachi is one of the very few people who has broken through her shell and has directly affected her. While some might say that Shimamura's change isn't as apparent, it isn't negligible by any means. Rather, Adachi's arrival is a very crucial event in her life, that changed her own life for the better.

Some might have complaints about the slow progression of Adachi and Shimamura's relationship, but I don't think it's an issue at all. It's true that their relationship progresses at a rather slow pace, but the progression is indeed consistent and steady for the entirety of the series. In most romance anime, this slow progression would get annoying after a while. But here, it's completely believable considering their personalities and their circumstances (like the fact that both of them are girls).

Another aspect that is worth looking into is how their relationship progresses. Or more specifically, what helps their relationship progress. As I said earlier, the romantic advancement in this show is rather slow paced, but it is purposeful and almost never done in an unrealistic way. A lot of thought and consideration has been put into almost all of their interactions and dialogues to make them meaningful and relatable to the viewers.

An example of this can be found in episode 4. At the end of the episode, Shimamura buys Adachi a juice can, which Adachi decides keep to herself instead of throwing it away, and cherishes it as a gift from Shimamura. It might seem stupid to others. But I think every person who has ever been in love, irrespective of their sexuality, can relate to this. Yes, it is stupid. But that doesn't make it wrong or meaningless any way. No matter what others might say, it is, in fact, meaningful.

This, again, shows how much care has been given to make Adachi and Shimamura's relationship genuine and convincing. Even seemingly trivial things are actually impactful on them, but it is almost never unrealistic. As time passes on like it always does, Adachi and Shimamura grow closer to each other as, to simply put, things happen between them. And we, as the viewers, can't help cheer them on for their ever-budding relationship. At least I couldn't.

Although the main focus of the series is Adachi and Shimamura, other characters do get a fair amount of screentime. The most notable one of all is, of course, Yashiro Chikama.

I find Yashiro's role in this show to be rather bizarre and ambiguous to be honest. Early in the series, she is seen wearing a full body spacesuit and introducing herself as an "alien" who has to come to Earth from outer space to look for her compatriot. And even after 12 episodes, that's basically all we know about her. Though her physical appearance is shown later in the series, her actual identity is never revealed, which makes you doubt the plausibility of her character. Despite this, though, she is pretty charming. While her antics might come off as weird to a lot of viewers, and there are times when she can be irritating, Yashiro is mostly an entertaining character who you can't help but find likeable.

Aside from Yashiro, Hino and Nagafuji appear regularly in the show. They are introduced as childhood buddies who are friends with Shimamura since middle school. However, later in the series, it becomes apparent that Hino and Nagafuji's relationship might involve romance. While Hino and Nagafuji aren't as nuanced and developed as Adachi and Shimamura, they are given enough screentime to make the viewers actually care about them and their relationship. Some might say that removing them entirely would have no effect on the story, but I would say it's far from the truth. Rather, they are, in some ways, impactful on the relationship of Adachi and Shimamura, and thus impactful on the story as well.

Moving on to other supporting characters, they are all likeable, and most importantly, behave in a consistent and reasonable manner which makes them all believable. Occasionally, they help the story move forward a bit, but it doesn't feel redundant at all. Adachi's mother, Shimamura's sister and mother – everyone plays their role consistently and contributes to the progression of the story when needed. (There is one problem, however, which I'll bring up again a little later.)

AdaShima doesn't fail to impress me in terms of its production quality either. The animation is very beautiful. The artstyle is rather distinct, colorful and vivid; immediately leaving a memorable impression on the viewers' mind. What is more noteworthy, though, is the show's clever use of visual metaphors and how helpful they are in regard of depicting Adachi and Shimamura's thoughts and emotions subtly. Though, there are a few fanservice scenes involving some of the characters (specifically bath scenes), that are quite unnecessary and can feel a bit bothersome. But other than that, there isn't much to complain about.

The soundtrack of AdaShima is easily one of the best this year has had to offer. The background music is mostly upbeat; resembling the rather light-hearted nature of the show. There are a few melancholic tunes as well, that are played during the more serious scenes and add more immersion to them. The opening song "Kimi no Aeta Hi" is quite cheerful, while the ending song "Kimi no Tonari de" has a sort of sombre tone to it. Nonetheless, both these songs are very remarkable. The voice acting is also impressive. Notably, the seiyuu of Adachi and Shimamura, respectively Akari and Miku, performed extraordinarily well and added more depth to their respective characters through their voice acting.

