Keikenzumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai suru Hanashi.

When you have accumulated enough experience or watched enough anime, you begin to see a pattern where most season will often have their share of anime so that every part of the demographic is fulfilled. Casuals and action fanatics got their meal with the 2nd course of Jujutsu Kaisen S2, fans of heartfelt drama are present with the all-new Sousou no Frieren and The Apothecary Diaries. And then you have your usual palette of romance, varying in quality though since everyone has their schtick on it. Naturally, there will be various types of anime to provide to any anime fans, even fans of run-of-the-mill romances. ... By that point, it's obvious that Kimizero is another anime catered towards romance suckers. Without wasting any time, let's jump into it.

First, the production value is nothing short of bland mediocrity at its finest. Who would expect anything good from ENGI after the abomination I had to witness like The Detective is Already Dead? The character models sometimes go off-model, they are mostly still in every shot, and whenever they have to perform movement, it just looks awkward. What would you expect when they adapt another crappy romance light novel? Yup, there's nothing else to comment on other than the word "bad" plastered. Even their main promo picture looks like it was made by an amateur.

When I comment about bad anime, the majority of them would be a lack of character detail or inept storytelling from the author, and this anime is no exception. This anime is filled with tropes that pathetically tried their hand to subvert tropes, only to be for naught. Kashima is a socially awkward otaku who got forced into dating the most fake gyaru ever written. It never tries to develop layers beneath their persona, since the anime is intent on only focusing on the cute romance scenes that don't feel earned whatsoever. The awkward guy in love with an extroverted girl relationship has been tested and succeeded multiple times by different anime like Hyouka or Bokuyaba, but whatever this relationship built up to has been squandered by the mediocrity of the author's capacity to write a compelling romance story. Then you have the most generic friends just to remind you that they have friends, where you're forced to sit through supposed yapping about online creators, trends, or anything just to appeal to the young demographic, but it feels like some old man throwing gestures without understanding the meaning behind it. It just wants to include Gyarus and Otakus for the sake of it.

What's worse about the storytelling is that the premise is not all that bad. Of course, it is generic with the usual relationship, but it had an interesting node with Luna's past suggesting that she was mistreated by her past boyfriends, but never proceeded to expand that hook after Episode 1. It has been used plenty of times before like in other anime, however, it would have made Luna into a more interesting character other than this fake, robotic, and insincere character who just acts nice to everyone she meets. And the anime expects us to believe she's sincere and empathetic to everyone she holds close? It doesn't try to suggest that maybe Luna was a victim of abuse, doesn't try to show that Luna was traumatized by it, or have Luna somewhat push people away from being afraid of being hurt. No, instead you get Luna being too nice that she's willing to let go of people and somehow that's good enough. Then what's the point of the multiple boyfriends then? You could throw away that detail and the anime would work just as fine. With this statement, Luna Shirakawa is the epitome of an AI girlfriend who has no flaws to be explored and made up drama for the sake of its romance.

Luna was such a bad character that even Maria, the supposed love breaker, is more well-written than the main love interest, and that's saying something. Before it decided to make Maria suddenly submissive and willing to let Luna win, she had actual grounded motives and feelings, though it's pretty stupid if it happens in real life, but it's still something that can be understood. A girl trying to get back someone she rejected, only to realize she squandered her chance with a potential boyfriend. Her character is easily the most interesting and holds actual drama behind it. Even the bad boy had more presence than Kashima, who had most of the show's screen time. I get that introverts don't hold a candle against these guys, but when you have the main character and his otaku friends just spouting about streamers and FPS games all the time without any actual meta-reference, it feels like a cheap throwaway just to attract younglings.

I have made my point clear enough. Thank you for reading.

It's the kind of series that we continue to follow because it's so bad that we're curious to know how far it can go...

Once again, we have a very annoying male hero because he is incapable of saying more than 3 words in a row, but in the vast majority of his exchanges, he says nothing! Not even komimasai, there’s silence!
He lets the misunderstanding grow...
here we are not talking about a cultural difference from Japan but about a hero who has more communication problems than an autistic person...
As is often the case in school romcoms, the main character is a cliché of the extremely shy ... kid who makes a big deal out of touching his girlfriend's hand except that here, the girlfriend was up for everything barely 5 minutes after they got into a relationship.
So, unlike other romcoms of the genre, this time, all the moments (and there are many) where the hero makes plans to hold hands, the indirect kiss, all the classic clichés no longer have any meaning ... it's ridiculous to do a fake suspense and whole episode with tricks and everything because he wants to hold her hand while she's ok for the whole thing.

Ok, there is the "real feeling of love" that they want to develop first but the main character is too shy and annoying compared to the girlfriend for that to be credible. Plus, it looks like she has over 50 exes so it's going even less well.
It's typically the kind of romcom that we watch more out of curiosity because the scenario is very bad and we watch it anyway... but once it's over, we only remember that it's very bad and that we should never watch it again...
It's rare that at this point we have a romcom where we constantly wonder why the girl has an interest in this kid who is a big drag, annoying as hell and who when he speaks shows that it's is a big geek who really isn't made for her.
The secondary characters are as hollow as possible and the animation music is basic.

I've seen the 5th episode, it's certain that it's not going to get good all of a sudden, like by magic.
I'm going to pause this series and watch in fast motion when all the episodes are available and put a mark "to delete, forget and especially not watch this anime again.

This anime is an example of a hit or miss show. Most viewers will most likely end up either liking it or disliking. I belong to the third group. I can't say I liked the three episodes that have been released so far, but I also won't say I totally did not enjoy watching them.

Apart from okay direction, decent animation and nice looking art (especially when it comes to close-ups), I don't see anything unique about this show. There have been plenty of romance stories following exactly the same pattern, I mean stories set in high school, with flashy and popular female student getting into ... a relationship with male one, who's rather unpopular, nerdy even. Following patterns popular in certain genre is nothing wrong or uncommon, but with each next episode of Kimizero I couldn't not think about how gradually clichéd this show is becoming. Even the supporting characters feel bland and hollow, as if they were to follow specific tropes in their most basic variants.

