Full disclosure: I’m trying to NOT spoil anything.
What is ‘genuine’? What comes to your mind when you think of the word ‘youth’? What do you think when the term ‘romance’ comes up? How do you deal with the notion of ‘isolation’ and ‘being left to your own devices’? How would you define ‘altruism’?
If what you are looking for is a book adapting those ideas then you are wrong as you've expected. As this book is the romanticized struggle of a writer against his Publisher, and its vile underling, the Editor (that's only a joke for like 60%).
Story (meta-story mixed with actual story, as I deem
...
them inseparable in the case of this series)
Yahari ore no Seishun Love-Comedy ha Machigatteiru! or SNAFU has been immensely popular in the west ever since its anime adaptation aired back in 2013. At first, it was just a weird copy of the rather popular title 'Boku wa Tomodachi wa Sukunai!', with similar character based comedy for which said characters had to suffer in depth and it even had lewd scenes and innuendos, much like the aforementioned series.
But with popularity came the realization to the author: he wanted something genuine. After the fifth book or so, Watari Wataru managed to find his own tone, his own humor, his own ‘literature’. It’s as if suddenly the story came to life: the first community event started. This is where Watari shines the best: giving an insight into the organization of such events.
This is of course just the first of many events that are going to be organized throughout the story, events like a Christmas party for the elderly, a Valentine’s day cooking club sort of event and others I refrain from spoiling further on. And what exactly does this sort of not popularly used trope have to do with the main themes of the show?
‘Being left to your own devices,’ and ‘altruism’ come into play as driving factors here. The series focuses on volunteer work and altruism, basically, defeating isolation, solitude, slipping into a negative feedback loop with your own ego due to cognitive dissonance (‘I’m different, I’m better than others’), and allowing you to realize the beauties of interacting with people around you, and finding the good parts of them. A lot of initially negative characters end up as plainly good folk. Turns out, we just had to take off our glasses smeared with the bias of appearance and general difference in demeanor.
The other ideas, ‘youth’ and ‘romance’ come from the same place; ‘youth’ is sort of the setting of the whole plot, while ‘romance’ seems to be the solution, instead of a driving factor like ‘isolation’ or ‘altruism’. This themes together build up the storyline and lead to the conclusion.
Important Characters
Isshiki Iroha is probably the most interesting character in the series. She only appeared after Watari had already found his voice, thus she is thoroughly genuine and straightforward as a character. On the story’s level though, she is manipulative and megalomaniac. She keeps an act to fool others and marionette them according to her own will. This mask quickly falls off, making her one of the most honest of people of the series – well, honest to one character, that is.
Hikigaya Komachi seems to be the personification of childish wisdom, the penetrating eye of children, although she is not that much younger than her brother. She gives advice and encouragement even in the bleakest of times, showcasing how the unconditional love and bond between siblings work.
Yuigahama Yui is a kind girl. And misplaced kindness hurts the most. She tries to read the atmosphere all the time, and acts in a way to not hurt anyone around her, but that is rarely possible. She is presented as a modern, popular girl, but don’t let the looks fool you, she is a deeply considerate and emotionally intelligent person, who can’t put herself in front of others in any situation.
Yukinoshita Yukino is the snow hidden by snow, the ideal Japanese beauty with raven black hair and show white skin. In the first few books she seems like a carbon copy of Mikazuki Yozora (haganai), and is only there to make fun of the reader. But with the maturing of Watari’s pen she matured as well. Her struggles surfaced and her insecurities could no longer be hidden. Yukinoshita became one of the most relatable characters for people who ever struggled due to expectations from their parents.
Language
Although I can’t hide the fact that this series suffered from being a light novel title and not a plain old novel with a lot fewer pages in total, I still feel like the good substance outweighs the sort of extensions one would normally feel unnecessary. And one thing that still helps get over the bad parts is the beautiful language Watari employs to convey emotions throughout some beautifully formed monologues.
I can’t speak for the English translation (neither of them in fact), but all I can add to my upper passage is that this series is worth learning Japanese for. I mean, what do you have to lose?
Illustrations
PONKAN⑧ went through a lot of improvement over the past 10 years, and that is clearly visible on their work. It fits the mood of the text perfectly, with the first few books being cartoonish, as the initial style of Watari is similar, but with the maturing of the text, the illustrations began to mature in their own, expressive and beautiful way.
The elephant in the room
I hate light novel main characters. They are 2 dimensional at best, they are all the same and they are just the projection of how the author sees or want to see themselves. They are that way so readers can self-insert into them and feel like they are the ones flirting with 4+ girls.
Is this the case with Hachiman though?
Most of that description doesn’t seem to describe him (at least after the 5th book), but one of them is painfully obvious. Probably the worst part, the projection of the author fits him pretty well. This fact is not even hidden, mind you, in his monologues it’s obvious that Watari expresses his own opinions (regarding his editor mostly) and his takes on the society of the ‘youth’ that drives the story.
Thing is, his opinions, his takes and his monologues are not tone-deaf, as you would expect. It can be felt that this story is rather a documentation of his past feelings, his struggles with solitude and similar ides the series tries to grapple with (my interpretation).
And you know what’s dope about that? That this makes Hachiman’s feelings genuine. They are not fake, not a scam or a sham, they are unmistakably honest and utterly genuine.
No wonder everyone wants to be like Hachiman, as he perfectly embodies the lone, struggling teenager.
10/10 will read again and again and again.
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Jan 17, 2020
Full disclosure: I’m trying to NOT spoil anything.
What is ‘genuine’? What comes to your mind when you think of the word ‘youth’? What do you think when the term ‘romance’ comes up? How do you deal with the notion of ‘isolation’ and ‘being left to your own devices’? How would you define ‘altruism’? If what you are looking for is a book adapting those ideas then you are wrong as you've expected. As this book is the romanticized struggle of a writer against his Publisher, and its vile underling, the Editor (that's only a joke for like 60%). Story (meta-story mixed with actual story, as I deem ... 
Jun 25, 2017
Uchouten Kazoku 2
(Anime)
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Eccentric Family has become one of my personal favorites lately, with its unique art style, storytelling, and lively characters. When I first saw a second season was coming, honestly, I didn't know where the story could advance any further. For me, it was kind of closed off in a nice manner, although there were some threads left undone.
STORY 10 As I said, I wasn't sure where this show could advance any further with its story, but I had to admit: it was as good (or even better), than that of the first season. The flow of the show stayed similar, following the acts of young Yasaburo, ... |
