 https://myanimelist.net/anime/57524/ Plot Summary Kazuhiko Nukumizu, a self-proclaimed "background character," accidentally witnessed his popular classmate Anna Yanami being rejected by her childhood friend. Since then, Kazuhiko has become involved with several loser heroines, including Anna. Other Information Type: TV Episodes: 12 Status: Currently Airing Aired: Jul 14, 2024 to ? Premiered: Summer 2024 Broadcast: Sundays at 00:30 (JST) Previewed: Jun 30, 2024 Producers: Aniplex, Yomiuri Telecasting, Tokyo MX, Good Smile Company, BS11, Contents Seed Licensors: None found, add some Studios: A-1 Pictures Source: Light novel Genres: Comedy, Romance Theme: School Duration: 24 min. per ep. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older |
| Episode 1 This is a refreshing take on the whole romcom genre, focusing on the girls who get the short end of the stick rather than the main love interest. And thus, it begins with Kazuhiko, a self-proclaimed background character, witnessing Anna getting rejected by her childhood friend Sosuke, as well as meeting two other girls in the athletic freak Lemon and the shy Chika who both are in the loss column when it comes to love. And while at home, Kazuhiko's little sister Kaju is getting increasingly worried about him not having any friends, and is exhibiting the brocom behavior towards him. Kazuhiko said it best when he says that 7 out of 10 high school romances are dead within a year. While the story and characters aren't all that special, the concept is, while the show has great production values as to be expected from A-1, and I like that this show approaches things from an underdog's perspective. Not too high on the MC, but I'm hoping that being a background character is used well to help these girls navigate through their romantic troubles. |
| Ten minutes in, I already love this one. |
| Whoa. That was exceptionally, cinematically good. And the premise is right up my alley because I always root for the losing heroine. Definitely on board here. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
| That was great. Fun characters, cute girls, fantastic animation. Throw in a few panty shots and it's a 10/10. :p |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| I haven't watched the first episode because I'm wondering, is this a stealth harem? Because it feels like the kind of plot that could be accomplished through the girls' perspective without the need for Kazuhiko. |
| The tomatoes are coming! Arm the dicer! Prepare the olive oil! |
I really hope not. That would mean several of the losing heroines have to be the losing heroines in a show with losing heroines in the title... It's like a dream-within-a-dream, the Inception of a meta show about LN tropes. Anna definitely seems to be the emphasis so far, but I imagine they'll give each of the girls an "intro episode." |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
Reply to boldulysses
I really hope not. That would mean several of the losing heroines have to be the losing heroines in a show with losing heroines in the title... It's like a dream-within-a-dream, the Inception of a meta show about LN tropes.
Anna definitely seems to be the emphasis so far, but I imagine they'll give each of the girls an "intro episode."
| @boldulysses As I was watching this, I was thinking this could be called "Friend Zone Harem". The MC certainly seems like he is in the midst of getting friend zoned by these girls so they can vent their frustrations out on him. So who has it worse in that situation, the losing heroines, or the guy who has no chance, but has to listen to the girls vent about their unrequited love? |
| I did some research because I don't want to get locked into a show that morphs into a harem no matter how good the start. |
| The tomatoes are coming! Arm the dicer! Prepare the olive oil! |
HOOfan_1 said: @boldulysses As I was watching this, I was thinking this could be called "Friend Zone Harem". The MC certainly seems like he is in the midst of getting friend zoned by these girls so they can vent their frustrations out on him. So who has it worse in that situation, the losing heroines, or the guy who has no chance, but has to listen to the girls vent about their unrequited love? This is going to be a pretty depressing show, then... Lol. It's a given he'll fall for one of them at some point (the whole "I wonder what falling in love would be like?" monologue in the intro was a major flag). It'll be interesting to see how this show threads that needle, as self-aware of his situation as the protag is. Or maybe this'll be a bog-standard rom-com and the losing heroines setup is just a initial hook they'll abandon after 4 eps. Oh well; at least it looks pretty. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: It's a given he'll fall for one of them at some point (the whole "I wonder what falling in love would be like?" monologue in the intro was a major flag). It'll be interesting to see how this show threads that needle, as self-aware of his situation as the protag is. Or maybe this'll be a bog-standard rom-com and the losing heroines setup is just a initial hook they'll abandon after 4 eps. It would be interesting if mid-season they flipped the script adding a new transfer student that he becomes involved with and the "loser heroines" take on the role of helping him with the pitfalls of romance. (With hilarious mishaps and backfires, of course.) |
| The tomatoes are coming! Arm the dicer! Prepare the olive oil! |
| Maybe I missed it, but what's the symbolism with the red scarf? Was that Anna's? The music is lovely also. Everything about this is just way better than it has to be. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
