The entire show was utterly, and completely, pointless. "Don't watch ecchi shows looking for good story" some may say. Fair point, perhaps watching a show that has a completely pointless story doesn't work for me. What I'm concerned about primarily here is... what the show DOES focus on and what it DOES value is also done to a horrific standard; i.e the humour and the ecchi scenes. The story and the humour are both closely intertwined, which is why I have mentioned the story.
The issue with this story is not only in the fact that it is totally pointless... it is also physically painful to watch. The humour present is just so stupid, and the story events are supposed to be funny and goofy... but they're really not at all. They're just crap. There is no other way for me to explain it without pulling out my foul-word-repertoire. The only time I was laughing was when it was beginning to hit me just how terrible this show is.
The ecchi, also closely linked to the story (which leaves the ecchi dead on arrival, as the scenes are badly executed due to the badly written story) is just lacking. If you're going to have a show based so heavily around ecchi- scenes, make them good. Seriously. (I will say that To LOVE-Ru Darkness really picks up the ball on this one, but that's not related to this steaming pile of buffalo feces i.e the first season of this show). The ecchi scenes are just not good enough for a show like this. They cover the nipples more than they should, and as has been previously mentioned, the scenes are just badly executed in general, to an eye- rolling extent.
Now, the characters. Oh god, the characters. Here we go. The main character, of course, being Rito (who is clearly just an unfortunate soul trapped in a terrible anime for the lowest common denominator) is just a completely pointless character. Yes, there are a few scenes demonstrating the fact that he's just a genuinely 'nice' kid, and that he likes plants (which is the basis for which one of the characters in the show falls for him... what kind of CRAP is that?!), but they hardly explore his character at all apart from his internal conflict regarding whether or not he wants to bone the hyperactive pink haired bimbo or the ONLY INTERESTING CHARACTER IN THE SHOW, Haruna. Instead they just use his character as a means to instigate terrible ecchi scene after terrible ecchi scene; you know, the usual trip over and somehow strip the woman naked - mistakes and bumbles that are mildly funny once or twice, but become ridiculously depressing to watch after 26 EPISODES.
I don't want to make this too long, but in summary, all of the other characters except for Haruna, in this season anyway, are just 'there', and serve no purpose other than to be 'hot' or to be stripped naked. Lala is one of the few anime girls that I would willingly punch in the face, and the school principle should be arrested. Not for being a sexual predator, but for being a fat midget who is NOT FUNNY AT ALL.
So, what do we have here? We have a story that is completely and utterly pointless with NO redeeming aspects whatsoever, whether it be in regards to the characters (who have the depth of a piss puddle) or the humour (which is some of the worst I've seen in anime thus far). I am aware that a lot of the things I have outlined in this review aren't unusual for a harem anime, but my concern is that this anime does everything BADLY. I actually LIKE a lot of the aspects that this show presents; aliens, ecchi, humour, just to name a few. What concerns me is just how TERRIBLY these were done. If you're going to have a crap story, support it with something else that's good in place of it. A an anime that is weak in all aspects, to the point where it hurts to watch a few minutes of one episode out of 26 EPISODES, should not be allowed to exist.
I regret ever getting into this series.
