This man is the most miserable, self-centered son of a bitch. There is some character growth in that he holds at least a modicum of respect for his fellow human, but it's few and far between. That's fine if the story was self-aware of just how aggressively cringe this guy is, but he actually gets praise and admiration in the story itself. I've only watched the first season, but I can only guess the genki girl and the Saori girl (because the only memorable characteristic is that she's played by a talented voice actor) completely fall for him by the end.
Everything about this dude's world view was painful, dull and uninteresting. Comparing groups of friends with pack animals is the kind of shit I'd say when I was 16 after smoking a bowl. It reminds me of when I was so unabashedly cringe and self-centered, and it feels like the show doesn't even understand that this is a character that seems to be written for anxiety-riddled teenagers.
I suppose I mostly find it insulting because I can relate to it, but the show so obviously wants to praise this dude's outlook on society that I can't excuse it as parody. To its credit, he does technically 'grow' as a person in that he actually acknowledges that he's an unabashed piece of shit, but like Hikigaya says, he 'loves himself', so I can only infer that the author thinks he's great just the way he is, considering how much praise he gets from how both the love interests are written to like him. I say 'written to like him' because this show does not flow organically, rather it writes its characters not in a way where they act as if they're real, believable humans, but as unique objects to fawn over the mc.
The animation is serviceable, but the casting is actually the strongest part of the show. Aoi Yūki as the little sister fits super well, Nao Touyama as the genki upbeat girl completely works, and obviously Saori as the melancholy (what I would describe to be) Senjougahara clone works perfectly. None of this can save the fucking writing, though, because holy shit I was bored out of my mind with this incredibly dull MC and the meaningless plot.
The plot itself is your completely bog-standard typical affair. The mc is a misunderstood paragon of virtue, he's actually a super nice guy under his shell. Incredibly safe, incredibly boring, same old same old.
If we compare this to something like Toradora! or Hyouka (not to say they're similar in every way, but relative to the portrayal of the MC and comedic romance), this show does nothing to take the characters out of their depth and flesh them out. It's all incredibly safe and milquetoast. Completely unengaging and disinteresting.
Overall, I want Yui to sit on my face, 6/10
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