Aharen-san wa Hakarenai

Aharen-San or else Komi-San can't communicate in loli version. Just kidding. But it's true that Reina is like Shouko but in mini edition, which makes it adorable. The anime might seem cliche in every field, but for many reasons it manages to mix all the cliches(Beach,pool episode,festivals,dating etc) and make a cute slice of life which makes your heart go doki doki! Raidou is actually the one who disappointed me at first because of how dense he is ,but as you watch the series you see how pure he is,yet a bit silly, which is important for a romance comedy genre. Also,let's not forget about that ending. So sweet and cute. In conclusion if you like slice of life or romance comedy anime,this is the suitable 2022 anime for you. It's cliche, but with soothing music and animation which is adorable!!

I really enjoyed this anime, i havent watched many anime like this and I thought it was very funny and heartwarming. Story: 7/10 - the story was a small twist on a romantic comedy and a little bit of an odd couple vibe. Each episode was like a few mini stories so the episode wasn't all about one thing, they usually did different activities and it reminded me of a short like 3 to 5 panel manga where the story is short and sweet but this anime didn't break the episode into separate parts it was more cohesive and one situation usually led to the next. Art: 7.5/10 - the art and animation were good, it really wasn't to flashy but more stylized to be more subtle. It took place mostly at school in the classroom but when they did venture out the different backgrounds were well done and helped bring life to each episode. Sound: 7/10 - the sound was good, I enjoyed the OP & ED, they are very upbeat and it was one of the few I didn't skip past most of the time. The SFX was also very good, in my opinion SFX and source music (background music) can really help an anime and bring texture and emotions to even the most basic of scenes in anime. It also helps hammer in the point of dialogue certain characters may have. Characters: 8/10 - the characters were great, the female MC and the male MC were the best part and the students and teachers really helped in making it more enjoyable. I especially liked Reina's little brother and sister and their teacher Ms. Tobaru was really funny, also little Futaba was pretty funny with her rivalry. All the characters were well designed and the voice acting was really good, I watched the original with English subtitles and I will check the English dubbed one soon and I will update the review when I finish. Enjoyment: 8/10 - I enjoyed this anime a lot, it was really funny and had a few cute romantic moments in it. At first it was a bit different but once I got to know the characters in the first few episodes, it got better and by the end I was hoping a second season will be greenlit. Overall: 7.5/10 - I really liked watching this anime and will watch it again sometime. I would recommend this anime for people who have a decent sense of humor and that enjoy cute comedy anime with a few awkward moments thrown in. It's definitely worth watching once, and if you only watch it once then watch the original with English subtitles because in my opinion most of the original with English subtitles are superior to the English dubbed.

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is quite a strange anime that's hard to place in a genre. Drama? It's not very dramatic. In fact it's about as far from dramatic as can be. Slice-of-life? Perhaps, but most of what's happening on screen is so stupid it bears little resemblance to anything that can conceivably happen in everyday life. I see some sources have it down as "comedy" but I think that must be some sort of mistake as there's hardly any jokes in the show. Most of the time it just lumbers along lethargically while the main character Raido provides monotonous, droning commentary about what's going on - which, for the most part, is nothing. What is Aharen-san wa Hakarenai about? Well, it starts off with a boy-meets-girl template set in highschool. The girl in question, Aharen, suffers from the triple threat conditions of Age Stunted Syndrome, Emotionally Challenged Syndrome and Facial Paralysis Syndrome. While these are common afflictions for anime characters, for some reason no anime ever comments on them The typical Aharen-san wa Hakarenai episode comprises a series of sketches, the majority of which are extremely formulaic and come in a three-parter like this - Act 1: Aharen turns up looking strange, or she does something strange (and unfunny). - Act 2: Raido's imagination runs wild as he cooks up some ridiculous (but unfunny) speculations, which are illustrated on screen. - Act 3: The extremely predictable (not to mention unfunny) conclusion is revealed! In addition to the anime showing it, Raidou also describes it in a deadpan voice. In case you didn't get it. This look almost like an archetypal joke format, which is perhaps why people have tagged this as comedy, but with an actual joke you'd expect a punchline to be delivered in act 3 and most of the time here there is none. It's like seeing a street with rows of scaffolds on either side but hardly any actual buildings within the scaffolds. Very strange indeed. Did the writers forget to write the jokes? Was this generated by an AI?! I don't know. I guess it'll just have to go down as one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time (cue Raido-esq exaggerated speculation imageries involving pyramids, aliens, illuminati symbols etc). To be fair to Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, funny moments do exist, though sparse they may be. Occasionally the anime turns its usual narrative formula on its head which provides a rare moment of surprise; the sketches relating to a bunch of local kids can also be quite cute and good for a chuckle or two; also the shipping teacher makes an amusing first appearance but she turned out to be a one-trick pony and the same punchline was practically copy and pasted into all her scenes. The show also sometimes reaches for emotional poignancy, but it took a long time for me to scrape together enough of a fuck to give. That said, I did eventually warm to a few of the characters, and some of the relationship dynamics shifts unexpectedly quickly towards the end, which made things mildly interesting. If that sounds like I'm damning the show with faint praise, then, well, that sounds about right. The writing is not witty enough; the stories are not varied enough; the visual gags are not good enough to be funny. Almost the best thing I can say for Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is that I didn't end up hating the characters. Though considering the titular character's half-her-age appearance and clingy, helpless mannerisms are designed to pander hard to the moe crowd, that in itself can probably count as an achievement. Personal rating: 0.0 (meh)

