Ao-chan Can't Study!

It can be a pain when you’re distracted from something you’ve been trying to put all of your focus on, but it’s even more of a pain when it’s your own thoughts that are distracting you. Trust me; I know from experience. I’m sure there is a certain anime girl who can vouch for me, with her sexual thoughts about a certain guy in her life, among other things, causing a distraction for her. I first became aware of the anime that this girl is in when it was still just a manga; I randomly read a few chapters of it and didn’t really think much of it, not expecting that this completely random manga would one day get an anime adaptation, even if it was a short one. Since it did, however, I decided to give it a try.

Lads, ladies, and non-binaries, I give you my review for the anime that shows us why Ao-chan Can’t Study! (No, really, that’s what the anime is called. It’s “Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai” in Japanese, though.)

Ao-chan Can’t Study follows Ao Horie, a high school girl who hates her name and the fact that her father is an erotic fiction author. (“Make an AO face!” is what is referred to when it comes to why her father chose her name, although it is true that “ao” is actually Japanese for “blue”.) Desperate to go to a good university and get away from her father, she throws herself into her studies and avoids pretty much everything else, including boys. Enter Takumi Kijima, Ao’s classmate who just so happens to have a crush on her. Ao is unable to shake him off and finds herself constantly interpreting Kijima’s intentions as perverted. I guess her father’s influence really got to her, huh? Anyway, this anime follows the misunderstandings and awkward situations that Ao and Kijima get involved in.

I’m just going to say it right now; do NOT watch this anime if you’re not into raunchy anime at all. Although it’s not as bad as anime like Shimoneta, there’s no question that this anime is cock-full - er, I mean chock-full - of dirty jokes. That said, though, the comedy is rather hit-or-miss; sometimes, it can make me at least close to laughing, and other times, it can just make me want to slap my forehead out of pure frustration. Comedy aside, the story can be quite predictable; if you’ve seen enough romantic comedies, raunchy or not, there is a chance that you’ll be able to predict what is going to happen.

As for the characters....well, my thoughts on them are kind of complicated, especially when it comes to our leading lady, Ao Horie. On one hand, even if it has a tendency to waver, I admire her determination to get into a good university and achieve independence, but on the other hand, the fact that she always sees Kijima’s intentions in a perverted light, especially when they’re actually really pure, just makes me want to slap her. Her father is also someone I sometimes want to slap; he can be quite annoying, and it’s understandable that Ao doesn’t want to live under the same roof as him for any longer than she needs to. At the same time, however, there are times where it’s clear that he genuinely cares about Ao and wants the best for her, which is why I can’t really hate him. Oh, I haven’t mentioned Kijima yet, have I? I like seeing how much Kijima really cares about Ao, but other than that, nothing about his character really stands out that much. The side characters aren’t really that interesting, either.

Now, Silver Link has done some excellent animation work over the years, and Ao-chan Can’t Study is no exception. No, it’s not the best animation I’ve ever seen, but the bright colors and character designs can be quite appealing. The voice acting is rather good, too; this is my first time hearing Azumi Waki’s voice acting, but if the way she conveyed Ao’s emotions is any kind of reflection of how she normally does as a voice actress, I look forward to watching other anime she voice acted in and hearing her voice. The first few seconds of the opening theme, “WONDERFUL WONDER” by EDOGA-SULLIVAN, is something that I swear reminds me of another song, but I can’t really think of what that song is; that aside, it’s a good song, although not one that I’d listen to on repeat. I feel the same way about the ending theme, “Koi wa Miracle” by Spira Spica, except without the “reminds me of another song” part.

After Ao-chan Can’t Study came out, I happened to find many people who loved it and many people who hated it; as for me, I’d say that I’m in the middle. This wouldn’t be my first recommendation if you asked me to recommend a raunchy anime, but no one’s going to kill you for watching it. That is, if you don’t have any studying that you should be doing instead....