Himouto! Umaru-chan

People are not always who they appear to be, as is the case with Umaru Doma, the perfect high school girl—that is, until she gets home! Once the front door closes, the real fun begins. When she dons her hamster hoodie, she transforms from a refined, over-achieving student into a lazy, junk food-eating otaku, leaving all the housework to her responsible older brother Taihei. Whether she's hanging out with her friends Nana Ebina and Kirie Motoba, or competing with her self-proclaimed "rival" Sylphinford Tachibana, Umaru knows how to kick back and have some fun!

Himouto! Umaru-chan is a cute story that follows the daily adventures of Umaru and Taihei, as they take care of—and put up with—each other the best they can, as well as the unbreakable bonds between friends and siblings.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Doma, Umaru Main

Tanaka, Aimi Japanese

Doma, Taihei Main

Nojima, Kenji Japanese

Ebina, Nana Supporting

Kageyama, Akari Japanese

Motoba, Kirie Supporting

Shiraishi, Haruka Japanese

Tachibana, Sylphinford Supporting

Furukawa, Yurina Japanese

Motoba, Takeshi Supporting

Yasumoto, Hiroki Japanese

Kongou, Kanau Supporting

Koshimizu, Ami Japanese

Tachibana, Alex Supporting

Kakihara, Tetsuya Japanese

Ebina, Nene Supporting

Asano, Masumi Japanese

Ebina, Father Supporting

Maeda, Hiroki Japanese

Takei, Katsuhiro Producer

Kamata, Hajime Producer

Oota, Masahiko Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Ebina, Yasunori Sound Director

Reviews

Jan 17, 2025

LegionIscariot

Recommended

Himouto! Umaru-chan is very similar to OreImo My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute.

Its a similar setup, blond girl is the perfect school princess. But is secretly an otaku.
Her older brother has black hair and is the only one who knows her secret.

The way these two anime differentiate is that Himouto is a fun anime with fun and likeable characters.
Whereas OreImo is the most atrocious thing ever.

This anime is funny. Every single character is great. The relationship and dynamic between the siblings Umaru and Taihei is funny and endearing.
Umaru's friends are all fun characters: Nana Ebina the best friend and neighbor with ... her southern accent she tries to hide. The scary but really shy Kirie Motoba. Even Umaru's rival Sylphinford Tachibana is written in a very fun way. And the list goes on.

The way Umaru seems to transform into a completely different creature whenever she enters her home is hilarious and cute.

A fun and cute anime thats definitely worth watching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 8, 2025

IBasic_YapperI

Mixed Feelings

A "slice of life" comedy about Umaru,a high school girl who has two sides, one where she stays at home and plays video games, eats junk food and bossy to her brother while the other side she behaves nice to others and socializes. Most of the episodes revolve around the idea of Umaru keeping the "otaku" side of her hidden from her friends and keeping a good image upon herself in public. Along with that, basically every episode has her yelling at her brother, with something along the lines of taking her somewhere, help her win a game prize, making her food. Some ... may find it amusing to see the little sister keep on annoying her older brother and demanding for stuff ALL THE TIME, but for others it may be annoying to watch. The brother lets her get away with her tantrums way too much and she takes advantage of it.

Recommending this really depends if you find someone who takes advantage of people and being lazy at the same time act cute interesting or not.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jul 1, 2023

RebelPanda

Not Recommended

Informative

Review originally written in 2017.

Himouto! Umaru-chan is an anime that explores the amusing yet relatable concept of leading two contrasting lives. Initially, I found it easy to connect with Umaru, the main character. But, my enthusiasm shrunk exponentially as I realized her character development would remain stagnant throughout the entire anime.

The anime tries, and fails, to explore the idea that all people have different sides to our personalities. Unfortunately, this theme takes a backseat to “comedy.” If you find watching a girl repeatedly teasing her kind-hearted brother entertaining, you might enjoy Umaru's antics. If this premise doesn't sound very funny to you, chances are you'll ... get very bored of it very quickly. Just like I did.

My main issue with this show is repetitiveness. Seeing Umaru bother her brother without consequences becomes tiresome after a while. The lack of growth and learning from mistakes hampers character development and prevents the show from reaching its full potential. The comedy mostly revolves around Umaru's quirky transformation into a mischievous gremlin whenever she's away from others. However, without Umaru's presence, the show fails to deliver laughs. Despite receiving more screen time than anyone else, she falls flat, along with the rest of the cast.

While the characters are pretty badly-written, the anime’s art brings them to life a little bit. The art style is simple, portraying typical suburban environments found in slice-of-life anime. Although the characters lack originality, their expressive behavior compensates for it. In her gremlin form, Umaru's playful antics remind you of a cat, making you want to sit on the couch with a refreshing soda while relaxing. Sometimes, Umaru’s brother’s character design flips to something out of Ace Attorney or Kaiji. It is creative, but does not always match his personality and comes off as pandering.

The music in Himouto! Umaru-chan is forgettable, adding nothing to the overall experience. While some catchy tracks accompany humorous scenes, none stand out as exceptional. Personally, I found the opening theme loud, brash, and obnoxious, which aligns well with Umaru's character. Which is why I always skipped it.

The anime relies heavily on forgettable jokes that persist throughout, and I highly doubt the sequel will offer anything different. Umaru's humor is like the Minions from Despicable Me—contextually thin but filled with obnoxious noises and mannerisms. Although the writing and comedy in Himouto! Umaru-chan left much to be desired, I don't consider my time watching it a complete waste. Everyone's experience may vary depending on how much they identify with Umaru, which can significantly impact their enjoyment of the series.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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