It seems like, in the anime industry, the major problem people have with these School Comedy type shows is they are all the same. It just seems like the more of these shows are made, the more generic they get. Repeated scenarios, character archetypes, and so on. There are a number of things shows like these can do to separate themselves, but the question I pose today is what does Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, otherwise known as Haganai, do to make it worth your time to watch this show as opposed to any other shows of its genre? Let’s find out in the second review of ecchi month, where I review an ecchi show every Saturday in the month of February. So without further adeu, let’s continue ecchi month with my review of Haganai.
Story:
Every teenager has undergone the awkwardness of high school. Making new friends and trying to fit in. It's hard enough doing so under normal circumstances. Try doing so with blonde hair and a bad boy outward appearance in Japan. After transferring to a new school, Kodaka Hasegawa was instantaneously labelled a "delinquent" due to his eccentric appearance. Having classmates shiver in your presence is not a good way to start the school year. One day, Kodaka has a surprise encounter with a female classmate, Yozora, who just might be more of an outcast than him - she has both a bad temper and an imaginary friend. However, even outcasts desire companionship. The two decide to form the "Neighbors' Club," specifically designed for people who don't have many friends. Kodaka, a lone wolf in the wild terrains of high school, had finally found his pack. But will this dysfunctional bunch be able to form normal relationships with each other? Or will their unique personalities collide? To answer my question from before, “What does Haganai do to give itself an original identity?” is very simple. Nothing. There really is no outliers in the story construction, the show sets up nothing new in its genre, and it really follows all the archetypes and scenarios shows of this caliber have set up. The story is a simple construction, with nothing new coming into play. A group of friends form a club revolved around making friends, somehow not realizing that, by making this club, they are all friends. Even once the whole gang is assembled, their goal is still to find friends, even though they all have their fellow club members. Not sure if that’s a fantastic use of irony or I should be tearing my hair out in frustration because they never come to that realization. Anyway, it’s a sad thing to say that this show offers nothing new. There are a number of things shows can do to make themselves stand out, such as in Saekano, Kato’s character took the show from good to great, but this show really doesn’t do anything of the sort. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. As average as this show was, the scenarios that took place, and the antics of the characters were enough to put a smile on my face. As I said last week, shows like these cannot be judged in the same way as other shows and you have to have a different mindset when reviewing. But at the same time, as enjoyable as this show was, I could find this amount of enjoyment in almost any ecchi harem. Very little progression is made through the first season, and it really seemed like they started from square one at the end point of the show aside from adding new members. This show also thought it would be a good idea to add a conclusion at the end relating to the two main character’s backstory, alluring at it throughout the entire series with flashbacks and subtle hints. But, to me, this just seemed out of place. The show chose to go an ecchi harem comedy route throughout 95% of its runtime, but then decided to take a turn towards a compelling backstory dealing with past friendships. With the comedic structure of the show, this seemed to me like a way to force the ending, and shove some character backstory in our faces just to show the main characters weren’t always friendless. This more serious moment really took away more than it added to me, feeling forced and out of place in a show that revolved almost entirely around comedic scenarios. So for the story of Haganai, it really doesn’t bring anything new to the table. An average setup, stereotypical scenarios, and nothing new to give this show its own identity. That’s not to say this show wasn’t enjoyable, because I did have a good time watching, but you could find almost the same amount of fun and enjoyment in 90% of the anime in the same genres. Also, the ending felt forced with story devices that were predictable, out of place, and just plain not needed. Lastly, in terms of ecchi (because that’s what we’re all here for) the show was much lighter than I expected. There is very little nudity amongst characters who aren’t 10, and the ecchi is mostly just a lot of fanservice, with swimsuits, boob jiggles and the like. To be honest, even in terms of ecchi, this show isn’t even that different.