What I can see special about this anime is the concept itself. While I'm not into the romance genre, I can't recall when was the last time, if it ever was, when I saw one of - let's call them - generic seasonal romance anime placing huge emphasis on one of character's sexual past and making it one of the driving forces of the romantic relationship described in the show. Here, in "Keikenzumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai suru Hanashi.", as the title suggests, we have a situation where one main character is sexually experienced in a promiscuous way, which causes fellow students to gossip about, and the other one is - surprise - not experienced at all in this sphere. Sexual intercourse happening in a relationship is nothing unusual, but this anime, at least in my opinion, offers the worst possible way of portraying it and makes social degeneracies look like they were actually nothing wrong at all. I know at the end of a day it's just a cartoon, but come on.

It's not an anime dedicated to adults, but mostly to the teenage audience. That kind of message feels quite unfortunate to appear in such show and will surely be a reason for many to just drop this show early on. That's while I find the aforementioned element as "special", it doesn't have be equal with considering as something undoubtedly positive.

While I find this controversial way of handling romance as weird, even if this anime has had a few cute scenes so far, the rest may see it in a different light. Some people will surely find it as outrageous; others might be neutral or even enjoy it, calling this relation as wholesome. What group will you, dear reader, belong to? I can't tell. Everyone must see with their own eyes whether this series clicks with them or not.

Anyway, as for me, I don't see any reasons to continue watching this show. That's why I will just pass on it, just after watching its first 3 episodes. I was moderately entertained with what I've seen so far, but due to reasons mentioned before, I can't leave any other recommendation than "Mixed Feelings". Still, I think it's worth of checking out. Just out of curiosity. Who knows? Maybe someone reading this review will enjoy it way more than I did.

This is a teenager's romantic show that I think is somewhat useful for boys and young men, but maybe not so much for girls or women.
In short you can expect a sugary development, a modicum of drama in the form of misunderstandings, some character development of our couple and enough bitterness to temper the bliss.
In conclusion a decent romantic show, mostly generic, low levels of humor and a mediocre production value and performance.

The premise is not a new one, nerd boy (Ryuuto) loses a bet and has to ask out the school's most popular girl (Runa - modest gyaru/gal type) and she ... accepts. As the title of the show suggests, she's experienced and he's not.
We've seen this before in 'dress-up darling', 'horimiya', 'my first girlfriend is a gal' and several other shows. The premise of this show is not immediately obvious however and the subplot slowly starts to develop as our couple get along. In true soap opera fashion a girl returns from the past who also happens to be related to Runa.

Supporting cast is decent but nothing special, the show almost only revolves around the main love interests.
Some of the misunderstandings can be a little grating and predictable. Why a 7 (good) instead of a 6 (fine)? Because while a lot of shows milk you for time and just push the conclusion, this one does have a good point to its story and drama and can be more relatable than I think most romance shows, the pair dynamic aside. It's also not littered with fan service and 'kyaaa' peeks, which is a relief.

I've already given you the plot summary and what to expect, so go no further if you don't want to know more.
The rest from here are my thoughts on how the characters and how the story develops.

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The reason I stated that this is useful for boys is that one of the 'mystifying' elements of girls, when you're young, is that they flip-flop emotionally depending on the social expectations they experience and set for themselves and others.
To many Runa is going to be a frustrating character - Despite her investing herself in whomever her boyfriend at the time is, her positive outlook and romantic ideals, she's insecure and very quick to run away from confrontation. Her having had many boyfriends has only given her experiences in a shallow way and when Ryuuto starts mattering to her she gets hurt so much quicker.

Insecurity is by no means exclusive to girls, but it is especially prevalent for them since its common for them to ascribe meaning to social interactions that isn't intended or seen by others (something that can continue well into adulthood), which is why women moreso than men are thought of to be prone to drama.
Please do not take this as a 'literally all' generalization, all people have some measure of insecurity but because girls mature quicker they experience this faster than boys. Also boys tend to be insecure from a lack of achievement from which they primarily derive self worth.

That little tangent aside, the point is that I think the show does a good job of showing you some of the issues you can expect from a school relationship. Not so much repeated impossible timing misunderstandings, but misunderstandings in general and what others might see as an issue even if you don't. And, also to not give up and to figure out what you want and go for it.

I don't think Runa is particularly realistic, but I recognize many facets of her behaviour from past relationships and I think it makes for a decently considered story.

Ryuuto himself is nothing to write home about, he's mostly an everyman who makes a few good observations and starts steering his life in a long term direction which is admirable and a good approach. I think his limitations are what you could expect from an inexperienced boy, so his weaknesses aren't annoying or particularly unrealistic, at least for a somewhat socially awkward nerd.

There’s almost always one random anime that will get some controversy no matter if for something that is minimal or stupid yet will become the center of criticisms about the show, and in this case the series that got this treatment was KimiZero. For some reason, the main girl made some people go crazy with part of her gimmick, which in this series is that she already had relationships with other boys in the past and even had sex with them. That’s all, and as it was proven in the past by series like HigeHiro where you could complain about basically anything like bad writing, ... bad animation, badly written characters, etc, but instead people ignore them and whine about a completely unrelated thing, as the main complain there was also that the girl in the cover wasn’t a virgin.

Some people will say that the writing of this series seems like it was made by an incel, and I have to disagree, after all, that kind of people are the most likely to complain that the girl had sex before. In fact, I can’t comprehend how such a simple series like a romcom got so misunderstood, the memo that you get from here is not that having multiple relationships and sex with literally anything is good, no, the series paints this in a negative light and Runa regrets it because it happened due to her bad decisions on how to make a significant relationship. The fact that this simple fact gets over so many people’s heads is surprising to me, as it is something very easy to pick up from so many episodes, the one in the festival in particular is extremely blatant about this. This series at least tries to make sense, as some people will have a sexual life earlier than others, and they might regret it later if it isn’t with someone that matters to them in the first place.

