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Nov 29, 2024
So, after all my apprehension over watching this due to the negative reception I hear whenever people talk about this show, when Rent a Girlfriend came up in my list, I sighed deeply, shook off the despair clutching at my chest (or possibly just the hypertension) and prepared myself for a train wreck. And, to my genuine surprise, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, or even as bad as people make it out to be.
Now, my problem is; I can't tell whether my brain has been rotted to the core by the sheer amount of anime trash that I've consumed
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over the years, and I'm literally just starving for any drop of mid that comes my way. This show could actually be really bad and I just don't know it due to this fact, but Rent a Girlfriend somehow gave off the feeling that it wanted to tell the tale of characters that are human and relatable. It sets itself apart from its contemporaries by willing to be risqué, having flawed characters and explore some more mature themes. Whilst undercooked in some areas, this show genuinely gets the viewer invested in how the relationship between the MC Kazuya and his rented girlfriend Chizuru will develop. It's a train wreck you can't look away from.
Rent a Girlfriend is a quirky Romcom about awkward, young love between people that struggle to communicate and express themselves, with a tendency to get into unlucky situations that go from bad to worse, in which they must further their lies in order to get themselves out of. It has all the parts of a show that wants to tell an interesting, somewhat unconventional and unique take on the Romcom genre, with wildly comedic moments and contains a unique premise, albeit with some seriously trashy undertones (whether or not that is a good thing or not is completely up to you). But, before I shoot myself in the foot and give the show more credit than it deserves, Rent a Girlfriend is not a show with a slew of flaws.
The characters aren't THE most well written, the art and style, while crisp and colourful, doesn't exactly stand out at first glance (the girls not included), the show lacks a lot of fluid or stylized animation and the story doesn't develop much most of the time. It is genuinely frustrating to see characters not communicate properly with each other, a feat that makes the plot only more convoluted and full of tropes. It has its moments for sure, but watching a situation build up and have characters about to spill some tea, only for some new situation or matter arise and interject itself, leading to the moment then be snagged away and avoided, ran away from or backtracked on is actually jarring and happens one times too many, working to the show's detriment. The frequent misunderstandings, coincidences and mishaps are also tropey, cringy and full of anime bullshit that many shows of its ilk contain and also bring down their quality too. But let's be real here. This is anime, expect anime bullshit.
The most glaringly obvious problem of Rent a Girlfriend is the MC himself, Kazuya. The writer does their absolute best to make him pathetic and unlikeable, but somehow manages to show off his redeeming qualities, which are weirdly wrapped up in a suspiciously hard, stale and smelly bundle of tissues. This is putting it lightly considering some of the despicable acts we witness Kazuya get up to whenever we see him alone in his room, or But, to the writers credit, Kazuya comes across a semi-realistic and relatable anime character, with flaws and characteristics that you may see from a pathetic, lonely soul of a person in real life. The same can be said for Chizuru and his friend Kishikibe. They feel like some thought went into their personas and aren't just completely 2-D characters put into the world for Kazuya to bounce off with no agency of their own. Mami, Kazuya's ex who dumps him unexpectedly is also an interesting antagonist, even if extremely unlikeable and her intentions underdeveloped. Kazuya is pathetic and creepy without a shadow of a doubt, but it sort of works to the show's benefit. Let me cook for a sec.
Rent a Girlfriend is a show about a young loser trying to find love. A lot of people that watch this show will see his characterization and hate him with a passion, want to throw tomatoes and boo him off the stage. Nobody wants their MC to be spineless, weak, manipulative, pathetic, creepy, indecisive and insecure, or display no qualities or traits whatsoever that you'd want a protag to contain when trying to enjoy a show, yet somehow, this anime is full of these. Watching media is a form of escapism, and viewers typically want to escape from everyday troubles and strife when consuming. This is why genres such as Fantasy and Action are so popular, where MCs are usually the embodiment of our ideal selves. Rent a Girlfriend does the complete opposite; forcing you to take a loser's POV. People tend to not like looking into the mirror and seeing an image of something they dislike, and this show does just that; makes the viewer look at themselves and see aspects of themselves that they may avoid or not want to be. Holding a mirror to people makes people feel uncomfortable, hence why many may dislike this show and its characters. He's a self insert that you hate and want off screen a soon as possible. Of course an extreme characterization of one that is so down bad he makes Zenitsu from Demon Slayer look like a chad. He's an asshole, an idiot, a stalker and may even be his own worst enemy, but this all makes the show stand out in a vast market of Romcoms of similar traits. Kazuya makes for a very hateable but interesting 'protagonist'.
