Ojou to Banken-kun

This show is quite honestly one of a kind, and I suggest everyone should at least try it.

Let's start with the premise: "A girl comes from a yakuza family and falls in love with her guardian." Okay, so there's many ways to make this work. It could be a heavy drama about grooming and a girl who puts end to the abuse, or it could a self-aware satire where the male romantic interest has just the worst traits of a typical Shoujo male, or they could make the guardian have a modicum of decency so that the focus of the story is the coming-of-age aspect ... of it, you know, the guy rejects her properly and she grows as a person and so and so.

Instead, the story takes the worst direction possile by making it a "standard" romcom about the girl and the guardian falling in love with each other. I can't understate how perfectly awful this is. Every person I have told this to has reacted with either incredulity or some level of disgust. Take, let's say, Spy x Family, Buddy Daddies, or The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting. Now imagine one of those girls growing up and pursuing a relationship with the adoptive father. That's what happening here. Meanwhile, the original work is being published in a Shoujo magazine -- aimed at teenage girls. On the other hand, the show was wisely chosen to air at 0:30 in the morning, which is at least a deterrent for the youngest watchers.

The writing itself: It is bad. The absolute worst arcs come late into the story, so I won't give too much away. Let's just say some content warnings were missing from the version I watched.

The female main is your run of the mill Shoujo MC whose personality traits are being a bit too sheltered, wanting to be normal in spite of her background, and being in love with someone. The male main is an amalgam of the worst possible aspects of the Shoujo Male. Abusive? Check. Obsessive? Check. Immature? Oh yeah. Being an actual criminal? Well duh. Ah, but maybe he is just a tough guy who doesn't commit an actual represensible crime on screen? Think again. The developments are as dumb as they can possibly be. Starting with the male main trying to pass off as 10 younger than he is while enrolled in the same class as the FMC, as inconspicuous as Mechazawa was in Cromartie High School. There is a plot point that involves underage drinking, which sounds interesting. Problem is, things are solved by the male MC being violent. Womp womp. The opportunities of using Yakuza politics and intrigue are fully wasted. The romance is as toxic (on the guardian's part, at least) as you could imagine. You could pass the plot verbatim as solid parody, but here it is played in full earnestness.

The production quality: Look, Project No.9 is a pretty decent mid-sized studio with distinct visuals. However, this season they decided to put out three full shows at the same time. A Girl and Her Guard Dog was definitely the one they sacrificed whenever they needed time for the other two. There's plain bad art, choppy animation, faulty frames, continuity errors, mismatch with audio, style dissonance within a scene, lazy backgrounds, weirdly paced scenes, recycled animation, extended flashbacks (from previous episodes) and probably more. The direction itself and the pacing of the season as a whole were rather good, if you do care about the story. The voice acting and BGM were of standard quality, some pieces even stand out for being particularly effective.

This is purely speculation, but seeing how the vast majority of the recent works from the studio have a male demo, this was a change of pace that was forced into them, and they didn't spend any extra bit of effort in the show besides what was needed so the episode aired.

The OST: I live for Masayoshi Ooishi and the OP didn't disappoint. The ED is good too. They don't count towards the rating so moving on.

Before going on to the conclusions, I want to say that the ickiness of the plot goes way beyond the age gap. The aspect that makes the story completely reprehensible is that he's her _guardian_. He's been her only family and parental figure since she was six. It's the fact that any romance that could develop between them will be a fundamentally assymetric relationship. This is fetish-tier material.

In conclusion, you should watch this show. This is not an ironic review. The show is horrible and you should watch it. Is it entertaining? absolutely. Just mostly not for the right reasons. My own experience of the show wasn't even mostly hate-watching. The most awful plot beats pass by quickly, so there's not much to feel truly angry at. The enjoyment came from being aware that the plot was so ridiculous, and yet the story moved on, undeterred, seemingly unaware of everything it was doing wrong.

I presume that the main demographic of the show is young girls who already read and watch dozens of bad romcoms concurrently, and older girls who _are_ aware of how depraved the premise itself is, of how awful a human being the male romantic interest is, and enjoy every second of it. If you find yourself in one of these two categories, chances are you already watched the show, and perhaps are considering watching it again. Go ahead. No one's judging.

For the rest, take the show as an educational experience, as a presentation of the most sordid aspects of the Shoujo genre. Or perhaps, as an introspective experience: find yourself interested in the story, wanting to know what happens next, all while knowing you are watching one of the biggest train wrecks in recent anime history.

