For a long time now, rom-coms have felt one and the same as the years passed, no matter how many works and shows have been released over the years. But in the case where most of it happens in school, it's always the high-school scene that gets the most rap for being the same thing all over again. Wouldn't it be nice if that formula could be replicated for an even younger setting of puppy love? That's where mangaka Taku Kawamura's Jijou wo Shiranai Tenkousei ga Guigui Kuru. a.k.a My Clueless First Friend, comes into the picture, being that of an elementary-school like comedy and slice-of-life story that has romantic subtexts in it, which makes for an interesting show and source material overall.
Ask anybody if he/she did plough through their young days being bullied, because children are just immature and grow up in the kind of environment where they choose their friends, and accuse others of being different, leaving the accused to the detriment of their well-being. This is exactly the case for Akane Nishimura, who is a quiet, almost gothic-looking girl with the apt "Grim Reaper" nickname because of the way she looks and is often bullied by her classmates for their dislike of her, thinking that she would curse and bring misfortune to them. That all changes when a transfer student by the name of Taiyou Takada comes in, and being a fan of the supernatural, he befriends the Grim Reaper without any context of what is going on around him, and that says the story and plot for the antithesis of the aptly named "Clueless First Friend" that would change Akane's life for the better, and, in the process, turn that support into fluttery feelings of love.
First off, let's segregate the cast of characters into the two obvious groups: the bullies and the victims. There is no doubt that Akane had all of the unheeded BS handed towards her, because let's face it: elementary school children are still developing in their early phases of their likes and dislikes, and bullying has been that one constant aspect that would just not go away, to the consequences of the victimised, having to suffer early episodes in order to be strong by themselves. And to be honest, even with Takada around to defend Akane by re-directing all of the hate onto him, anyone would have the balls to say that they would stand alongside the victimised all the way through, only to reverse that and say to stand with the bullies instead. And these people, I'd not hesitate to call them out for being hypocrites, for not honouring their word. But Takada is built differently: he is the literal meaning of "I don't care, just let me have my fun". And in many ways, we wished that we could have had a friend like Takada back in our young days to be protected from the unnecessary malignment from fellow classmates who were just having fun bullying the weak. Takada may be the clueless kid, but he's a gigachad in the same apt way.
The bullies of both sexes: for the males, Kotarou Kitagawa, along with Katsunori Tanaka and Yuuya Yamamoto; and for the females, Sumire Kasahara, along with Junko Kurokawa and Megu Yanagieda. There is no doubt that in this moment of their lives, playing this bullying game is already akin to being immature, but they don't care, and Akane gets pretty much used to it for who she really is. As for the "righteous" side, Akane is pretty much used to them calling her names and the like, while Takada is just that unknowing character who is mysteriously doing her a lot of right by deflecting all of the negative points about Akane and turning them into the positives, leading her to blush and be embarrassed each and every time, thinking that he has an interest in her, but not in the romantic sense. Young kids just want to have fun, and only when they're faced with the romantic prospect does it get serious but awkward. And if this is the objective that both the show and its original source material want to point their audience to, I'm happy to say that they got it right the first time. Ironically, it's so fun to see Takada shoot down all of the negativity about Akane and make it plus points that add to her allure, that if one doesn't think about this in the romantic sense, then who are they?
The innocent people of Akane and Takada are not alone in this regard. Takada's best friend is Daichi Hino, who is all about unadulterated fun and tank-tops for the win. Initially, Akane's being spoilt by Takada's assertive whims, grows her character, and people slowly recognise her good side. Starting with Umi Adachi, she initially was the side character who didn't want to get involved in Akane's affair, but subsequently, her kind, nurtured behaviour won her over, and like a good friend (a la Takada style) she stands beside her as her very first common friend, outside of the transfer student. Umi has a crush on Hino, though he's only really into tank-tops, so better luck if you're going to win his heart somehow. It's the same for another recurring bully, though she can be a little hard to impress.
With the show having a rather unique appeal, there is no need for any kind of bombastic animation, just some good ol' decency to get both its production and pacing right, which is what Studio Signpost and its in-house director Shigenori Kageyama did to decency. I'm not going to lie; I like the unique character designs that were brought forth from the manga; they added more to the show's appeal than just being mere typical character lookalikes from just about any other show. It's childish but simplistic, which gives it an elementary school aspect. Simple, but it gets the job done.
I quite like the music, actually, for a fluffy series such as this. Reina Kondou's OP was a surprise for me in the sense that it exudes everything about the manga's different aspects, from the chuunibyou of Akane's Grim Reaper to Takada just having fun combating and fooling around with friends. Kitri's 2nd ED (since Komi-san) is also a pleasant surprise for its simplicity, but it still has a pitch bend of sorts that I think contributed to the song. Overall, it's good.
Kids in love, is a subject that is rarely seen or explored in all of AniManga, because it's all about high school romances and the like, which I feel is going to be too much in the future. Rather than just a simple flashback of sorts (which this trope has been overused too much), make a story out of it, and that's what mangaka Taku Kawamura has done here, which makes the show an adorable, neat, and sweet watch that's actual lovestruck diabetes of innocent, puppy love.
Try this show if you need or want the "Feels Good" meme.