Now, although AdaShima is mostly brilliant, there are a few issues....

The first issue of the show, as mentioned earlier, stems from the character of Yashiro. While she herself is not a bad character, the ambiguity and vagueness surrounding her might make it difficult to find her presence in the show significant. This can be overlooked in some cases, however, the second issue is rather severe and problematic. It won't be hard at all to notice that there isn't a single named male character in the cast, which alone makes the secondary cast kinda weak. And there's also the random appearance of a lolicon in episode 4, which was just completely unnecessary and devoid of any logic whatsoever. What perhaps will irk the viewers the most, though, is how the show concludes.

Many people probably won't be fully satisfied with the ending of AdaShima, as it feels sort of incomplete and leaves you wanting for more. This isn't inherently a flaw of the story, however, considering the light novel of AdaShima is still being published and a lot of it is yet to be adapted – giving hopes for a second season. But the problem is, the anime industry has a tendency to leave many anime adaptations incomplete. Simply, many anime adaptations are never given a second season. Unfortunately, this is even more likely to be the case with AdaShima considering it hasn't really gained much popularity. But still, I will be waiting patiently.

It's not often that you find a genuinely compelling Shoujo Ai anime, which is why Adachi to Shimamura is truly special. It isn't free of flaws, and it isn't the most serious portrayal of same sex relationships; but it is nonetheless a spectacular anime. Adachi and Shimamura are simply outstanding. They are exceptionally nuanced and realistic characters that I believe almost anyone can find relatable. Combine this amazing main cast with consistent and likeable supporting characters, well crafted story, alluring artwork and beautiful soundtrack, and you've got yourself a marvelous anime.

It's just a shame that not many Shoujo Ai anime are like this.

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“Before I realized it, Shimamura was surrounded by new people, and things were going well for her but not for me,” Adachi says as she crouches in a dark corner, one episode after thinking about Shimamura naked for a whole hour.

Adachi to Shimamura has so many flaws that I could go on and on about every single detail that makes this show deserving of a 3/10. I planned to do exactly that when I started writing this review. But as I actually thought about what I wanted to write, I found myself gravitating towards one aspect of the show that truly hindered my enjoyment. While I believe that the series has many issues, this review will specifically cover Adachi and Shimamura’s relationship in the show, how it is poorly built, and how it reflects toxic infatuation.

The beginning of the show is rushed, and I don’t feel like I’m getting to know the characters, but somehow, their relationship magically progresses anyway. The story starts off with the two main characters encountering each other in a secluded section of their school gym. They spend their time in that dimly lit area ditching class and playing ping pong. That’s it. Then everything else, including all of the details about their relationship, just falls into place and rushes past the audience at 80 miles per hour. They ditch class and the next thing we know is they’re lying down on each other's laps and talking about each other's thighs. Ten minutes into the show, they’re already able to sense each other's souls. Before their eyes even meet, everything goes in slow-mo, and they know the other person is there. Their relationship literally jumps straight from acknowledgement to a bond so deep it causes clairvoyance. And it’s all just because of the fact that they’re both girls that ditch class. Nothing else ties these two people together.

The worst part is that while the producers of the show don’t draw out the details of their relationship, they do manage to draw out the fact that they ditch class with melodramatic dialogue. They make ditching class seem so sad and lonely that I’m convinced that the show deliberately does this as a way to make you ship these two girls together. ‘People who ditch class together, belong together’; It’s much easier to simply believe that than to actually do some proper relationship building.

Even Adachi seems to believe that ditching class means that they’re suddenly BFFs. And this is where the toxic infatuation starts to show.

To Shimamura, their first encounter was unexpected but fun. She had just found a new friend to hang out with. To Adachi, their encounter gave her life a new meaning. Ditching class was something that Adachi thought only a miserable, friendless kid like her could do. And then came Shimamura who finally understood her feelings of wanting to ditch, and Adachi’s heart burst open.

But when Adachi realizes that Shimamura isn’t actually sad and lonely, Adachi is very very deeply offended. Adachi is so offended that when she finds out that Shimamura has other friends, she begins a two minute internal dialogue about how she wished Shimamura didn’t have her friends. At the end of the first episode, Adachi even tells Shimamura, “I’m glad you aren’t going home with your other friends”.