But now, is KimiZero a good series? Of course fucking not, as much as I want to side with the fans of this series, that simply isn’t possible for me. At the very least, I think this series is commendable for actually having the main girl who is super popular and beautiful interacting with boys, and having had relationships in the past, because in most romcoms God forbid that the main girl has ever interacted with any boy except the MC. The series obviously suffers from average romcom and light novel writing, nothing actually exciting happens, and when it does, it is written like a Mexican telenovela, like, do people think that the twin sister of a girl faking to be her is not something ridiculous? As it happens, the MC is also bland as hell and the relationship came to be in a completely unnatural way, it happened because Tanjiro asked Runa to become his girlfriend after he lost a bet with his friends and she simply accepts like it was nothing, no one in their sane mind would see this and think it isn’t forced, and even if some moments between Tanjiro and Runa were fine enough, it isn’t enough to see this series and think it was anything meaningful. I can stand the telenovela tier writing because I grew up watching a lot of them, so that’s why most romcoms are not something that bother me at all, and this one is not exception, this series is simply boring most of the time and not much more, it isn’t actively annoying, and it was a good enough joke when a character started talking about something they are very passionate about and the other was completely lost without understanding anything.

Nicole acting like a bitch towards Tanjiro was always something weird, she constantly told him that he shouldn’t do anything bad about Runa, when he looks so inoffensive and his personality is literally “I’m nice”, I can only wonder if she was doing the same for previous Runa boyfriends or if she saw Runa being hurt so many times she started being overprotective coincidentally with him, I want to believe the second one, especially because Runa seems to ignore a lot of her advices, but there’s nothing to tell me that she isn’t like this because the current guy is the protagonist and apparently she must annoy him. There’s also other romantic relationships happening in the background with Tanjiro’s friends and the other gyaru, but they go nowhere and fail miserably at it. And Maria is probably the side character that is most important, her deal is really weird, she is also in love with Tanjiro and he even confessed his love towards her in the past but she rejected him, so why is she seeking for his love now even after she rejected him before? Is it just to have more drama in the show, as it happens she is jealous of Runa, but at the same time wants to be more noticed by her because of their relationship? She acts like a bitch half of the series and then victimizes herself, she clearly has problems in her, and it all revolves around Runa and Tanjiro.

As it stands, KimiZero is basically just a generic romcom with more drama than it should have, but at the same time has a female MC that seems more plausible than other girls from other romcoms, thanks to her not being an untouchably pure virgin. I seriously cannot make an effort to be on either side of the conflict about the series, since I for one think that anyone can have any relationship with anyone they want, so I cannot agree with the haters, but I also disagree with the people saying this is a wholesome show, as nothing about it stands out as actually meaningful or even cute.

Thank you for reading.

TLDR;

BEGONE THOT!!!!


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Ah, where do I even begin with this web of storytelling... "Bound by Fate: His High School Love Affair"? The title should've been my first warning sign, and yet, I trudged on—my curiosity is a curse, I swear.

As a devoted anime enthusiast and a connoisseur of light novels, I'm no stranger to characters that tread outside the realm of 'typical'. Yet, this narrative, my friends, goes beyond that. Here, we are introduced to a female lead who frolics through the plot like a flagrant libertine, compromising the very essence of character development.

What's worse? Our 'golden boy' main character seems to be ensnared by this ... inexplicably promiscuous siren. It's as if he's stuck in some bizarre vortex where common sense has taken an extended vacation. Let me say this, my fellow readers: there's a fine line between quirky character traits and unmitigated disregard for the values we uphold.

Chastity and fidelity might seem old-school, but they're the pillars of any profound relationship narrative. However, in this tale, these elements have been kicked aside, replaced by an insidious message that it's all fair game in love. Oh, but it isn't!

Now, I get it, authors often push boundaries. But remember the line between 'bold' and 'ill-conceived'. Our dear authoress here, I'm afraid, has crossed that line and ventured into the abyss of the latter.

The female lead, as seductive as she's meant to appear, feels more like a caricature than a fully fleshed-out character. It's as if the author's idea of being 'different' is creating a character who is, for lack of a better term, off the rails. Her behavior, far from being quirky or edgy, simply feels inappropriate.

Then there's our unfortunate male lead, the supposed 'good guy', who is inexplicably drawn to this whirlwind of a woman. Despite his previously established principles and the author's attempts to paint him as an upstanding character, he falls for her. I mean, is this meant to be a love story or a cautionary tale?

I could ramble on, but let's be succinct: there's pushing the envelope, and then there's sending it off the cliff. This story? It's doing a swan dive right off that precipice.

She’s slept with a bunch of guys and never really learned her lesson that she should value her body more. It’s ok that she’s not a virgin, but there’s a limit to stupidity that she crossess.

That’s my issue with the characterization of her. How is it that she is quick to have sex with the idea of pleasing her boyfriend, gets dumped every time, and doesn’t learn her lesson. It would make sense if she was obsessed with sex more than love, but the story, from what I’ve seen from others explain it (I haven’t read it), makes her character the opposite: disinterested in sex ... and interested in pleasing her partner.

So she falls in love with the MC. But how is it that she spent so much time getting used without learning ‘I’m being used for sex’ ‘I’m dating shitty men’ ‘if I found someone serious they wouldn’t even want sex so quickly in the first place’ etc. So since she isn’t absolutely obsessed with getting ran through, then she must have a really, really, really low iq or a learning disability. Which if this were the case, then she wouldn’t have the social awareness and skills to maintain herself to be beautiful, stylish, and top-caste.

I want to give it a chance, but I have a fear that the MC won’t change much in his nature and remain as the small fry he is, characterization of Runa would become hard to explain through plot without creating plot holes, and a different story without such extreme non realism would have been better.

Example: Runa had a small amount of boyfriends that used her, and she changed her demeanor because of the rumors that came with it. OR Runa is sex obsessed but begins to change when she meets the MC who was the only guy to turn away her direct advances.

