2023 has been an improvement to 2022 regarding seasonals so far in my opinion. While 2022 does at least bring up a lot of exciting ideas for newer anime, they barely care about using them effectively. With some exceptions I have in mind, they’re nothing worthy to talk about. 2023 does the same thing except, a lot of the anime this year (again, so far) have thought to themselves. Skip and Loafer is no exception. At first, I thought this would be just an alright show judging from the first 5 minutes of it. But as I gravitate towards the series, oh my! This is a combination of a refreshing experience and pure excitement.

So what exactly is Skip and Loafer? Skip and Loafer is about a country girl named ‘Mitsumi’ who would show Japan sheer positivity by attending a prestigious school. When she arrives in Tokyo however, she’s not prepared for city life. Thankfully, she runs into Shima and both became quick friends. Together, they made friends and they all follow Mitsumi’s journey. I’m personally not too familiar with this kind of idea but this series so far has done nothing but a great job of presenting such a unique premise. Forget what I said about the first 5 minutes of the show. This has put a lot of soul into its storytelling and directing.

Skip and Loafer is very consistent and on-point with how Mitsumi follows her school journey alongside her friends. It truly shows how passionate you can be to spread the word across a place you want to be in while not being so serious about it. Mitsumi being the passionate country girl in school she truly is and trying her best to give out inspiring wisdom to people. I would hella love to see more shows have something like this. This right here is the kind of slice of life that spreads such a diverse message. The romance parts never feel forced also. The dynamics between Mitsumi and Sousuke aren’t too light but also not too toxic. Although very subjective, the comedy is refreshing as well. The jokes are clever and the scenes of characters giggling around are very fun.

Enough talking about how great the story is. I also want to talk about the bundles of happiness that are the characters. We have Mitsumi, the clueless country girl. We have Sousuke, the chill boy who is Mitsuki’s (possibly) first friend. Anyways, these two are a great pair for how they tone the drama. Mitsumi is very passionate about what she wants to do but doesn’t seem to know how to get herself on the right track while Sousuke bonds with her and talks about how they’re doing on their school trip. Again, the series did a fantastic job at making characters interact with each other before drama comes in. Both seem to convey the pros and cons of seeing/interacting with people very well.

You also got these side characters that are also engaging. There’s Mika, there’s Yuzuki, there’s Makoto, and all of them are a great supporting cast that isn’t just a bunch of surface-level comedic reliefs. My personal favorite episode is the 9th one where in the second half of it, Mitsumi reflects the balance between the positive and the negative while Sousuke is in a very gloomy mood. Despite this situation, Mitsumi is still there for him and will always make sure their dreams come true. Both the main cast and the side cast interact with each other just as wonderfully.

For the superficial aspects, the art style is simple yet conveys human emotion really well. It feels very friendly to look at. Looks like a glorious Japanese children’s entertainment even though it really isn’t. The OST is quite solid. Each soundtrack has more expressions to themselves than just average laidback songs. Both the opening and the ending are equally good. The voice acting is great. The VAs are quite precise with their roles. Glad to see Maaya Uchida and Megumi Han bringing even more great roles.

“If you're more concerned about breaking character than your own feelings, you're gonna snap at some point. It'll take a toll, and they'll notice that you're not being honest and that you're distancing yourself.”

To me, this quote says it all. Skip and Loafer is the epitome of obstacles revolving around human emotion and a presentation of a rather accurate balance between the positives and the negatives. The directing is amazing, the drama is well-paced, the romance aspects never get old, the humor is really fun, and the characters are truly multi-dimensional. This show is truly a comfort zone that has a delightful meaning to it. I don’t know what else I could say here. Skip and Loafer is without a doubt one of the best series this season. That being said, I’m looking forward to what a second season looks like. Might be even more enticing. Who knows? We’ll find out. Thanks for reading!