A strong and slightly dumb boy gets a girlfriend.

I tend to hate these shoujo romance shows. But this one was pretty good. Although it had the main happy couple, who were absolutely obnoxious together (like all happy couples) it had a number of love affairs that didn’t work out which were by far the best parts of the show. Namely, Sunakawa’s sister and Sunakawa’s stalker. Come to think of it, Sunakawa’s friendship with Takeo was great too. So basically, the best thing about this show was Sunakawa.

Sometimes the show was pretty stupid (like at the end, when Takeo was worried his girlfriend would dump him because she found somebody who was better at baking cakes) but I felt these dumb moments were just a realistic portrayal of high school students.

Ore Monogatari kind of reminds me of Itazura na Kiss, in that the main characters hook up immediately. But Ore Monogatari didn’t feel so rehearsed and wasn’t exactly what one would imagine a Japanese teenager’s ideal romance would look like (although it was still extremely idealized). But they have struggles, not all of their friends approve, and they have doubts. So much stronger than the usual shoujo romance fare.

Now when will Watashi ni xx Shinasai get adapted…?

• Storytelling – B – Always keeps things interesting, not just a honeymoon.
• Voice – C – Takeo is a pretty unique character for these kinds of things, I suppose…
• Characters – B – Yamada and Takeo were kind of obnoxious. But the supporting cast was good.
• Attention Grab – C – Definitely some episodes (particularly the Yamada / Takeo focused ones) which lost my interest.
• Production – B – Looks fine.
• Overall – B-

Recommendations – Itazura na Kiss, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun