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Aug 5, 2026
Well this is definitely false advertising. Netflix lists it as a second season, in reality it’s just a very long OVA series. The entire 13 episodes are just little funny moments and things that never made it into the original series but that were in the manga. So only watch it if you liked the original 13 episodes. If you didn’t you will very likely not enjoy it at all. If you did, you’ll like it, I don’t need to add a probably.
I rated this slightly higher than the original show because as a special series it can’t be rated with the same system
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as an actual show. I can’t criticize a medium designed to have no plot for having no plot. I can however criticize the actual show for that which was what primarily diminished its rating. When there’s no expectation of a story, these characters interacting is honestly pretty enjoyable. Yeah, it can be pretty cliche and corny, but so were the original 13 episodes.
So it’s as I say, if you liked Horimiya you’ll like this, if you didn’t like it you’ll definitely not like this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 15, 2026
This is the second time I’ve watched Horimiya. The first time must have been when I was between 11-15, and so I was going to start the review with some joke about watching it at an age I wasn’t conscious yet, but, I realized something after finishing it. The reason that I didn’t remember anything about Horimiya wasn’t because I wasn’t paying attention or anything, it was just so uninteresting and bland that there was rather nothing to remember at all. Maybe that’s a little harsh, but I’m overall very unimpressed with what I’ve just watched.
The art is as standard as it gets. Surely
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hundreds of anime’s look almost identical. It’s not bad, and Horimiya might be just a tiny bit above the rest of those as a little sparkling is added to the style, and the way they do lighting and colours is soothing, but given the quality level of anime in this day and age I don’t think Horimiya deserves any praise for art or animation. Given the constraints of school uniforms and all, character design is pretty good. Characters are distinct in all the ways they should be given their personalities. There’s however one point in the show where a character is disparaging their looks, but because all the faces look virtually the same, from a viewers perspective it’s very weird. This is one of the constraints of anime art style, but the artists could have found a way to make her look more distinct. Speaking of the characters and their personalities, I must say that the voice acting was…sub-par? At many instances I found myself thinking “there’s no way real people talk like this.” Now keep in mind this was made during the coloured hair era, and awful, grating voices were a staple of the time, but still it made some characters unlikable just for their voices. That’s not even mentioning their corny speech and mannerisms.
This kind of thing extends to the story and writing as well. Miyamura, our main guy, is like if you transported the MC from a generic awful isekai into the romance genre. He’s just this perfect being that somehow everyone dislikes. “He’s an isolated loser but actually he’s really attractive and everyone loves him as soon as they get to know him.” And the flashbacks to him being bullied are awful! It’s so unnaturally shallow. What’s more frustrating is that some of the bullying scenes actually do succeed in generating a backstory and emotional connection to him, so we know the writers are capable of it, but instead most of them are this “ew, what a loser” trash. The story is generally frustrating. There isn’t a cohesive narrative and it’s so shallow. While supposedly being a romance about HORI and MIYA, even after spending 13 episodes together it feels like you barely know them, and they barely know each other. I won’t pretend like I didn’t enjoy the characters of the friend group interacting, but it felt like the first few episodes we fly through Hori and Miyamuras romance, and then the whole thing transforms into a day-by-day of the entire group. I also won’t pretend like the show can be cute and emotional, it’s just so much of the content is uninspiring.
I’d also like to add that Hori simply isn’t very likeable. The whole thing with her is that “oh she’s this popular girl but really she’s just a homebody.” Well, sure that can be cute. What isn’t cute is this whole “Hori is terrifying” thing about her very short and aggressive temper. Given Miyamuras shy personality it makes sense Hori is the boss, but it’s just taken to a bit of an extreme. It’s also a little weird how out of nowhere Hori suddenly loves being disrespected. It’s a little endearing, but it just appears from nowhere and then goes away just as quickly.
Now that’s a lot of negativity, but what about the good? Well you should know that my real rating is a 6.5, not a 6, but I went with the rounding down due to the criticisms above. Still, 6.5 isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not great. Well, I know I spend a lot of words earlier berating the characters but I think there are some very interesting portrayals of people in Horimiya. The young Miyamura following him around and their interactions add a level of complexity to his character. I liked the imagining of what his life could have been like had he not grown as a person and became friends with everyone, and the broader message as a highschool show about not wasting those years. There’s also something deeper about the effect of people on each other, Miyamuras very presence in the group led to so many opportunities and so much growth between the characters, which is a very interesting idea about the individual in a society. How each person has an effect on the others around them, we are not just individuals. That’s certainly not the most eloquent way to put it but honestly I don’t feel like getting into that in an anime review. Yes to summarize this, I enjoyed the feel good messaging of the story. Of course they had to go and ruin it when I thought they were being profound with some nonsense about “the universe” but what is really to be expected?