It’s one thing to want to spend time with your crush because you miss them. And it’s a whole other thing to wish that every single person around your crush becomes completely out of the picture. Adachi wants to be alone with Shimamura so much that Adachi couldn’t care less about the fact that Shimamura has other people who care about her. Adachi feels that Shimamura is entitled to her. Adachi thinks that she is the only person that should get Shimamura’s attention. When Shimamura pays any attention to anyone else, it’s an insult to the “relationship they have built”.

In one episode, Adachi gets jealous of a ten year old girl for sitting next to Shimamura. In Adachi’s eyes, anyone who comes within a 2 meter radius of her crush, no matter the age or situation, automatically becomes a competitor for her love. Adachi is like a possessive partner who tells their girlfriend what to wear. But in this case, Adachi isn’t even dating Shimamura. She just wants to dictate every single person Shimamura talks to, sits next to, and pays attention to. If this is not the definition of toxic, then I don’t know what is.

But this scene escalates even further. When Shimamura wants to try some of the ten year old’s food, she asks the child to give her some. The child then gives her a spoonful of the meal. There should be nothing wrong with this. The child is just following instructions, and Shimamura is just hungry. But Adachi is losing her mind. Upon seeing Shimamura eat someone else’s food, Adachi is thrown into a state of utter jealousy and insecurity. She pouts her lip and literally squints her eyes at the five year old. Then to fight for Shimamura’s attention, she starts feeding Shimamura too! In one smooth motion, Adachi pulls Shimamura by the shirt, and brings a forkful of spaghetti to Shimamura’s face.

In another episode, Shimamura is invited by some girls in her class to eat lunch together. When Adachi overhears this, she looks to Shimamura and all but pleads her not to accept. But Shimamura is a normal girl who can make her own choices, and she chooses to accept their invitation. Adachi is devastated by this decision. She is so devastated that upon seeing Shimamura eat lunch with other people, she physically sprints out of the room.

Adachi cannot stand that fact that Shimamura is an independent person with a life of her own. Shimamura is the center of Adachi’s universe. And Adachi believes that she should be the center of Shimamura’s. It’s expecting, conditional, unrealistic, practically obsessive, and extremely toxic.

This is not how relationships work. No one is entitled to give you their full attention 24/7. Even people who are actually married don’t do this. If you cannot stand the fact that your crush is an independent person who has other things to focus on and has other people to interact with other than yourself, you should not be looking for a romantic relationship. If you feel like the world is ending because your crush isn’t paying attention to you for a couple of minutes, all you need is a baseball cap, and you’re a less violent Joe Goldberg in the making. My advice to Adachi would probably be to focus on herself first. Adachi needs to find a sense of self security so that when Shimamura looks at, speaks to, or interacts with any other human being in any way, Adachi doesn’t feel like her life has lost all meaning.

Adachi needs to get a life. Even when Adachi isn’t with Shimamura, she is constantly thinking of her. When she goes to a store, instead of thinking about what she wants to buy for herself, she thinks about what Shimamura might want. Some episodes just start off with Adachi saying Shimamura’s name over and over again. To Adachi, Shimamura is the sun, the earth, the sky, and the air we breathe. Without her all living things die. Adachi loves Shimamura so much that she wants to be the only person next to her. We might as well call the show Shimamura to Shimamura’s over infatuated fangirl.

From the way the relationship is built to the way that it is portrayed, I find nothing worth praising about Adachi to Shimamura. I don’t know how anyone could find this cute when the main character is too immature and insecure for romance, and every single action in the show is the result of unhealthy obsession and toxicity. All I can say after watching it is that I wish I had watched something else.

3/10

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Humans are social animals, meaning we interact with other humans and experiment how we live with our lives. Adachi no Shimamura’s storytelling feels like a social exploration of two female characters and how their interactions influences each other. Hitoma Iruma’s light novel getting an anime adaptation brings together this unforgettable slice of life, romance tale.

Everyone in this world has their own story. Regardless of race, gender, social status, or any other factor, each one of us lives in our own story. However, our own story sometimes intersects with others and that’s how relationships are built. Among relationships, one of the most dynamic and complex is romance. Not every romance story begins with a pair of characters falling in love. From the very first episodes, we meet Sakura Adachi and Hougetsu Shimamura. With a habit of skipping school classes, both girls meet by what seems to be a red line string of fate. On that special day, their story would come together and become one they won’t ever forget.

