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This is one of the most stacked seasons (imo) ever. It’s genuinely the first time where I can point out SEVERAL shows I can easily rate 9+: Kaguya S3, Koumei, Spy X Fam and Summertime Rendering. Tomodachi Game had the opportunity to be up there, but it fell short in so many ways.

After watching the first episode, I thought it’d be some edgy cringe shit so I did a quick scout of the manga to see if it was worth continuing. Lo and behold I end up catching up to the latest chapter overnight. That’s how good the source material is. But the anime? Yikes.

Quite ... frankly, it’s sad and a disgrace to the two mangaka behind Tomodachi Game (Manga). Everything you could possibly give points for/find good in the anime, is purely from how strong the source material is. If you want a better experience of the greatness that is Tomodachi Game, go read the manga.

So what went wrong with the anime? The main faults are two-fold.

Firstly, the animation sucks. The outlines aren’t very crisp/clean, movement is VERY stiff and janky, and faces are inconsistent as fuck (especially when they do shots where the characters aren’t the primary focus/dead-center). This kills a lot of the hype scenes from the manga since the art just doesn’t do it justice. Speaking of hype scenes, the 3D effects they add (falling feathers, shadowy tendrils, etc.) for Yuuichi’s dark moments just seem so edgy and cringe. Unlike other anime where the blending between 2D and 3D is more homogenous, these scenes in Tomodachi have a stark contrast which just makes the crappy animation stand out even more.

The second detractor is the pacing/storyboarding. God it’s awful. From skipping a lot of content which can make it easier for the viewer to follow (in an already dialogue/reading heavy series mind you) to horribly sequenced episodes for the sake of creating a “tense cliffhanger,” Tomodachi’s direction is subpar at best.

When I first heard about Tomodachi and saw the trailer, I was expecting a trainwreck shitty series because it would just be outright bad. Instead, I’m even more disappointed than I imagined because it’s a trainwreck shitty series DESPITE having so much potential and an amazing source material to boot. Pain peko.

Koumei is peak isekai. No but for real, it’s such a refreshing spin on the traditional isekai genre and tropes, that I encourage all isekai fans to give it a spin; you might just come to love this show as much as I have.

Similar to Spy X Fam, Koumei is a nice pick-me-up: a solidly wholesome, funny, and enjoyable watch. Again, we have amazing animation, characters, and cast synergy, but Koumei has traded the action-packed spy/assassin scenes in favour of idol training and a focus on music. And I’m all here for it.

I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say I can find songs ... in anime to be a bit cringe. No hate to those voice actors or anything, but I’ve just never really been able to appreciate “singing” in that sense. I guess it’s because it would often come off as very out-of-place. But in an anime that's a mix between idols and isekai, the music of Koumei somehow manages to find a perfect fit and elevate the show to the next level, likely due to the insane vocal talent and passion behind Eiko’s “singing-voice” 96neko.

While the final arc explores a rather relevant concern behind creatives trying to make it big, I found the build up to be a bit too sluggish and cliche at times. Especially how we kept revisiting the same song over and over and over between Eiko and Nanami. It was great the first time but… idk about 6-7 plays later, especially since it’s the same chorus popping up incessantly for 2-3 episodes.

That being said, the finale is a spectacular end to the series and managed to tie up all the major plot points and character development that was still outstanding. Platinum certified release for sure.

Ultimately, Koumei is an enjoyable watch for the music/animation, and has just enough “character-shit” sprinkled in that's relevant, doesn’t feel forced, and actually contributes to the dynamics between the main cast. Speaking of character dynamics, I think this was the strongest point of this series that made the watch so fun. The chemistry is palpable and I can’t imagine this Koumei being anywhere near as good as it was without this X factor.

I love badminton. I played it at a highly competitive level for almost 7 years of my life, commuting an hour to my club 5 times a week where I dedicated buckets of sweat and even more hours to a sport I loved. Unfortunately, many people frown upon badminton. It’s a tricky sport to play, which makes it trickier to understand and appreciate. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that of all the sports out there that anime could cover, badminton is one of the most underrepresented. That’s why I’m grateful for shows that push badminton into the spotlight, because it’s truly one of ... the best sports out there.

