Well this shows actually pretty good wait everyone hates it? I guess Ill just have to play a bit of devils advocate here then This show presents to us a bit of a different take on the romance genre a clumsy but lovable main character with an alpha and very cool female main character. This show gets people into huge debates about gender roles and the dynamic between the main characters but for me the problems lie not necessarily on the dynamic of the main couple but more on the repetitiveness of certain tropes presented. There are a lot of good aspects about this show as well especially some of the supporting cast which was surprisingly strong and intriguing to watch and Ill highlight all of that in my review below. My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20 STORY: 17.2/25 The story isnt this shows strong point and thats to be expected as this is a slice of life romance anime. In a nutshell Izumi is a cursed kid whos very clumsy and needs to be protected. His protector and girlfriend is Shikimori a very cool and badass character who can be cute at the same time. Its overall premise is unique in the sense that the relationship starts from episode one and its not one of those romcoms where a romance is developed which is a welcome change for sure. I would have liked the backstories of the main characters a bit earlier in the series but at least we got one. What this show does super well is its handling of side characters. There are other people potentially interested in our main characters and Im glad that didnt draw anything out in terms of romantic development or create any unnecessary trashiness or love triangles harems or anything of the sort. Thats why I liked Kamiya so much. It shades away from fan service as well and didnt need to rely on that to make the show more intriguing for the viewer rather it just used normal romcom slice of life elements to create a more organic path for our main couple. Its not perfect though because the jokes are repetitive for sure. Izumis constant bad luck moments get a bit over the top and unrealistic like the guy almost got isekaid by Truckkun and thats a main reason why people dont like the show probably. I do think its repetitive but thats the premise of the show and its just a minor drawback for me. Shikimoris moments are also a bit repetitive in that her thing is saving Izumi and getting jealous. Im glad that the characters had a little bit more depth as shown in the backstories or else the characters would have seemed a bit dry. ART: 8.3/10 Its a decent style and Im glad Doga Kobo was able to handle the production issues due to the studio getting closed down in April. Didnt see any quality issues in later episodes. MUSIC: 8.5/10 The opening and ending were pretty topnotch and one of my favourites of the season as they were decently creative. The soundtrack was pretty solid throughout. CHARACTERS: 14.8/20 This show shines a little brighter than the romcoms due to the greatness of the side characters but first Ill talk a bit more about Izumi and Shikimori. Izumi probably the character that gets the most hate. Hes clumsy but kind and needs to be taken care of. I know that a lot of stuff that happens to him is quite unrealistic but we got to remember that this is fiction and this stuff isnt reality. His constant messups do make for good comedic moments at times and when hes able to be he can have his good wholesome moments as well. Shikimori is an interesting character in that she protects Izumi and also loves him most likely because hes kind and tries his best to take care of her too. She has her moments but honestly she felt a bit of a boring character to me even though she was very cool and showed off her skills. Basically shes the OP character youd normally see in an isekai series maybe she could be a solid isekai protagonist. Now to the side characters and in my opinion one of the best parts about this show. Inuzuka and Nekozaki dont contribute a whole lot to the overall story but they have quite a few comedic moments that were very fun. Hachimitsu was one of my favourite characters because what can I say Im a sucker for deadpan humour. Shes a good friend to everyone and she kind of feels like Izumi in that she tries her best at things she struggles at and was the pinnacle of comedic relief. Personally the character I was most impressed with was Kamiya. The way she was written to prevent any love triangles from forming was awesome and just saying if this series went that route and got trashy INSTANT 2 OR 3/10. Luckily that didnt happen. ENJOYMENT: 13.5/15 I was very impressed with the handling of Kamiyas character and the backstories too. Good that there were some good comedic moments. THEMATIC EXECUTION: 15.8/20 I enjoyed how the romance was handled and the depth that some characters had as well. The development felt well paced and all the characters had their time to shine. Some jokes were repetitive but overall the show worked for me. OVERALL: 78.1/100 A pretty solid show for me. Sure some of it was boring but I dont really get the hate it gets. Perhaps people were wanting a new waifu at the same level as Marin and a show like My Dress Up Darling but a show with little to no fan service and a good and different romance was just as good and funny for me. Remember Izumi and Shikimori are a fictional couple and while this type of dynamic isnt seen a lot in real life it is a heck of a lot of fun to watch their interactions.
78 /100
124 out of 175 users liked this review