All this being said however, the fact that the show is undercooked and underdeveloped remains. The two main characters relationship does not develop much more than each of them having some inkling that they may have feelings for each other but refuse to express it, choosing instead to keep up a charade to appease the people around them, and end up in a repetitive loop, with no better standing at the end of the season than at the start. The female counterpart Chizuru has sprinklings of a nuanced and interesting character, who, whilst being good natured and intentioned at heart, lets these traits work to her disadvantage and drag her into Kazuya's messy and complicated situations while doing nothing to stop him an only enabling his terrible behaviours. She has an interesting and likeable personality, but her backstory and intentions are not explored nearly enough, and by the end of the season we know little about the motivations behind her actions and left me wanting to learn more about her on a deeper level as the story progressed, of which we get none.
I say all this to say I genuinely feel Rent a Girlfriend Season 1 has a far worse reputation that precedes it. Given the way it characterises its MC and the way the plot unfolds, it's easy to see why people dislike this show. Its definitely trashy and belongs in a toxic landfill somewhere in the middle of the ocean along with the contents of Kazuya's wastebin, has its cringy and frustrating moments, and doesn't fully live up to its potential in the premise that it sets out to explore, but that's okay too. There are definitely tons of better shows out there that are worth investing your time into, but I found this to be an entertaining watch nonetheless. If you enjoy going to the fairground and hitting up the bumper cars non stop, than you may just be able to get a kick out of watching this series.
I didn't hate it nearly as much as I thought, and for that it gets a 7/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 15, 2024
Sometimes, some of the greatest shows and some of the worst shows ever televised leave the viewer pondering the material that was just presented to them. It fills them with questions about potential themes, motivations, hidden meanings and subplots. Or it just fills them with seething rage and a burning hatred for the showrunners for having wasted their time ever being invested in the first place.
Fortunately for Golden Time, while not being one of the GOATS, definitely falls into the former category
This was my first time watching a "proper" romance anime and surprisingly didn't hate it. If a show can make a man that tends
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to see folks who talk about visits from onion ninjas while watching emotional scenes within some shows as though they were lunatics, genuinely feel emotional and even impacted by some of the characters developments and struggles, then that show must truly hold some weight. And it personally did just that.
The dynamic character development (mostly, excluding Mitsuo) gave the characters a realistic, complex and mature approach to love and relationships; as opposed to some of its other anime contemporaries. As fucked up as some of the characters initially seemed, the show rounds itself out nicely with the themes it wants to convey, especially with accepting who you are and your past, and being okay with being able to love and be loved, despite one's flaws.
The ending is iffy though. It wasn't terrible by any means,but doesn't wrap up some of its plot points in a concise or effective manner. Namely the whole ghost sub plot isn't explained very well. It only leaves more questions as to what the author was trying to achieve by introducing a supernatural element to the show but never fully exploring it, and only manages to further muddy the plot and confuse its audience. Was the ghost actually real? How did Banri get the ring back if not? Was Linda really on the bridge and conversing with Ghost? We'll never truly know.
The amnesia plot is handled a little weirdly too. Amnesia by the definition doesn't exactly work the way it unfolds in the show, with him losing his current memories once gaining his old ones, as thoug he suddenly had too much storage space and had to clear out his hard drive.
