Sep 28, 2018
High Score Girl Review – A Brilliant Series Even for Non-Arcade Era People
Notes – High Score Girl may be referred to as HSG for easier typing purposes.
There is only one minor spoiler in paragraph 2. It is noted in parentheses.
TLDR: Amazing show with likeable characters, neat OP/ED, and a compelling story make this my AOTS - 10/10.
Games are fun. Although they may result in many side effects such as you losing friends because you used the infamous Blue shell in Mario Kart while your friend was
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in first place, causing them to get passed by the person in 2nd place. They are a great source of entertainment and some are even played competitively in official tournaments around the world. Today, games feature massive detailed worlds that are powered by fast components in either our computers or consoles. High Score Girl takes us back to a time where video game arcades are the norm and not our personal computers or consoles that sit in our homes.
The world of HSG features a 1990’s Japan and initially features two characters. Haruo Yaguchi, an extremely good arcade game player, and Akira Oono, an even better arcade player. Arcades, while being prevalent, are frowned upon by schools. This explains why the ending theme song (After School Distraction - 放課後 ディストラクション or alt. After School Destruction) is titled that way. The song is excellent and the animation is well done. How else could our characters meet but in an arcade? Initially, their relationship is rocky, and Haruo gets his butt kicked in the many games they play against each other. This gives Haruo a new goal; to get even better at games so that he can beat Oono. (spoiler starts here) Unfortunately, Oono and Haruo get separated. (end spoiler). Mind you, this all happens at the end of episode 3. Which shows pretty amazing character development already. This however allows our third character, Koharu Hidaka, to step into the spotlight. Hidaka, not much of a gamer herself, meets Haruo and gets closer to him also via games. More specifically at the arcades and the arcade machine that is installed outside her house. She gets to shine for the next few episodes, and even gets better than Haruo at arcade games after Haruo takes some time off to study. She helps Haruo remember his original goal – become better than Oono. She gets better at games to try to improve her relationship with Haruo. Yeah there’s an implied (totally not obvious) love triangle here.
Oono is such an interesting character that so doesn’t even talk. Why? Probably to show her sheltered lifestyle in a rich family that has everything predetermined for her. She gets no say in what she wants to do because of this. Her rebellious act in skipping out on lessons to play arcade games and it shows that even sheltered girls in high ranking families can show their “silent voice”. That’s totally not Koe no Katachi reference by the way.
Art/Sound? – Some people don’t like CGI. Bad news. There’s CGI in this. Not that I really care. You might though…
There’s also a single ad in the middle of the show. I don’t mind, but you might though…
OP/ED are in my top 3 this season. I think that’s pretty good.
At this point you’ve probably already realized how central games are in this show. It helps Haruo find two people that can understand him and help him achieve his goal. While I’m not from the golden age of arcade games and video arcades, the show does an excellent job in making me more interested in learning more about arcade games and get a greater appreciation for the games that came before the ones that we have today.
Final score – 10/10 AOTS.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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