| Episode 2 The opening animation is just insane, and it drives home the point that these girls are on the wrong side of love. So after the first episode focused on Anna, this one focuses on Lemon as tanned jock was rejected by Mitsuki, and comes to Kazuhiko in the gym equipment storage shed where once again, the stereotypical trope of a boy and a girl being locked in the gym shed by accident happens. To make matters worse, it's happening in the middle of a heatwave and Lemon ends up stripping despite the fact that she's with a boy. Good thing the homeroom teacher found them quickly as heatstroke is no joke. Even though Lemon's childhood friend has chosen another girl to love in Chihaya, they are still friends. And then it introduces the third girl in the main cast, Chika, who is a member of the literary club, as Lemon joins the club even though she's on the track team, and she's quite dedicated seeing that she even practiced during the dark of night. That was another great episode and that whole gym shed segment was especially hilarious. So after an episode on Anna and Lemon, the next one figures to focus on Chika telling Kazuhiko about the boy who she got rejected by. |
| The nympho school nurse is fun....was she hinting their home room teacher was a nympho too, or that they were getting their yuri on? It's confusing when the characters all call each other by one thing, but then the nympho nurse writes down their family names, but I assume she is thinking a Lemon is going after Nukumizu. I kind of think this still has the chance to be more like Horimiya with several different couples. I think Anna x Nukumizu is likely, but I think Lemon can still pull MItsuki. We aren't seeing any of Anna's crush anymore. |
| Everyone's reaction to Mitsuki saying he has a girlfriend was great. That nurse is how you do a gyaru without being over the top about it. She wasn't just blonde, but she didn't have a ton of makeup either. Just enough to so you could tell. Lemon is the cutest imo. She's my type looks-wise. Nagatoro without the wicked streak. HOOfan_1 said: Yeah I had to go back over the places in the episodes where their names were said to figure out her chart. She had the love arrow going from Nukumizu to Lemon-chan. Then Anna was above him. Mitsuki was above Lemon and Mitsuki's new girlfriend was in the top middle, which seems like kind of an odd placement for her, but I guess she doesn't really fit anywhere else.It's confusing when the characters all call each other by one thing, but then the nympho nurse writes down their family names, but I assume she is thinking a Lemon is going after Nukumizu. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| I love that the dense male character is not the protagonist. It reinforces the theme Nukumizu is not the main character. (Even though he totally is.) I was curious about Nukumizu's name and it can be roughly translated to "lukewarm water". Totally fits. His given name, Kazuhiko, can mean "Japanese boy". About as generic a description as you can give to a background male character in a high school romcom anime. I do so enjoy the way Japanese writers will use kanji to give their characters "on the nose" names. Not something English as easily offers. |
| The tomatoes are coming! Arm the dicer! Prepare the olive oil! |
Reply to zkeleton
Everyone's reaction to Mitsuki saying he has a girlfriend was great.
That nurse is how you do a gyaru without being over the top about it. She wasn't just blonde, but she didn't have a ton of makeup either. Just enough to so you could tell.
Lemon is the cutest imo. She's my type looks-wise. Nagatoro without the wicked streak.
That nurse is how you do a gyaru without being over the top about it. She wasn't just blonde, but she didn't have a ton of makeup either. Just enough to so you could tell.
Lemon is the cutest imo. She's my type looks-wise. Nagatoro without the wicked streak.
HOOfan_1 said:
It's confusing when the characters all call each other by one thing, but then the nympho nurse writes down their family names, but I assume she is thinking a Lemon is going after Nukumizu.
Yeah I had to go back over the places in the episodes where their names were said to figure out her chart. She had the love arrow going from Nukumizu to Lemon-chan. Then Anna was above him. Mitsuki was above Lemon and Mitsuki's new girlfriend was in the top middle, which seems like kind of an odd placement for her, but I guess she doesn't really fit anywhere else.It's confusing when the characters all call each other by one thing, but then the nympho nurse writes down their family names, but I assume she is thinking a Lemon is going after Nukumizu.
zkeleton said: Lemon is the cutest imo. She's my type looks-wise. Have you seen Bokuben: We Never Learn? |
Reply to HOOfan_1
zkeleton said:
Lemon is the cutest imo. She's my type looks-wise.
Lemon is the cutest imo. She's my type looks-wise.
Have you seen Bokuben: We Never Learn?
| @HOOfan_1 I watched the first few episodes but just never got into it. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
The comic timing & reactions are really selling this show (well, that and the production values). Anna is also cute as a button. So is the short, stuttering auburn-haired girl into the lit club president (the guy) or the Mari-from-Evangelion lookalike? I'm a little confused since the Mari girl is the childhood friend, apparently, so she should be "losing." |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: I'm a little confused since the Mari girl is the childhood friend, apparently, so she should be "losing." She seems to be in the "too busy enjoying other people's romantic lives to realize she is basically dating her childhood friend" mode. |
Reply to HOOfan_1
boldulysses said:
I'm a little confused since the Mari girl is the childhood friend, apparently, so she should be "losing."
