A Clichéd Disguise

Let's talk about Giji Harem. This anime has a yukata festival, a shrine visit on Christmas, a firework show, and so on. Oh, and it's wrapped in cheap-looking animation. Moreover, it ends with a strange timeskip and is seasoned with some forced drama at the end of the story. Sounds awful, right? Here's the twist: despite everything I've said, I found it really entertaining. And the key reason for that is the interaction style between the main characters. But let's put that aside for now.

This anime genuinely has its flaws when it comes to the scene-setting. Whenever, let's say, the scene «characters casually chat at school» changes to something else, the atmosphere drops drastically. It's wild to have such clichés like festivals and shrines in a 2024 anime. Furthermore, it doesn't seem right for a show to be so focused on its main characters. Whenever the author lets the characters talk to their friends, you can bet the conversation will end up being about their romantic feelings most of the time. It's as if their friends don't live their own lives — as though they exist solely for the purpose of serving as a background for the main characters. It's kind of boring. Timeskips are quite abrupt sometimes, and that's the reason certain scenes may feel like distinct pages torn out of a book. And I feel like they tended to tear out the sweetest of them for the last episodes. Which is why it feels odd. The final episodes feature the drama that is rather strange, illogical and underdeveloped. Some may say the characters lack mature relationship issues, but it's the genre itself that dictates such rules here.

At the same time, Nanakura, being able to switch archetypes on a whim, feels unbelievably refreshing. It's genuinely hard not to feel on the same wavelength as her. She uses typical anime tropes to describe her feelings, but seemingly with a sense of irony — as if she understands how ridiculous it is and enjoys acting that way. Kitahama is impressively good as well, because he knows how to handle a conversation with that «pseudoharem» using a proper, balanced teasing. It is rare to find anime guys like him. The way they interact creates emotions, and these emotions are the reason why this series feels good. Both heroes magnificently tease each other, which is why the anime has dozens of scenes with unusual outcomes. In an average anime, main characters would blush, and the scene would feel too sweet. But here, they not only describe their honest thoughts and feelings (both directly and indirectly), but also understand each other's. Moreover, it's done with humor and warmth, not cloyingly, and... well, not boring. So many thanks to Nanakura's choice to use her acting as a way to express her feelings.

Remember the scene with the bottle? Kitahama says that to drink from the same bottle would mean to do an indirect kiss, so he lets Nanakura finish the gross drink. The goal here is to softly, warmly and naturally fluster the partner. But she acts as a tsundere in response: «Why would I want an indirect kiss?!», and then switched to a prankster: «Are you sure you're gonna be satisfied with an indirect kiss alone?». The «real» Rin is flustered, but she finds the strength to both turn it into humor and completely hide her embarrassment. That is really good. But let's talk about something besides humor. Kitahama is graduating from the school, Nanakura asks teasingly: «What, you can't live a day without me?». Kitahama feels flustered while admitting it. Nanakura continues: «But I can». It's a great scene as such, the feelings are expressed and the viewer is satisfied, but then Kitahama responds: «Judging by your face, you're already feeling lonely». They have an unspoken, profound, mutual understanding of each other, and they do balance humor and sincerity.

Consider the scene in the gym, for example. Nanakura states that she likes acting for him. That confession itself, flustered as it was, feels refreshing. But then she rushes to add: «I was just acting», and me... well, I sigh in frustration at how cliché it feels. But then, Kitahama responds: «I can see you weren't acting, I've learned to tell the difference by now». I literally started clapping. This emotional rollercoaster, their refreshing interactions, filled with warmth, humor and understanding... it is magnificent.

Besides that, Nanakura often tends to assume different images — with new hairstyles and costumes. It's very pleasant to see. Despite the cheap animation I've been amazed to see Nanakura fidgeting with her hair in a close-up or covering her face with it to hide embarrassment. These types of anime often lack such physics of hair, moves, actions and such.

The bottom line is the Giji Harem is quite cheap-looking and it's kind of boring at times, but the main heroes interact with each other brilliantly. Their conversations are unskippable, and their interactions are so realistic, it feels quite intimate to spectate their relationship. It's a rather peculiar, but also distinct representative of romantic TV series.