To conclude, Horimiya has a cute personality and a feel good message, but it’s certainly lacking in fundamental aspects such as writing and story, making it difficult to enjoy. I was quite surprised as yes I didn’t remember it after finishing it the first time, but I hear (or heard) some good things about it in the general anime community. I even heard it put up with some of the greats of this genre, like for example Toradora. So to be clear, In no situation are Toradora and Horimiya even in the same conversation. In the end it is anime history though, hence the “mixed feelings” instead of just “don’t recommend.” While you might be missing a shallow, badly written highschool romanticization, you’re also missing an important cultural installation. There is a second season, presumably set after highschool which is quite rare in anime. I do hope they mend the issues present in the first and make Horimiya truly deserving of the reputation it gets.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 20, 2026
The reason anime fans get a weird reputation is back again with another season.
Having talked a lot about the core aspects of the show and its visuals in season 1 I’ll be more brief. The famous character art is back in season 2 to all of our delight, and the generic background art is back to all of our…whatever nobody cares. It’s once again notable how the artists can make Marin look like so many different people, this is something that some shows have struggled with but these artists have long cleared that hurdle. This season we see the inclusion of many more characters, their
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designs and sense of uniqueness as compared to others are all fairly commendable.
With that out of the way the main topic for discussion in season 2 can be the more complex elements of the show. It is at its absolute best when it’s just the interactions between Gojo and Marin. When they’re alone together, making clothes, hanging out and advancing their relationship. Unfortunately this season has less of that than the first. I would say this is the primary reason I’ve rated it lower. Marin’s friends and acquaintances (largely) just like her are strange degenerates of various kinds, and I don’t really care at all for the interactions of her and her group of generally aggravating women. Exactly like almost everyone else in the show they have the exact opposite reaction to everything presented in the show as they should. Honestly watching the group and their antics (among other things in the show, to be totally fair) made me conceive the theory that this show is actually a critical satire of society to showcase the pitfalls of godlessness and the internet. With all that being said, the adventures of adult women who hang out with high schoolers (and a middle school student even) don’t ruin the show, and I’m being a bit dramatic (not about the critical satire though). To be absolutely fair though, this season was more reserved than the last with its visuals.
Something else that is somewhat aggravating and somewhat new in season 2 are the “cutaways.” Firstly, I came to watch this anime, why are you making me watch a second one within it? WitchWatch did this too, it was annoying then and it’s annoying now. Maybe writers find it a cool way to insert filler but I don’t, and I don’t think the viewers do either. Secondly and more relevant, I came to watch an anime, not a tutorial. Despite largely throwing out the whole Hina doll thing, there are instances where the show cuts to some chibi, immersion breaking tutorial on painting doll faces or making props (or hiding appendages…) or such things. Honestly I don’t think anyone remotely cares about the whole inner workings of cosplay thing. I mean I’m sure there is some demographic for that, but largely we’re just here for the romance and slice of life story, and so inserting this sort of thing is frustrating. Especially since they could just present the tutorial in an immersive way by just…showing the character doing it without a weird voiceover explanation.
I’m being real harsh but at the end of the day it wasn’t so bad. There’s still lots of Marin and Gojo together, and their story continues to advance. I might be totally wrong but I do think that nobody cares about the whole cosplay culture thing. Nothing we can do though, that is the whole concept of the show, still, hopefully we’ll see a season 3 with a little more of season 1 and less season 2.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 1, 2026
Shiboyugi is one of the more unique anime out there. Usually I don’t like this family or genre, but I tried it anyways, unsure of what it would be like. It certainly wasn’t what I expected it to be. It’s less of a show and more of an experience. Despite having mostly positive observations about it, there are hurdles that its vision puts up for the viewer. I saw somebody refer to it as an art project, and this I think is a good description, albeit with a slightly negative lens. It’s a mysterious and intriguing
Starting with the art project aspect: That was the
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first thing that hit me during the elongated episode 1. The art was amazing, the characters are very detailed, much more than your average character art. They have their own real drawing style. The environment around them was also of particular note, it was almost equally as detailed and portrayed the setting and mood very well. In terms of just art and animation it outclasses probably everything in this Winter season (and probably more too). The characters are sharp while the background is somewhat faded. I wasn’t ever unsatisfied with what I saw on screen which is impressive. Maybe I am too nice but I give the art here a 10. Ontop of that, there is this switch in art styles when the characters are closer or further away. When they’re close you see them in their full detail, but when they’re in a wider shot the style changes, they’re faceless and all the lines become soft. I really loved this effect and this sort of thing will always get high marks.