"Ojou to Banken-kun" is a masterpiece of the romantic genre, captivating viewers from the first episode. The chemistry between the protagonists is palpable, providing moments of genuine tenderness and emotion throughout the series. The development of the relationship between them is carefully constructed, creating an engaging and passionate narrative.

The scene with the man in the hoodie on the beach especially stands out, which is a brilliant example of how anime incorporates visual and emotional elements to create memorable moments. The atmosphere created in this scene is touching, conveying both the tranquility of the beach and the intensity of the characters' emotions.

Furthermore, the soundtrack perfectly complements ... the romantic scenes, accentuating emotions and providing viewers with a complete experience. Secondary characters also play significant roles, enriching the plot and adding layers to the central love story.

The romance between Keiya and Isaku in "Ojou to Banken-kun" is truly inspiring and touching. Despite the significant age difference, their love transcends barriers and demonstrates the strength of genuine feelings.

The way Keiya and Isaku support each other, breaking through each other's despair, is a powerful testament to the depth of their emotional bond. Their interactions are full of emotion and empathy, showing that true love knows no external limits, but rather the deep connection between two people.

It is admirable to see how the anime approaches this relationship in a sensitive and realistic way, exploring the challenges and joys that arise from a love that defies social conventions. Keiya and Isaku are portrayed as well-rounded individuals, each contributing to the other's emotional well-being in meaningful ways.

This approach to the romance between Keiya and Isaku further enriches the narrative of "Ojou to Banken-kun", making it not only a love story, but also a reflection on the importance of mutual support and overcoming adversity together.

In short, "Ojou to Banken-kun" is an anime that not only celebrates romance in an exceptional way, but also delivers impactful and unforgettable moments, such as the scene with the man in a sweatshirt on the beach, which will remain in viewers' memories for a long time. .

Honestly, if you like romance and yakuza, and you are not too hung up on the art/animation style then you will probably like this anime. If you've read Yakuza Lover or Yakuzas fiance then you'll like this.

The animation was weird most of the times, the facial expressions were very little expressive, especially the eyes... They were lifeless. The reactions were weird and the timing was even weirder. BUT overall, I enjoyed the story. I was so immersed in their romance and I'm a big sucker for handsome overprotective kinda toxic Yakuza men.

Yes, I am aware of their age gap. But this is anime. ... A "fantazy" of some sorts. I remember being 16 and have huge crushes on older men.

In all honestly I've tried looking for some new anime but none of them were like the old romance animes from 2010-19 era. This is super cheesy and while the age difference is crazy people should watch it for the vibes and completely ignore the age aspect. The story is ofc very predictable because it gives the old vibes and the background music or osts are very similar to akagami no shirayuki hime which is one of my favourite anime!! The female mc is cute the male mc is understanding and the animation is spectacular. All in all a really good anime I think everyone ... should watch :).

A Girl & Her Guard Dog is probably the lowest scoring MAL rated anime I have ever watched. Does it deserve to be the lowest scoring anime, short answer, definitely not. I fundamentally believe people do not read the synopsis of the anime. It's pretty clear if this anime is for you or not. It's about the relationship between a 15 year old girl and a 26 year old guy and there relationship does progress romantically through the series. Now is it weird to like this anime, maybe. If this was live action I would have never have watched this as I would have been ... completely creeped out and uncomfortable. However, this is anime, where anything goes. The political correct of western society has not been able to hijack Japanese anime so we can watch the most diverse and disgusting things in animation that would have never been greenlit in our English speaking countries. A Girl & Her Guard Dog anime would be classified and is grooming in our countries. The girl is in love with him though and the guy would do anything to make her happy, however, it is still grooming. All in all i enjoyed this anime. The actual romance in this series is decent and progresses (you have been warned). The production quality wasn't the greatest, however, that is not a massive concern as it's not an action based anime. This really should have a MAL rating of 6.7-6.8. The lower rating it currently has is because it's an adult in a relationship with a child. If you read the synopsis and are not bothered because you know this is anime I would recommend A Girl & Her Guard Dog, if you are bothered by it do NOT watch.

I don't know why this is getting a lot of hate. I loved it. It was a cute, funny, actiony anime. You can't go wrong with that. And, for the ones that say that it's a p*do and a girl, you're wrong and haven't watched the full anime. It was good fun!

The story was good. I loved it. Yakuza meets high school(?). I don't know, but it was fun!

The characters are great too. We might need a backstory on the girl's friends, but apart from that, they were great!

The art and animation is a bit mixed...

I recommend this anime.