Aug 13, 2015
Too often does an anime fan, while watching a show, get that pesky sensation of "man... this show again? Is it so hard to have a little originality?". I find this happening most oftenly with the so prevalent and seemingly worn out schol life genre, specially when we tag RomCom along with it. On that note Oregairu felt like a real breath of fresh air, due to the way it set's itself apart from the rest of the genre.
While the show doesn't exactly stand out through its animation , art
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or soundtrack, this components where in no way a hindrance to the quality of the overall product. The animation is pretty much on par with modern slice of life titles that aren't produced by Kyoto Animation, without much more that can be added to it (wether that is satisfactory or not i leave up to you). The soundtrack follows the animation in a way, While not memorable, it did it's job seting up the mood for the several scenes, but not much more than that. As for the art, it was preety much as you would expect from a modern school life anime, however i would like to highlight the character design in Oregairu, for i believe the way the charecters' personalities stand out through their design is truly a sign of an outstanding work.
This anime follows an episodic format, and while it does have a story arc that persists throughout its entirety, the main focus of the show is its characters and the interactions between them, and it is here that Oregairu shines. The writing in this show is by far one of the best i've seen, The pacing is impeccable, and the dialogs are some of te most entertaning out there. However, the big diference between this show and the other RomComs out there is the main character. For a while has the genre, and even the industry been plagued with bland main characters that lack any sort of personality other than the line "I'll never give up" or alternatively, and in this case more relevantly, the "i don't have good grades, not good at sports, and not particularly good looking" personality wich is often used as the main character for RomComs so the viewer can insert himself in the MCs shoes. Our MC however, Hikigaya, is an antisocial, pessimistic, almost nihilistic high school kid that actually behaves like an antisocial, pessimistic, almost nihilistisc high school kid, wich leads to great setup for a RomCom that's looking for a fresh approach.
With everything in mind i'd recommend this show to any fan of the genre or any anime veteran looking for something fresh. For a more specific reference i'd recommend you this anime if you also liked Haganai (similar setup as well as having a similar feel to it, although Oregairu may not be as sentimental), or Bakemonogatari (the MC's monologues and his interactions with one of the heroines defenitively reminded me of the writing in this Shaft work).
Overall score: 8
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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