Characters:
The characters for this show are incredibly weak, to say the least. The one thing I did like about these characters is that, despite them all being harem stereotypes, they were on the lesser seen side of archetypes. Like a Himidere, a perverted scientist, and a chuunibyou loli. But at the same time, these characters do not go beyond these archetypes, but we will get into that more as we go over each character. The first character, and the only male in the show, is Kodaka Hasegawa. Kodaka Hasegawa is the main protagonist of Haganai. He is the second member and co-founder of the Neighbors' club and was notorious for being a delinquent and bullying many of his peers. However, those claims are false and the reason why he has such a bad reputation is due to his hair; he is actually a very soft-spoken and polite individual. Aside from being exactly like the main character from Toradora, he really has no defining traits. Now, the fact that he is seen as a delinquent and is unable to make friends because of it is something that separates him from other harem protagonists, it’s about all he has. He has very little backstory, but the backstory he is given feels out of place given the style of the show, being used to force a conclusion to the show. The next character is Yozora Mikazuki. Yozora Mikazuki is the female protagonist of Haganai. She is the founder, first member, and club president of the Neighbor's Club. Prideful and easily provoked by nature, Yozora detests "normals" but decided to make a club to make friends. The reason why Yozora doesn't have any friends is because she's a natural loner and dislikes "normals", preferring to have an "air friend", whom she calls "Tomo-chan". Yozora is a character I’m really not too fond of. Some of this is due to her personality, but a lot of it is the show’s portrayal of her. She starts of in a rivalry with Sena, butting heads very frequently. But as the show progressed, this rivalry became far more one-sided, resulting in Yozora coming across as a serious bully. This conflict would have been better if they kept it as a rivalry, but the fact that it shifted to a one-sided onslaught put a bad taste in my mouth mainly in regards to Yozora’s character. The character this bullying is focused on is best girl, Sena Kashiwazaki. Sena Kashiwazaki is the First member of the Good Neighbors club. Her wealth, beauty and outstanding academic and athletic performance has made her popular among male students, and likewise have made her an outcast among girls. Despite being constantly surrounded by boys (who, according to her, are "doormats"), all she wants are true friends, which drives her to join the Neighbors' Club. Sena doesn't have any female friends because she is envied by other girls due to her good looks and popularity with the opposite sex. The only thing that I wished they would have changed about Sena is that she would be obsessed with Eroge as opposed to dating sims. It would have added a medium for more ecchi as well as giving her more to separate her character. Sena’s character is really only what you see at face value, but has enough to her personality to easily make her best girl. And by personality, I mean she has extremely large boobs. For the next characters, the sad thing about them is they have one defining trait that they are ruled by, and do not stray from this in any way. Maria Takayama is the supervising teacher and moderator of the Neighbor's Club somehow at the age of 10 who’s character revolves around “Onii-chan’s” and poop jokes. And not the good kind of poop jokes, just repetition of the word "poop." Yukimura Kusunoki is a cross dressing maid (who’s gender is up for debate) that becomes Kodaka’s underling to try and become more manly. Rika Shiguma is a perverted scientist whose sole form of personality lies in her various sexual fantasies. And lastly is Kobato Hasegawa, Kodaka’s cosplaying sister. But she’s voiced my Kana Hanazawa and is absolutely adorable, so she’s fine just the way she is. The problem with all of these characters is that they are only what is seen at face value and their archetypes. They have no feelings, no emotions, and are left to just be shells of characters soley there for the sake of comedy. There is no insight into any of the characters of the show aside from Yozora and Sena, and the little that is given into them is so cliche and sparse that it's hard to separate Haganai from the thousands of other ecchi comedies. This makes the characters for Haganai one of its worst aspects.
Art/Animation:
Just like everything else in Haganai, the art and animation are completely average, but let’s be real, that’s not what you watch these shows for. And I guess it’s also par for the course. The art is really bland, with no real distinguishing things that give it any merit. The only thing that really made the show any different were the character designs, which I actually did enjoy. But, like I said, this really isn’t a type of anime that you watch for its artistic merit, so it never takes away from the enjoyment.
Sound:
As if I haven’t said this enough, the sound is yet another thing that really didn’t do anything for me by way of giving itself an original feel. While, yes, this is a show that doesn’t need an OST that emphasizes a certain atmosphere, a god soundtrack could have been what this show needed to stand out. But alas, there is nothing new here and nothing that really makes for a good standalone listen. The opening is quite catchy, however, and really fits the series well. The ending is good, and seeing that the voice actress for Yozora sings it is a nice touch, but even still isn’t enough to redeem the OST. The voice actors all played their roles very well, and did a good job at portraying each character's defining traits, which is good because that’s really all they have. And obviously the best voice actor of the show is Hanazawa Kana, who plays the Chuunibyou loli and Kodaka’s sister, Kobato Hasegawa. God, that woman can truly play any role. Can she just hurry up and marry me already?
Overall:
Haganai is a show that really suffers from the flaw of not doing anything to make itself stand out amongst anime of the genre, and for that reason I find it really hard to recommend you watch this show. I’m not going to go as far as to say you shouldn’t watch it because for an ecchi harem you really can’t go wrong with this one. For this show, it really just has to deal with your opinions on average. If you take everything you watch at face value and enjoy it no matter what, then I can see why you would like this show. While it doesn’t do anything different, it’s still an enjoyable show for those who like seeing antics of club attending high schoolers. But for those that want more, or for those who are tired of seeing the same ecchi harem setup and character archetypes, I can say with upmost certainty this show is not for you. The story is incredibly simple, with no interesting setups or dynamics that make is any different from other shows of its kind. the characters, while they are on the lesser used side, are all standard archetypes of ecchi harems, and are defined by their traits with no real emotions, and are just shells of characters used for the sake of comedy, aside from Sena, Yozora, and Kodaka. The art, animation, and sound do just enough to make the show work, but just like everything else, offer nothing new to be experienced. With the exception of Hanazawa Kana, of course. Even in terms of ecchi, there is nothing that stands out, mainly consisting of your standard beach bikini scene or lewd sexual fantasy. And, I believe this has to be said, but only one scene actually gave me a boner. Too much information? Sorry about that. In the end, I would say if you like these types of shows, go for it. You won’t be disappointed. And heck, even I had fun watching the antics of the characters. But if you’re looking for something new, or expect something that’s not ecchi harem stereotypes, you’ve come to the wrong place. As for alternate recommendations, I think you should check out My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu. SNAFU takes the concepts of Haganai and takes them to the next level by actually portraying the characters as humans through its dialogue. And you should also check out Absolute Duo for more ecchi harem goodness. Not really anything special here either, but if you liked Haganai, I’m sure you would like this too.