I'm a little confused since the Mari girl is the childhood friend, apparently, so she should be "losing."
She seems to be in the "too busy enjoying other people's romantic lives to realize she is basically dating her childhood friend" mode.
| I'm going with the "she isn't a heroine so it doesn't count" head cannon. |
| The tomatoes are coming! Arm the dicer! Prepare the olive oil! |
HOOfan_1 said: She seems to be in the "too busy enjoying other people's romantic lives to realize she is basically dating her childhood friend" mode. At least she realized she screwed up with the whole teasing Lemon & Silver Hair Boy about being in a relationship... That's more than can be said for a lot of characters' ability to read the room. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
Reply to boldulysses
The comic timing & reactions are really selling this show (well, that and the production values). Anna is also cute as a button.
So is the short, stuttering auburn-haired girl into the lit club president (the guy) or the Mari-from-Evangelion lookalike? I'm a little confused since the Mari girl is the childhood friend, apparently, so she should be "losing."
So is the short, stuttering auburn-haired girl into the lit club president (the guy) or the Mari-from-Evangelion lookalike? I'm a little confused since the Mari girl is the childhood friend, apparently, so she should be "losing."
| @boldulysses The show didn't establish that all childhood friends necessarily lose. According to Anna, all childhood friends should win, and anyone else is a homewrecker. |
| Episode 3 Right on cue, this episode is about Komari, the bookworm, who is in love with the literature club president Tamaki, and while rejection is probably coming, it hasn't happened yet. With Lemon and Anna joining the literature club, they go out to the beach to have a training camp seeing that their club is on the chopping block after Shikiya from the student council lets them know about it. And after a day at the beach, it's a BBQ dinner, and then fireworks as Lemon won a bag full of them in a contest and after Komari nearly injures herself with one of them (you are supposed to get as far away from it after lighting it, not looking at it when it looked like it's a dud), she confesses her love to Tamaki. What comes of it remains to be seen, but in any case it's great to see the club having a great time even under less-than-ideal situations. |
| First Episode impression: Looks like a lot of thought went into the presentation for this: The little details like the delivery of dialogues, the cuts, the reasonable amount and well utilized cartoonish expressions. The FMC's eccentricity is already fun to watch and, as always, I appreciate that the MMC isn't just a cardboard POV character for the harem and actually has an attitude on him. I like the 'Bento' bits with the debt counter for each food the FMC gives the MMC. I really hope that that quality remains til the end and not just a 3-episode thing. Really liked the 1st episode. |
   |
| This show is just so sharp. Everything is a cut above, from the animation to the music to the backgrounds to the writing to the voice acting. He named his piece of meat... That made me LOL. "The Slave Girl I Picked Up Was Actually an S-Rank Adventurer, so I Decided to Become a Freeloader." I'd read that. Nukumizu's imouto is spreading tales of her brother's "friendlessness," to the point where the shop owner's association is worried about him... Why was the scene with glimpses of the girls preparing 10X sexier than actually seeing them on the beach? I want an Anna-chan fist bump.  Finally: Question about tan lines. So, they're not my thing BUT Lemon's are such that she must spend a *lot* of time outside with just a sports bra and little athletic shorts on. Is that an outfit they'd let her wear at school? |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: Nukumizu's imouto is spreading tales of her brother's "friendlessness," to the point where the shop owner's association is worried about him... His imouto is obviously at the same beach too, so I am guessing next episode they run into her, or she spies on him. boldulysses said: Is that an outfit they'd let her wear at school? I think that's fairly common women's track and field attire |
| My only quibble with this show is that I'm still not quite sure which meta level it's operating on. Is it just a straight rom-com? If so, it's a little weird to have Nukumizu be so self-aware. And the show doesn't really seem to be parodying the tropes (precocious imouto, locked in the shed, beach episode, etc) so much as just indulging in them with a little sprinkle of commentary. It feels like it's kind of sitting on the fence. HOOfan_1 said: I think that's fairly common women's track and field attire Oh for sure. But it still just seems a little too...exposed for a Japanese high school. Especially since we saw her in the shed last episode, and actually running on the track in the first episode, with a tshirt on. I dunno. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
Reply to boldulysses
My only quibble with this show is that I'm still not quite sure which meta level it's operating on. Is it just a straight rom-com? If so, it's a little weird to have Nukumizu be so self-aware. And the show doesn't really seem to be parodying the tropes (precocious imouto, locked in the shed, beach episode, etc) so much as just indulging in them with a little sprinkle of commentary. It feels like it's kind of sitting on the fence.
