I was originally planning on trying to make this funny, but as you all probably know, I’m an awful comedian. But that won’t stop me to try. Painfully.
So, what got me to reviewing this show? I don’t really know myself. It’s got a decent following. There are, and most likely will be, reviews that outshine this one. I mean, hell, I’m just some 14 year old white kid who decided to open up Microsoft Word and ramble on about nothing.
I think what drew my attention to this particular show was its concept. See, in the world of modern anime, there are three main types:
1. The SUPER serious, epic, dark and angsty shows that take themselves way too seriously
2. The generic cutesy high school show that’s filled to the brim with moeblobs and ear-shatteringly high pitched voices
3. Mindless fanservice with no real substance to speak of.
Well, actually, I lied. There are four. I forgot to mention Hentai. But that’s a rant for another day.
Haganai, however, brings in a fairly original concept.
[[Originally had a summary here, but the guidelines discourage you from doing that, so I just cut it out.]]
Okay, so, earlier I said that Haganai had a fairly original concept, and it does. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have its own fair share of fanservice, romance and serious moments. But for some reason, they all seem to blend in perfectly with the show, and it all seems…well, natural. Other shows with gratuitous amounts of panty shots, ass shots, boob shots, and, god forbid, dick shots seem to feel out of place. It sort of deters the overall experience and frankly just distracts the viewer, in a bad way. Now don’t get me wrong, I would’ve loved to tone down the fanservice a bit at times, but I’m not uncomfortable with the amount that’s given.
I guess this is where I should introduce the main cast.
Like I said, we have Kodaka Hasegawa, who is surprisingly a likable guy in an otherwise bland cast of male harem leads. You can kind of relate to the guy, well, at least I feel like I can. And, best of all, he doesn’t think with his dick and do the stupid ‘Let me fall into your tits TOTALLY BY ACCIDENT and get the shit beat out of me.’ shtick. He’s a pretty unique character in that regard. Well, not really actually, he’s just a sensible human being.
Next up is Yozora Mikazuki, which is the lead female protagonist. Well, it starts that way at least, but I’ll get to that later. She’s cold, sarcastic, in-your-face, cruel, and quite frankly, my favorite character in this show. Now those who are familiar may be asking, “WHY HER AND NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT OTHER CHICK WHICH I HAVEN’T INTRODUCED YET?” Well, okay, I guess I forgot to mention she can be a bitch. Quite often, in fact. And I can generally see why people wouldn’t like her. But for me, other than that attitude, she’s a good person at heart. She’s the only one that truly does feel like she NEEDS friends to better herself in the long run. She’s a nice girl, but has trouble expressing herself, and so everything just comes out wrong. Now, this doesn’t mean I condone everything she does, but most of her bitchiness is directed towards one character anyway. She arguably receives the most development as a character over the show and just ends up being a well-rounded, relatable and pleasant character. Oh yeah, and her voice is just….Ah.
Next on the list of harem bait is the ever-so-popular Sena Kashiwazaki. Odds are if you’ve heard of this show, it was either through her or another character. She’s the typical arrogant rich girl with great looks, tits, good grades, tits, and an elegant demeanor. Did I mention she has tits? Yeah, if you’re coming into this show expecting fanservice, you won’t be disappointed. This chick’s tits are by far the most popular character. She receives so many unnecessary embarrassing situations and camera angles just for the sake of making our dicks hard. Which is perfectly fine. But most, if not all of the fanservice stems from her and her chest. This makes me question her validity as an actual character and not just a walking sex toy. But that’s what’s weird. She’s an actual character with an interesting personality and situation. See, boys fawn all over her for…obvious reasons, and she steps all over them. Literally. But in reality she hates that sort of treatment, and just wants to live a normal life. She doesn’t have any real friends, you could say. She loves video games, especially Eroge, and can be quite adorable once you get to know her.
