There' have been praises from Bunny Girl Senpai over the Fall Season from different anime critics. One of the positive criticisms from the anime was that it felt like the Monogatari Series. The only comparison that people said was that the main characters help other girls with their problems.
However...
The art, animation, and sound design weren't critiqued or mentioned anywhere.
Therefore, my only strategy going into this anime was to expect nothing more or less since I want to learn why people like this anime so much.
I expected nothing from this anime... yet I was still disappointed.
Story -- 3
The plot is simple. We have our protagonist, who is a male, and also an average high school boy that take their free-time devoting himself to different female characters. These problems oppress them and there would be a solution for their issue. Of course, the method is specific.
The concept of this anime uses Quantum Physics, supernatural events, atmosphere, and puberty syndrome (which is a made-up term). The atmosphere in the anime determines whether or not you want to keep out of their situation.
The use of theories from Quantum Physics (Copenhagen Interpretation, Laplace Demon, etc.) is outstandingly stupid because of how it's interpreted and used to solve these supernatural events even though it has nothing to do with their "problems." To use a high school explanation of Quantum Physics for the purpose giving it an excuse of adding depth to solve these "complex issues" proves that this was written by a pseudo-intellectual. It gets even worse when the writing, after a couple of episodes, give up on Quantum Physics explanations and idiotically write out many pointless supernatural events which had nothing to do with Quantum Physics.
It also doesn't help when the pacing is just ridiculously slow when every arc is just a beach episode for its own. There are scenes where I wished they could end quickly and move on to the meat of the anime. Whatever thoughts I received from these pointless fillers are always how miserable the supporting characters are, how boring the comedy feels, and how awful some scenes were which their only purpose was to make the character look cool. The filler is just there to add a humongous tautology. There was no foreshadowing, depth, or enjoyment whatsoever.
Every ending is also an anticlimax, too.
Character -- 3
Azusagawa Sakuta, the male protagonist of the anime, is an ostentatious jerk who shamelessly harasses classmates while helping them in situations they somehow couldn't solve. This behavior from the main character appears constantly in almost every episode and the script wants you to laugh at it only for it to become dull over time. His second quality as a character was his background which we didn't learn more about until the very last arc of the anime. There was no development to be noted from the main character because he's just too one-dimensional in every arc and basically does nothing cool; not even something remarkable UNTIL the very last arc.
Therefore, Azusagawa Sakuta is nothing more but a jerk who just helps other girls out of self-interest and the scar on his chest is nothing more but to feel bad for the main character. I can't even find any relatability or any deep meaning towards his actions. His actions are just dumb and he's not even aware of it sometimes.
Now mentioning the main character, I should tell you that the other characters are practically dumb as well; the characters are too dumb to solve their problems which can they can be relieved from by doing one simple action. That simple action is effective for most of their cases because it just shows how the concept of the atmosphere is so boring in this anime.
JUST! DO! IT!
No wonder why the anime was terrible pacing because instead of making actual complex themes and explore them or just getting it over with, the script decides it would be a great idea to prolong the end of the arc as if the script was aware that the circumstances in the anime are just too stupid and easily solvable. The pacing couldn't even give more depth to the character.
Mai Sakurajima receives little to no character development, and the chemistry between Sakuta and her is very transparent, but I couldn't care more for her problems; although there was one part where I do feel bad slightly. Tomoe Koga is also annoying since her only problem was that the main character wasn't attracted enough to her. Understanding Futaba Rio was also annoying. Despite her being smart in Physics, she wastes three episodes just to conclude that the only way she can solve her issue was to communicate with her other self which the Quantum Physics explanations for her troubles doesn't make sense. Toyohama Nodoka is also annoying as her only problem was to be better than her accomplished opposite
The rest of the supporting casts has no purpose for the story, and I've always questioned: "why do they deserve screen time?"
However, there was only one character that stands out AND is better than the rest of these characters. Kaede's problems were more realistic than the other girls, and she solves her problems by doing something instead of relying heavily on the main character. This is also her arc where we get to see Sakuta's good qualities as a character.
Sadly, I wished the other characters would actually feel more real so that they feel more appropriate for this story. These characters are but contestants for best comic instead of best drama.
Art -- 3
The art was also terrible. The backgrounds were over saturated, the objects didn't have any textures or intricate details, the character designs were boring and unappealing, and the composition looks lame and unfocused sometimes.
The composition was out of place because there were many CG cars that would distract you from following the main characters. There were also facial expressions in the backgrounds that looks awkward and distracting.
The animation was also terrible since the character movement would also look stiff. However, in other scenes, the animation would improve but would only last for a few seconds.
The visuals are also boring to look at, too.
Since this anime was made by "Cloverworks," I could completely understand why everything looked low quality.
Sound Design -- 4
There was nothing remarkable about the sound direction for the anime since the sounds were designed by Iwanami. Everything sounded generic and uninspired. However, there was one sound clip where I had to confirm that my ears weren't interpreting incorrectly. After I confirmed it, I began laughing because the sound was too horrible to defend it.
The music was okay, I guess. I liked the ending song...
Enjoyment -- 1
I did marathon this with someone I know since we halted at the same episode. Although watching it completely in a single day didn't wear us out completely.
We had some good laughs, some confusions, and there were times when we got angry at the direction. But what this anime has proven was that seasonal anime that becomes popular by the consensus would always be terrible.
It wouldn't matter how many times people tried to defend this...
If you enjoyed this anime or even this year, that's good for you. However, it'll be hard to convince me to return to popular stuff in future seasons since 2018 had killed it for me.
Overall -- 2
This review was written by a Monogatari fan. A big surprise that a concept similar to the Monogatari Series still wouldn't make me enjoy some of the trash I had to endure since it couldn't do anything well.