It's theorised by some that Banri's condition is portrayed as a more split personality/ dissociative disorder, onset by his amnesia that causes a split in his psyche, causing his past self to materialise into another personality that surfaces from time to time. This would make sense if it were explicitly explained as so, but is stated nowhere within the show so can only be brought down to head canon/ theory. The ghost sub plot again conflicts with and dampens this plot line and its themes.
And who the fuck yeeted Banri of that bridge in the first place? There's a very small implication that it was Linda, but this is never addressed or resolved, so only theories can explain what truly happened.
All flaws aside however, this show was truly good and deserves its flowers. From start to finish I was attached to and invested in its characters and the themes and messages that it attempted to explore and tackle.
It's sometimes hard to find an anime that has romance that feels realistic and adult, without being too overly contrived or relying on too many overused anime-standard tropes. Though this may just be symptomatic of me watching too many dumpster fire animes that shit the bed at every turn possible.
Nevertheless, with Golden Time, shit happens. People change and grow throughout and issues are tackled like real, non-lobotomised adults (except for Mitsuo, that mf does the running man pretty much the entire show, and still somehow manages to be very likeable)
Golden Time is an anime that has both it's ups and it's downs. It has it's laughs and it has it's cries. And it definitely has it's cringey moments too. But overall, it never manages to turn you completely off watching, unless you happen to jump to conclusions and don't truly attempt to understand the characters reasonings and motivations behind their actions. I always found myself invested and wanting to find out where the characters relationships would end up, or how they may resolve issues, and that for me is personally enough to say that it was worth the watch.
Strong 7 to light 8 / 10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 28, 2023
(Minor spoiler warnings and moderate bad language use)
So I decided to re-watch this series 13 years after my initial viewing to decide whether the show had lived up to the standard that it has been held to over the years; an edgy and silly over the top ass and tits flic crossed with a post apocalyptic zombie story, and to decide for myself if I could list this as a 'great' anime after so many years. I can safely say both yes. no and also, what the fuck. This show is wild.
Overall, as a show, it surprisingly doesn't strike me as a particularly amazing or
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bad show by any means, but somehow, it is still indeed a good show. Not because the story or its themes are particularly deep or thought provoking. Not because the action, story boarding, and writing are particularly amazing and ahead of its time. Not even because of the copious amounts of fan service excuse any of the shows many flaws. But because it's simply fun. If anything this show could be the anime equivalent of a Michael Bay flic. Guns, hot girls and action. Complexity isn't at the core of this show, and that's okay.
In fact the plot and writing itself is arguably bad in parts and is surface level, and definitely has some points in which you will have to suspend your disbelief, grit your teeth and say 'alright, sure. whatever you say show'. However, it manages to achieve the great feat of not completely shitting the bed either, the way that a lot shows of its genre tend to. By the end of the season, I found myself being invested in the characters and where things are going in this rapidly degressing world. I would even go as far as to say that I'd welcome a Season 2, as I'd like to see how this cast of high school teenagers ate supposed to tackle a global Zombie crisis that is overtly so far removed from their stations.
High School of the Dead does a alright job at portraying its main characters as clearly distinct from one another, with characteristics that albeit are flawed, are likeable, and feel a tad more realistic than other shows of it's ilk, depending on your tolerance for anime bs. Over the years, I have watched a lot of dog shit animes with casts of flat, shitty over the top, and boring characters and this easily isn't one of them, even if the characters aren't as well written, developed and fleshed out as they could be.
The MC, Takashi, isn't your run of the mill. soppy, wimpy, wet towel of an MC and dons a more savage-like personality than his contemporaries tend to. No embarrassingly over the top 'OMG what are you doing?!' nosebleed situations occur when being around women that show even the slightest bit of ankle or cleavage and when shit hits the fan. the MC acts decisively, which is refreshing to see.
