Spoilers ahead. Skip to the end for a spoiler-free review.
The romance genre is dying before our eyes and few seem to realize this (Kaguya came to save the genre, however this story is the complete opposite of Kaguya).
I am not a person with much experience when it comes to love, the few experiences that I have had have not been very good, but each one of them has taught me something valuable that until today and until the day of my death I'll never forget, that's why even a person like me can see what's going on with this genre mostly, and it's really sad.
Now without further ado, shall we begin?
The story focuses on the main couple Shikimori and Yuu Izumi, it tells us how their relationship develops while living the typical but effective student life. The curious thing here begins when we learn about the "problem" that Izumi has, which is bad luck that becomes fatal for her person, this is where Shikimori comes in. As the premise says, Shikimori is cute, she's kind, and she's everything else you could look for in a perfect girlfriend, HOWEVER, everything changes when Izumi finds himself in danger thanks to his "curse" (because I have no other way to call it) this is where Shikimori transforms into a girl with athletic agility worthy of a shonen (incredible reflexes, outstanding flexibility, etc) and manages to save her boy most of the time. So what is my problem? Can we say that it has an interesting premise? Yes and no, BUT it really wouldn't matter much if the story became unique even with its cliches, which it doesn't do well. Later in the story we meet Kamiya, an old friend of Yuu's and a potential love rival to Shikimori (who later becomes her friend). We are told her story with him and how she fell in love, those few episodes in which she appears I consider them the best since in my opinion she is much better than Shikimori, but later in the review I will talk more in depth about that topic. The rest of the story is just slice of life moments that do not add anything to the plot, only for the final episodes this is saved a little.
Art is something subjective, you may like this art or you may not, in my case it is the latter. It's not that I don't like the art, there are scenes in which drawing stands out a lot, but of course, these are the typical zoom scenes that of course should stand out, however, leaving that aside, drawing usually it is common to throw bad in some character designs (Hachimitsu). On the animation side, the animation hardly stands out most of the time, this is because we are talking about a romcom so the animation is not going to be spectacular, it only stands out in the moments where Shikimori becomes a "criminal" and also in sports scenes.
There is no musical piece that has caught my attention in the entire anime, the only thing that stands out are the opening and ending (which in my opinion are not the great wonder either).
Kamiya: The best character in all of the anime even better than Marin Kitagawa's self-proclaimed successor. However, this does not mean that she is perfect. I'm not a fan of how she ended up falling in love with Yuu since this is the typical "You're a good person" and boom, the lady is already in love. She is a star athlete, she is pretty, tall, kind, and although a part of me sees this as something impossible, this may be due to all the time I have consumed stories that only use this as an explanation. However, in the case of Kamiya, a deeper explanation of all this is given to the point where it makes me think that this is not one of those cases.
Spoiler, click to view
Nekozaki: Kyou Nekozaki is together with Kamiya the best character in the entire anime, why? Because she is given relevance, she is given a personality and she is given moments that, although cliches are usually better than those of the other characters, she is even given the most human flashbacks in the entire anime, we even go into one of them her interaction with Kamiya is shown, what more could you want?
Spoiler, click to view
Yuu: They show Yuu as a boy who even though he can die at any time as someone who is fine with it. Every time his bad luck ruins something for him, he apologizes and that's it, that's all. I came to have hope in Yuu, for a few moments I had hope that he would do well AND IN THE END HE ONLY MANAGED TO DISAPPOINT ME. Only in some moments of the anime does it usually show a realistic attitude in the other moments of the anime the anime only makes these moments something funny, I don't have to say why it isn't, right?
Spoiler, click to view
Shikimori: The opposite happens with Shikimori, and only with the first episodes do you realize that she is an overprotective mother and nobody likes someone like that. Sooner or later Yuu is going to get tired and at that time she will have to calm down and realize that she has to let him go. However, I assure you that this is not going to happen because you would be killing the whole plot, right? Well yes and no, this would only make the story much better, it would make it unpredictable from that moment on and if a story is unpredictable it will only make consumers want to know what happens next and you would even be able to get something good out of a premise that to begin with, it is very fanciful (the title can totally work as a hook to attract more readers). You can create a conflict between the two and thus make the couple have their problems as EVERY COUPLE HAS, if you manage to execute it well, of course.
Spoiler, click to view
Hachimitsu: This lady is unbearable, SHE IS ONLY THERE TO BE "FUNNY", TO SAY SHORT PHRASES, TO SMILE ALL THE TIME LIKE AN IDIOT (SERIOUSLY, IN THOSE 12 CHAPTERS THE ONLY THING SHE DOES IS SMILE), TO EXPLAIN THINGS AND TO FILL OUT THE GROUP OF FRIENDS OF THE COUPLE. THERE ARE TIMES EVEN WHEN SHE REACTS AND OTHERS WHEN SHE DOESN'T, STRIVE A LITTLE IT DOESN'T COST YOU ANYTHING, BECAUSE YOU ALREADY LOOK LIKE A FUCK*** MANNEQUIN GIRL. The protagonist almost died on one occasion and she tells him "If you're hurt, say so", are you kidding me? Or at least that's what I thought of her until chapter 10 arrived. In this chapter is where Hachimitsu gets to have the greatest number of human expressions in the entire series, it may sound ridiculous and it does sound ridiculous but I had already lost hope, I thought that this lady would not improve even after the end but here we are. However the fact that Hachimitsu has made an effort in that episode is not enough to make her go up, it's a pity, if she had been more expressive from the beginning I assure you that she would be on the podium.
Spoiler, click to view
Inuzuka: Yuu's best friend and the second man in the group, I don't dislike him but he is someone who receives almost no participation in the series, the only thing that can be highlighted about him is the supposed hostility that Shikimori has for always being with yuu.
Spoiler, click to view
The relationship that Yuu and Shikimori have develops in a generic and possessive way throughout the anime, with few exceptions such as in episode 5 in which a more flirtatious side of the two is shown. However, this is not enough to make them a good match. If we talk about their relationship, it is basically perfect, there is no conflict between the two, they have very few things in common, and it is seen that if these two did not feel what they supposedly feel, there would only be the relationship of an older sister and a younger brother.
A couple is based on accepting the other with their defects and their virtues and that does not happen here. The story, although it makes an effort to delve into its characters, few are the ones who have this treatment, and the protagonist couple in particular have few moments like these, they are less than those that could be counted with just one hand.
I have already mentioned this, but there are moments (some flashbacks) that are usually better than what happens in the present of the series, the perfect example of this being episode 11, which is for me the third best episode of the entire anime. At present, the anime does not make an effort to create natural situations, this would be incredibly beneficial not only for the relationship of the supposed couple but it would also help develop the secondary characters' personality because they are also very important for the plot since we are talking about an anime of romance, some secondary ones could not only develop further but also can and really should help develop the couple.
The moments in which the anime is usually "passable" is in its generic moments, because really that is better than suffering with the other moments that do not contribute anything to the plot.
So, in short, Shikimori san is a series that, except for a few cases, usually reaches its peak with flashbacks that are better than everything that happens in the present of the anime. We have one of the protagonists with the worst luck in the industry and an overprotective girl who does not allow her boyfriend to have even a second of peace and freedom. The series is unable to form a realistic couple since there are no discussions or conflicts throughout the series, this is because the two have eternal happiness which only shows how idealized and stupid this relationship is. The series only has only two secondary ones that stand out, including one that stood out in a single chapter and from there she did no more. And finally it has an art and music that do not stand out at all. At least My Dress-Up Darling was entertaining this unfortunately is not, don't waste your time here, it's just not worth it.
