×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
EP. REVIEW: Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki


Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
FlamingFirewire



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 461
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 8:06 pm Reply with quote
Yeah - I'm pretty convinced from these first 2 episodes (esp the second) that the author just played too much "Tokimeki Memorial" and took that as inspiration for this story. The way they refer to conversation "bombs" in this show immediately made me think of that Razz
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
boldulysses



Joined: 21 Apr 2020
Posts: 87
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:07 pm Reply with quote
I'm actually really enjoying this one.

Does it play like a thinly-disguised instructional video on how to relate socially for all the otaku watching? Yep.

And yet there's a certain charm to it. The character designs are appealing, IMO, and the pacing remains brisk.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
tomdean



Joined: 22 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
PostPosted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:21 am Reply with quote
loved the original source - I hate how most MCs simply wallow in their uselessness, this is actually doing something with himself. Hope the anime matches the high standard
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jaldaen



Joined: 15 Dec 2018
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:08 am Reply with quote
I think the reviewer hits on a key point... the first volume of the light novel this anime is based on is essentially a well-written, fictionalized self-help book. Honestly, I was impressed with how insightful the book was into a lot of areas of self-improvement and socialization.

As the story goes on, the self-help morphs into self-realization and that is when things get really interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing how people, including the reviewer, react to the later developments.

I think, and hope, they will be pleasantly surprised, but maybe I was just in the mood for a self-help, self-realization story and this fit my mood perfectly at the time.

Best Wishes,
jaldaen
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tanteikingdomkey



Joined: 03 Sep 2008
Posts: 2345
PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 8:28 pm Reply with quote
I really do appreciate Tomozaki actually developing a spine and saying I think this is not right to the girls, I am interacting with.

I am actually rather happy that he actually only got the relationships from his own choices, rather then anything she told him to do.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
MiiyoSon



Joined: 24 May 2018
Posts: 69
PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 9:55 pm Reply with quote
I'm actually shocked at how much I'm enjoying this right now. Like I am really digging this show so far.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Fakerman



Joined: 05 Feb 2020
Posts: 42
Location: Mac Anu
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 10:58 pm Reply with quote
Yo not bad at all.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2457
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 8:54 am Reply with quote
Not to diss on volume 1's content that much, but I'm glad we're past it because now Best Boy gets to be a part of the story
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
camseyeview140



Joined: 26 Jan 2021
Posts: 206
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:44 am Reply with quote
This show is honestly getting better. At first I was kind of down for a self-help anime but was dreading how the harem aspect was going to be implemented, but Tomozaki is getting better.

I'm kind of glad it seems as the different girls Tomozaki interacts with will have their own agency with interacting with him.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2457
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 3:39 pm Reply with quote
^ Oh yeah, absolutely. One of the first impressions I got with the book was "ugh, a harem" because the color illustrations are all of the girls, and the OP here gives me that same feeling. I'm glad it doesn't seem like it's heading that way at all
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:34 pm Reply with quote
Soon the anime will get past what's translated of the manga, so I'm looking forward to seeing how things go.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Amuro1X



Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 173
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 8:10 pm Reply with quote
killjoy_the wrote:
^ Oh yeah, absolutely. One of the first impressions I got with the book was "ugh, a harem" because the color illustrations are all of the girls, and the OP here gives me that same feeling. I'm glad it doesn't seem like it's heading that way at all


It's most definitely not a harem show. The girls get a lot of focus in the color illustrations cause that's what sells but the author does a great job of developing them as characters and the guys get plenty of attention, too. Without spoiling, Romantic relationships form that don't involve Tomozaki at all.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
lemurs



Joined: 01 Aug 2012
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:14 pm Reply with quote
I found it interesting that Tomozaki expressed the slightest tinge of jealousy at the notion Hinami might be dating someone, despite saying she was way out of his league a couple of episodes earlier. But at the same time, I don't think she's spending so much of her free time coaching him solely because they're gaming buddies. So it'll be interesting to see how that all plays out going forward.

That said, it's been an enjoyable show with strong self-help vibes that's been fun to watch on a week-to-week basis.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
LightningComet



Joined: 10 Jan 2021
Posts: 48
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 1:21 am Reply with quote
A scene from episode 4 which really stuck with me: Tomozaki actually apologizes to Kikuchi for his dishonesty toward her in the library scene. I like that the show is taking the time to emphasize the need to maintain honesty with others even when reinventing oneself.

That isn't to say my conviction in the show's overall juvenility is rocked, but this was a nice hint at a character's maturity, even if it isn't symbolic of growth/development (as he was never seen as being dishonest before). I'm thinking I'll stick with this show, but it already only has one strike left; the first half of episode 2 earned a demerit in my book.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Melicans



Joined: 01 Feb 2012
Posts: 620
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 4:55 pm Reply with quote
I've loved all the books and I'm loving this adaptation too. Pretty much my only little critique is that they keep abbreviating the game as "TackFam" instead of what we actually hear them saying, Atafami (which is how the English translation calls it too). It's just one of those annoying things were the localization isn't consistent across different media.

One thing I really like is that despite the number of pretty girls (and the long term goal being to date one), none of the relationships with Tomozaki have really shown any inclination towards romance. At least until book 5, it is pretty much all platonic with the one exception being spoiler[Kikuchi, who he does seem to be getting genuinely interested in. I love how he describes her as a Goddess, and I only fear that his interest is because Hinami is subliminally directing him towards her as part of the plan. Mimimi ]seems to have some minor interest in him too, but it really does basically come down to girls and boys being able to just be friends.

I only wish this series had come out when I was still in high school. It would have been so useful for me back then.

I very much doubt the series will get to the conclusion of book 5, which I'd really like to see animated. spoiler[Hinami's takedown of Erika is just brutal], but I guess a season 2 would be needed to get that far.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Page 1 of 3

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group