But that’s also why I’m very disappointed with Ryman. Just like Hanebado, there was a lot of potential it could live up to. But unlike Hanebado, it fell flat on its face much more quickly and much more heavily in a way that makes the show extremely tough to watch, not only as a badminton fan, but also as an anime fan.

I think a basic requirement for sports anime is serviceable (get it) animation. Haikyuu is a perfect example. Its first few seasons? Great animation which elevated everything else. The last 2 seasons? Piss-poor animation which drags everything down. Even Hanebado, which had such boring attempts at melodrama, horribly faked conflicts, and lacklustre characters, was still an enjoyable watch thanks to its amazingly accurate (within sports anime ofc) portrayal of the sport and the stellar animation.

Is Ryman’s animation any good? No. It’s horrible. You rarely see any rallies aside from the final few episodes. Instead, they’re cleverly cut to make you think shits going on but really its just lack of animation/budget/effort. And even when they do animate “epic” jump smashes, diving saves, or clever net play, the animation is so fucking stiff, I don’t even know if it’s handanimated or done with CGI. Ruins the immersion in the sport when you see janky limbs making janky shots.

And without good animation to prop it up, Ryman just becomes a hard-to-believe, angsty story. I’m not even gonna touch on the attempts at a “story” because it’s just quite sad.

Don’t get me started on the inconsistencies either. There’s supposed to be “powers” like foresight, but only MC has it. We’re also supposed to believe the power structure they have set up: an Olympic/top BWF calibre player can be bested by 2 bums? Very nice. Instead of tapping entirely into super fantasy like Kuroko or plausible realism like Hanebado, Ryman tries to have its cake and eat it too. Ultimately, it ends up falling short here as well, just like everywhere else in the series.

But I think Ryman’s biggest fault is its refusal to properly elaborate on the complex strategies that are actually behind the sport. Shot selection, location, angle, speed, footwork, pace of play, and coordination with your partner. Just applying these to singles alone is complex enough, but it gets even crazier in doubles. Because Ryman chooses to dumb the narration/discussion down, what you’re watching is just a watered-down, unexciting version of badminton. Sure shots are going here and there, but why? How, why, and when do players change their tactics and strategies? Instead the explanation you get is “How about I attack you instead!” or “He’s using that devil drop, killer!” I get that you’re trying to make it cool and all, but really it just sounds lame because people who don’t play badminton won’t have a clue what’s going on and people who actually know enough about badminton will be even more confused as to what the fuck is going on.

3/10 for being a bad anime overall. +5 for showcasing badminton, my favourite sport. -5 for ruining badminton, my favourite sport.

What was once a promising and excellent progressing story crashed and burned as quickly as Shinra when he first started honing as pyrotechnic abilities.

Everything was going swimmingly until the last 100 or so chapters, where all the previous plot development and ESPECIALLY world-building was just thrown out the window for a lazy excuse of a final arc.

Lazy fights with lazy powerups, dead characters being retconned left and right, and horribly written dialogue that amounts to "I AM EDGY PAIN PAIN PAIN" vs. "I AM GOD BOOOOOOM." It's beyond me how such poor quality work was allowed to be printed, and even more painful to realize ... that the series has become this shit when you consider the amazing arcs from before such as the Rekka, Joker, and Nether Exploration Arcs.

Poor characters and world-building aside in the latter half, the one thing that remained consistent was the art style. Except for those ~2 random chapters of black-and-white scans of photos of a real human. Interesting attempt at breaking the 4th wall and having some meta-commentary on society/readers, but it ultimately came off as extremely random and lazy.

TLDR; FF severely imploded in the final ~100 chapters, dropping any care and attention it previously had with regards to pacing, development, and world-building. What could've gone out as a massive inferno just ended up as some party sparklers fizzling out.