I find the current characterization to be one of the most unsettling things I’ve ever witnessed because it combines pure of heart and impure of mind and body. Yet this unsettling feeling is also interesting in itself. But if someone who’s read it has an explanation for why Runa’s pure heart didn’t protect her body’s purity or why her impure body didn’t change her heart’s purity please let me know. Because if we were to say that she lost her virginity and was dumped, I feel like most people with normal observational skills would realize that they were used and not continue to pretend that sex is something you do to keep a partner if you are not sure of their intentions. Like the Mc saved the heroine but instead of the antagonist being social pressure, depression, desperation, or lust, it was her own naivety.

Another thing I wish to see and I’ll just throw this out there but given the story, Runa is an innocent girl who has been used a lot and it affects the mc. Thus, the ex boyfriends are evil in a way. In this kind of situation I would wanna see the Mc become a social force to be reckoned with and absolutely wipe the floor with the ex bfs. This kind of story demands a need for schadenfreude to put those characters in their place, prove them wrong, and destroy their egos. The reason for this is that usually a male protagonist is fine being messed with, but if they mess with someone they know, it gets serious. And I’m assuming that Runa at some point shows regret for her past? If this revenge or schadenfreude exists in the story I’ll definitely watch it and read it. If it doesn’t then oh well I’ll give it a try but put it no where near the top anime
Talking about the actual review This is hell of a boring anime like a soap opera where things and characters don't make sence.

Luna and Ryuuto's dynamic may be wholesome and all, but does it deserve a place on your watchlist? "Kimizero" is like the fast food version of a romcom, and not the good kind. The character dramas are so dull even a sloth would ask for a refund on its time investment.

Four episodes in, and I'm still wondering if this anime was created as part of a secret plot to test my patience. The characters themselves are similarly dull, some borderline hateable. Ryuuto and Luna make for a boring main couple, Ryuuto's "friends" are insufferable, Luna's friend(s) are barely fleshed out, and the lone character with ... a bit of personality, Maria, plays the tired role of a derivative romance antagonist: Family Drama edition. It's like they attended a "Romcom Writing 101" class and followed the syllabus to the letter. Whatever conflicts that do arise are uninventive, and I could hardly care about how they affect them in the slightest. You're set up to root for them and their romance just seems pure, perfect, and infallible, only set back by the difference in personality between the two and the romance drama including Maria.

The most entertainment value it gives is watching Ryuuto geek out while Luna plays catch-up, or the inner debates of the turbo virgin's deciding whether to go full hornball mode or keep it in check, who, to his credit, often opts for the more virtuous path. However, let's not even get started on his dreadful friends, whose entire existence seems to revolve around being equally inept and dripping with envy over their friend landing a girlfriend. Luna is the naive hopeless romantic female lead and Ryuuto, unremarkable as he is, means well for the most part is the outlier, the loner who "treats her better" than her exploitative exes. Wow. "Kimizero" has as much appeal as watching paint dry, and the humor is about as uninspired as a blank canvas.

If you're in the mood for a similar wholesome romance between a gyaru and a loner, there are far better options out there. This anime is basically a wish-fulfillment fantasy where a socially awkward loser treats the popular girl better than her exes did. It's almost as if the target audience consists of guys who genuinely take "nice guys finish last" as a life mantra. The fact that it implies everything would be static in Luna's love life unless Ryuuto's friends dared him to confess just further appeals to that type of crowd, even if that wasn't the goal.

To be fair, I threw in the towel, so there's a slim chance it might improve later on. But given everything else I've witnessed so far, I'm not holding my breath. Nothing has convinced me to keep watching.

Oh and the animation's seasonal fodder. The art/character design is subjective (I personally find Kimizero's pretty plain.) but the production or animation quality isn't anything special to make up for the lackluster concept.

I do like the peppy opening tho. It's cute.

Im glad that i gave a chance to this anime.I dont know why people hate this anime so much like i think they are a good couple there is love,drama,comedy,friendship just everything you need from a romance anime.Also the animation is quite good i dont have anything bad to say about it as the beggining of the anime is kinda weird moving to the 3rd episode it gets better and worth watching.And so on as this is not the perfect romance anime it might be the best for the season, at least for me it is.
I strongly recomend to everyone to give it a chance ... it wont hurt!

As an anime fan, I don’t really have a specific genre that I prefer over others. Each genre has its own charms. An anime of the romance genre like "Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me" usually consists of an emotionally driven story focusing on the romantic relationship between two people. The centrepiece of such a work is the process of falling in love and the organic growth in the relationship, which usually resolves into a lovely romantic ending.

Our Dating Story is a bit of a departure from the traditions of the genre. The premonitory signs of its arrival are present in ... other titles from recent times, signs indicating that the Ani-Manga industry is beginning to pick up on emerging patterns in our society. The result is a title that mirrors how our romantic relationships are changing in ways that I do not think is for the better. With this review I will try to explain my thoughts.

The Animation

Let’s address the least negative aspects first by mentioning its animation. Our Dating Story has a typical romance art style where the characters are the main focus the majority of the time. The backgrounds are either not shown or just blurry and not as detailed as the faces of the characters. One good thing is that there wasn’t any fan service that would have made the show even more awkward than already is.

The Story

Our Dating Story has the same setting as in any other typical romance anime, pairing up the most popular girl in school, Runa, with our old boring male MC, Ryuuto. How original. Although actually, it is original to a degree. The character descriptions in the title aren't there for no reason: while the girl, "The Experienced You", is famous for having the experience, the young man, "The Inexperienced Me", is about as popular and experienced as ... well, the inexperienced me. And it's this central premise, being an accurate reflection of societal trends, that gives the anime its spark of originality.

However, the presentation of how this love story plays out sits uneasily with me, and furthermore raises serious questions and concerns about the romance genre in general.

Why has the male role in Anime become so pithless and low on esteem?

Why has the standard of the female role become “highly experienced”, degrading and even shameless?

