Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Review — C+

Kodaka transfers to a new school, but quickly scares off his classmates from befriending him with his intimidating appearance. Together with Yozora, a girl he spies talking to her “air friend”, the two form a club to make friends.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (abbreviated Haganai) is a harem, but it’s pretty good as far as these things go. The main character has a personality, and the haremettes are all socially incompetent, which keeps things interesting.

I’ve read the manga, and I love it. But I have to say I’ve been disappointed by the anime adaptation. The main reason is the animation. It uses the same style as Denpa Onna, with the brightly colored lips and thin mouths. In my opinion, this makes the characters look kind of loose (I’m not sure I can rationalize why…) Coupled with the fact that the anime has ramped up the fanservice immensely, this makes the characters seem kind of slutty, especially Sena and Yozora. In the manga, this wasn’t the case at all: how can someone who’s socially incompetent be a slut? But here both Sena and Yozora have become rather unlikable. In fact, Yozora comes off as a complete jerk with no redeeming qualities. In the manga, she was rude and obnoxious as well, but you could tell that she actually wanted to make friends. In the anime version, all she seems to care about is Kodaka.

My favorite character is Rika, the mad scientist, and they portrayed her fairly well, although once again, the lips bothered me. This show has two lolis, and both annoyed me to no end. This wasn’t particular to the anime adaptation, however.

All in all, it was a decent show, but it lacked the special something that the manga had.

  • Plot / Script – C – Too much focus on fanservice and romance, not enough attention to making friends, which should be the heart of the story.
  • Characters – B – I was not entirely pleased with Sena and Yozora’s portrayal.
  • Production – C – Not a fan of the Denpa Onna face style.
  • Overall – C+

RecommendationsDenpa Onna, B Gata H Kei

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10 thoughts on “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Review — C+

  1. Great series right here filled with some of the most entertaining characters like Rika! I just love how wild and crazy she always got around Kodaka and unlocking the world of yuri with Yozora…damn she even went after Kobato for a bit there.

    I have to read the manga! I have the same reaction towards something like Yumekui Merry, Deadman Wonderland and something like Railgun? But yeah I usually have more fun with the manga.

    Tofu told me to check out the light novels for Haganai, I am reading the novels for Index so I might as well toss this series on there…

    SEASON TWO! MAKE IT HAPPEN! <3

    1. You read light novels? I tried to read one once (forget which) but couldn’t get into it at all. It was terrible writing (perhaps it was the translation?) and it was pretty much all dialogue. Are there any particularly good ones you’ve read?

      1. Well I am only reading Index..which seems to be fun so far I got to finally read some new content after chapter 14+ That is roughly around were season two of Index ended…I will have to try Haganai sometime and let you know.

        I got a bakareader app for my phone so I can read it when I have no access to a computer, course you can ask Crazydave on twitter he might be able to help you on novels.

  2. “UNIVERSE!!!!!” and “EXCALIBUR!!!!!” were the best moments in this.

    All in all, a slightly above-average show. Better than expected.

  3. Seriously? There wasn’t even much fan service. In fact, they put it rather nicely. Also the lips are… Slutty? Hmmm. You’ve been watching too much hentai. Anyways I do agree on some of the flaws you have pointed out, but it certainly deserves more than a mere “C”.

    1. Not much fanservice? It seemed like they were in swimsuits every other episode.

      it certainly deserves more than a mere “C”.

      That’s why I gave it a “C+”. 😛

  4. i have a brand new anime or manga featuring a fourteen year old orphan named Johannes he lives in a orphanage in delta universe city which is the largest city in the world of Elysium a alternate dimension different from the earth.

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