Where do you see yourself in your early adulthood? Whether that’s 5, 10, or maybe even 20 years from now, it’s always hard to predict what you’ll be like in the future. Do you envision success? Have you accomplished all your dreams? Are you living a fulfilling life?

Or are you someone like me, who sees an uncertain future. Sure I have my goals, and I’d like to think I’m pretty motivated and driven. But after doing a year of online school in university and interning in the summer, I’ve begun to question whether or not I’d actually enjoy an 80 hour workweek under one of ... the MBB firms despite the great pay it’d offer.

What will I be doing for the next 10, 20, 30+ years after finishing university?

I think until you’ve started having these existential thoughts and worked through the toils of university/internships/part-time jobs, you won’t be able to fully appreciate the beauty behind the tragic dark-comedy of Uramichi Oniisan.

I think this is one of the best anime this season. Not just for its comedy, but also the context behind it: the struggles of early adulthood. A time where you’d expect one to be burning with passion in a job you love, pursuing and accomplishing your goals. Instead, for you, me, and the majority of others who read this, we will be sorely disappointed.

What makes Uramichi Oniisan so incredible is its cast of tragic characters. Stuck in jobs they don’t (entirely) love, working to meet the ridiculous demands of their superiors for little rewards, and constantly left wondering what went wrong with their life.

While we see time and time again that Uramichi and his co-stars would prefer any other job, they continue coming back day after day to appease the little bundles of joy and hope before them. This foil between depressed adults and energetic children is refreshing every time it’s brought up because it’s so true. While I only briefly worked as a camp leader in high school, it’s exhausting putting in your all to make young kids happy. A sentiment shared by all the lead performers.

Yet, I’ve found that there’s catharsis in this kind of work, no matter how tiring it gets. This is why Uramichi shows up every day because even though he’s lost hope in himself, these young innocent kids still blindly believe in him. So as to not disappoint them and ensure they don’t turn out like him, he drags his ass outta bed every day at 6 am. It’s a stark reminder that life won’t always work out how you’d like, but you have no option other than to continue to push onwards and face whatever challenges head your way.

It’s up to you to decide if you’ll become an Uramichi who’s depressed and lost all hope, or if you’ll continue chasing your dreams with the same passion you had while you were younger.

Uramichi is a great show for the comedy. But once you’ve gathered enough life experience or reached a certain age, the intent behind the dark-comedy and gags hits different and makes you appreciate the series in a different light. You’d be hard-pressed to find another comedy series out there that can also be appreciated for its deeper themes and central message, and this rare perceptiveness is what sets Uramichi Oniisan apart from so many other similar shows.

“You may not be able to live for someone else, but it’d be nice if you chose to live in a way in which you don’t blame others.” - one of many gems dropped throughout the show by our beloved gymnast oniisan.

Ah, isekai. What was once a promising and delightful genre has now become the punching bag of the anime community. Riddled with memes about truck-kun, harems upon harems, stupidly overpowered perfect MCs, and ridiculously long names, it’s easy to see how this genre has become one of the stalest and over-farmed genres in all of anime.

But when I first read the description for Genjitsu, I was intrigued. I’ve always been a fan of realism and reform through policy, add in my economics minor which I’m studying for uni, and you’ve got me hooked on the concept of a hero saving a world through policy reform.

But ... at the back of my head, there was a voice warning me against setting my hopes high for this series. And as soon as the first episode concluded, I knew I was in for a trainwreck.

Genjitsu is a horrible anime, let alone an isekai, because it is predicated on never-ending, bloated dialogue and paradoxical scenarios. Not to mention the classic harem featuring all the tropes, from loli to tsundere to elves and milf-ish baddies.

Light spoilers ahead (not that you’d want to watch this series anyways).

I’ve seen better story dialogue writing from 4th-grade students. Just take a look at EP 6. A convenient mouthpiece chick shows up in the tavern, coincidentally at the same time as the MC king, and proceeds to go on one of the longest exposition dumps in the series. In general, the dialogue and exposition is just so 2-dimensional and bland, it sounds like it was procedurally generated using an algorithm instead of human hands. Don’t even get me started about the romance writing: I’ve read hentai with better writing and character development than this shit.

