Reviews

May 1, 2024
I went into this show with very little expectation, expecting another typical harem rom-com where it seems there's very little reason for any of the female leads to fall for the male lead and (obviously) lacks maturity (RaG comes to mind). To my pleasant surprise, this was not the case, despite some (predictable) instances of fan service and the clichéd beginning to the story involving Hayato's deceased grandmother and the café she left behind which provides the setting. Very much in the vein of The Quintessential Quintuplets with a competitive edge, but with a nice dash of slice-of-life minus the high school tropes that have been seen time and time again thanks to the maturity of the cast.

To cover the characters, the male MC is *gasp* actually someone who I could see having people attracted to him. Sure, being tall with reasonable looks doesn't hurt, but he's also successful, motivated, and isn't afraid to push back when he feels its necessary. He knows when to be supportive and knows when it's time to get serious. Hayato might be one of the first harem protagonists that I wouldn't mind grabbing a beer and shooting some pool with.

As for Hayato's surrounding cast of multi hair-colored girls, while some tend to fall into the typical tropes associated with the genre – Ouka being the tsundere, Ami being the goofy athletic (Yotsuba Nakano type), Shiragiku being the childhood friend dandere – I must give a shoutout to Akane and Riho. The former is an artistic tomboy type with a notable streak of confidence, but has a girlish shy streak when approached with anything regarding her personal life that is actually adorable. The latter first appears as somewhat of a tsundere, but later is revealed to be the hardest working of the bunch, continually trying to find new ways to support the rest of the girls and Hayato. These two rise to become (in my opinion) the stars of the first season, and make for interesting competition.

The primary obstacle towards enjoyment of the series will be undoubtedly getting through the first few episodes. Without spoiling it, you will probably immediately dislike most of the girls at the start, but they quickly – one-by-one – improve. Another downfall would be that the comedic aspects of the show are rather rough around the edges and repetitive, but I'm not sure this show is structured to really lean on the comedic aspects in the first place. The aforementioned ecchi content is definitely there – some may lament some of the censorship choices – but they are not overdone to the point of saying "ok what's the point of that"? The romantic subplots are actually enjoyable to watch develop (although they are somewhat limited in the first season) and tease the potential of something better – much like the first season of Quintessential. Overall I'd say that the show is on the higher end of harem animes overall, is generally well animated (excellent character designs) and does well to exploit some of the genre's tropes while toppling others. Will be awaiting eagerly to see what kind of new messes that Hayato and the girls get in season 2 this upcoming summer.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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