There is a sense of disrespect in the whole story directed at both sides. As an example of how it disregards and disrespects the male role, let's consider why Ryuuta fell for Runa in the first place. The anime tried to make it look as though it's all natural attraction, but when you dig deeper, you find the real reason he's attracted to her is because she's famous amongst the other guys - he's basically just a fanboy!

In addition, the story propagates the idea that a boring but nice, traditional anime male protagonist would likely choose an experienced, non-traditional girl over an innocent, traditional one. The show does this by presenting a secondary love interest in the form of Runa's sister, Maria. Maria is more in the mould of the traditional anime girl in that she is inexperienced. But the anime made her character manipulative and unlikeable, and I feel like this was done just to make us like Runa more.

Our Dating Story also disrespects the female role. While the boy stays somewhat traditional, the girl on the other hand is so lost that it's actually saddening: she doesn't even understand how relationships function, and the anime treats her like a senseless person, using ignorance as an excuse for negligent behaviour. Runa had slept with a few other guys in the mistaken belief that this is what dating and relationships are all about, and the story glosses over it like it's not a big deal. The main message this sends is that it doesn't matter because Runa doesn't know what she's doing. To be fair, she did make some progress towards the end as she slowly realised her earlier mistakes and came to appreciate how dating and relationships really work. However, this progress wasn't particularly deep.

The final straw for me came when, at one point in the anime, the boy actually said: “I want to be worthy enough to be your boyfriend.” At that point, I closed chrome, turned off my computer and just sat there for long minutes trying to understand when and how did romance anime end up like this. With all due respect, how is this even remotely entertaining or enjoyable? I honestly feel anger that this type of plot elements are allowed to become the norm.

As a sensitive person myself I can easily get depressed by the smallest incidents, gestures and even thoughts, so why would I want this modern generation and everything that is happening in our worn out society to influence the only source of escapism that I have left? I started watching anime because I felt in it a world that was more enjoyable and less stressful than real life. So when an anime brings real events into its premise, it can be demanding and difficult to watch. This anime is just one of myriad attempts within a short period designed to pollute the only refuge from real life left, the anime industry. That said, I am not totally against the dramatization of real life in anime, but at the very least, the drama should be believable and arise from the natural interactions between the characters. In Our Dating Story, the presentation of the drama does not feel genuine: it feels forced into the writing and the settings.

Premise / Influences

Whilst the premise of Our Dating Story can be seen as a factual presentation on how injured the state of our dating scene and relationships are, as the story progresses it also shows the male MC leading the relationship in a more traditional direction. When Ryuuto was offered sex by Runa early on he actually turned it down as he was on a "mission" to show her how a genuine relationship is built. Although this is a worthy end goal in the story, I still can't get behind the representation and normalisation of the current hookup culture found in the plot, because it sets a bad example for our society. Runa from Our Dating Story is just one of many recent characters inspired by this trend, with other examples including Elina (Mushoku Tensei), Ogiwara Saryu (Hige wo Soru), Himeno (Chainsaw Man), etc.

I really believe that women like Makise Kurisu (Steins;Gate), Hyuuga Hinata (Naruto), Yatogami Tooka (Date A Live) are not only great examples of loyal waifus, but their like also exist in real life. Similarly, the likes of Vanitas (Vanitas no Karte), Todoroki Shouto (My Hero Academia), Houtarou Oreki (Hyouka) and Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) are male characters that as a man I feel I can look up to. As their models are exemplary loyal.

It's obnoxious when romance is reduced to sexuality, and when any show containing ecchi elements is becoming so increasingly sex-centred that it's not funny or cute any more. I miss the times when talking, a hug or even just a pat on the had were considered romantic gestures; when we waited not for when or how these characters lay down together, but for merely a kiss to seal a relationship. This show on the hand is completely lacking in this kind of genuine emotional chemistry that I consider enjoyable.

Conclusion

Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me, is the final straw for me thanks to its uncomfortable and distressing plot elements. Although it draws inspiration from reality, to be instructive to the audience it must provide good examples to emulate. Despite some positive progression, in general this anime does quite the opposite. For this reason I cannot recommend it. In fact, I strongly suggest you watch something else, for example these romance anime:

- ReLife
- Darling in The Franxx
- Nisekoi
- Plastic Memories (drama)
- Snow White with the Red Hair
- Date A Live

If you are new to anime, please watch Date A live instead of this destructive act on our ani-manga industry. By instilling these characteristics traits as obligatory, Our Dating Story reinforces the current societal trends, sending us on a downward spiral that will devastate our social lives in the future. I am honestly afraid that plot elements like this will be used more and more often, so I felt I had to express my thoughts and feelings for the sake of the Ani-Manga industry.

I also know that this is just an Anime, but every media can make significant impressions on our lives. Thus I believe you can judge an anime based not only on its animation and characters, but on its core principles and how its premise influences society.

Much appreciation goes to kekekeKaj to his generous contribution on improving my review for submission!

Thank you for reading!

this show is extremely cringey in some moments but also cute in others. the one thing I really hate about this show is the unnecessary drama between the characters and the reasoning behind it. overall this show is just your average romance anime that has the mandatory waifu and generic loser that somehow gets with her. very predictable as of episode 9 and it’s been so unrealistic to the point I want to stop watching but I can’t because I need to see how it could possibly make this score go any lower than it already is, that or raise it, who knows