Our first look into the nature of Takashi comes in the first episode, where we see him having to decide whether or not he has to bash in the skull of now his turning zombie, former best friend Hisashi, who also happens to be cucking Takashi with his childhood love interest Rei, both of which he obviously still cares about. With little deliberation, MC knows what has to be done and does it, without being a bitch about it to boot. But, to the show's credit, it doesn't shy away from the possibility that his decision was influenced by the fact he is being cucked and managed to his rival out the picture, even if it was necessary for their survival. I do also have to mention that the MC's tendency to physically assault women is a little questionable, but lets just look past that as a faux pas.
Also Hirano is best girl. Don't @ me. Name another broski who pulls through as consistently, has your back, and is as dependable as this fat nerdy, potential school shooter is. In all honesty, it's probably a good thing that the zombie apocalypse happened in this universe, as Hirano was more than likely just a few more man-titty twists and toilet dunks away from making national news.
A lot of fans tend to dislike the female characters, aside from Saeko (who's obviously a badass hottie, with a cool and graceful demeanour), but I personally don't dislike any of the characters, even when the show's teenage drama-esque writing may call for it. HOTD does a decent job at portraying how people's emotions, fears, hopes, mind sates. personalities and motivations may manifest and change in a rapidly growing, virtually over night post-apocalyptic environment. People's emotions and motivations may rapidly fluctuate as they struggle to comprehend and adjust to the situation they have suddenly been thrust into.
The story and writing can feel a little silly and messy in parts, with inconsistencies in the way in which it chooses to handle its logic. For example in one episode we have a death defying motorcycle stunt performed by the MC in which the laws of realism that this show bases itself in are completely side lined for the sake of spectacle. And then a few episodes later we have MC attempt another motorcycle stunt which fails in which he comically retorts "damn I guess it doesn't work like in anime". Like damn make your mind up show. People shouldn't be able to fire snipers standing up on fast moving hummers either, but screw it. It's entertaining.
Now to address the show's main selling point, the PLOT, it gets a solid, 3 cultured thumbs up. This show dies on the 'this is a fucking ecchi and we're not afraid to show you why' hill and it definitely means it. Ten-fold. Good god does this show have a lot of unnecessary fan service and it manages to throw it at you out of left field at every opportunity it gets, which can get annoying at times.
My biggest gripe comes in the episode in which the gang rescue Alice. The show sets up an emotionally high scene after saving her from a horde of zombies and Alice coming to terms with the death of her father, but then out of nowhere switches tones immediately and sucker punches the viewer with more fan service in the very next shot; leaving both scenes feeling completely flat and devoid of what they were meant to. A young girl in distress over the loss of her father does NOT equate 'HERE LOOK, TITS'.
HOTD knows exactly what it is and the audience that it wants to pander to and executes it well, even if it is trashy. Some of it is palatable. Some of it is very distasteful and uncalled for (Looking at you Alice. Why in the ever living, call the FBI fuck were those scenes on the wall with Takashi and Hirano in the car ever included??). Also, Saeko's physics defying sniper shot scene is legendary and will forever live in my head rent free. This is what defines this show and makes it what it is. Wild.
Does HOTD have some eyebrow raising moments? Yes.
Is it a show for 13 year old edge-lords, written by a grown man that has no business sexualising young high school girls? Yes.
Does it present some themes that would be deemed problematic in a modern day, western audience's optics? Probably.
If you played a drinking game in which. every time there is a panty flash, or a titty jiggle you have to take a shot; would you end up permanently brain damaged? Definitely.
Should you care? No.
Should you watch this at full blast when all your family members who haven't seen you in years happen to be visiting? Fuck around and find out.
All this being said I enjoyed this show for what it is. Dumb. trashy, goofy fun. The soundtrack is decent. the animation and art style for its time are great, and the fight scenes look good. While the plot and script leave something to be desired; HotD solidly falls into the so bad its good category, and I'd recommend it to any viewer who has a strong tolerance to bs and wants a turn their brain off for a while. It's not a 'great' show. But it is certainly legendary.
Now excuse me while I go wash of all the muck and shame I've accrued from watching this shit.
7/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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