But this isn’t what anyone really likes her for. Admit it, the main reason you like Sena so much, and I’m saying this in general because she OVERSHADOWS EVERY OTHER FUCKING CHARACTER, is because she has a nice rack, likes to play games, and has a nice rack. Granted, I’m not saying that EVERYONE likes her for this, but the vast majority, from what I’ve seen, seem to. And as a result, she receives the most attention, praise, fanart, you name it, just for having a nice rack along with some other shit that doesn’t matter. Kinda makes you think of the current state of things, huh?
Obviously I can’t mention Sena without also mentioning her never-ending feud with Yozora. Dear God, where do I begin? Most of the hate on Yozora stems from this. “OH NO, SHE HURT MY PRECIOUS TITS! HOW DARE SHE?” Pretty much sums up all of the Sena fanboys’ reactions. But I will admit, it does kind of bug me too and take away from my liking of Yozora. But it DOES also help establish that she’s messed up and is in need of a good hug or two once in a while. Which is pretty much the show’s point, no?
I’m not gonna go into much more detail about this, as it really won’t get me anywhere. You’ll see what I mean if you decide to watch this, though.
Okay, where were we? Oh yeah, characters.
Honestly, the rest of the cast doesn’t really do anything for me. There’s Yukimura, the maid girl who’s actually a boy who’s actually a girl, Rika, the bespectacled pervert of a scientist, Maria, the fucking BANE OF MY EXISTENCE, and Kobato, Kodaka’s sister who’s just a generic loli with a vampire fetish. For some reason, everyone gets their fucking dicks wet about this girl, which is pretty annoying. She’s arguably more recognized than Yozora, the MAIN HEROINE, and is the show’s second most popular character.
While I don’t DISLIKE any of the characters, with the exception of Maria….god, I hate her…The remainder of the cast doesn’t seem to do anything. They’re not properly developed, not properly established as actual characters and not just comedic relief. They sort of just seem like cardboard cutouts of what’s practically REQUIRED in an anime; The token maid, pervert, loli…two of them, actually, and annoying cunt. The show makes pretty clear that your main focus should be on the main three; Kodaka, Yozora and Sena. And they do a damn good job of that, may I add.
Okay, now with the characters out of the way, I can get into the meat of this show. Pun intended.
The animation is absolutely gorgeous. It’s colorful, character designs are distinct and those eyes….god I love them. Everything just looks so crisp and clean, and it really helps you become immersed in the show.
The soundtrack is, I will admit, forgettable. It’s your classic run-of-the-mill anime soundtrack. Nothing in particular stands out within the show itself. However, I’d be lying if I said the opening and ending wasn’t catchy. They’re well done and the instrumentals along with the singing are fun. Especially the ending theme, where Yozora is singing. God, that voice, I can’t even put it in words. That’s all I can really say about the sound design. It’s really that forgettable, which is a shame. I enjoy a nice soundtrack every once in a while.
If you noticed, during this review I’ve been mentioning it being a harem occasionally. Which is sort of true. Practically every girl in the club has some sort of an attachment or crush on Kodaka. Poor guy, all of these attractive girls fawning over him and he’s just plopped right in the middle. Throughout it’s obvious he develops some minor feelings for certain girls (who I will not mention specifically) and as a result, is stuck in a pretty awkward love triangle. While this concept sounds generic, it’s not played about so much that it becomes the show’s main purpose. The main purpose, really, is just the misadventures of the Neighbors’ Club and what crazy shit they can get themselves into next. Oh yeah, the show is pretty silly. It’s filled with slapstick, awkward moments, fanservice, jokes and just overall entertaining content. The romance and drama, while well executed, don’t really seem to be an overly important factor. Not to mention, the show ends on this dumb cliffhanger that disappoints me as a Yozora fan….Shit, I probably said too much, didn’t I?
But, since there’s a second season already, I’m sure all of this will be resolved. So, no biggie.
With a multitude of entertaining characters, laugh-out-loud and quirky writing, beautiful visuals and well executed romance, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai is definitely a must-watch anime for anybody who enjoys a nice slice-of-life comedy and/or harem. I enjoyed it, and I eagerly await to watch the three (currently) episodes of season two. If you watched the show, please tell me what you thought about it.
8.5/10
