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this review is spoiler free, but you really can't comprehend even a fraction of how good kakushigoto is unless you consume the entire story, so please watch it if you can.

> STORY/ENJOYMENT: 9.5

kakushigoto is so much more than a comedy, and the process of slowly realizing that is honestly what makes it so good. it may feel like everything shown in an episode is just a short story for a quick laugh, but then you soon realize that it's all important to a greater over-arching story. it's utterly impressive how kakushigoto turns such a simple idea from a gag into something serious enough to be ... a meaningful extended metaphor and the theme of almost an entire episode. this also applies to the series as a whole.

i also like how we ever so slowly learn where the story is going. it shows little details directly and indirectly, letting you piece it together. it just feels like someone's dangling all these puzzle pieces in front of you, only to take it away once you try to grab it. but then in the end, they just suddenly drop everything on you, and you wanna be mad, but you can't. the picture that the puzzle forms is just too beautiful. it just feels so good to finally complete it.

and since it is labeled a comedy, of course it's funny. only a few comedies have ever made me audibly laugh and actually slap my knee, and this is one of them. kakushigoto handles emotions very well. it makes sure you enjoy anything and everything put in front of you. it doesn't feel awkward or unnatural when a predominantly funny scene turns into a serious scene and vice versa. kakushigoto achieves a masterful balance of the serious and comedic aspects, giving you the best of both worlds.

it's also very wholesome and heartwarming.

however, the ending is kinda underwhelming. i was expecting it to hit harder than it did. it left me wanting more, which could be either a good thing or a bad thing, but this one's leaning a bit more on the negative side for me. it also felt a bit rushed cause the last episode was the only episode where i feel like the comedy wasn't balanced well, and i hoped the tone was just more serious. if it had another episode to work on the ending, im pretty sure the story would be a 10.

> ART: 9

the art is very simple, but still unique and fits the show really well. the character designs are very cute and i honestly wouldn't ask for more than that. animation is smooth and flows nicely, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. the visuals in the op and ed boost this score a bit just cause of how fun they are to watch.

> SOUND: 9

the soundtrack feels very ambient and well thought-out. it emphasizes the mood it aims to express pretty well. voice acting is on point for the main characters as well as the side characters we see frequently. just like the visuals, the sound of the op and ed boost this score too. absolute bangers.

> CHARACTERS: 8

this is where kakushigoto lacks the most, but still doesn't lack much at all, really. the main characters, hime and kakushi, are quite well-written and have an amazing father-daughter dynamic, though perhaps not as realistic as it can be (i mean, you can only be so realistic in a comedy anime; it has to be hyperbolical, to some extent).

hime is absolutely adorable. she's naive and looks like nothing goes on in her mind, but also very sincere, caring, and overall a good kid. it's just the perfect combination of traits to create this specimen of cuteness. she's everyone's ideal daughter and we see how thankful kakushi is for that. he just cares for and appreciates hime so much.

most side characters are a bit forgettable, and are often only there for gags, but they're unique enough to be entertaining when you watch them. besides, the actual story focuses heavily on hime and kakushi, so the side characters only having significant roles in the comedy aspect isn't really much of a problem.

> OVERALL: 9

protecc hime at all costs.

underrated.

> STORY/ENJOYMENT: 9.5

i wanna start with the ending cause that's one of the only reasons this isn't a 10: the ending feels relatively rushed and not very satisfying, but it still feels natural with how the show's pacing and story development usually go. it's also quite wholesome, so i still like it a bit.

pro-tip on most comedy, sol, cgdct, and especially gag humor: don't focus on the story.

it shouldn't matter if the story is pointless, unreasonable, nonsensical, or almost nonexistent—but here, it does. because that's what makes it so good.

a lot of humor is based on non sequitur ... and just sheer absurdity due to the fact that all the main characters are really weird and try their best to be "normal." they also just do the most unnecessarily dumb things, unwarranted, on a whim, and you just know that's when it's about to be a real knee-slapper.

beware, there are A LOT of ass-pulls that feel like lazy writing, but it's a comedy. "lazy" writing becomes satire or absurdist, and it gets a pass.

and, honestly, wtf did you expect from an anime with a trap, ninja, psychic, and a seemingly omnipotent fr*ckin alien? that alien can literally control the story because she has reality and time alteration for some fucking reason, but she chooses to live with her friends as a middle school girl BECAUSE IT'S FUN.

the jokes aren't all unpredictable, and you might see some from a mile away, but damn is the execution spectacular.

and it hab jojo reference so its gud ^^
also amogus (possibly unintentional, but still)

tldr, you'd get the most out of this experience if you just turn off your brain for 20-ish mins and laugh like a monkey.

> ART: 8

pretty standard. nothing crazy. character design is good, but nothing that unique or memorable. it's quite simple, but specific effects and situational artstyle choices fit the tone very well, so i think it's great.

