More identified with projects like Aria and sketchbook ~full colors~, HAL Film Maker is not known for ecchi love comedy. However, the professionalism and quality we've come to expect from the studio shines again in this show.
B Gata H Kei is floated by its solid cast and watchable main characters. Yamada (cv. Yukari Tamura) is funny and likable. Her perverted, aggressive nature makes the show interesting and her naivete makes the show funny. There's a little boke/tsukommi routine going on with her friend Takeshita Miharu (cv. Horie Yui), who doesn't really have much other role in the show. Even considering this, Miharu delivers great comedy and is truly a great friend character. The male lead, Kosuda Takashi (cv. Abe Atsushi) is a meek and unconfident man because of how "plain" he looks. I feared another annoying passive male lead but much to my surprise, the character develops as the show progresses. It's not much, but in the context of these kinds of shows, holy crap.
What kind of state is the genre in when two main protagonists not being one-dimensional douchetards is considered "unique"? But while Kosuda and Yamada are in denial of the relationship and everything, the annoying frustration never spills over in your face or ruins the fun. It's as if the two were "It's complicated" on Facebook but everyone knows what's going on anyways.
Kanejou Kyoka (cv. Kobayashi Yuu) is a good antagonist for this show. She's cruel and sinister while also being relatively funny. Her role in the show is surprisingly subdued, and though she was quite an interesting character, I don't mind too much. An often overlooked character in this show is Miyamo Miyu (cv. Hanezawa Kana), the shy osananajimi character who is innocent and naive, but has a crush on Takashi. She foils Yamada well and her helplessness is dialed up enough to make you kind of root for her, but not enough to be considered annoying. The conspicuous lack of a major love triangle between Yamada and Miyu keeps the show from turning into a pointless haremfest. A character I would liked to see more of, however, was Yamada's little sister, Chika (cv. Shimoda Asami). She would have been a nice contrasting character or served some good plot points. Misato Mimi (cv. Iwasaki Ai), the flat chested genkigal no one care about, is also a pretty good and memorable background character.
An overarching theme in B Gata H Kei is how surprisingly realistic the show seems. You'd imagine a show with a predatory female lead and an antagonist with a mansion on top of a mansion would have absolutely absurd, but so much of the core actions of the plot seem natural. Yamada and Kosuda develop as character and the relationship, though awkward and full of pitfalls, is really fun to watch.
B Gata H Kei is surprisingly intelligent, uncannily funny, and truly entertaining. It does big things and small things well -- poking fun at the various institutions Japanese youth are familiar with, like the idea of liberal fornication in love hotels to the overly strict homeroom teacher. The OP and ED are Yukari Tamura singles and are pretty tasteful and pleasant. No complaints about the art or animation, and I thought the character design was good to make characters look rather simple. The show is enjoyable to just sit back and watch as the characters bumble around strange situations. The fanservice is there but it's not trashy, tasteful even. I would actually say that the show probably needed more.