Genjitsu’s worldbuilding is also filled with more holes than swiss cheese. Everything we’re told just seems to contradict what we were previously told.

The entire plot of the story is centred around a supposed food shortage that drove the nation to the brink of collapse. So drastic in fact that they’re ready to sell off a hero only they can summon. Great. Except when Souma takes over, we see literally jack shit evidence of a severe food crisis. Where’s the rioting? The angry citizens? The STARVING CITIZENS? You’re trying to tell me there’s a food shortage when the overwhelming majority of the low-middle class look totally healthy. We had a whole episode dedicated to showcasing “starving people” more untraditional food options, but you’re trying to tell me people weren’t starving enough to be desperately trying to eat whatever they could get their hands on? Pathetic, and it’s a disgrace to people who have faced/are actively facing poverty, malnourishment, or famine.

What about EP 7? The new port isn’t supposed to conflict/compete with the port under the jurisdiction of the water duchess, but Souma proceeds to explain how they’ll make this port the “heart of the nation”, essentially contradicting his previous assurance to Liscia. What a joke. Also, realist doesn’t do any research into surrounding settlements or try to gain approval near the planned location which leads to this “conflict” that must be resolved. Really, this is just a masked lazy attempt at making MC seem imperfect and to apply the “plan doesn’t go according to plan” trope so his main harem girl can appreciate his “imperfect character.” Apparently, I’m also supposed to believe it costs more to mass mint medals (which are never made out of pure precious metals btw, it’s always a mix) than it does to hand out royal wine reserved for the royal family and important guests? I guess I could sell my shit and become a millionaire in this world.

The only bright spot in this anime is the relatively accurate depiction of basic micro and macroeconomic theories and laws. Outside of that, you have an anime with no inherent value whatsoever. Lacklustre plot, lacklustre characters, lacklustre writing, lacklustre animation and OST, and dog-water-ass worldbuilding. For an anime that’s trying to differentiate itself on being realistic, it sure fell sorely short of the piss-poor standards it set out for itself.

If you’re looking to downgrade your IQ and waste your time, go ahead and crank this show on. Otherwise, you’d do best to stay the fuck away.

If you want to watch an extremely superficial harem rom-com, this is the one. As long as you approach it from that mindset and not one of an anime being about actually relevant and deep messages. In fact, I’d probably give it a 3-4 if it was just that: a tropey, fanservice-heavy rom-com. If you wanted to watch this series to learn about how we shouldn’t take the opportunities we have now for granted, you’ve come to the wrong anime.

While Bokutachi no Remake sets out with a strong first episode that aligns with what you think the core theme would be, it quickly flips ... to a rom-com instead. We have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok, and flat-out deceived by this show.

To keep it as short as possible, Bokutachi no Remake is a plastic attempt at its message about redemptions and seizing opportunities in life. Romance is randomly brought up and then dropped and ignored in the next episode with no further explanation. Every instance of drama we get isn’t natural but rather forced into the story for the sake of ticking off a box about “deep themes”. And the reason is that all the characters are so shallow and underdeveloped, it’s hard to find yourself genuinely rooting for them.

Potential spoilers ahead.

Let’s take Nanako’s singing arc for example. We get no background exposure to Nanako, hell, we don’t even know shit about her past or her character outside of a monologued backstory, having big boobs and going on a karaoke date once with Kyouya. But all of a sudden, we’re supposed to sympathize with and cheer for her decision to fearlessly confront her talent and get serious about it, even if it means she might have to swallow the bitter pill of failing despite putting in her best effort. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great message to preach and something I’ve been trying to fix myself for god knows how long. But hamfisting it into a story in the form of a character with 0 development until now is not the way to do it.

Also, after EP 5, I thought we’d be getting a generic romance drama arc but instead, that was a blue ball too and everything that happened at the end of EP 5 and beginning of EP 6 just seemed to vanish from all the characters’ minds. Only for this problem to return in EP 7. Double-sike. It’s as if the writer can’t decide between making this an anime about the work behind creating commercial media or a harem rom-com with over-the-top fanservice.