It is for the most part, painfully average but it doesn't insult the viewer like other romcoms/slice of life series that spend over 300 chapters without any progress and fill up the story with useless one dimensional characters. Also you have actual character growth not regression so that you can keep making milking your cow. Aharen is a anime about two au...special people that enjoy being with each other and for the most part it tries to be gag manga. While it fails most of the time as a comedy the interaction between the two of them is cute and it doesn't feel like a slog watching it. I'm hoping this gets a second season since it picks up a bit when they introduce the rest of the cast. But you know in a good way. Not that other thing people keep comparing it to here.

I found this utterly adorable - and damn that ending. After a certain something happens in episode 9, they really drag out revealing what actually went on, but it was all worth it in the last episode as it was so sweet, plus we get hints of them setting up a next season in the end as they move into the second year of high school. This was just really sweet and it was nice to switch off to - it was primarily kind of episodic and just a series of gags, but it didn't require too much brain power and the characters were endearing which made it perfect for me. I think I would have liked it even if it didn't have a romantic twist at the end, but that was definitely nice twist.

"Aharen-san Is Indecipherable" is the anti-soap opera where everyone is smile-baiting and friend-maxing. It has to be the most innocent, purest, coziest, and wholesome romance anime to exist. It really brings you into the most perfectly possible world where everyone genuinely cares about one another and everyone is patient/honest enough to clear away any misunderstandings that may occur. Simply put, Raidou and Reina's character dynamic is peak. The way their friendship grows throughout the series is just perfect. Raidou uses his strengths to help make up for Reina's inherit weaknesses in life and Reina uses her strengths to help make up for Raidou's inherit weaknesses in life. While other romance animes would have a minimum of 1 perverted scene per season, this show basically just said "sorry, we can't hear you over all of this wholesomeness". There are a few "fan service" scenes per say, but they are very tame and feel like they are to tease the audience more than the actual characters in the show. The animation is also very good at being able to express the feelings of probably the most expressionless couple in a romance anime (use of detailed light rays, motion blurs, etc.). Reina's voice actor is basically on ASMR-mode 24/7, which you will either love or be indifferent to. The music is okay, but nothing to save to any playlist to listen to later. The only bad thing about his anime is that it now makes the real world look like a ravenous anarchy where everyone is out to get you by comparison. If you just finished watching something putrid like "Redo of Healer" or just had a bad day and need something to cleanse your mind, "Aharen-san Is Indecipherable" will be a great watch for you. If you a pessimistic person and want to see the world burn, you probably won't like this show, but you should probably watch it.

