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「一回の戦闘でレベルが連続で上がるとめっちゃ気持ちいい」 (Ikkai no Sentou de Reberu ga Renzoku de Agaru to Metcha Kimochi ii)
“It Feels Awesome to Gain a Bunch of Levels After a Battle”
Two episodes in and I must admit: I’m pleasantly surprised how Jaku-Chara is turning out. Sure, it won’t be for everyone given the style of dialogue and somewhat rigid nature of characters and development both, but an introspective rom(com) which sacrifices cynicism for a little positivity? I think we might be onto something here.
With Fumiya having been given his objectives last week, no real shocker this one was devoted to fulfilling the first part of them—except maybe for how smoothly the process went. Make no mistake, the cringe (both the embarrassing and hilarious varieties) you anticipate from individuals like Fumiya was firmly on display throughout, however it rarely extended beyond a few seconds whenever it cropped up. Whether down to Aoi’s tactical involvement or the sheer (and fun) chaos of rambunctious new girl Minami (Hasegawa Ikumi), Fumiya got through things pretty damn well, and with the sense of tangible development to boot. There is surprising amount of honesty and optimism in the approach of training Fumiya in the ways of socializing so far, and I hope it continues.
Where matters may become debatable though is in terms of execution. While Jaku-Chara arguably has the atmosphere down pat, its clinical approach to both playing conversations and dissecting them does come across as dry and somewhat uncanny (I guarantee that joke scene played out better in the author’s mind). It’s a similar issue some had with the likes of Oregairu, where in the desire to play to its premise, the show don’t tell axiom is effectively sidelined in the rush to get things started. Does Aoi need to really break things down so much? Does Fumiya need to be walked through every little step with accompanying explanations? Or can the guy be provided a little more freedom? Organic moments Fumiya had with Minami and Fuuka (Kayano Ai) show he can think while still getting the message across, something which would be nice to see more of as things progress. The real tell will naturally be once we hit girlfriend territory—i.e. drama time—and/or get Aoi’s full story, but how long it takes to get there is up in the air.
Well, at least for the moment; given how quickly the prospective pairings for Fumiya are popping out the woodwork, I don’t think we’ll have that long to wait.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「あやふわアスタリスク」 (Ayafuwa Asterisk) by DIALOGUE+
” Does Fumiya need to be walked through every little step with accompanying explanations? Or can the guy be provided a little more freedom? Organic moments Fumiya had with Minami and Fuuka (Kayano Ai) show he can think while still getting the message across, something which would be nice to see more of as things progress.”
I think these things were for the viewer’s benefit. Many people who might be watching this anime struggle with social situations and anxiety themselves, and I get the feeling this is meant to teach them something.
Yeah, I think this aspect of the show is meant to be educational. I am clueless in social situations too, and I’ve learned new things watching both episodes.
Indeed it’s probably meant as educational, but that doesn’t mean it also has to be stilted or dry. Many similar stories aim to be cathartic or introspective, however it’s incredibly easy to get lost in the weeds of minor details or deconstructions and lose the interest and fun such series are published for in the first place. Jaku-Chara hasn’t really leaned one way or the other yet (still early days), but I do worry it may later forget to supply the sugar needed to help the medicine go down.
If there is one trait that is common in anime, it is the need to pedantically bludgeon the viewer with the obvious. This drive becomes more powerful when there is a written source as readers require appeasement (and calibration). The just completed Mahouka season was an exemplar of this tendency.
For what it’s worth, while that is an issue, it may recede after a while because our hero is especially lifeless and does benefit from handholding at this point. Hopefully, he’ll grow out of it for our sake. So while this could become an issue, I’m more concerned at how dismal and grey the dialogue is.
Since we’re comparing it to Yahari Ore, pretty much the entirety of the dialogue we’ve heard so far is the kind that was mocked in that show. I’m worried that they may fall into the trap of confusing the viewer with the characters (NB this is also the case with the issue above). They’re still setting things up so I’ll give them some time to sort it out but it’s tepid and tedious and this sort of dialogue is best kept off-screen.
As an aside, the OP seems like it was taken straight from Haganai 2. Don’t see the composer’s name anywhere in the credits however.
I’m disappointed.
Just watched ep. 1-2 and this feels more like a manual for nerds how to “get a life”, including lessons at the end of each episode. Not what I had hoped for.
Considering that Kanemoto Hisako is voicing the main Minami, my first thought was obviously Gamers! which while less instructional and “realistic” was a pretty funny and cute show that I’d like to see more of, while the gaming part isn’t important here and has a boring (realistic) male lead.
Anyways, from what Pancakes alluded in the comments sections of the previous episode, his (first) girlfriend probably won’t be Minami. My guess is either Fuuka or someone else who has yet to show up. I’ll probably still watch the next episode (3 episode rule)….
Yeah my bets are also on Fuuka or even Hinami (the little brunette girl), they simply look like much better fits for Fumiya than Minami.
While I get what you’re saying, Minami finding Tomozaki hilarious might be a sign of attraction as girls who like you are more likely to laugh at what you say. She also noticed that he was early, which shows that he wasn’t so much of an afterthought to her that she had never paid attention to how early or late he showed up to class. I could see any of the girls he has met so far aside from Aoi herself becoming his first girlfriend. Even though Minami is very different from Tomozaki, I don’t rule out them being together.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Aoi picked up on this and makes him spend more time with Minami.
This is surprisingly enjoyable. Turning conversation into an RPG like game ended up quite fun. Tomozaki’s path was predictably rocky. Actually raised an eyebrow in one of his mistakes, it was actually good seeing Aoi point all of them out. I actually view her method akin to guiding someone through Diablo hardcore mode (or any other permanent death video game). Also think she’s giving him just enough leeway to enjoy the game.
Too bad they didn’t kiss. I’d view this as realistic if they actually did. XD
That seemingly minor, unimportant improvement was also one of the things that made Jaku-chara Tomozaki-kun’s story.