Outside of Nanako, the other characters are as shallow as you’ll get. You have the Mr. Perfect MC who can do no wrong and pulls all the chicks (self-insert), the big-boobed outgoing lady, the big-boobed tsundere, the big-boobed imouto template, the big-boobed childhood friend… Hmm, is it me or is there a weird trend going on with these female characters? I thought this was going to be a series about how we should get our act together now and pursue our goals but instead, I’m attending Booba Harem Girls 101. It’s quite ironic how an anime that’s supposed to be about the trials and challenges of creating critically acclaimed artistic media falls so short of the very teachings it preaches, that it has to resort to waifus and heavy fanservice for content.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind as much if this was a harem rom-com type anime since I could write off the poor character development (50% due to bad writing and 50% due to poor pacing) as typical of harem rom-coms. All things considered, it’s hard to even say this show did well for a completely different genre than what it was advertised as and what many were expecting. I literally completed this series just so I could keep watching big tits bouncing around on the screen.

MHA always has, and always will be, mid (at best). As a show that plays its cards incredibly safe and doesn’t try to subvert anything in the shounen genre, it’s pretty clear what MHA hopes to achieve in its lifetime (that’s selling movies if you haven’t realized already). But this season just goes to show that when you aim for mediocrity, you end up with subpar results. Drill that lesson into your hearts kids: aim for the moon so you can land amongst the stars, don’t be like MHA and aim for the stratosphere and end up 2m from where you started.

If you have any ... hope left for this series, I suggest you abandon it and save yourself from disappointment. This season alone indicated where Bones’ priorities lie with this series as a whole (movies so stonks go up).

As with any MHA season, we can’t go without the classic flaws:
1. Disgustingly long episode recaps
2. Piss-poor pacing/storyboarding
3. Unironically lengthy exposition dumps
4. Lack of meaningful progress on character development and worldbuilding

Let’s see how these flaws manifested this season.

The 1st episode is a “why do you exist” episode. Was it necessary to reintroduce every character and their quirks and dynamics? It’s not as if we had sudden amnesia and forgot. Don’t hit me with the “it’s a chance to showcase side characters” too because you and I both know damn well that anyone who isn’t the main cast (Deku, Todoroki, Bakugo, Uraraka) has been completely shoved to the side at this point. And that’s one thing I never liked about MHA, the character development. It tries too hard to sprinkle in development for side characters, but since it’s done so half-heartedly it just feels like cheap filler content instead of a meaningful attempt at doing something. Either do something properly or don’t do it at all.

The 1st cour. Class A vs Class B. Good animation for some of the scenes, but it’s wasted on content with poor pacing. The fights are overly drawn out, with each episode opening with a 5-minute flashback to the previous episode (I kid you not, EP 6 literally recycles the same recap from a previous episode). There’s also an issue of worldbuilding here with Class B, but I’m not going to open up that can of worms here. Ultimately, I don’t get how Class A, which has more real-world fighting and interning experience, decides to go easy and get their ass handed when it comes to “being aggressive” (Tokoyami vs Mushroom girl for example). The copious amounts of exposition dumps we got throughout this arc were dumbfounding too. MHA, and most anime in general, could do well to have faith in their viewers having more than 1 brain cell and an attention span greater than that of a goldfish.

The 2nd cour. Hero work studies and MVA. Overall, the content here is much more interesting and watchable than 1st cour. Issues still plague the season such as--

OH MY GOD OKAY IT’S HAPPENING, EVERYONE STAY CALM! STAY FUCKING CALM! WE’RE HAVING ANOTHER MHA MOVIE!!!! OMG! POGGERS! HERE’S AN ENTIRE “FILLER” EPISODE DEDICATED TO PROMOTING AND TEASING THIS MOVIE FOR Y’ALL BECAUSE THAT'S JUST WHAT YOU WANTED. WE TOTALLY DIDN’T SWITCH THE STORY AND PACING UP JUST FOR THE MOVIE!!!!!