Don't let the tags fool you, Aharen-san is a comedy first, romance second, anime that answers the age old question of "What if I used a Tank instead of a flyswatter", to fix simple solutions of human understanding and connections, allowing the comedy to flow naturally with its ridiculousness without losing the plot, while having a simple heart warming romance story without unnecessary forced drama many romcoms put into their work. A simple, yet funny, slice of life piece you can sit down and enjoy with almost anyone, and not needing to explain why it's funny in the context of anime tropes. I watched this when it originally released and enjoyed it immensely at the time, and felt content with its ending unlike many other romcom anime seem to do when they catch up with the manga or light novel and leave it either unresolved or with a, "will they won't they" sort of ending. Much to my delight a second season was announced, so if you wish to see more of this cute duo and their antics play out you'll be in for a treat. I highly recommend as an anime you can put on, turn your brain off, and the emotional moments when they are there, are enough to twinge the heart muscles before you get back into smiling again. I definitely see this anime being one that I revisit to do a quick binge over a weekend or have playing in the background of my computer as I work. It by no means will break the mold of it's genre, and it may not even be remembered by many with the endless supply of anime coming out, but sometimes that's not what you need, sometimes you just need a "good" anime you don't have to feel invested in and this is one. It's also an anime where it feels like you could watch any episode and not feel lost, so if you have it playing and a friend comes over, you do not need to restart, a two second summary is all that's needed to get them invested. If you have someone who wants to dip their toes into anime, but doesn't want to go the route of over emotional or typical battle shonens, this is a great entry piece to do so

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a very good cute Romance anime that actually has romance? This anime is really wholesome and the whole pun about it is really enjoyable. This anime is a very good romance anime, The character dynamics are really well produced and leaves you with a wholesome dynamic. You can see the relationship grow throughout the show and its really cool too see. At times this anime can have you at the edge of your seat because its surprisingly suspenseful at times and for being a romantic comedy amusing at times. The art design is also really nice if that is something that you care about and the music is decent enough nothing super memorable though. The stuff like backdrops and character desgins can be really nice at times and nice on the eyes so you wont be hurting your eyes watching this. This anime is also getting a season 2 so if you like this anime you can watch it. Really cool anime you should watch it if you like anything about slice of life or romance its a good way to kill time. 7/10

OLD REVIEW: I personally love deadpan humor. It’s one of my favorite varieties of comedy. Just to have the most absurd and crazy shit go down is funny, but to have the reaction be blank in response is even funnier. This show is deadpan humor taken to another level. These characters are always doing the wildest shit with the most bland expressions on their faces. I don’t know why but that just speaks to me on a comedic level. This show is funny as shit. This out-of-left-field behavior is also very wholesome. Neither of these people know how to act and because they don’t know the proper way to behave themselves, they don’t notice, or simply accept the strangeness of others. Aharen and Raido work together because they can be comfortable around each other and not have to adhere to normalcy. They’re just two lovable oddballs who support each other. There’s honestly not too much to say it’s just a very wholesome and funny show and that’s all I really want. Sometimes simplicity just works. It’s great at what it does. NEW REVIEW: This was an interesting rewatch and made me think about how to go about rating and critiquing comedies. When I first watched this show a couple years ago, I loved it. Well, liked it. I thought it was hilarious and a great example of how to use deadpan comedy. I liked the romance and overall just had a blast watching it. Season 2 is now coming out so I decided to rewatch the first season before diving into the second. And I was met with extreme disappointment. Aharen-san did not hold up. It wasn’t funny. It was genuinely difficult to sit through and I tried so hard to enjoy it but I found myself dreading the next episode. It was cringy at times, the line deliveries weren’t as funny as I remember, the side characters were annoying, the jokes played out exactly as you’d expect and the characters are all one note. I find it to have the same issues as Pseudo Harem with it not having any actual plot or character development and it was all just very boring. So then that begs the question, why did I really like it back then? Well the obvious answer is, because my style of humor progressed as well as my critiquing ability. Aharen-san is a romcom which means it only has to accomplish 2 things really to be enjoyable: 1. Be funny, 2. Have a sweet fun to watch romance. Plot, character development, themes and everything else comes secondary to these 2 primary goals. So any critique I have about the plot or characters can be completely useless because comedies, at their center, aren’t meant to be taken seriously. As long as you find it funny and had a good time, the comedy did it’s job and any technicality in the artistic faults just doesn’t matter, because that’s not what it’s going for. This makes critiquing comedies extremely difficult because humor is subjective. I don’t like Aharen-san. But I know someone who did, who got something out of it and had a good time (it was me). So just because I didn’t find it funny, does that mean it’s a bad show? Well to me, this is my rating and I didn’t like it so I’m going to rate it low. But I can’t exactly fault anyone who likes the show. Now there are things to complain about it artistically but no argument about how low effort the writing is, is going to change the fact that you had a fun time with it. So I am going to rate this low, but I just find it interesting to see how much my humor has changed in such a short amount of time.

