Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: Monochro City「モノクロシティ」by Ace Collection
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「悪い人では」 (Kare wa kanzen ni warui wakede wa arimasen.)
“He’s not Entirely Bad”
The kimochi certainly is warui for Koi to Yobu ni wa Kimochi Warui? and its brand of romantic comedy. While the anime tries to hide the creepier undertones of Ryo’s stalker behavior around Ichika under the veneer of its bubbly rom-com aesthetic, it’s hard to scrub off the stink that comes from Ichika constantly trying to avoid and slip away from an older man who keeps attempting to come onto her until she’s worn down.
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that the series revels in the unsettling imagery of an adult man constantly pursuing a high school girl. As the episode progresses further and further, Ryo accumulates as much information as he can on her, even if it means probing his sister Rio about the personal, intimate details that she’s shared with her friend. Because he knows full-well that Ichika doesn’t like it, it makes him even more excited to push her buttons and get reprimanded by him. It’s the same thought process that’s linked towards why flashers get off on exposing themselves; the more disgusted you look, the more arousal they get.
Unfortunately, Ichika ends up getting trapped in this relationship she never wanted (and still doesn’t want) in the first place. She spends most of the episode disgusted with how creepy this grown adult is for his gross infatuation with her. Ichika is also surprisingly still friends with Rio, who pretty much pimped her out to her brother and gave him enough of Ichika’s personal information that he could easily reenact scenes from the movie Fear if he wasn’t a womanizing loner that would probably just sulk and continue making booty-calls if Ichika moved to a new city and changed her identity.
Ichika’s natural response to Ryo’s grossness is the only positive thing about this first episode as it diffused some of the grooming vibes that this all gives off. But while Ichika isn’t falling for any of the creepy air that Ryo gives off, the series looks like it’s heading into the trajectory of having her slowly grow fonder of him. Her gravest mistake in defending him in front of one of Ryo’s friends-with-benefits might lend to the idea that we’re supposed to see Ichika eventually start to develop feelings for him. I don’t see much of a reason to want to see this series through any further, but if the chemistry between a disgusted high school girl and a smitten adult is what tickles your fancy, then Koi to Yobu ni wa Kimochi Warui? might just be your cup of tea.
ED Sequence
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ED: Rinaria 「 リナリア」 by Maruri to Ryuuga
Would’ve been better without the dilapidated Engrish speech. I like the manga, so will follow for now.
This season’s squick or squee, I guess. Sounds like it’s too eccentric for Choya but it actually made me laugh out loud, which is more than a lot of recent rom”com”s have managed to do so I’ll give it a few more episodes.
Show’s mostly harmless and plays towards the Japanese tendency to take a situation and crank everyone’s reactions to it to 11.. Mostly going to watch to see how much actual meat they hang off the bones of the male character whose only reason for being interested in this girl is that he’s “so perfect” every other woman on the planet falls for him immediately but she doesn’t.
I get more of an impression that he fell for her because she seems to be an honestly good and simple person: she saved him because she could, she eats simple food and gives it to strangers in need, and she has standards. He seems to have a very bad opinion about women (or people in general), and I wonder if there is some history behind it that will be revealed in a later ep. Whatever the case, it’s clear that he is a very petty person, leaving a life he does not seem to enjoy.
There are other scenes that point more in my direction, like his sister saying he’s never asked a girl out (implying they ask him), and the two co-workers/aides being all googly eyed despite the fact that he’s largely indifferent to them in that conversation.
He also seems like someone who doesn’t really understand how to form a relationship because he’s just kinda gone with the flow on all of them. As “womanizer’s” go, he definitely doesn’t come across as the “suave seductor” type. Judging from how he acted around Ichika when he first ran into her at home, his lines are way too direct – like he’s used to the other person being willing to just roll over for him. Hence why he gets bored quickly once the actual work of being in a relationship rears its head., as shown in the opener I think it was
I can also see why his sister is letting this run.: she thinks it’s an opportunity to improve/fix him. I”m more curious what – if anything – she thinks Ichika gets out of the exchange and/or needs this for.