At their age, teenagers are the most common form of social animals in society. Adachi and Shimamura exemplifies what it means to be youthful and growing up. They may not have endgame goals in life yet but they have to opportunity to discover their future. Adachi no Shimamura carries a relationship bond that can be simple to understand or complex as you want it to be. Adachi’s encounter with Shimamura isn’t anything out of the ordinary but there’s already something special about them from the very first episode. From there on, the two builds on their relationship beyond the classroom doors as they each discover similarities and differences between each other.

Indeed, this anime’s roadmap has it settled together with the beginning, middle, and to the end. It would seem that while the anime adaptation handles itself at 12 episodes, it knew what road to follow with its pacing. Every episode throws in a new opportunity in some shape or form for Adachi and Shimamura to bond. It all feels so realistic because these opportunities exist in real life such as going shopping, sharing presents during the holidays, or simply just hanging out together at school. Do you remember your teenage years? It was a time to learn more about just school. It was a time to learn about how to be who you want to be in society. Adachi and Shimamura's personalities are also amplified whenever they are together. When you see the two interact, it looks like two curious animals playing with each other. This is unusual for the case of Adachi, as she is introduced with a rather reserved personality. On the other hand, Shimamura is somewhat of a scatterbrain with trouble socializing with others. From the first few episodes, you can tell that both characters aren’t exactly classroom leaders or the first person to raise their hand in class for a school play. They keep to themselves and skip classes to avoid social interaction.

Despite the small cast of characters, the show maintains important relationships between its cast. Outside of our titular characters, there’s also Hino and Nagafuji. With their strong connection, we learn about their commitment as close friends, and perhaps even more. It’s through their bond that carries the intimacy of a relationship. Further down the road, we are introduced to self-proclaimed alien girl Yashiro Chikama, one of the most unusual characters in the show. (don't worry, she's not an actual alien). Often wondering around and about, Chikama displays the innocence of a social animal. Unlike most of the main cast, she loves interacting with others and trying to sell her image as an alien. This type of personality represents the opposite of Adachi and Shimamura, who tries to avoid dealing with other social animals. Nonetheless, Chikama’s addition to the show brings in the comedic side of the anime. Let’s face it, if this show is melancholic throughout the entire duration, it could feel stale. And indeed, be prepared for a lot of melancholic moments ranging from the very first episode to the end. Like I said before, it would seem this show had its roadmap planned from the start. It knew where the anime would begin and how it would end.

Watching this show from start to finish also felt like living in their world with the cast. Adachi and Shimamura are designed with delicacy and feminine charm. This is especially true for Adachi with her icy dark hair while Shimamura has the look of an innocent young woman. On the other hand, Chikama has the unusual look of her skin, almost as if shining as an otherworldly being. Regardless, all the characters are believable humans and it’s not hard to see why. Their character expressions reflect how normal people would interact regardless of their personalities. Furthermore, there’s an elegant degree of tranquility with the visual backgrounds of the show. This applies to scenes with bike riding scenes to the intimate moments we see so often throughout each episode. No, you won’t get to see girls having sex but you will definitely see how curious social animals such as Adachi and Shimamura come together like destiny.

I’m just going to throw it out here and say that regardless how you feel about lesbian relationships, there’s a chance to learn something about the show altogether. When God gave us brains, we all got free will and can chose to be with we want to be with. In this show, there’s Adachi and Shimamura, a pair of social animals that shows us what it means to be real humans.

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mild spoilers ahead

Good morning class, today in Linear Anime 101, we will be discussing the anime formula for the perfect GL: Mandatory head on lap scene, skirt shots, 'cute' scenes that would be considered cringe and creepy if one of the characters was a guy. Any questions? *multiple hands raised* aLrIgHt nO qUesTiOnS, sO LeT's gEt sTaRTed.

Although I haven't read the LN which the anime is based on, in my opinion, Adachi to Shimamura is a frustratingly horrible adaptation of its manga counterpart. When I read the manga, there weren't NEARLY as many of these horrendous, borderline ecchi, oversexualized portrayals. While the manga was cute and had decent pacing, the story was a bit lackluster. The anime is simply a colorized version of this with the same problems and horrendous amounts of offensive filler. Starting from the first episode, the pacing feels super slow and nothing happens other than the introduction of the MCs, Adachi and Shimamura. Initially, the art was actually good. You can really tell the studio clearly put effort into the drawings, such as how they drew the characters’ eyes in a very sparkly and unique way. It honestly felt like a breath of fresh air. However, the studio’s budget was spent mostly on panty shots and still shots of their legs instead of the actual events in the story. It’s one of those anime where the people who like it will say "I watch for the plot", when in reality, there is no plot.