I have a few must-haves when I consider good slice of life comedy romance: romantic progress, a humorous vibe if not straight-up laugh out loud comedy, a supporting cast that works for the romance and comedy. 1. Romantic progress: How many slice of life romances involve an infinity of hesitation, self-questioning, bullshit reasoning for why they aren't together, and lack of any progress over the course of multiple seasons? (screw you Uzaki-chan) This anime has real progress that doesn't get walked back or extended forever because of greed or bad writing. The leads are amusing and compatible as complete weirdos, they act like they're dating most of the story, and the show doesn't blueball the audience with wishy-washy emotional drama that just prolongs the courtship stage. 2. Humor: the main two are bona fide weirdos and the ML is well-written for magnifying the humor with his delusional scenarios and explanations for Aharen's oddball behavior and reticence. They go on dates, compete at silly games and sports, while ML hypes Aharen up and supports her for who she is. She is drawn to his open-minded kindness and treats him well. Just what I want to watch. 3. Supporting cast: not as strong as the other two, but we get straight man characters who amplify how strange the leads come across and support their burgeoning romance. Aharen's childhood friend isn't the most engaging or interesting character, but she works for showing Aharen's personality and a third person view of what's going on. There are a couple of other who try to match-make or determine if they're dating, which again succeeds in providing an outside view of their romance. Aharen's siblings also show up and offer a bit by way of side character flavor. For a show so centrally focused on its main two characters, I think the supporting characters work to make the most of what matters: romance and comedy. While not perfect, at least there aren't any pointless or distracting characters that steal episodes and screen time from the main couple (ahem Horimiya). I think it's hard to find shows like this that deliver in the ways they should (1 and 2). I consistently enjoyed their goofing around antics and thought they worked really well as a romantic pairing. I hope there's another season, because this show knows how to deliver with what's actually good about this genre, rather than focusing extremely hard on giving the illusion of progress while actually forcing nothing at all to happen the entire time (the goal of a lot of slice of life romances--again, screw you Uzaki-chan).

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai it was better than i expected Where should I start... I went to see this anime with the expectations that it was going to be Komi-San 2.0 and the truth does not disappoint and maybe even exceeded my expectations This is because it has many references to pop culture and is more aimed at being a Comedy than a Slice-of-Life like Komi-san is. The plot is basically the same as Komi-san, Ahare-san wants to have friends and the adventure focuses on that and the things she does to get it. I like the absurd humor that it has as an added feature and the characters have a lot of charisma, it's really quite enjoyable, if you have the opportunity you should consider watching it ESP:Ahare-San Wa Hakarenai fue mucho mejor de lo que esperaba Por donde empiezo?... Empece con este anime con la idea de ver otra copia mas de Komi-san y aunque en cierta medida es correcto decir esto... Realmente no se siente como una copia... Esto debido a que este anime se centra mss en ser de comedia que un Slice-of-Life como lo es Komi-san La trama es la misma que Komi-san, Ahare-san quiere tener amigos y hara cosas para conseguirlos Me encanta el humor absurdo que tiene, teniendo JOJOreferencias como rapeos de un episodio a otro... Si tienes la oportunidad deberias mirarlo

The story is pretty simple to understand and take in its not that good of a level of a romcom but still good enough for one to be contempt with. There's a girl in the MCs class and has problem speaking or is not loud enough for on to hear so she has problems expressing herself The MC helps her throughout the story and she develops feelings I can't say much for the voice acting rather than it all felt very natural to me The animation and art style is also good so you'll love it. Recommended for romcom lovers

The animation was fairly decent. There really wasn't any flashy animation, but not really that type of anime. The characters were well drawn, and so were the backgrounds. However, cg background characters and objects were pretty frequent, and although well drawn, the backgrounds were pretty basic. The main characters were very likeable, but the side characters didn't really add too much and I found them kind of annoying. On top of that not a ton of depth to any of the characters. The story is pretty basic, but is good enough to support the show, but gets a little repetitive. Pacing is... slow. This combined with the repetition made the show suffer when it came to it's ability to consitently hole my attention. Voice acting was good. No characters were constantly annoying, and the casting fit the characters well. The soundtrack was occasionally great, but mostly average. Although, the ed and op were very good. Overall, the show is cute and funny, but unimpressive. I think it's an enjoyable anime for some, but the pacing and repetitive nature of the story will definitly make it something not everyone will enjoy past the first couple episodes. 5.75/10

