Jul 6, 2013
Within the first few minutes of the show, I felt bombarded with clear signals of mental instability within almost every main character. I immediately started getting annoyed, thinking that my decision to watch a seemingly corny high school anime as an adult was going to be as bad a decision as I had warned myself it would be (I genuinely mean no offense by that whatsoever! Just a joke!). I thought, "Oh great, it's going to be another unhealthy romance all dolled up to make it look like stalking is cute." But.... as I kept on going (because there was just something about this relationship
...
that I needed know) I started to realize that that was the theme. It was supposed to be about those kids - the ones who were a little off, or didn't seem to have any friends. Among all other shows I've seen, this one (imo) did the most accurate job at successfully creating an anime for the outcasts. It's about feeling normal for once amongst a sea of people who think you're not.
These kids are all so lonely, so awkward, so goofy, socially unacceptable (whether for good or bad reasons) that it had me thinking about my own judgements on others, and especially about myself. What was really wrong with these kids? Why were they not accepted? They have the same worries and fears as the others. Once they find each other, we start to see them learn the same lessons as their peers, only they seem to be more aware of the fact that they're experiencing something simple (such as happiness, jealousy, and friendship). In other words: they're growing up. And because of the fact that they're a little late to the party, they're perceptive enough to notice what's happening. It's both comical and a little sad.
In their own clumsy way, the main characters stumble through lessons of love, friendship, growing up, and some important life lessons. It's absolutely adorable, completely relatable, and it's quite funny.
Another majorly refreshing plus is the fact that the main female, despite the main dude's attempts to control her actions, remains a strong and independent individual. Instead of the average anime girl who falls head over heels for the bad boy and would do anything he asks without question, Shizuku tells Haru straight-up that he has no right to tell her what to do. I love it!
And I know, I'm totally over-thinking this... but I just felt something so deep in watching this anime. If you have ever felt like you were not accepted, or like friendship could never be possible for you, I can almost guarantee you will find something relatable in here. Whenever I think about my own social awkwardnesses I just tell myself, "Haru would be my friend" :3 I just want to stress that this isn't your average romance story. It's about being a little bit weird (or, in some cases *coughHarucough* a lot a bit weird), and figuring that out yourself, and then learning that it's ok. That's what I like most about it. They don't look at Haru's violent outbursts as normal. They know it's wrong, he knows it's wrong, but they recognize the fear in him and stand together and help each other out. It truly is about friendship and getting to know those friends. The fact that there's a cute romance story on top is just an added bonus!
I just wish they had focused more on the oddities of each person, and put more of an emphasis on those little details that make them so relatable to those of us who have gone through similar things. This is really the only reason I don't give it a 10/10.
All in all, I absolutely adore it.
Note: I watched before I read
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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