Is this the type of nonsensical comedy with overexaggerated themes, settings and experiences you've been encountering in anime. And does it piss you off that, the writing is almost always incoherent and yet is able to make you smile with confusion, Well look no further because 'Daily Life of High School Boys' isn't that kind of anime🥴🥴.
What is it then? It's simply the daily life of high school boys if boys never had a future and were stuck in a simulation that though supposed to have undertones of heavy hitting emotions, is just brushed of with laughs and believe me as a male college student that went to an all boys boarding school, hits each and every single time.
I mean check this out, there's literally no depth or complexity to the plot and characters and no development at all in the course of these beautiful 12 episodes. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. Does this mean the writing quality has fallen flat and this is the worst piece of fiction and media to exist? Not by a long shot. In fact, I'd go as far as say the writing quality for this show is superb if not masterful. How the dialogue is interlaced in almost everything that happens from the openings through to the cuts for supposed commercial breaks and even in the moments where silence is prevalent makes this show definitely a surefire worthwhile one.
In terms of the visual aesthetics in particular, this show is extremely lazy with it as you'll soon come to know if you're reading this review before watching🤭. Even for a 2012 anime, this one is just not it. The art and animation style and quality are all basic. And the color palette is as bland as it can be. The one redeeming factors about this section might just only be the consistency and direction they staff took on this one. And do you know why complaints are futile when it comes to this part, it's because they're freaking conveying to you that, this is comedy; there's nothing serious here, why don't you loosen up a bit.😅😅And it succeeds surpassing it's effectiveness sometimes.
Unlike its counterparts which occasionally insert a high octane 10/10 action scenes, with all the essential components to make it seem like a high budget Hollywood anime, the staff is basically looking you in the dead in the eye and saying, "we don't get paid enough for this sh!t. Screw you"😅😅. Does it hurt my feelings as one in the audience?! How could it?! It had me laughing in almost every skit with it's grounded yet unpredictable scenarios.
And that is to say, same goes for the sound design. Grade A lackluster. Nothing more to add. However though, if there was something that did stick with me from this category of it's rating, it'd be it's ending theme and the visuals that correlate with it😅😅. Basically you'll have to watch it to get why; it's tone just fills the void of nostalgia with slow jams that accompany visuals that would indeed make you crack up. I mean this show is so good with it's comedic content that even the ending themes and scenes can make you crack up. Whilst the both opening and ending are not like the most catchy or memorable, you'll definitely enter and exit one of them with the intent with which the show is meant - comedy.
The main theme of the entire show is in the name of the anime itself. So, are there particularly any hard hitting emotions that a vast majority of high school boys convey in their everyday life and dialogue that would be relevant in this case?! I don't think so. Again, the show doesn't sell itself on being comedic based on the fact of extreme overexaggeration of scenarios and the introducing factor of nonexistent complex emotions. It's quite literally the daily life of high school boys if they had nothing better to do.
In the wake of this show's source, it was in the nuanced period where normal slice-of-life was being incorporated into comedy in anime as a source of media. It is quite reasonable how the show has garnered widespread acclaim and fans. Though lame in the now times, you cannot deny that buzz around this show raises questions as to why people don't particularly enjoy comedy anime today. Without including overly uncomfortable fetishes and characters as well as emphasis on a huge part of Japanese culture that mainstream anime has come to hate, this show has proven itself enjoyable.
In conclusion, the 'Daily Life of Highschool Boys' anime markets and popularizes itself on mostly two things nostalgia, relatability and the shear amount of high grade comedy that will keep you laughing without having much to think about. I can say with certainty that it'll be a show you'll be obsessed with fein to finish in one go binging it. It's more akin to a show you'd just want to watch whenever you feel like you need something laughworthy and it delivers without fail everytime. I've probably forgotten every single thing or scenario from the show as at writing this review but hey, it's the daily life of high school boys🤷🏿♂️.
I came to with a 6.92/10 all things considered. That is to say my objective view of the entire show as a medium. However, I'd definitely recommend to anyone like myself who's familiar with the niche that is anime comedy and is looking for more. You're going to have a blast.