Anyways, where was I? Oh yes. The same issues from cour 1 resurface here. Pacing, and now more so storyboarding too. Why were MVA and the work-study arc rearranged to the way it was presented in the show? So they could fit in the movie episode. Now we have this disjointed storyline that robs the viewer of any sense of suspense or danger. You teased Shigaraki powering up? That’s cool, but I’ve forgotten about it since nothing related is brought up again for the next 5 episodes. PLF is going to attack in 4 months with 100k plus members? Spooky. But numbers don’t mean shit to me. Giving names is. Telling me PLF has 5-6 elite villains, with quirks doing XYZ, who teamed up with the League of Villains, who also powered up, is infinitely more dramatic and suspenseful than the route we got. Not to mention awkward directing and cutting of relevant material during MVA itself. Shame on the studio.

Overall, this season was a shitshow, but for different reasons than S4. The main complaint with S4 was the animation: MHA will always have copious amounts of exposition dumps. But this season, we’ve traded (somewhat) better animation for god-awful pacing and storyboarding. While there were a few bright spots and well-adapted scenes, it’s not enough to make up for a wholly disappointing season overall. It’s also been made pretty clear that all the MHA franchise cares about at this point is pumping out movies to milk the unfortunate die-hard fans of their money. Smoge.

I’m not going to spoil future seasons, but all I can say is they do a great job of highlighting MHA’s biggest and most glaring flaw: god-awful worldbuilding and character development. If you’re a manga reader and would like to hear my views, shoot me a message. But all I can offer to anime-only fans is this: if you’re ready for braindead action boom-boom pow scenes, you’re in for a treat. But MHA as you know it will be dead after the next arc thanks to shitty writing.

Welcome to this season’s brand new edition of “Poor Light Novel Adaptations!” I’m your host bulkyhog, and today, we’ll be discussing why you shouldn’t waste 5 hours of your life watching this hot garbage! It certainly doesn’t take a legendary detective to realise what crime was committed here.

Yet again, we have an adaptation of a light novel that god knows why got the green light. While 86 was bad (fight me I dare you), it was at least not as bad and also popular enough to justify an adaptation. But this? No significant fanbase to work with, so the studio really chose this series ... out of all the possibilities to gamble a big hit on. I guess the anime industry has dried up the isekai well already so it’s on to chums like this now.

After watching 4 episodes where I literally fell asleep halfway through, I strongly considered dropping this series right then and there. But I forced myself through it so you folks looking to binge seasonals once they’re done know what to do: avoid this show at all costs.

Is there anything enjoyable about this series? Absolutely not! You’ll find nothing but lackluster plot, lackluster characters, and most importantly, god awful directing and cutting! I’ve seen amateur film projects in high school produced with better sequencing of cuts than this shit. Just check out EP 3 for example: it feels like 4-5 distinct 5 min long episodes randomly spliced together. You have music trailing off and some “inspirational” or finale-like lines from a character as the camera pans up to the sunset in the sky, only to be jolted awake with random chit-chat as Kimizuka and Siesta 2.0 walk down the street discussing their assignment.

Don’t even get me started on the characters. I haven’t come across characters this one-dimensional and boring since your average shounen power fest. MC and his harem are beyond lame. Even in the scope of the hundreds of mass-produced romcoms the anime industry has shoved out, none come close to matching the lack of distinction and “character” as Tantei wa Mou Shindeiru’s cast.

But I think this anime’s truly biggest flaw is the bloated shitty dialogue. There’s so much dialogue and conversation thrown around between characters, but less than 10% of the show’s total is actually relevant to character or plot development. Take EP 5 where Siesta and MC are talking during the flashback. Literally 90% of their conversation is just random shit that you could not listen to and still be up to date with the plot. This “conversation” also doesn’t progress characters either. Not using chances like this for meaningful character development is a heinous crime indeed. In the off chance dialogue is relevant to the series, it’s often so cliche or normal that you can predict the lines that’re gonna be said, almost as if a 4th grader wrote them. In the “climax” of EP 4, I literally predicted every single line in the exchange between the MC and the idol chick. Am I an unparalleled genius or is the show just that bad at writing dialogue? Take your pick.