I will admit that there are times where the pacing picks up. But it never makes sense when it does. In the first episode, Adachi and Shimamura meet each other for the first time while ditching class. In a normal romance (and friendship), the next step would be to become deeper friends through exposition and getting to know each other better right? Well the problem is, in the very next episode, we jump past the relationship build up, and Adachi sits in between Shimamura’s legs in a way that is a bit ‘too friendly’. In between the first two episodes, we missed the entire buildup dialogue required for normal people to get to that point. In the span of one day, these two ‘friends’ who, by the way, are not even in a relationship, have reached second base before they’ve exchanged phone numbers. Somehow in just 1 episode, the director managed to get zero development and too much development simultaneously...the only thing that was done differently from the manga is the fact that the anime makes every action as suggestive as possible.

The story doesn’t get better. ⅓ of it is wasted on side characters who have no relevance in developing our MC’s romantic relationship. Take Yashiro for example, an elementary school girl who is honestly brighter than my future. She is literally the sparkliest thing I've ever seen. There was a Christmas tree scene where the lighting of the Christmas tree wasn’t nearly as bright as Yashiro herself. Yeah, that’s how sparkly she is. At first, I didn't dislike Yashiro. But after watching a love triangle start to build between one of our MCs and a ten-year old, I think I’ve had enough. Yashiro doesn't belong in a romance anime. I don't know what her purpose is other than being a cute, shiny child. Sometimes, the episode starts off with that little girl shedding white dust that’s probably lice and making astronaut sound effects because she thinks she’s an alien. We get entire minutes of that. It would be fine if they didn’t also occasionally show us the 10-year old’s undergarments…The cherry on top would be that one random scene where she magically gained the power of flight (which she never used again) and left the building!! Neither Adachi nor Shimamura were fazed by that at all. They were like “Yep, this is normal.”

The other irrelevant side characters are Nagafuji and Hino who are just there to act as Shimamura’s friends and gradually help Adachi get accustomed to making friends. Unfortunately, they suddenly get tossed out of the foreground near the end of the anime, along with all of Adachi’s progress at communicating with others. However, in their few moments together, the audience is actually drawn to ship them as a couple, and for a short period of time, Nagafuji and Hino seem like the best ship. Their moments together surprisingly have depth, despite their short length. Their dialogue seems like everyday chat to the casual viewer, but with enough subtle romance to remind me of Oregairu and its complex, (almost) always intriguing dialogue. Unfortunately, what started out as initially cute with intimate dialogue and affectionate love slowly got too far. Though the scenes are short, the scriptwriters somehow managed to throw logic out the window. Even though they are not in a relationship, Nagafuji randomly kisses Hino on the forehead without context. That’s not too bad honestly, but considering that they’re just friends, it would be really weird if one of your friends kissed you in the forehead regardless of their gender identity right? But let’s consider this next scene: enter a random steamy bath scene where these side-characters are full-on naked and these two girls get into a bathtub together. Okay, that’s normal(?) Then, Nagafuji randomly grabs Hino’s hand and puts it right on her chest and says “I figured I’d let you touch them once in a while. You like them, don’t you?...I’m so generous, aren’t I?” As you can tell, charity doesn’t come every day for these two friends. In fact, you might even call them ‘friends with benefits’!!

I know people like "show not tell" but this anime ain't it I tell ya. I'd rather these characters told me their feelings instead of show me another head on lap scene. (Fun fact: I timed one of the anime’s mandatory head-on-lap scenes for one of these episodes and it was approximately 1 minute and 50 seconds...take what you will out of that) It’s gotten to the point where I wait for the head-on-lap scenes cause that’s the only consistency in the story writing.

