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I have an unreasonable love of Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai.

While I find the art beautiful and characters relatable and compelling, I acknowledge that the harem-like setup and virtually every situation the characters find themselves in (beach, festival, onsen, etc) are well worn tropes, I assert that true originality isn't the most important aspect of a romance story. Instead, we want to root for our characters to understand each other, form meaningful relationships, find their ideal fit, and ultimately understand themselves.

For me the key elements are likable characters, realistic-ish situations, cute interactions and banter, plot development at a reasonable velocity and a satisfying conclusion, ... all while avoiding overly cringey dialogue, poor character choices and excessively artificial plot devices to force action.

I'm not saying that Bokutachi lacks originality, as the setup has interesting twists and each character has their own motivations and quirks. The main character's drive to overcome his own challenges provides balance to his personality and forms the core message of the story, motivating others around him and justifying the attraction the girls have for him. Like all good stories, the rewards are mostly earned after overcoming difficulty and struggle, not merely gifted to an undeserving overpowered but dense protagonist with unnatural charm.

Well OK, this story is set up as a harem and there is no way any nerdy, studious guy could actually attract so many intelligent and beautiful girls as in this story. However, as I admitted at the start, this isn't a groundbreaking experimental work of art so enjoying the dynamics of the girls competing for acknowledgement while revealing their personalities as well as the tension of young adults discovering what they want and their true feelings is what makes a story like this fun and interesting.

For me Bokutachi puts all the elements together in an almost perfect way that is rarely found elsewhere. So much of what we like is influenced by our personal situation, other similar stories we use as comparison and how far along a series is when we start. I'm writing this at the Ch.52 mark and look forward to each additional chapter, expectantly and more than a little impatiently.

Really fun watch that starts as Eromanga-sensei and ends up more like Shirobako with characters that embody real concerns and issues. This is not the place to start if you're new to anime but if you give this a try past the notorious first episode, you will find many things to like and keep thinking about beyond the immediate humor.

The author previously create Haganai, which is seemingly well liked in general, but fell a little short compared better series. This outing demonstrates a huge improvement that subverts industry tropes and conventions with many anime and gaming insider jokes and references, while establishing characters ... that you will care about that are struggling to succeed and find happiness.

This was an unlikely highlight of the season and worth giving an open minded try.