No engaging or interesting plot, no deep thematic messages to unravel, no hype action scenes, no touching character moments/dynamics/development, and no skills when it comes to directing episodes. You can ask me a thousand times what’s good about this anime and my answer will remain the same: literally nothing. There is nothing unique about this anime that warrants watching it, so don’t waste your time and move on to literally anything else. Even hentai is worth more than this shit since you can jerk it off and get some post-nut clarity.

“Sharknado is a 2013 American made-for-television sci-fi disaster film about a waterspout that lifts sharks out of the ocean and deposits them in Los Angeles” (Wikipedia). When you read this description, how do you think this movie performed? Surely a box-office bomb, with horrible ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, reviews shitting on it left, right and center, and the producers wondering what could possibly have gone wrong right?

Well, Sharknado proved everyone wrong. It racked up millions of views over the weeks following its initial screening, developed a cut following, and even garnered a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating “Proudly, shamelessly, and gloriously ... brainless, Sharknado redefines 'so bad it's good' for a new generation."

Why might I be bringing up Sharknado you ask? Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Sharknado of anime and manga. Kanojo mo Kanojo. A series so over-the-top and shameless, that it truly redefines “so bad it’s good” for the anime community. Interspecies Reviewers? Rental Girlfriend? Domestic Girlfriend? Take every degenerate anime you’ve ever recently heard of, or ever will hear of for that matter, and throw it out the window. The one true god you should worship is Kanojo mo Kanojo.

Unlike the previous shows I mentioned, Kanojo mo Kanojo goes all out in being as bad as it can be. I refuse to believe that this story was written with anything but shameless comedy and spoofing in mind, evident by the first episode. The ridiculous story and characters, excessive transitions, sound effects, corny responses, typical rom-com ecchi gag parodies, shocked expressions with vividly animated backgrounds, parodies of the entire Louvre collection on rom-com OSTs (I think we went through maybe 20 or so distinct OSTs/background tracks in every episode), and to top it all off with a cherry on top, voice acting that’s brimming with gusto, is all a testament to how this show sees itself. Considering all intents and purposes, Kanojo mo Kanojo is a certified masterpiece in that aspect: it holds nothing back in its journey to exceed the expectations you’d have of a degenerate spoof series.

And it only gets worse (or I should say better) as the series rolls on. We’ve seen beta males, alpha males, sigma males, but none can match up to the oxymoron Naoya who is both a beta simp and giga chad existing in the same mortal body. This four-time champion does it all. The ridiculous designs and sheer stupidity of the four girls deciding to enter a polygamous relationship is also a daunting feature to stomach as an average anime viewer. Saki, Nagisa, Rika, Shino. Etch those names into your heart for they will be remembered for years to come. The animation, while popping and vibrant, is inconsistent in quality especially during wider-angle shots; however, this is but a small blemish on a masterpiece of a show.

The sheer power and volume of comedy in this anime is so strong, that it rivals the laughs and tears I’ve gotten out of Grand Blue and Asobi Asobase (although more often than not out of stupidity than authentic comedy). Hell, I’m confident that even if you went into this show with a serious attempt at critiquing it or trying to enjoy it, that mentality would instantly be shattered and you would come to realise Kanojo mo Kanojo for what it truly is: the pariah of bad anime, the Domestic Girlfriend of Domestic Girlfriends, the messiah we pleb weebs have been awaiting to save us from isekai purgatory and show us the true potential of anime.

This will definitely be one of the hottest takes this season, and I’m fully ready to accept whatever comes my way. But I will stay strong in my beliefs. This is a hill I’m willing to stake my life and die on, so don’t you worry my fellow brothers and sisters of the faith: I will preach the greatness of Kanojo mo Kanojo until I draw my last breath.