GJ Club

Name: GJ Club has its shortcomings, but it's still worth a watch.
Item: GJ Club
Rating: 79
Author: rozesky

a review by rozesky

rozesky

3 years ago·Apr 18, 2023

/ 100

Background

The premise for GJ-Club is pretty basic. The main character Shinomiya Kyouya is forced to become a member of the GJ Club, which is this strange club that doesn't really serve much of a puprose aside from goofing off, it seems. I personally mixed on these types of clubs (I'd rather the club actually serve a purpose) but it isn't anything I'd crucify the show for.

Characters (11/15)

Kyouya is a pretty average MC, who commonly is prone to getting bitten or hit by the other girls in the club, often gets flustered, and doesn't really stand up for himself much.
Amatsuka Mao is the club's president, and she largely reminds me of Taiga Aisaka from Toradora, with her short temper, her "playful" violence towards Kyouya, and of course, her size. To me, Mao is like the Great Value version of Taiga. It doesn't top the brand name, but is still good on its own.
Sumeragi Shion is a quieter girl, who is commonly playing chess on the computer. She vibes with Kyouya really well, and provides some calm yet fun energy to the clubroom.
Amatsuka Megumi, the younger sister of Mao, is much more polite and mature than her sis, usually the one to provide snacks and tea for the other members. I was suprised to find out she was the younger sister.
Bernstein Kirara is a more mysterious girl who doesn't talk as much, but is incredibly strong, being the heavy lifter of the club whenever needed. She's not the center of attention much, but she's a fun character when the spotlight briefly goes her way.

In Episode 6, we are introduced to several little sisters: Kirara's sister Geraldine, who mostly speaks English but is capable of writing Japanese, Kyouya's sister Kasumi, who is quite energetic, and the youngest of the Amatsukas, Seira, who uses ventriloquism to say intimidating things to Kyouya numerous times. These characters I feel should've had a lot more screentime. It was really fun in the few occasions that they were present, and there were opportunities to feature them more, which I'll talk about later.

In Episode 7, Kannadzuki Tamaki is "abducted" into the club, promised all the cake she wanted if she remained with the club. While Tamaki is a pretty nice addition to the cast, she also sort of feels out of place to me, and her entry into the club was very lackluster in backstory or detail. Unlike the rest of the main cast, she just isn't as important to the story. I feel like Tamaki could be removed from the story entirely without any major shake-ups. Allow me to clarify that I do not dislike her character by any means, quite the opposite, actually. The characters are all great (Geraldine, Kasumi, and Megumi are my favorites), but the lack of depth of some of them contribute to a lower score.

Animation/Visuals (7/8)

The character designs in GJ Club across the board are perhaps one of my favorites of any anime. Nearly every character in the show has a pretty unique design that stands out and isn't too bland or forgettable, and they're all cute in some way. The visuals for the show itself are nothing truly out of this world, but are still pleasing to look at. My score isn't perfect for that reason. I reserve an 8/8 to the best of the best in animation.

Story (10/15)

It's pretty ironic to rate this show based on story when there really isn't much story to discuss. It does go a bit deeper than that, though. The little story we do have, which is the GJ Club's adventures, is pretty entertaining. It's a fairly basic plot, but one that most can enjoy if they wanna relax and watch something to pass the time. The final episode keeps the comedic themes going strong, while also fitting a more emotional vibe, which makes sense for a season finale.

My biggest problem with GJ Club as a whole involves the story, and is a big reason the score isn't as good as i was hoping. There are not one, but THREE instances in which the anime hints at a certain event, only for said event to be completely skipped. Two of these happen in Episode 8, where the club invite the sisters to come to the pool. They even get dressed in swimsuits for the occasion, but any indication of a pool visit is completely skipped, and instead, now all the girls are dressed in yukatas, and Mao says "Everyone always goes to festivals after the pool." Ha. Hahaha. Do they show a festival scene either? Nope. Both of these were fine opportunities to break the mold of always being inside the clubroom, as nearly this entire show takes place in the clubroom, with little to no scenes outside of it, to where those scenes felt weird. These were also great chances to feature more of the sisters, whom I already said deserve a lot more screentime than they got.
In Episode 10, this issue comes up a third time, as Kasumi reveals that she has started her own GJ Club at her middle school, and the two clubs challenge each other based on who could get more Halloween candy, after the sisters arrived dressed up early. I can't recall a single Halloween themed event in any anime I've watched, so this would've been a very fun episode or segment, once again a good chance to feature more of the sisters in the spotlight. Instead, the scene fades to black and we're taken to the ending credits. Not even the post-credits in either of these episodes adds anything to these implied events. I'm aware of the light novel source for GJ-bu, but I don't know if these were events that were detailed in the original source material. If so, and Doga Kobo cut those scenes from the anime adaptation, why keep the implications in, leaving a viewer hanging?
For these reasons, I had to deduct quite a bit off what I wanted my score to be. The story we got is good for what it is, and it's not something I'd riot over, but there could've been more to go for.

Soundtrack (4/5)

I don't usually have much to say about anime soundtracks unless they're spectacularly good or spectacularly bad. In GJ Club's case, it is neither of these. The opening and ending themes are all pretty great, and the background music suffices thru the run of the series. It wasn't anything I was truly impressed by, though. Consider this a positive review on the music side.

Enjoyment (10.5/12)

This was a fairly enjoyable show, and for someone less analytical, more "I just want to watch whatever, I don't really care about the nitty gritty", you might enjoy it even more than I did. The bait from earlier does chip off a bit of the score, alongside the fact that sometimes it did get stale having nearly the entire series take place in the clubroom, but aside from that, this was still a funny and creative show. I liked Geraldine's language barrier, it was an interesting touch you don't usually see in anime. Despite some shortcomings, this was still a very enjoyable series, and one I'd be more than down to rewatch in the future.

I also score anime based off of rewatch value, but I won't write a whole section for that, as there's nothing much to say. Just know that my score for this is a 5/5. I would most definitely revisit GJ Club again in the future.

Should you watch GJ Club? That's your choice, obviously. I recommend it if you want something laid back and fun to watch. If you're the type that is bothered by the oversexualization of characters, I'm glad to report that there isn't any of that in this anime. I can't perfectly recall if there's any suggestive scenes, but you should be able to watch GJ Club without your mom walking in and disowning you as soon as she hears a bunch of anime girls moaning thanks to the worst possible timing. My final score? 7.9!