Kinda comedy that slowly transforms into romance/comedy. First episode is lame and almost made me drop this anime but I am really glad that I made through it. Whole thing of socially non-functioning Reina is a hard sell because of how bad it is first pictured, but it doesn't lasts and after couple episodes this theme is almost forgotten. When you get into the story, it flows pretty good - simple and enjoyable. But structure of generic gags doesn't really change throughout series so it can become stale and bothersome at the end. Story does have school setting which could be a minus, as it is highly overused, but thankfully it is kept to a minimum of plot importance. Generally story revolves around pair and does not put much into highschool stuff so it is kinda ok. There is strong Kanna-san vibes from Reina (which is nice?).

A romantic comedy about Aharen -- a speck-sized girl with a quiet voice and inability to grasp social conventions -- and Raidou -- a boy with an overactive imagination and a permanently frozen face. It has a serene, quiet and heartwarming atmosphere and an adorable relation between the two main leads. The jokes are hit-or-miss, and sometimes repetitive (yes, we get it, Aharen is good at some games and bad at others). Particularly grating is the character of Toubaru-sensei, who is only ever used for a single joke: she sees Raido and Aharen acting romantic, she immediately nosebleeds, roll on snare drum, curtains. Unfortunately, despite being mostly innocent and lovable, the series features some questionable anime tropes: an elementary-school girl accuses Aharen of being a "shotacon", Aharen's little brother likes dressing up in girl clothes for whatever reason, and then there's the weird relationship between Aharen and the girl Mitsuki, which isn't sure if it wants to be friendship or a semi-sapphic yandere obsession. Despite its faults, the series is ultimately enjoyable as a light, heartwarming comedy.

Just so you know, anyone who happens to read this review, this is my first review ever, so it's a little bit of a special occasion. Before starting, I want to apologise for any big mistakes I may do writing this review since I'm not a native English speaker. Now, without further ado, let's get into the actual review. There will be (what I think it is, but it may not be) a minor spoiler at the middle of the review, which I will mark again so as to stay clear. Slice of life animes are generally characterised for having a set of characters interact within the same environment over and over again, so creators need to be original so as to keep viewers / readers truly invested in whatever is happening in the work. Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, unfortunately, clearly fails in providing a refreshing take on the genre or any way of comedic creativity whatsoever. We are again in front of a common case of the typical school Slice of Life show that actually did quite well in terms of popularity, which is the reason behind people picking it up, I guess. As far as I'm concerned, this anime fails in two very primordial points in order for any work of the kind to actually work as intended. The result of not doing so is a cluster of overly repetitive joke formulas which might take away any viewer attempting to immerse themselves in the world of Aharen. Let's see which two main points I'm refering to. First of all, it blatantly fails in joke creativity, which is a common issue in SoL animes, but in this case, the matter is even more severe than usual. The formulas they usually use (and this is not a spoiler) are generally the following: either Aharen, using her passivity and funny face, makes a reference to something else (which could be to another anime, for example) or simply emphasizes one of the traits descrived previously, or Raido just makes a whole film over the most simplistic matter, generally concerning something Aharen did (or even not did). While it is true that during the first few episodes the formulas provide a fair amount of laughs (which, let me repeat, it's the end goal for any comedy anime, as the genre implies), the repetition of these make the comedy of the show wear out rather quickly. Secondly, we have the overexaggeration of