May 25, 2014
When this anime was announced, I was extremely excited. Although I hadn't read the manga, this anime actually sounded quite good to me. On top of that, it was to be animated by Shaft, the studio behind several shows I love (Madoka, Ef, etc). As the show began, I wasn't disappointed. I liked the characters and the setup was more than adequate. I thought there'd be a great show coming. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The show is good, but far from great.
Story:
The story begins with a decent, although somewhat generic, setup where two people are forced into close proximity to each other for an
...
extended period of time, with love being a clear objective of the show. Over time, though, the plot devolved into a very generic harem and became quite boring. Nothing moved in a positive direction at all. The story is the single most disappointing aspect of this show. Also, the plot with the lock and key is just terrible.
Art:
The art in this show is quite good. Although certainly not the best art I've ever seen, I really do like it. The characters look great, and there surroundings also look really good. You can almost always count on Shaft to give you something fun occasionally in the art, and they didn't fail here (although they certainly didn't go overboard like in Monogatari).
Sound:
Not too much to say here. We have ClariS singing openings, which is always good. The endings were also fun. Music has a decent, though not incredible role throughout the show.
Character:
The characters in this show are a bit hit and miss. We start with three main characters, Raku, Chitoge, and Onodera. Raku is a good character. Compared to most harem leads, he is amazing. He has a real personality and isn't simply there as a target for romance. His thoughts are usually pretty decent and he is pretty likable overall. Chitoge is also a pretty good character. She seems the popular type, but is actually quite vulnerable. She puts on a strong face, but a front is all it is. She develops pretty well throughout the show (although she does get a bit annoying towards the end) and is likely my favorite character in the show. Onodera should have been a good character, but her role in the story works against here a bit. Her actions end up seeming more frustrating than anything. There are times where I really like here, but there are also times when I wish she wasn't in the show.
-Spoiler-
Eventually we get a third girl added to the harem and the show really takes on a harem like quality. We lose the feeling of a love triangle or a romance and instead get harem nonsense. This third girl is also a terribly annoying character that I absolutely hate. I think this has been the single largest detriment of the show.
-Spoiler End-
Overall, the characters in this show aren't that great. I liked them in the beginning, but felt the roster got much worse over time.
Enjoyment:
For the reasons mentioned above, this show's enjoyment was good, but not great. I was not looking for a harem when I started this show, but by the end that was all I got. The comedy was sub par, the characters hit and miss, and the situations somewhat boring. If the beginning of the show hadn't been as enjoyable, I would have rated the show a worse.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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