Right off the bat, I was confused at how this show garnered so much attention so fast. In fact, I initially wrote it off as a flavor of the month show and one that would serve as many’s only anime of the season they’d tune in for. However before watching I decided to read the source material and was pleased with art, message, characters, and story. Then I’d tune in each week for the new episode and always looked forward to it. It wasn’t my personal highlight of the week, but it was a nice edition and I always had a cunning, dastardly smirk while watching it.
The part that threw me for the biggest loop about this show was the fact that it’s almost a one to one adaptation of its source material. Hardly any liberties or deviations were taken, and the few times that it did, it only benefited the romance between Gojou and Marin. Also enhanced the mood and beauty of certain scenes, namely the time with them on the beach when a bird steal’s Gojou’s food, or the bit where they’re in the love hotel and you can actually hear the moans of the neighboring occupants having a rough fuck. The tension in the following scene where Marin and Gojou are reflecting on the events prior is drawn out and silent, adding to the cringe, awkward and naughty atmosphere. But I’ll be honest, as much as I enjoy and root for Marin and Gojou’s romantic relationship, that is not the main attraction of this series for me. If I had to rank the aspects that I found compelling from most to least it’d be: the message, the illustrations, the cosplay autism, the romance, and then comedy. The message has to do with the story, so I’ll give a brief rundown of the story so you can have a better understanding of the message.
Our main character Gojou is a hina-doll maker, ever since he was a young boy he was obsessed with the beauty and craft of Hina dolls thanks to his gramps, who was a professional hina-doll maker. However it’s not normal for boys to be into hina dolls, let alone any sort of doll. It’s because of this that he gets reprimanded by a girl his age (MOTHERFUCKING NONCHAN) for liking something so effeminate. He feels ashamed and humiliated, and this feeling followed him throughout his entire life. Being afraid to open up about his hobbies, or to feel comfortable being himself around others became his normal. His introverted and quiet nature led to others taking advantage of him, or finding him odd. This all changes one day when a girl named Marin(popular girl and open otaku) finds Gojou tailoring a hina doll at their school’s embroidery/crafts room, because his own sewing machine at home broke, and asks him to fix a cosplay for her. This leads to a bond between the two where Marin helps Gojou come out of his shell and into his(while helping him become a better craftsman/tailor/ and otaku) and he helps Marin become a sensation in the cosplay community.
Now I’m sure with that summary in mind you can imagine romantic comedy hijinks ensuing, but I’d like to touch on the aspect of the series that I love. The idea that you shouldn’t be ashamed of what you like and that you should be yourself and be proud. If others aren’t fond of you, well then that’s their problem. You can take that message and screw it up into something twisted without trying too hard, but at its core, it's a positive message that rings true more so today than ever before. We live in an age where many people feel they can only enjoy things with fifty levels of irony. That if you’re taking anything beyond its surface level, and if you’re letting a piece of art or media impact you on any level, you deserve to be ostracized, called cringe, weird, a loser, or any other name with a negative connotation.
The reason I hold both the anime and manga in high regard is because I strongly believe series like these can help both the youth and jaded adults alike that it's better to be yourself than becoming the person who made you hate yourself. I’m not telling everyone to wear a hentai jacket, and I’m not telling you to hide your power level all the time. I’m saying that people need to focus more on being comfortable and content with themselves. If someone wants to wear a hentai jacket, good. If someone wants to dress modestly, good. The point is to learn to accept yourself for who you are, and if you’re discontent with that then it’s up to you to make the changes necessary to make you like yourself.
Speaking of things I like and I’m sure many others do as well, the illustration, and animation. The stills of Marin and the other characters in their cosplays are absolutely gorgeous. I find myself often pausing and admiring the detail and beauty of each illustration. Now when it comes to the animation, it doesn’t show it off the animation through fights, no it does it, usually through the lewd scenes. I’m willing to bet most of the animation budget went towards the scene where Marin is being lewd or teasing Gojou with her body. The fluidity of movements of her breasts, torso, tongue, and feet in these scenes are seamless and hot to look at. And I don’t even find Marin as all too attractive, don’t know how she got all the praise she does.
As far as cons are concerned, I don’t find all the jokes to be funny. That’s not to say it’s not funny at all, but there are other series that handle the hot girl teasing the shy MC much better in my opinion. When it comes to comedy, I find it hits its stride when they’re both in a red-faced, blush filled conundrum. I also prefer all the side characters to Marin. Juju and Shinju are so cute to watch interact. A kind younger sister, bringing out the sweetest aspects of her otherwise bitchy and pompous older sister all out of love. There are other characters I also find interesting, but I’ll save that for the manga write up. As far as the anime is concerned, this is a wonderful adaptation. An instance of an anime only adding onto the greatness of it’s manga-counterpart (update 4/27.24 the manga is kind of slogging right now, especially with all the literal who's introduced, but it's still a beautiful manga when it wants!)
