After reading a large number of positive reviews for this show, I was expecting to enjoy a realistic representation of high school life, albeit without too much drama. I was also looking forward to meeting a cast of characters complete with well-rounded personalities, depth and some direction to their lives. Unfortunately, I was let down on all fronts.
The first issue that is readily apparent in Kimi to Boku is the characters, who are little more than one-dimensional clichés – the girly boy, the uptight glasses-wearing guy, the cool and good-looking twins, the energetic and annoying kid… Although it steers clear of many of the biggest pitfalls of ‘factory-farmed’ slice of life anime, unfortunately Kimi to Boku still forsakes originality for total familiarity.
The second problem is that the show’s strict no-melodrama approach works against it, as there are never any obstacles presented to our one-dimensional characters to help them gain any new dimensions. As a result, all of our five boys seem to have the same personalities throughout the series, never even evolving from who they were in their elementary school flashbacks.
The plot is debatably realistic in the sense that nothing extraordinary happens. On the other hand, I would argue that it is too plain and boring to be realistic. Watch as our main characters engage in thumb wars, walk around to various places, do homework, talk about putting salt on watermelon, cut each other’s hair and bicker a lot. I found myself literally dozing off in several episodes, thinking that instead of watching Shun, Kaname et al do nothing I could actually be doing something – anything – more interesting than watching Kimi to Boku.
In defence of the show, once in a while it does have moments of brilliance. The art, sound and direction in episode five made me feel immersed in the height of summer, even though it was winter outside. Yuuta wiping away a girl’s tears in episode seven is surprisingly tender. These magical moments, however, are frustratingly few and far between, and proof of Kimi to Boku’s inability to create anything consistently engaging and solid from its basic premise.
No noteworthy events, no conflict, no character development, no discernible plot – that is Kimi to Boku. Unfortunately its attempt to do slice of life differently is misguided – life does have its noteworthy events, conflict, character development and drama, and that’s what makes it fun, entertaining and challenging. For the most part, Kimi to Boku is not fun, entertaining or challenging.
You may like Kimi to Boku if you enjoy watching ‘cute’ high school boys do mundane, typical slice of life stuff to the detriment of all else – and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If that is not your cup of tea, however, switch off your computer, go outside and do something interesting with your own life, instead of watching these 2D cartoon characters do nothing with theirs.
