Finding out if I'm Impervious to the Charms of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms at its Anime Frontier Premiere

We've all known a Mona Kawai at one point in our lives—someone who's so effortlessly cute, charming, and charismatic, and loved by all. Mona's aware of it, too—that she's been a queen bee her whole life—and she basks in it. So when a classmate named Medaka Kuroiwa doesn't seem as obsessed with her as her classmates, it irks her. From trying to find out what he likes, to “accidentally” ripping open her shirt, Mona tries everything she can to get Medaka to fall in love with her.

Mona doesn't know, and we, the audience, don't learn until the end of the episode—that Medaka plans to become a monk, and romance is forbidden for him. And he was raised in a temple, full of old people and goats; social skills with girls his age, suffice to say, aren't his forte. He's not exactly impervious to Mona's charms—he seems pretty thoroughly charmed by her—he's just actively resisting her. But Mona, again, doesn't know this—and in the process of trying to get Medaka to fall for her, she seems to be falling for him.

I ended up loving Mona a lot more than I expected to. Rarely are characters like hers—characters that, in-universe, everyone just sort of loves for no particular reason—interesting, let alone endearing. But Mona is hilarious. Throughout the episode, we see her get increasingly unhinged, desperate to do anything for Medaka's attention, and it's fun to watch what canned anime/fan service-y trope she decides to attempt (with mixed results) next. All this, and she seems pretty full of herself—she sings about how pretty she is at one point—and I'm the type of person who loves such character. If anything, I hope that as the series progresses, we get to see her go full Regina George. I don't necessarily think that will happen—she seems arrogant and has a bit of a scheming streak, but that's about it. I think this speaks to this premiere's greatest strength: it's more over the top than it looks at first glance, and if this series continues to build on that as it progresses, we could be in for something really funny.