Oh for sure. But it still just seems a little too...exposed for a Japanese high school. Especially since we saw her in the shed last episode, and actually running on the track in the first episode, with a tshirt on. I dunno.
HOOfan_1 said:
I think that's fairly common women's track and field attire
I think that's fairly common women's track and field attire
Oh for sure. But it still just seems a little too...exposed for a Japanese high school. Especially since we saw her in the shed last episode, and actually running on the track in the first episode, with a tshirt on. I dunno.
| @boldulysses Japanese High School Girl at a track meet (even has the stereotypical short haircut)  |
MenchiK1Jul 28, 2024 5:08 AM
| With the amount of rust on those faucets I have to question how healthy any of the water is... boldulysses said: Is it just a straight rom-com? For now I'm just thinking of it as a comedy. Will it become a rom? Or can guys and gals just be pals? (Admittedly most fiction would tell us "no" while reality tells us "yes".) On the animation I love the way the artists go off model while still keeping the characters recognizable. Not an easy thing. |
DomvinaJul 28, 2024 8:07 AM
| The tomatoes are coming! Arm the dicer! Prepare the olive oil! |
| Loved this episode. Lemon tossing Komari into the ocean was priceless, and probably just what Komari needed. And the hint that the MC's little sister is also at the beach will, I hope, play out in the next episode. And I too totally want The Slave Girl I Picked Up Was Actually an S-Rank Adventurer, so I Decided to Become a Freeloader. Crunchyroll needs to take that title and run with it. |
SparkyBobJul 28, 2024 2:26 PM
| The first ANN review is up, and they didn't even give the series to a reviewer who likes or even is really familiar with the nuances of the genre... It's a shame, but what else is new? |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
Reply to boldulysses
The first ANN review is up, and they didn't even give the series to a reviewer who likes or even is really familiar with the nuances of the genre... It's a shame, but what else is new?
| @boldulysses Sounds like the something some video game review websites do, give the review to someone who hates the genre. |
I have to admit, I found this visual so funny, I had to rewind several times to catch the dialogue because I couldn't focus on anything but their expressions. |
| Episode 4 Right on cue, Tamaki has rejected Komari, this time in favor for his childhood friend and club VP Koto, though with a twist as it turns out that last Christmas, Koto turned down Tamaki. With that, it's back to school as the mood got pretty sour there. Komari thinks that Anna dumped Kazuhiko and sends mixed messages. And then Anna confronts Sosuke with Kazuhiko as Sosuke totally misreads the situation and he thought that rejecting her was his way of making her happy seeing that he was committed to Karen all this time, but that had the opposite effect. But in the end, they were able to make things right, and Anna is ready to move on. So after all that, Anna and Kazuhiko become friends, though the whole three years from now part still needs to be ironed out. That was great stuff once again going to show that Kazuhiko is the right guy to turn to when romance goes wrong seeing that Kazuhiko has never fallen in love, and thus he has never been dumped. |
| I need to rewatch the confrontation between Nukumizu, Anna & Sosuke. There was a lot of emotional whiplash there. I'm actually glad she's not over Sosuke yet, especially 4 episodes in; it would've felt far too sudden. Good for Nukumizu for sticking up for her, even if it was misguided. Anna being the "mom" and making them apologize to each other was pretty good, too. I know I say this every week, but this show's direction, cinematography & background are so unbelievably good. And most shows start dropping off around this time. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
| Yeah this one feels "real" for what it is, and so far I like everyone, even the side characters. Although I want to see that nurse some more. |
SparkyBob said: Yeah this one feels "real" for what it is, and so far I like everyone, even the side characters. Same. And I agree about it feeling real. Everyone seems to talk & relate to each other like normal human beings, which is a surprisingly tall order for anime. SparkyBob said: Although I want to see that nurse some more. We didn't see imouto at all this episode either... I was expecting her to make an appearance. So what's the over/under on whether Karen will move overseas and Sosuke will try to get Anna "back," forcing Nukumizu to confront his feelings for her? |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: We didn't see imouto at all this episode either... I was expecting her to make an appearance. Yeah the red bean rice balls being given to them by a middle school girl was kind of a Chekov's Gun situation. |
HOOfan_1 said: Yeah the red bean rice balls being given to them by a middle school girl was kind of a Chekov's Gun situation. Agreed. I hope the show is cohesive enough to reference that in a future episode. We also haven't seen any more of white-haired spaced-out student council girl... Makes it feel like the adaptation is skipping some scenes from the LN, but it's so polished otherwise that I want to give it the benefit of the doubt. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
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