(24 episodes)
What’s it about ?
Adaptation of a shoujo romantic comedy manga series.
Characters
Takeo, our protagonist, is a hulk of a kid. Despite just graduating middle school, he’s about twice as tall as his classmates. He’s brusque, not good at schoolwork and a bit dumb, but he’s a good kid at heart.
Makoto, his best friend, has nothing in common with him ; he’s a handsome kid all the girls around fawn over. Including just about every girl Takeo liked ; they all tend to confess to Makoto before Takeo can make a move. Makoto rejected every single one of them, and Takeo didn’t have the heart to push things any further.
If you’re wondering why they’re friends… well, they’re neighbours and have known each other forever. Takeo is the only person who makes Makoto laugh through his bumbling ; and somehow, it doesn’t feel mean-spirited. They just feel like they’re comfortable with each other.
Yamato is a girl Takeo saves from a groper in the train. The joke is that while she seems genuinely attracted to him, he assumes she’s just interested in Makoto standing just behind him, like all the other girls. Cue long series of misunderstandings. (By the way, while Makoto does find her nice – apparently the first time he said that of a girl ever – he’s also eager to get out of the way so that Takeo can romance her without obstacle. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite manage to.)
Production Values
Well, shojo adaptation, so expect bright shiny colours and tons of sparkles. The contrast with Takeo’s frightening appearance is the whole point, of course.
On the other hand, there are often some gag asides that are just written in the background ; that must have worked better in the original medium.
Overall Impression
Well, that was fun. It’s a simple setup, but with charming enough characters and a slightly unusual protagonist that its feel fresher. Hopefully the 2-season length of the show means that they’ve planned it so that it can have a decent conclusion (although you never know, as the manga is still ongoing).
Anyway, I don’t need much incentive to watch a shojo romantic comedy, a genre I always find at least decently entertaining ; and since this seems to be the only such offering this season, I’m not going to be picky. Especially as it’s certainly good enough.