things, which is constantly used to crack a smile on us. Don't get me wrong - I really do enjoy a well-done exaggeration, even to a point where a situation is so absurd it just becomes incomprehensible, but when the quality of the jokes doesn't accompany, it tends to backfire, which is the case. The fact that their exaggeration is not only absurd, but also non-constant, as well as coming from out of nowhere, it really puts me off, but this may be just personal preference. This pretty much sums up the whole interactions between the two main characters, seriously. Both have the trait that, for some reason, they cannot show a sign of emotion on their faces (I acknowledge that, at first, this is kind of funny), both overthink every single tiny event that happens in their surroundings and involving them and both just happen to sit next to one another. Once again, for a slice of life and a comedy, you don't need much more than that, but even then, the conversations they have feel a little meaningless, just enough to help the "joke" progress, rather than actually having a conversation. A more appropriate thing would be hiding the joke inside their sentences so that the chatter between them felt more full. Now I could just end the review here with a brief statement of each mark and a small TL;DR, but there's something I would like to point out that is quite worthwhile. *Minor Spoiler coming ahead* During the last third or so of the anime, the main characters start to develop their relationship a bit more, which is more than welcome, but that alone is not enough to palliate the issues I've just said and, in addition, this really came out of nowhere (although small signs could be interpreted throughout the show). What makes this last third way better is the small shift in tone and the decrease of the exaggeration, alongside the new, let's say, "plot addition". The two main characters have always been aware of each other in the anime, at all times, although in a more indirect way, but from that point, that turns up to eleven, making their interactions quite more fitting and, honestly, more entertainging to watch. It actually seems like now, they actually have a reason behind the jokes and behind all the reactions. This last bit is what probably saves the anime from being completely mediocre to just being average. *End of Minor Spoiler* I will structure my reviews like this, first I will talk about what the anime does good and/or bad and, secondly, I will justify briefly the marks. - Story: 4 I really feel like it's quite unfair to evaluate the actual story of a SoL (since most of them have zero story), so I interpret it as storytelling (which is different from story) and setting. As I've said, the setting is more than enough, but the storytelling in kind of awkward (except for final third). - Art: 8 I actually enjoyed this anime's art and animation. I strongly believe that this is its stongest point by far as all the colors have a nice palette, character design is ok and the whole animation is fluid. - Sound: 5 I'm quite picky with this topic. Probably out of I don't know how many songs this anime may have, I probably only enjoyed one song (of course, I didn't go specifically to listen to the whole OST, I only say this as I was watching the anime), but the rest are just passable. In terms to sound, I thing it was ok. - Character: 6 I'm taking into account the final development, of course. Although their concept is interesting enough for this genre, it is not fully exploited (at least not in a "correct" way) until the end. - Enjoyment: 4 For an anime of this kind, this is the key component everyone strives for. Yes, it is true that all the other components helps, there's no dennying that, but this is the pillar that can sustain a whole show. Unfortunately, this was not the case for all the reasons above and, therefore, deserves to fail in this category. - Overall: 5, specifically a 5.4 TL;DR: While the fact remains that this show could serve as a time killer if one just wishes to simply watch two students doing a bunch of random things, this is certainly not enough to mitigate the repetition of jokes and, as a consequence, the unnecessary exaggeration on every little action they perform.

