Tag Archives: Romantic Comedy

Anime/Manga, Observation Deck

Final Thoughts: Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out

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Considering almost everything that has happened under the Trump presidency, and even more recently within the Smash Bros community, my bar for controversy has been justifiably moved up, to the point where I am pretty detached from the day-to-day culture war BS, and honestly, I am pretty happy with myself for that, especially when I hear about “controversy” like this. Granted, I could be missing something significantly more important, as I was not actually there for the intial disputes, but as far as I am concerned, Uzaki-Chan’s controversy was nothing more than an unintentional mask to hide just how dull and uninteresting the show really is. With that being said, here are my final thoughts.

My Stance

I am willing to bet that 99% of people do not actually care what my opinion is, so for 1% who do, here is where I stand on the issue: while I do agree that the blood-drive art is kind of weird and that it probably should not have been used, if it actually succeeded in its goal of getting more people to donate necessary blood, than ultimately its fine. As for the character design itself, yeah I am not really on board with it either. While their are certainly women with that body type, many of whom I have met and been friends with, representing that body type in a positive way does not really seem to be the goal, but rather seems secondary (at best) to using the body type, and the thin veneer of a college setting as a way of attracting the attention of weirdos.

Still, this is not really that cut and dry of an issue, so I can understand why people might have a different opinion.

Uzaki-Chan as a Romantic-Comedy

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Again, if the show was more willing to explore these ideas around body positivity in a way that was decently well-written, I would be more willing to give Uzaki as a character a pass. However, the show makes pretty much zero attempts to do this, instead mostly relying on typical anime Romantic Comedy tropes. Sakurai is the mostly typical meat-headed main character, who, in this series at least, somewhat recognizes that their might be a chance at romance between him and Uzaki but still does almost nothing to progress towards it.

Uzaki, meanwhile, underneath the layers of controversy is just Tsundere with a larger than average chest. She does not have much in the way of a distinctive personality, and the only thing that really sets her apart from most of the other sub-par Tsundere characters is her high-pitched, almost chipmunk-esc voice, provided by Naomi Oozora.

Everyone else in the cast is even less memorable, to the point where I am struggling to remember their names even after only finishing the show two days ago (as of the writing of this post).

Conclusion

I genuinely wish I had anything else to say about the show, but to be honest nothing else about it, aside from its admittedly uncommon college setting, is even worth talking about. I will not deny that their are some endearing moments between Uzaki and Sakurai that almost make the show worth it, but unfortunately those moments feel too few and far between for me to recommend this show in good conscious. If you have exhausted literally all of your other Rom-Com options and are just looking for anything to satify that craving, than sure, check it out. Otherwise, yeah I would just steer clear of this one.

How do you all feel about Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out? Let me know in the comments below.

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Anime/Manga

Review- Tsuredure Children: Romantic Comedy Done Right

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Of the two most popular romantic comedies this season, Tsuredure Children and GAMERS!, I would have to say that I enjoyed the former much more than the latter. Tsuredure children, while absolutely having flaws, was able to rise above those flaws and create something very unique and fun.

The summer 2017 anime was a tale of multiple high school couples who were in their first relationships, and as such focused on the awkwardness that comes with the character’s first love. Each episode features anywhere from 2-4 of the couples in the shows large cast either struggling to start a relationship or trying to maintain one.

Much like the slice of life comedy, AHO-Girl, Tsuredure Children is all about the characters. They are the show’s heart and soul, and without each of their unique relationship situations, the show would not have the same level of charm it does. The show thrives off the relatable awkwardness of each of the characters problems with their relationships. Masafumi and Ryoko, for example, were two of the funniest characters because their relationship was so one-sidedly awkward for Ryoko. All of her life Ryoko has been used to being alone and had accepted that she would probably just fail high school, but then came Masafumi, the student council president. He had no reason to approach her, but he did because she was smoking on campus. When Masafumi started to harass her, he also decided that he liked her, and because of this fast-paced evolution of their relationship, and Masafumi’s continual joking with her, Ryoko feels totally awkward.

Takeru and Ayaka are another great example of the show’s reliance on awkwardness for its comedy. The two enter into a relationship with each other towards the beginning of the show, but after that, they still aren’t really sure what to do, because they have never known what a relationship is, so they struggle even trying to hold hands, and as it turns out Ayaka has a bit of jealous streak.

Aside from those examples, most of the show’s relationships are genuinely funny and endearing in a way that almost anyone can appreciate. True to life, the characters struggle with trying to understand their feelings and convey them to other people.

When it comes to animation, the show seems content with being at about average quality, and the art style for the show is varied and colorful, typical of slice of life Rom-Coms. This, in my eyes, takes away from the show, as having the quality of the animation be a bit better for the 12-minute episode length would have been nice.

Music in the show isn’t a big focus, and you can tell that not much effort was put into it. For the type of show, the music is average and not really worth listening to on its own. It does do its job of setting the mood for the scenes, so sufficient is the best word.

Overall, a fantastic show. Tsuredure Children is what happens when you take a more creative route with telling a story as opposed to doing the same thing over and over. It is absolutely worth your time.

Anime/Manga, Initial Results

First Impressions: Tsuredure Children: A Short Form Romantic Comedy Sensation 

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There have been a few other shorter shows this season, like Aho-Girl, that have taken the time they have been given and does something fun and interesting with it. For me, Tsuredure Children falls into that same category, with its multistory approach to Romantic Comedy being its main draw.

Tsuredure Children follows the stories of multiple high school couples and there beginnings. Each of these stories is about people who have hard times with relationships, and get nervous when put in a romantic situation. Each of the stories has about 4 minutes of the 12 minute episodes, telling 3 different stories per episode, either being a new story or a continuation of a story from before. It appears, though, that the stories have no connecting tissue other than the order in which they are told.

Just like Aho-Girl, the show uses the time it has well. It tries to display a funny, interesting, self- contained story about two idiots who are in love.

A lot of the stories in the show are very entertaining, like the love story between Akagi, the student council president, and Kaji, a deliquent who spends her time sleeping in class and smoking outside. The chemistry between the two is visible even though it’s only been given a total of 8 minutes within the show so far.

Chiaki and Yuki also come to mind as a couple that shows real chemistry. Chiaki clearly has feelings for Yuki, but is unable to convey those feelings back to Yuki, who has already admitted to liking him. It gets even harder for him when Chiaki’s sister becomes a first year and immediately becomes protective of her brother.

The show is not without its faults, however, as not all the relationships so far have been equally as funny or interesting. Takao and Chiyo, for example, are cute, but known of the joke about there situation really land the same way as the funnier couples do. Kaga and Nanase seem like they could be an endearing couple, but the show so far has not given there relationship enough time to develop.

Overall the show had been enjoyable, and with the length of the episodes being just 12 minutes, it’s nothing you have to force yourself to get through. It may not be something that sticks with you forever, but it’s at least s fun show to watch when you’ve got nothing else to watch.