BottomTier Tomozaki is the hidden gem of this season. Many dropped it at first while those who remained slowly began to notice how their view changed just like the characters did. Its a Romcom that isnt revolutionary but introduces concepts that makes it interesting and engaging to follow. It was certainly a show that exceeded my expectations. Its a true character growth driven story of becoming a better person. On its surface its nothing mindblowing and appears to be a standard Romcom about an unpopular guy who somehow meets the legend of the class and gets a harem that youve seen countless times yet this assumption is very misleading and Tomozaki despite appearing as such is not at all like that. All the girls introduced are not meant to be part of his harem and the show has wrongly been labeled as such. They are characters that get development themselves as well as aiding the development of our MC while not coming off as too cliche or tropey. They really feel like people that you could meet in real life. While you may argue that the situation that our MC the top player in Atafami finds himself in is very hard to relate to you have to acknowledge the effort he puts in to change himself. Id say that the beginning doesnt seem promising at all but the more we level up the greater it becomes. Everyone deserves a second chance if given the opportunity right? Then even he should be able to fight to change himself for the better and we as the audience should understand where he is coming from and not mock his efforts. Such a view is very misleading and could lead to incorrect assumptions. No matter what the fact still remains that in order to achieve something even winning a mere game you have to put your entire heart and soul into it something I find admirable. Its a show that is neither a generic Romcom nor a harem. Its main appeal is the theme of self improvement through hard work and desire something that would be praise worthy to many and becomes apparent in how our main hero grows as a character and as a human being. Growth doesnt happen overnight. Its a long process that requires a lot of time and soul put into it. This is the message the show tries to convey and we can see how the behaviour and self esteem of Tomozaki evolves the more he levels up and the audience that learns from his mistakes and the quests given by our main girl Hinami Aoi. The quests that the main girl gives to MC may seem trivial but are actually helpful in the grand scheme of things. Its one of the main criticisms that the show has received that its cringy unrealistic and out of touch with reality which is clearly wrong. We should remember that Tomozaki is a loner that has troubles with social interaction therefore these trivial goals that she sets up for him are actually very meaningful despite being so small. The type of a goal doesnt matter what truly matters is the effort you put in order to achieve said goal. The animation of this show is very minimalistic with no dynamic movement. At times it serves as a means to move from point A to point B. The majority of the content delivered is through the dialogue of characters. Its decent. While its certainly not top tier its no doubt bearable to watch. There were few memorable OSTs that played during crucial scenes but often than not it was a sad piano to create the atmosphere or a very light hearted soundtrack to rekindle hope. Overall the music wasnt as memorable but not that bad. Id like to point out that even the lyrics of a song matter in this show so keep an eye on that. From a show that started with an interesting premise that at first became something to make fun of Tomozaki changed for the better and so did the viewers who were watching his development unfold. Its a series that while not revolutionizing the genre made something unique and intriguing enough to follow by showcasing real character growth that rarely ever happens these days. If you wish to see a tale of a man who changed his life from the better struggled but with effort and heart reached his goals then I recommend watching BottomTier Tomozaki.
95 /100
178 out of 222 users liked this review