I haven’t even started talking about the main characters yet...Shimamura is probably the densest person you’ll ever see. Adachi has clearly made numerous advances towards her in a way that no friend would ever dare to, and Shimamura usually just accepts it since her only purpose is to remain an oblivious love interest. She has the same traits as a girl you’d find out of a dating simulator. But there are times when she breaks out of character and says the weirdest things. One time, Shimamura called Adachi over the phone to let her know, "I was remembering your thighs." "Yeah they're pretty nice." "That was a totally normal thing to say." I wish I was taking these out of context, but these are the main points of their entire conversation. Shimamura also has shounen MC level intelligence. She took 20 entire seconds to figure out that the 25th of December was Christmas. If it wasn't for her brilliant intuition, the audience would've never known and felt shrouded in mystery. But if you’ve watched the anime, Adachi to Shimamura, you actually start to feel bad for Shimamura and here’s why:

Now I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase, “Actions speak louder than words.” I’m gonna describe Adachi’s personality using just that!! Now imagine a scene where a person follows you around and you’re (painfully) aware of it. Now, normally, you call this stalking. But since this is a GL and a sweet female named Adachi is doing the stalking, we call it cute! There's groping and really dirty dialogue too, but you can ignore it cause it's a GL!! However, it has recently come to my knowledge that apparently people in real life do not grope each other? In my experience, every male I have come in contact with has become a fujoshi wet dream and it never fails to satisfy. We kept touching each other over and over and over!! All. The. Time.

Anyways, Adachi has ought to be one of the most pathetic characters I’ve ever seen. Many episodes are spent by Adachi imagining Shimamura and herself together like any high schooler would. But as we’ve seen before, the anime likes to be very extra. Progressively, Adachi’s fantasies slowly become smut daydreams in which Adachi imagines Shimamura literally taking off her shirt and without anything down below. Adachi justifies her lewd fantasy by saying "So it's pretty normal." Yes, seeing your crush without clothes on is fine "because I'm completely normal." Once again, I’d like to remind everyone that this never occurs in the manga. There is no purpose of these increasingly suggestive depictions of these girls other than fanservice. Don't forget the thighs either. Did I mention there are thighs? If you’re looking for an in-depth romance, particularly in the GL genre, Adachi is honestly a nightmare of a character to watch. Even though this isn’t even a harem anime, she has the same traits as every otaku male you find in bad rom-coms like Rent-A-Girlfriend. When 3 people try to make friends with Shimamura by offering to eat lunch with her, the anime tries to villainize them because Adachi is feeling the blues~even though she’s pretty much a stalker...In fact, whenever Adachi sees her crush with another human being, she bolts faster out of the room than Usain Bolt!! When your only motivation for school is a high school crush, something is definitely wrong. That’s why Adachi’s behavior is so damn disturbing.

And don’t be tricked by the ‘cuteness’ of Adachi on the surface, she is definitively the most toxic character I have seen in all of Fall 2020 anime. When Shimamura mentions that she is thinking of Adachi, Adachi goes in for a hug. Awhh so cute. And then Adachi slaps Shimamura in the back 4-5 times and causes Shimamura to start coughing in pain? The volume of slap noises were so loud that it sounded like Adachi beat the shit out of Shimamura. Hands down, top 10 anime fight scene of the year. Adachi’s response was something along the lines of ‘Accidents can happen’. Shimamura is clearly really confused. And Adachi tries to condition Shimamura into giving another hug even though Shimamura is not comfortable. Shimamura asks, “Huh? You want to hug me? Uh...Why?” Shimamura is clearly creeped out. And Adachi says, “Huh? Well… Because it’s warm.” Shimamura reluctantly accepts and then Adachi goes in for a hug, trips, and head smashes right into Shimamura’s chest. Imagine if Adachi was someone male, like the MC of Rent-A-Girlfriend. Replay this entire scene.

I’m honestly losing brain cells trying to analyze one of the biggest insults to visually aesthetic anime in 2020. People will try to downplay this argument with “You can’t compare heterosexual anime with BLs and GLs” and I for the most part agree. I’ve read the manga for Yagate Kimi ni Naru and watched the anime for Given, and I didn’t compare them to typical heterosexual romance anime. Why? Because Yagate Kimi ni Naru and Given had elements of self-realization and doubt that were executed in a significantly more mature and in-depth way. Not once did I ever try to insert an individual of the opposite gender because their stories were designed in a way that it was not feasible to do so. Even in the Adachi to Shimamura manga, I did not feel the need to swap one of the character’s genders because for the most part, everything was what you would find out of an inoffensive cliche rom-com. The Adachi to Shimamura anime though is NOT something that should be praised in the anime community as it is just ecchi-bait for the yuri versions of fujoshi and fudanshi fans. The plot is nonsensical, the scene transitions are nonexistent, and one of the MCs is just a moe version of the Perfect Blue stalker. Although I think the manga is something worth a shot at reading, I will never recommend this anime to anyone in my life. If you still want to watch this atrocity even after this review, be warned that you may never want to watch another GL anime again.

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