≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie
contains slight spoilers ~
Thoughts: I was hesitating to post my thoughts about this cuz I dont want to get hate cuz of it, so pls if u dont like this anime dont attack me. Ok so personally, I like Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie. It delivered its romcom aspect better than most shounen romance out there, therefore it does not deserve the hate. Until now I still dont understand why ppl hate it so much, its just your average wholesome sol-rom and we should appreciate for it. It was enjoyable for me that I regretted starting it cuz it was still ongoing and I wanted to binge it. This romcom anime is spiced up slightly by the boy being in the girl's place and vice versa, their relationship dont exactly fit into an archetype which is fun imo. They complement each other and have a really healthy slow-paced relationship which is pretty adorable and is what would everyone would want irl. Even while balancing sol's comfiness, romance, and a little comedy, they never really manage to fall into melodrama. There's a little bit of drama of course and I think the reason it's rated so low is that there isn't enough, for people to yk, like first of all the characters are already in a relationship, neither of them are abusive or creepy, they're both good people and so are all their friends even though they all do have their flaws, they both genuinely care about each other in an unselfish way, there's no love triangles, and there's no toxicity because everyone is honest with each other, it's really just unproblematic. So people are probably like "what's the point of watching it then?". Because it is exactly this that makes it more than just your typical romcom. While watching this I even personally got a lesson for my own lmao. I would have to admit that the side characters were great and carried the show, but still it doesnt mean the couple are bad. Another thing that I also really like are the character designs hehe even the extras were nicely designed. The OSTS are great especially the opening, The animation is pretty decent and the colors is pleasant to the eyes. After watching this anime, it made me want to read the manga, and I did read it immediately and it didnt disappoint me, tho tbh I think their relationship was better showcased on the manga, the anime left out so much but Imma keep that for next time, Anyway I think this is a pretty high praise coming from someone who usually hates highschool romance.> You can have realistic characters without having them be total pieces of shit.
Shikimori
Shikimori is athletic and competitive and wants to impress Izumi, and is naturally protective she also is a romantic and has a lot of varied interests, and is continually impressed by her boyfriend, and feels safe around him. I am so gay for her lmaoo, I dont think she is just a "waifu bait" because Izumi has great qualities as well. She is now my role model fr, I kind of relate to her past and how she now wants to be a cute girl. The last ep really shows how innocent both she and her bf is and it gave me butterflies for some reason. The one thing that makes me down is how she doesnt say anything she wants and insists to go whatever Izumi wants.
Izumi Yuu
Izumi is the clumsy helpless one and, what they say, is feminine, but at the same time he'll be sticking up for Shikimori, and ends up impressing her with his own sort of manliness, but he never settles into one or the other either. He isn't defined by his clumsiness, and even though that's usually the hook of the show's stories, it hits harder during the moments where it explores the points of view of their friends around them and how they see each other, providing a much more nuanced look at each character. As what my friend has said about him, "Izumi has a lot of qualities worth liking about him, his resilience to his unluckiness gimmick, or his ability to see the best in people, which earns him friends. It seems like any male protagonist who isnt straight up confident and upfront is suddenly a "generic loser mc" or a "self insert romcom protagonist" like what happened with Wakana Gojo last season." This sentences that my friend said in his own review, never left my mind cuz I totally agree. Izumi was a total chad confessing like that in the last ep, squeezes my heart so much everytime I think about it
lastly the side characters which is everyones fave in the show, Im more fond of Hachimitsu and Kamiya. Hachimitsu is adorable af, and the ep about their relay and how her and Izumi worked super hard as to not burden their friends was so heart-warming and made me cry ngl. Kamiya is another girlcrush but is sadly the second lead that isnt chosen huhu she is super nice thoo, and her struggles being famous and not showing emotions damn hits hard. Nekozaki and Inuzuka duo carries the comedy of this show, Inuzuka might not look like it but he is actually very studious which was really funny to me, and Nekozaki is the social butterfly, I love how she watches over Shikimori with her rela with Izumi.
7/10
overall its a 7/10 from me, I gotta thank the haters for this because of them I got really invested with the show and is now obsessed with their relationship, and depending on how the farther chaps of the manga will go, it might go to my faves. if you want to see a trope reversal that when you dive just a bit below the gimmicky surface is actually a comfy show about two relatable genuine humans who actually trust and care about each other, then I'd highly recommend this one