> SOUND: 7

voice acting suits the characters perfectly, imo.

op and ed are fairly decent, but not so good that i would put them in a playlist. the opening impressively captures the vibe of the anime tho, so i bumped up the score a bit for that.

the soundtrack is kinda forgettable and could get a bit repetitive, but it sounds very natural in basically every scene, so in the end, i'd still rate sound quite high.

> CHARACTERS: 11

the main characters are all just so dumb and so silly and so goofy and so weird and they just use their abilities for the stupidest things. i love them.

these four characters literally carry the show because it's just them, like, 85% of the time. still, not a single scene is boring because of how unique they are individually, which also leads to how unique interactions and dynamics can be.

the characters are not necessarily well-written or fleshed out, but again, this is a fucking comedy. the character writing, in a narrative sense, is nothing amazing, but i think it's interesting how each main character is constructed to bring out as much as possible. from the most mundane character traits to the strangest, all the little unique peculiarities add on to the story and humor in extremely entertaining ways.

the road we're riding on doesn't seem to have a clear destination, but who the heck cares? the characters here are the fuel, the engine, the driver, and even the goddamn wheels. all they need is a little push on the pedal to drive forward to a fun time.

> OVERALL: 9

is this a biased rating? yes. but you can never be completely objective when it comes to entertainment.
does this anime really deserve something that high? no. of course not.
does it deserve the rating it has rn? also no.

just watch it. i loved it from the first few minutes, and kept on loving it since then. it won't take much of your time to check it out and decide whether you wanna watch more or not. i seriously think 4-uso should have a higher rating. i don't get why it doesn't even scrape the bottom of 7.5

KATSU!

TLDR: it’s good. uniquely generic. comfy show. do recommend. scroll down for summary of scores.

A rom-com where the main characters just completely ignore the “rom” part (for the first half at least) and simply have as much fun as they can? Count me in.

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is perhaps the most uniquely cliché anime you will ever see, so much so that I chose it to be the subject of my very first review.

There are two very common tropes when it comes to the female rom-com protagonist: overly expressive clingy tsundere and overly introverted dandere. Somehow, Aharen-san, our main girl, manages to be both and neither ... at once. Basically, she was once the clingy type but then people stayed away from her because she didn’t understand personal boundaries, leading her to be the quiet introvert in the corner of the room (literally; she sits on the leftmost seat at the last row) so that people don’t start hating her again…

Until Raidou-kun comes in.

Raidou, our main boi, is desperate to make friends in high school because his intimidating, stoic demeanor drove people away during middle school. Luckily(?), his seatmate is just as unapproachable.

As they say, opposites attract, and we can clearly see it in this anime. People disliked Raidou-kun because he looks hostile and unapproachable, while people disliked Aharen-san because she gets too chummy and close. When these two seemingly boring personalities are seated beside each other, they suddenly become one of the most interestingly weird duos you’ve ever seen. Raidou doesn’t care about her clinginess and Aharen doesn’t care about his unemotional appearance (because that’s how she looks, too).

With more chemistry than the periodic table, Raidou-kun tries his best to understand Aharen-san, comes up with ludicrous theories along the way, and tries to solve her problems with the most bizarre solutions, while Aharen just nonchalantly puts up with his absurdity. Despite their very unexpressive faces, you just know that they have fun with all the weird shit they do. Not a single awkward moment is shared between these two, they’re just so close like they’ve known each other for decades, which is a breath of fresh air when it comes to rom-coms.

She’s exactly what he needed: a friend that is not afraid to approach him and hang out with him. He’s exactly what she needed: a friend that doesn’t mind her clinginess and instead helps her with her social problems. It can’t get more perfect than this.

-------------

Story - 7
The story is not amazing. There is no substantial, cohesive plot apart from ‘main character tries to help out unsocial girl.’ It’s more like short stories contained within individual episodes. Although there is a lack of ‘plot’ per se, the stories that are being told in each episode are interesting enough to make you stay.

Art - 9
Great art style and character design, smooth animation. Basically just standard slice of life art. You can’t really go wrong with that.

Sound - 9
Expressive voice acting, sound effects are on point, and the soundtrack is nothing special but pretty good. Again, just standard slice of life. You can’t really go wrong with that.

Character - 8
Raidou-kun and Aharen-san carry the show, as they should. I just hoped the side characters were more interesting, but they’re really not too important because they just enhance the story-telling of Raidou and Aharen’s shenanigans.

Enjoyment - 9
A good show to watch if you’re bored and just want some wholesomeness. The nature of the main characters make this anime's comedy quite unique. They don't depend on the usual anime gags that involve excessive screaming and borderline physical abuse. But it may still be unfunny for edgelords who just can’t laugh at anything but multilayered jokes that require superior intellect about ancient history or sum shit like that, but their cuteness will compensate. Oh wait, edgy people hate cuteness too. Just watch it if you like cute stuff. It’s definitely underappreciated.

Overall - 8.4
This series is far from being the best, but it will most certainly go down as one of my favorites. Even though I’ve only seen a third of the episodes so far, I don’t see any way this anime could mess up. I believe my rating wouldn’t change much as I watch more episodes. If anything, it could go even higher.