Started off good then just devolved into a jumbled mess, the only funny moments were the bad "Engrish" from Momo-chan (best girl). The only constant is Raido being a dense idiot and a pussy, the females see little to no adversity to overcome, Ooshiro is a stalker, brings weapons to school property and only sees Reina as a doll to be played with while her feelings of "love" are entirely misplaced because this fucking shit show of an anime tries to shoehorn Yuri in... fucking cringe. Futaba only thinks about romancing that kid when she is like fuckin 10 and the kid just wants to be a kid, she also threatens to abuse emergency services to get Raido in trouble with the Police just because he is trying to keep everyone calm, she needs to be slapped. really. fucking. hard. One sec Reina is a fucking child that can't even wipe her own face while she's eating the next she's a fucking genius that does everything perfectly with ease... doesn't make any sense and I can't enjoy the show when it's just "oh no something is going on with Reina!!! watch out omggg she might get hurt or not be able to do- NOPE fuckin perfect! lol isn't that funny???". They were trying to be an absurd crazy comedy anime like Konosuba or Grand Blue but they just fail at every turn, Annoying at best... fuckin 5, and that's me being generous.

Anime has led me to believe that a large number of Japanese males prefer a soft-spoken woman, either unwilling or entirely incapable of properly communicating with others. I don't know how true to life this is or if it's some sort of bizarre wish-fulfillment of a girl who's basically a pet that can cook your dinner and have your babies, and maybe it's just one archetypal preference out of many, but it's hard to deny the seeming trend toward more of these kinds of stories. I think what makes the relationship work in this show is taking the personality of the protagonist into account. A lot of slice of life protagonists have really generic "nice" personalities, leaning super hard into making him a blank slate for self-insert, an idyllic facsimile of the average otaku anime watcher. Raidou is portrayed as being just as inept at expressing his emotions, though he's socially awkward in a different way. He's entirely in his own head too much, making illogical assumptions while lacking information and taking everything to extremes. His fantasies are usually pretty funny, especially that one time it turned out to actually be correct. Basically the show's about two socially awkward teenagers learning to understand and admit their feelings for each other. I like the teacher who's always watching them and getting nosebleeds at how "esteemed" their relationship is. I'm not crazy about that choice of translation for the Japanese word "あはれ," which the plot actually introduces and explains the meaning of. I get that the joke is that she teaches old and archaic Japanese and the subs I was watching with were just trying to capture that by using an odd English word that sort of meant the same thing, but it just felt like too much of a stretch for what she was using it for in most cases and it might have been better to just accept it as something that was going to get lost in translation and use a word like "wholesome" instead. But that's a nitpick about localization, and I liked her character regardless. The joke with the girl that was always hiding and stalking them got old pretty fast but I guess it was kind of funny the first few times. I like the way the show ended, feeling like an actual conclusion and not just another endless will-they-won't-they tease to squeeze as much content out of a thin premise as possible. Basically I prefer when shows centered on a high school romance actually have them get together at some point. Also the fidget spinner bit in the ending sequence was never not funny. 8/10

AHAREN-SAN WA HAKARENAI Aharen-san is about a shy and timid smol girl named Aharen and her new seatmate, Raido. The show tells the story of how their relationship slowly develops as Aharen learns to open up and be more comfortable around people with the help of Raido. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's basically Komi-san Can't Communicate, but somehow it still feels original enough and is definitely entertaining in its own way. Despite its similarities to Komi-san, Aharen-san is able to set itself apart with its general style and overall vibe. STORY - 9/10 Aharen-san is a pretty traditional romcom/slice of life. Its main plot is centered around its characters and their relationships with each other. However, what I really liked about the story of Aharen-san is the pacing with its introduction of new characters. While Raido and Aharen are always the main focus of each episode, supporting characters are constantly sprinkled in and introduced to keep each episode fresh and something to look forward to. From Oshiro's sneaky and Solid Snake-esque hiding techniques to Sensei's spontaneous nosebleeds to the touching story of Aharen's siblings to young Atsushi and Futaba's odd relationships with Aharen, they always bring some new and fun aspect to the dynamic of the show. Also of note is how entertaining Raido's over analyzation of scenarios can be. It leads to Kaguya-sama-esque animations and situations that are fun and genuinely funny. ART/SOUND - 8/10 The art has a distinct light and bubbly tone over all their characters which I quite like as it really fits the general theme and vibe of the whole show. It complements perfectly the wholesome nature and the heartwarming relationships throughout each episode. However, I feel that there are frames and moments that seem to lack detail over others. Almost low-poly like. I guess it may be part of the art style, but it is just something I had to take note of. CHARACTERS - 9/10 As already mentioned earlier, I really like the characters in this show. From Raido's dense nature and tendency to overthink situatons in his head to the contrast of Aharen's sweet, quiet, yet fierce and competitive attitude, they form an entertaining duo. As mentioned, the side characters are superb and is able to keep the show fresh. ENJOYMENT - 8/10 I quite enjoyed this show and would be among one of the first that I would watch each week simply for its wholesome and relaxing vibe. There are a few moments where it may feel a bit draggy and stale, but these are very few and far between. Generally, each mini-arc is entertaining and often ends with a heartwarming conclusion. OVERALL - 8/10 Aharen-san is a very solid 8 out of 10. While the comparisons to Komi-san cannot be avoided due to the similarity of the 2 female leads, make no mistake that this show is able to clearly set itself apart. While not superior to Komi-san, it doesn't try to be Komi-san in any way, shape, or form and is able to carve itself into a fun and wholesome watch. It provides wonderfully wholesome and heartwarming moments as well as genuine comedic scenes that will surely have u grinning. I also almost forgot to mention that I love how it was able to pace itself and conclusively wrap up a coherent story in 1 season. No loose ends but with some snippets of what may come in the future to get viewers excited and even look to reading the manga.

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (2022) A good solid slice of life show, that has much to offer to its audience. You get the normal school days with a twist on the scenario and a great progression of love that ends in a really cute way. The art for the show is a great standard, it holds well throughout the show. The sound is standard but as good a standard as you need to get. Characters are somewhat unique in various ways which is fine. You get some really great scenarios. Just wait for the camping and the last episode. Overall, the show is a good solid 7, whilst it doesn't do anything crazy it is good from start to finish. 7/10.