Aharen-san wa Hakarenai

Beginning his first year of high school, all Matsuboshi Raidou wants is to make friends—starting with the cute, tiny, and soft-spoken Reina Aharen, who sits right next to him in class. Unbeknownst to Raidou, Reina shares the same sentiment, but she has a problem. Awkward and timid, Reina is incapable of determining how chummy she has to be when approaching a person.

Due to Reina's complete inability to gauge personal space, the two struggle to spark their unlikely friendship, as even the simplest tasks like talking seem impossible for them. But despite the countless yet pointless challenges that hinder the pair, the overly imaginative Raidou will do whatever it takes to befriend the indecipherable Reina.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Aharen, Reina Main

Minase, Inori Japanese

Raidou, Matsuboshi Main

Terashima, Takuma Japanese

Toubaru-sensei Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Aharen, Ren Supporting

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Ooshiro, Mitsuki Supporting

Ichimichi, Mao Japanese

Aharen, Eru Supporting

Hidaka, Rina Japanese

Raidou, Younger Sister Supporting

Nagae, Rika Japanese

Satou, Hanako Supporting

Kusunoki, Tomori Japanese

Miyahira-sensei Supporting

Kozakai, Yurie Japanese

Ishikawa Supporting

Kakihara, Tetsuya Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Kamei, Hiroshi Producer

Hayashi, Tatsurou Producer

Aizawa, Ryou Producer

Reviews

Jun 2, 2024

lycoping

Recommended

As you might see from my previous reviews, I have very little tolerance for anime that phones it in. Whether it be an anime that takes itself seriously and falls flat, or that doesn't take it seriously but can't deliver, I'm usually pretty hard on anime when they don't measure up.

This is one I actually really liked and don't have too many negative things to say (but there are a few).

This is a comedy. There are ordinary situations taken to absurd lengths for comedic effects, and then those absurd lengths become part of "canon" and are lampshaded by other characters. This is ... something that's very difficult to pull off and can be very annoying when done wrong, but in this anime, it's not done wrong. The absurd situations are just absurd enough to be funny and somewhat unrealistic, but not absurd enough to take you out of the story.

The story centers around an expressionless boy's efforts to get close to his expressionless (and indecipherable) classmate, Aharen Reina. They quickly strike up a close friendship - very close, because Aharen can't judge distance well. Physically, as well as socially. As the story progresses, it becomes something closer to a sweet romance rather than just a friendship, but it's still really cute and the trevails their relationship encounters are believable enough that it doesn't take you out of the story.

For the most part, I enjoyed this anime, enough so that I bought the manga.

As with nearly all anime, though, this one's not perfect. My biggest complaint about this anime comes from a tsundere child character who is, well, in Japanese they'd call her a mendokusai (pain in the rear). She keeps accusing the MC of SA, or threatening to, for no reason, and that's amazingly annoying. She's also interested in a little boy who's, well, a boy, and, well, it's an arc (and character) that I kind of could do without. Aharen does kind of become a big sister to her, though, and that's a little cute. And there's also a female teacher character who gets *absurd* nosebleeds for reasons that are a little, um.... creepy. I won't go into more details to avoid spoilers, but she's supposed to be a comic relief character and that just falls flat. There's another character who is, I think, Aharen's childhood friend who is pretty much the exact opposite of Aharen in almost every way - including physically, and is somewhat prone to violence. I'm still trying to figure out why she wears a different uniform, but, maybe it's just because Aharen's wouldn't look as good on her. That's kind of a bad reason for character design inconsistency, but I guess that's a small complaint. And then there's Aharen's brother, er, sister, er... ummm...

Basically, many (nearly all, come to think of it) of the supporting characters are useless and add nothing to the story, in fact, they often detract from it. They're not even funny. But then, you don't watch an anime for the supporting characters (usually) so it's not a huge deal.

But that doesn't take away from the story itself, particularly between the two main characters. All told, I really liked it, and i don't regret watching it. There aren't many anime I can say that about wholeheartedly. So, a nice "recommend" from me, and not just because I think *you* might like it - this is one of those anime where I did as well.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 24, 2023

whiteflame55

Mixed Feelings

The titular Aharen-san is diminuitive, quiet girl that has a particular set of skills. Raido is a large and imposing boy who often comes off as stand-offish, so he doesn't develop many relationships. These two high schoolers go from uncertain of each other to joined at the hip, and this series actually develops its romances rather quickly, though its side characters range from forgettable to frustrating.

In all, it’s a cute production with decent art and a sweet relationship at its heart. Unfortunately, it’s milquetoast. The central joke runs its course early, becoming rote rapidly, and while the series does have a good deal of heart ... by the end, most of the characters are too underdeveloped or one-note to care about beyond the central pair. The titular Aharen is adorable and I like her characterization, but Raido just seems dense most of the time with a couple of moments where he shines. It’s fine, not particularly memorable and nothing stand-out.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jul 2, 2024

CBMiura

Not Recommended

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai it's a decent anime.

The animation it's good, the characters are developed through the show. But for me, the anime fall into the sameness.

It's the same pattern, it's like a copy and paste with a little development of the characters.

I found it enjoyable, but it was very hard to keep the same energy through the entire anime.

So in my opinion, the anime start strong and from that, went down little by little.

If you just want to laugh a little maybe Aharen-san wa Hakarenai it's good for you. But if you want a comedy anime that keep improving while developíng it's ... story and characters, then, I woudn't recommend this for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Which chapter should I start reading the manga after the anime? AlpaquinhaBR - Jul 19	4 replies	by Falcon07 »» Jul 22, 3:17 AM
	Poll: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) NekOniiChan - Jun 17, 2022	164 replies	by Nicona »» Jun 28, 5:55 PM
	Poll: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jun 10, 2022	78 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jun 16, 1:08 AM
	Poll: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jun 3, 2022	144 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jun 16, 12:37 AM
	Poll: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - May 27, 2022	97 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jun 16, 12:21 AM