The ending's not the best, and the show did have its issues, but this was surprisingly decent and fun for a short binge. I had severely low expectations for a series like this with the otome gag, but there was some development present between Anzu and a couple of the 'love interests' (some although feeling too weak and superficial), and Anzu's not too bad of a character personality-wise for this kind of series. She has her flaws but shows her strengths too as a person and she does warm and open up in a way that makes sense with her character considering how she was there for Saki in the past, plus she actually has an energetic personality to root for as well without being too over-the-top and annoying. The way she met/reunited with her love interests might have that wacky feel to it with the generic personality traits featured at first, but it was nice seeing them all sort of grow together and be dependable with each other, even if the other guys have their own rivalry going on with their feelings for Anzu. Plus, it wasn't like they were manipulated to liking her or anything, they got to see her good sides among her wacky traits and how she helped them in various ways. Comedy had its annoying moments with Riri mainly but Anzu's bombastic character made up for some of the comedy issues at times.
Overall, this was a solid anime. It's nothing special in the grand scheme of things, but it was a fun way to enjoy a few hours of anime in my life. A main character having a real personality, generic male interests to fit the otome game vibe that actually show some growth and bond with each other and Anzu and friends, and how they were willing to be there for each other no matter what. Even with something as absurd on paper as an intense stalker case. Considering how I've known someone really close to me that's gone through this kind of traumatic situation in the past and was affected by it for a long time, I could see why an arc like this could work. Just the payoff in this scenario and how it was handled on Riri's end felt a bit cheap and anticlimactic. The actual ending gave axed vibes too with the manga, since the manga is done but clearly the story feels incomplete still. Maybe with another season somehow, this would've been better with an actual outcome as to how Anzu got to grow further and accept her feelings to push forward romantically. The journey kind of feels incomplete because of that, but there was still enough with the progress and growth shown to have this ending to not stink.
But still, it's simple, full of energy, and delivered enough content that had me breeze through it despite some of the cringey elements at various times. 2022 has been a pretty bad year of anime for me, and Netflix had flopped big time with its previous releases for a long time too for me. Hell, I despised Cyberpunk Edgerunners and feel like that's one of the most frustrating anime of the year for sure. This show however, while having its flaws and not really having an amazing narrative by any means, was straightforward and embraced its wackiness while having something refreshing to offer unlike other otome-game related anime. One of the better shows of the year for me, although I wouldn't go too far to call it a masterpiece of a show as a whole. 6/10 probably (bordering 7), maybe if it felt more complete it might have had the surprising potential to be even higher. Anzu carried this for the most part, to leave her mark on the other characters for sure. Pretty good for an "Anti-Heroine". The more I think about it, the more I do come to appreciate it somewhat despite the flaws, especially since it's been a long time since I sort of enjoyed an anime with a romance feel to it, especially with the otome gimmick that normally sucks ass in other shows. |