Watching this anime is like eating a bowl of unseasoned oatmeal, except that bowl of oatmeal was made a month ago, frozen, and then reheated shortly before eating. There's really nothing original about the show at all, and none of its elements are executed particularly well or with any elegance.
The show puts a lot of surface level emphasis on the dynamic between the main romantic leads(unpopular nerdy guy vs very popular and extroverted gyaru). This isn't exactly a novel dynamic, in fact it's one of the more common ones for shounen romcom stories, but the emphasis placed on it and the explicit acknowledgement of sexual ... experience added on top could have lead to some interesting explorations of teen relationships, romance, and sex. Could have. I think the first episode does decently enough at handling Runa's(the main girl) warped view of sex and romance, and how that has lead to her reputation as a promiscuous person willing to sleep with anyone. The show clearly presents her views as unhealthy and self destructive ones enforced on her by past partners who convinced her the only way to make them happy was sex. Other people on the internet have approached this show from a frankly misogynistic viewpoint of claiming Runa's sexual proclivity is inherently wrong, but I feel it's important to note that her viewpoint is wrong because she isn't doing it for her own self fulfillment, but because she believes it's what's expected of her by the men she dates. And the show does luckily make that clear. Unfortunately, this is where I stop having anything good to say about the show, because that element only ever comes up again to allow Ryuuto to turn down her offers of sex every so often as if that makes him a Paragon of moral virtue. From episode 2 onward, this anime becomes a distillation of the most bland elements of every shounen romcom from 2010-2015. Every character, every plot beat, all of it is just a series of overdone tropes played entirely by the books. The main character Ryuuto himself is a cardboard cutout of a man whose only discernible personality traits are: 1. Likes watching gaming livestreams 2. Likes cars 3. 'nice guy'. He's the kind of audience insert I thought had been relegated to bottom of the barrel seasonal isekai.
The art and animation are the definition of mid, as well. While there's nothing egregiously bad about either, the stills and characters all just look slightly wonky and the animation feels stuff and unexpressive. The characters facial expressions barely change aside from their mouths being either tilted upwards or downwards, and the occasional but of red on their cheeks. The colours are very nice, but they're kinda wasted on character designs that are sometimes actually difficult to tell apart from one another.
I mentioned at the beginning of this review that this anime is like oatmeal that was frozen for a month, and I'd like to elaborate on that metaphor. Oatmeal, if prepared correctly, can serve as a delicious and fulfilling breakfast you can be satisfied eating. However, his anime lacks any flavour whatsoever but is somehow actively unpleasant to consume because the blandness only highlights the mushy gross texture it got from being frozen for a month. Do not watch this anime.

Our Dating Story is a cute though mostly unremarkable dorky guy, popular girl romance. While its overall production is average, it is still occasionally a refreshing take on the high school romance genre.

To the story’s benefit, Ryuto and Runa start dating in episode one. This development allows the show to explore romantic themes that are interesting, but often unexplored due the genre’s emphasis (and dragging out of) ‘the pursuit’ of the relationship. It may feel refreshing to a romance fan to see this show discuss regret from previous relationships, the social consequences of dating, perceived (and real) social status differences between dating partners, dealing ... with your boyfriend/girlfriend’s friends, jealousy, communication expectations and inferences, missing your opportunity to date someone you like, and exploring each person’s philosophies towards dating.

Consequently, though I think these themes are underutilized and the characters are often less interesting than they could be, the show does successfully pull these themes out of its characters. Ryuto is mostly your run of the mill dorky guy who is compassionate when it is appropriate, perceptive when he needs to be, and scared the rest of the time. However, he can be interesting when he occasionally overwhelms Runa and wrestles with how others will perceive their relationship. Runa’s weakness is that she is too loving, too loyal, and too pretty, and has been just unfortunate regarding romantic partners. However, her regrets are relatable and their mutual attraction to each other seems natural.

The supporting cast ranges from uninteresting and unlikable to interesting but two-dimensional. The production quality between animation and sound design is average. Not distracting, but not exceptional like My Dress Up Darling. The OP and ED are fine.

In conclusion, this show so far has a good premise for a romance but under-utilizes its most interesting themes and over-relies on common character tropes to tell its story. Those who already enjoy anime romances will probably enjoy this one as a 7 or 8 and is relatively unique compared to other high school romances, but ultimately is not novel enough to draw in new fans.

Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me has a very strong story behind it, with it's main flaw being how it both starts and ends.

Story & Characters: Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me tells the story of Ryuuto Kashima, an introverted high schooler who once asked Maria Kurose out after finally summing up the courage to tell her that he likes her. This was back in middle school. They eventually got seperated because her dad had different work situations that didn't allow her to stay at the same school. Now, Ryuuto is tricked by his ... friends Yuusuke and Ren to confess to another girl. The pick this time? The ever so popular Runa Shirakawa, known for going on lots of dates and dating... a lot of different dudes. After confessing, they both basically start dating to "try it out". It's a pretty weak premise, and may make you appreciate anime where the lead up to the final episode is where our main duo start to date. Despite all this, the stories about our main characters are actually filled with a decent amount of drama and pull!

Ryuuto and his friends game a lot, and have taken a liking to a streamer named KEN. Together, they watch streams and discuss the latest happenings in the gaming world. But, being high school friends, they tease each other in ways that many others might. Including making Ryuuyo somehow confess to one of the most popular girls in his grade AND get her to say yes. Runa comes with her own baggage, in that the whole school somehow how this unfair opinion on her as a girl, and it puts her in a weird position. The rumours? That she dates guys for a short time, sleeps with them, then is single again after a month or two. It's not flattering. That in itself could have built up more drama that it did, but still, it brings up a good point that the quiet and introverted Ryuuto dating a popular and outgoing Runa brings about a solid story. The "nice guy" act? Is Runa looking for what, and what parts of the rumours surrounding her are true? I really liked what they did with her story because they aren't exactly easily answered.

Nikoru is Runa's best friend and one of my favourite archetypes - the friend who always has your back. Not only this, but she backs up those words EASILY. She isn't one to mince words and makes it perfectly clear that she's watching out for Runa, including what nasty rumours float on about her. If I didn't love her enough, she had a few plot points sprinkled around the season, and they do a good job displaying those sides of her. As mentioned previously, Ryuuto's friends Ren and Yuusuke don't really amount to much outside of being included in a few episodes as being "kind of there". They could have added more to their characters with what little we saw, but it never amounted to much. Same goes for Shuugo Sekiya, a friend of Ryuuto's that he goes to cram school with. His view of love is weirdly skewed in a certain direction, and I didn't feel like he added much to the series at all - outside of basically having one job in the series, which I didn't even like. Maria joins the cast and randomly appears in Ryuuto's life for portions of the series. And what does she do? Immediately cause drama. Her character does a really good job at giving this series a bit of a different feel, and her connections to Runa also add another solid layer to a series that keeps adding some stronger plot points. Not everyone will like her because of certain lengths she goes through to see Ryuuto, but she's still a strong add to the series, and she develops quite nicely by the end.

