_This review contains SPOILERS for My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Season 1 and 2 + this OVA ofc_
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Sooooo, I'm an Oregairu fan. The thing is, when I was first watching the whole series, I was oblivious to the concept of OVAs and special episodes, so I kind of...maybe...definitely skipped this. Exactly 1 year has passed and here's my take. 'You're as beautiful as the day I lost you'. I think a lot of nostalgic SNAFU fans would agree that this masterpiece of a gem is timeless.
What would My Teen Romantic Comedy be without the comedy part. As I finish dealing with overflowing emotions listening to the peak OP sequence, we immediately receive humour that is able to make us laugh out loud. WHO TF ELSE OTHER THAN THE GOAT HACHIMAN would respond to someone choosing a movie with another movie? His loner-esque behaviours, rotten core and realist views, combined with Irohas' sly and deliberately foxy characteristics make for a great time. And by great time, I mean top tier chemistry. The reason a variety of individuals are able to enjoy Oregairu is greatly due to the interactions between each unique character being realistic and exceedingly natural. We as viewers are able to understand what their implications are because so much love was put into writing the characters' thought processes and view of other existing characters.
Then, before heading to the ping-pong location, we receive a very cute moment between the two as Iroha innocently (I say that, but it's still deliberate) closes the distance and compares their respective heights. She is fucking terrifying, ngl. Points out his observant side (dudes love it when girls notices small caring details), seizes the opportunity to get close to make his heart race, pouts, gets close again, blushes, smiles slyly to draw and observe his reaction. She's perfected the art of stealing boys' heart and it's genuinely scary. Well, this part of her and her VA has always been the reason she's my favourite. Seriously, Ayane Sakura is talented as hell.
Caution. Peak romcom gif above. This part reminded me how good SNAFU's animation really was. I was really shocked to see the fluidity of each subtle movement, whether it be Hachiman slouching or Iroha taking her shoes off.
The slow-mo 'die' scene, the 'it's bad' scene, the lie scene etc. They don't make us wait for these types of scenes. Everything is so organized and well-written that we receive scenes like this continuously. Oregairu fans eating good. Also, this man 8man is down-bad. I thought he meant her wearing a skirt was unfair, but apparently, the whole ish was unfair because the table was blocking him from peeking under said skirt.
Of course, we can't have a Hachiman and Irohas interaction without the running gag of constant rejection. Irohas' rejections are changing more and more as she softens up to him more and more. It's cute, really. Her implementing something similar to the infamous 'komachi points' was also a nice touch.
Jealous looks when Iroha accidentally leaks the date pic. Hachiman isn't dense by any means, but he's so self-deprecating that he's unable to believe that anybody would be romantically interested in him, thus the cluelessness.
Afterwards, we get shippable parts for both girls. Yukino with the adorable gesture of standing next to 8man and Yui with the family thingie. If you actually paid attention from the start without being in denial, it's obvious who's gonna be the winner within the polygon, but it's still awesome how they're able to prepare us for the upcoming climax by providing every main heroine a segment with 8man.
The OVA ends off with a wholesome act by Iroha, giving Hachiman a picture of him and his 'genuine' friends from the clubroom. In conclusion, I highly recommend watching this before Kan. Unless you hate Iroha (impossible), hate Oregairu (no reason to have watched till this point then), or just want to get it over with, one would be truly idiotic to skip (I'm sorry) an OVA this well-made.
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