“Aharen is Indecipherable” is best described as a show that grows on you as the season progresses. Like the MAL synopsis suggests, it’s a tranquil slice-of-life anime that explores a new friendship between two oddballs. The first episode does a nice job establishing these characters, their quirks that make them compatible, and the start of a wholesome friendship. However, the next 3 to 4 episodes are quite the rough experience…
Initially, it seemed like the anime had no idea what type of comedy it was aiming for. At first, we got a taste of overexaggerated stupidity by showing both MC’s having the physical and mental functionalities of a comatose zombie. Then it switches to pure awkwardness as it's clear that neither Raidou nor Aharen have any idea how to interact with each other. Most jokes bounce between these two styles of comedy for a while before eventually settling for a mild-mannered blend of both. The result of this blend works really well with the tone of the show in the second half. We end up getting enjoyable running gags, funny situations caused by harmless misunderstandings, and more natural interactions derived from a strong chemistry.
Side characters were another element of the show that were really hit or miss. I would say the majority of the cast have terribly bland personalities or cringy attitudes. The bland characters have absolutely no distinguishable characteristics to them. They only serve to progress the plot by conveniently creating a strange situation or introducing their own version of stale comedy when things are getting slow. The ones with cringy attitudes are just overused character types (e.g.: tsundere or siscon) that keep more bad than good traits. However, despite all these annoying characters, there are a couple that are gold. They introduce a fresh style of comedy and, sometimes, give us a different perspective on the shenanigans that our MC’s get into. Sadly, these characters aren’t used very often, but their presence has definitely made a couple episodes better than others.
The final thing I want to talk about is the second half of the season. I would argue that around episode 6 is where the anime finds its stride and sticks with it. It makes good use of comical situations in everyday life, keeps character personalities in-line with the tone of the show, and completely avoids cheap gags. That’s right, this show doesn’t resort to pointless fan service, overused sexual jokes, or dumb tropes that seriously need to die out already (e.g.: girl hits guy because of a misunderstanding).
Overall, I will say that “Aharen is Indecipherable” is an excellent show for relaxing and getting a few good laughs. While the start may not seem like much, I believe the quality of the show improves over time to deliver a unique and enjoyable Iyashikei themed anime. I will be expectantly waiting for a second season in hopes that I can see this relationship blossom one day.