In case it wasn't obvious already, this series basically seeks to ask two questions: How will Ryuuto handle the most popular girl in his grade, especially when he isn't experienced at dating, and how will their very differing personalities clash? These are strong storylines that, when done well, create some fantastic moments in romance anime. And you know what? I think it was handled pretty well. Experience in dating is obviously what the series' title is referring to, and watching the person who is "experienced" in dating going about her life with someone who isn't, was actually quite magical for me. What's she expecting out of person number-x? Her personality is quite bubbly and happy, and it lends itself well to having a partner with literally zero experience in dating. Could she have pushed harder? Yeah, maybe. But seeing someone like Ryuuto try so hard for his partner is always a joy to watch.

The strength of the series lies in the stories told in the middle, as these are the moments when Ryuuto and Runa are trying to sort out what makes them different, and how best the past the time when they have time together. Some of the choices are somewhat predictable, or far too common in anime, but at the very least, they are executed well enough. My personal favourite was a place that they went to with some other classmates because it was both different, and gave us time to see their personalities fleshed out a little more than usual. Outside of our main duo, their many of Ryuuto's classmates don't interact with each other much, so this was a good moment to see that.

As we get to the final episode, we expect a wrap up of sorts, but this series doesn't really do that in a conventional way. Instead, they try and add a lot of ideas into the finale, and they're all really rushed. They're strong, but they needed time to breath a bit more than they did. With that amount of content, you could easily stretch it into two or three episodes and create more great moments between characters, and I wish they did that. (Story: 8/10, Characters: 7/10)

Art: This series probably wasn't very high budget, but the animation does it's job for the most part. There's nothing too offensive in the movement or nicer moments, which is good to see. For a series that sports a character with some questionable backstories like Runa, I was expecting some random fan service shots, but these were basically all kept out, thankfully. (7/10)

Sound: No real complaints about the sound either. Again, it mostly does it's job here. (7/10)

Overall: Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me has some fantastic story moments, even if they could have been given more time to breath a little - specifically with some of our side characters, and the finale. The low-ish production value didn't bother me all that much because getting to know two very different characters with our main duo was the draw of the series. This is a decent school-romance pick up, even if it's not exceptional. (7/10)

Keikenzumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai suru Hanashi—a series that initially raised my eyebrows with its premiere, sparking concerns of delving into the realms of Hentai or Ecchi narratives, oftentimes leading to lackluster tales.

Nevertheless, beguiled by its artistry, I ventured forth. To my surprise, the unfolding narrative transcended my initial reservations. Characters, steeped in genuine emotions, underwent tangible growth, lifting the series beyond the confines of anticipated clichés.

Central to its theme was the exploration of intimate relationships, a subject handled with weight and nuance. It posed such connections as pivotal choices within the landscape of personal evolution and human connections.

Though burdened ... by the tired archetype of the improbable nerd securing the attention of the coveted love interest, I chose to forgive this familiarity, opting to appreciate the series for its commendable aspects.

While not ascending to the echelons of top-tier anime, the journey offered sufficient engagement to merit this review. However, it lacked the allure compelling enough to beckon me for a revisit in the future.

Overcoming Rizz-deficiency.

Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me is another Light Novel “romcom” about another audience-insertable teenage loser being dragged kicking and screaming out of his shell by his crush who happens to be perfect in every way with a bit of a twist to that tired, worn-out formula. The teenage toilet paper person in question actually asks out his crush (forced to by his loser friends) and enters a relationship with her, and the perfect gyaru waifu doesn’t understand men very well and tends to skip to base four on the first date because of a misguided belief that that’s how ... relationships are supposed to work so she has… a lot of experience.
That is the basic premise of the story. A popular girl goes out with an unpopular dork and he's got to man up and become someone worth dating. It’s a bit like My First Girlfriend is a Gal but a hundred times less shameless and a hundred times more light novel.

Honestly, it’s not that bad of a show when it’s just focused on Runa and Ryuuto’s relationship which can be surprisingly sweet. They're very different people but they both accept and encourage their differences, developing trust and an understanding towards each other. I know it’s hard to believe that this is an anime romcom where the central couple are honest about their feelings towards one another, but they do! Would you be shocked if I told you there was HANDHOLDING before episode 4?? Hell, even a KISS before episode 5??? Wait a minute, hang on a second, wait, WHAT??? Relationship development? In my anime romcom?? HUH??

Unfortunately where this show falls apart is in its supporting cast. While Runa’s friend Nikoru is a total bestie looking out for Runa and later Ryuuto after he wins her over, Ryuuto’s two friends are completely insufferable. They’re there to give Ryuuto relationship advice despite them never being in a relationship themselves and their advice usually ends up sabotaging Ryuuto’s confidence or creating unnecessary drama.
But the cream of the insufferable crop is Maria who not only plays the “childhood friend who rejected me in middle school yet secretly has feelings for me” character but is also probably a psychopath. She is literally just there to cause drama.

The art and animation are very average. They look like light novel characters, they move like light novel characters and they talk like light novel characters, by golly, it’s a light novel adaptation. Cheap as hell. What did you expect?

Despite its mediocre story and an insufferable supporting cast, I think the biggest hurdle viewers will have to get over is how cringe-as-fuck the writing can be. Cringe is in the eye of the be-cringer but some of the writing and as well as Ryuuto himself had me putting my hands over my head and my balls retreating into my body. If you can push through that feeling nearly every episode then there is a nice little relationship to follow here. I can’t say Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me isn't good or bad, but there is something there that makes me understand why a lot of weebs like this show.

5/10 Mediocre.

Keikenzumi is an anime that starts with a premise that as a whole is entirely not original, but that has a small spice to it that makes it different than most of the others one could watch of this genre, which is the fact that the main girl is the experienced one and that already had plenty of relationships, while the main boy is the one that never did anything related to romance. Just because of that alone, there will surely be plenty of people that will hate this anime, because they are unable to see a main girl that is not a pure and ... innocent angel getting the spotlight, however, the ones considering watching this anime should not bother with that, for this is the literal one single thing that it is able to do properly: the interaction between someone with experience and someone without, and how each of them reacts to one another.

That is not to say though, that there are not plenty of others reasons to not watch this anime, because there surely are. From standard romances, it is probably among the worst ones of all, with not only very bad writing but also very bad investment on the anime, giving it ugly (though not the worst possible) animations, cheap style, lack of any significant music, and an horrible direction that cuts very relevant content from the light novel making some episodes utterly nonsensical. If that investment problem was all, it would not be a big issue, for romance animes tend to be less demanding in terms of animation and investment in general, to begin with, however it is not a case in which the quality of the animation sinks down the quality of the writing, it is a case in which both of these aspects hold hands and sink together to the bottom of the seas.

Every single character is extremely shallow and plain uninteresting, with motives that the ones watching would easily wonder if the author even gave it some thoughts before writing it. From common nonsense of characters falling in love after an exchange of 5 words on the stairs, to the famous group of losers that spend most of their day horny and makes that their entire personality, this anime has most of the standard badly written scenarios, and the development of the plot and its attempts to create dramas doesn not fall behind. Each drama that happens throughout the anime manages to be sillier than the one that happened before, to the point that one could wonder if they are really teenagers, and not middle-school children because of such silly mentality, with characters fighting over the most stupid and irrelevant things, and even risking their relationships over reasons so petty that it feels absurd, the type of thing that could be solved by literally talking for 20 seconds with each other. Perhaps that was an attempt to replicate the silly nature that teenagers of this age tend to possess, but it is made in such an absurd and exaggerated way that instead it feels like the show is about kids of 8 years old fighting between themselves because one took the toy of the other.

For those looking for something that simply has cute interactions, this anime may be something desirable, for it does have a few cute moments, but besides that; the fact that it follows well its premise of experience versus inexperience; and a few good original designs that manage to carry on even to the cheap animation, there is nothing else that this anime offers of valor. Every character besides the two main girls has absolutely zero depth, and while these two—Runa and Maria—does have a little bit more going for them, that does not save them from being badly written as well. Every other character—important characters, a relevant detail—is bad to the point that they do not even make sense, and if not straight from the beginning, they will disappoint and feel extremely childish or stupid at some point.

Let me paint a picture for you: Kimi Zero—an anime that whispers of inconsequential teenage romance. 🌸

This delightful series delves into themes of love, social isolation, and family fractures. At first glance, I admit, it seemed a tad unrealistic. I mean, don’t we all secretly hope that if we like someone, they might just like us back? But alas, reality doesn’t always play along—cue the wry laughter! 😄

Now, let’s talk characters. Runa, oh Runa! She’s a gem—far from perfect, mind you. She tiptoes on the tightrope between adulthood and youthful innocence. Her quirks? Endearing. Her cuteness? Off the charts. 🌟

And then there’s Ryuto. Initially, he’s ... the shy kid in the corner, blushing at the mere thought of conversation. But hold your horses! By the final stretch, he blossoms into a character with depth and growth. It’s like watching a caterpillar transform into a butterfly—okay, maybe not that poetic, but you get the drift. 🦋

Now, the anime itself mirrors its characters. It evolves, matures, and—dare I say—becomes downright captivating. Episode 11? A crescendo of emotions. You’ll feel it—the raw, unfiltered connection between this couple. It’s like catching fireflies in a jar—a fleeting, magical moment that warms your heart. ✨

So, my friend, Kimi Zero isn’t just an anime; it’s a little vial of happiness. Silly? Perhaps. But it’s a remedy—a dose of peace, joy, and teenage romance. And sometimes, that’s all we need. 🌼🎶

TLDR: This is the ever so popular recycled trope of the nerd boy gets the hot chick except this is generic AF and the male MC is squirmy and annoying while the hot chick MC is a garden tool.

What does "My first girlfriend is a gal", "3D Kanojo: Real Girl" and "Don't toy with me Ms Nagatoro" have in common? They're all better version of this show with something unique. This show is cliche as it gets. I find no remarkable qualities with this couple so far. This may change but things don't look promising. Edit- it didn't! It's cringe, unfunny and boring.

The good news, ... it's not completely horrible and there is a huge audience of self-inserts who clamour for the content. The animation and voice acting are par. The story and dialogue are generic. It does try to have a hook but a girl who penis hops every 2 months is not quite the kind of premise I think most people will find appealing. I'm not judging...no wait I am. Maybe there is a groups people who find this concept amusing enough to watch. There is no motivation to cheer on either of MCs as they both seem more like NPCs.

On the surface, Kimizero appears to just be a self-insert fantasy, where the unpopular guy gets the popular girl without any effort. While that is certainly how it starts off, it ends up telling a surprisingly deep and complex story. I would call Kimizero a celebration of imperfection: people make wrong choices, but that is okay, mistakes are something you can learn from! You can have one idea at one time and a different idea at another time — it's fine to change your mind! Different people have different preferences! Some parts of the show will seem blindingly inconsistent, but that misses the bigger point ... that real life is not consistent, either.

I especially like Kimizero because it dares to show happy people being happy, without those parts being boring. I feel like many other romance anime fail at this element in one way or another. The show does have weird tropey misunderstandings from time to time, but they are usually resolved refreshingly quickly.

To be clear, Kimizero is not a literary masterpiece; some of the storyline choices are definitely questionable. If you're allergic to tropes of any kind in romance anime, and are utterly bored by the thought of a happy couple without underlying drama, Kimizero might not be for you. But if you're on the fence, give it a try, you might be surprised.