The sound is also noteworthy. The music of the background creating tension and fear, the sound effects of walking and other movements occurring, the voices and the effects on them, all very high quality. The sound really elevates the whole thing, even just the subtle sounds of people doing things in a scene that are usually missing in regular anime add to it.
So where do the “issues” start? Well for one there isn’t exactly an overarching story. Not a message being instilled, a driven and inspired plot, a real goal, real pacing and more. In this way it feels like an art project indeed, or more like classical music. There is a message in instrumental music, but you need to derive it from the emotions of the sound. Usually with media the characters express the meaning through words, but here despite there being spoken dialogue, there is not a message. It’s simply the experience of the characters. There are also long moments where nothing at all happens. It gives the impression of “artisticness, specialty” but takes away from the experience. There’s a proper way to do those kind of scenes and that wasn’t done here.
It can also be difficult to understand in multiple ways. There are shifts in time, complicated interactions between characters living and dead, close and apart, which are sometimes cryptic. Not nearly Evangelion level. The show itself is mysterious so this isn’t surprising. With all the numbers and cryptic names and so forth, I’m sure there are many hidden details for the diligent to discover. After the first episode I thought that this was supposed to be a psychological horror story. It gave off that impression, the frightening sounds, the screaming, the eeriness… But it isn’t much of a horror. It’s nonetheless disturbing, but it makes its position relative to other media difficult to place. The existence of the “preservation treatment” is what led me to believe it was going to be psychological horror instead of bodily horror. And I understand its inclusion, its unique and many plot points could not happen if the girls couldn’t sustain certain injuries and continue living, but personally it diminishes the violence and “depravity” that it’s trying to portray. It gives the impression that they are not people and you feel less emotions towards them.
I could probably talk for an hour or more about this show. It’s very unique, and there is just so much to discuss. It’s not just the basic story from a boring studio that we can become used to. This is passion and detail in creating an emotional experience. Despite its flaws of writing, which in all honesty do diminish it, I believe the experience is something viewers should have. Quantifying something this unique is difficult.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 21, 2026
I started my review of Ranma 1/2 with a warning and at least 1 exclamation point. In comparison, this makes Ranma 1/2 look like a children’s cartoon. When I say that I physically recoiled in shock at times I am not exaggerating. I didn’t know it was possible to be so..blatant and…out there? Honestly I don’t want to disgrace myself and go into real details, so this review will be pretty vague, but those who watch it will totally understand.
Dress up darling is one of the most popular slice of life anime’s of all time, and is certainly one of the most recognizable, entirely
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because of Marin. She herself is id say top 10 most recognizable characters in all of anime. At least in many of my circles. Still, I didn’t know what this show was about. I thought it just another typical romance with notably impressive art. Suffice it to say, I was seriously surprised. Marin is certainly a fascinating character for many reasons, her character art is definitely one of them. The rest of the characters are drawn with fairly high quality but she clearly got much more detail put into her. There’s a lot of detail in her face and hair, nice shading and a beautiful style of art. As for the art of everything else, it’s all pretty standard, but on the high end of standard. You get it. The clothes are the other exception because well they’re pretty important to the story.
Another interesting thing about Marin is that she’s basically a predator. Yeah, you could say the story of this anime is certainly unique. Our main character is Gojo, who’s is borderline socially deficient, meets Marin who partners with him for his skills at making clothes. The story is essentially a sequence of her messing with his autistic brain. Not a good description at all but I don’t particularly care for describing this. If the anime were entirely silent with no lines of dialogue I bet it would be just about as popular. I’ve got to say though, as eccentric as it was I enjoyed the plot. As much shock value as there is in this totally transgressive space they inherit, it can also be pretty wholesome. And I must say that the show is genuinely funny.
I have no idea whatsoever how a team of writers went to their executives and successfully pitched this show. Then went to the artists and described what they have to draw. Then went to the voice actors (who were notably good) and told them what they have to say, and have nobody slap them across the face. But it seems I’ve asked this question a few times in the past, so maybe these places have much different standards than I imagine. A random lady on the street overhears the two characters talking at one point and says something like “the future of our country is in their sick little hands” and after experiencing this show I concur with this NPC!
Now that doesn’t sound like the words of someone who rated it a 9 now does it? It’s with great guilt I present to you this 9, I’ll be honest. I did genuinely enjoy it, a lot. Marin herself defines the slice of life genre as “a story where nothing really happens. But that’s what makes it so great. It’s just a nice tranquil story with cherries on top.” And my dress up darling is a really great slice of life. Marin and Gojo and one of (again that word) recognizable couples out there and I really want to see their relationship continue. It was super funny and definitely addicting. Definitely not for everyone though. Those who hold themselves to higher standards of conduct than me should just avoid it (see earlier remarks), and those who make the critique that it’s just shallow “bait” do have a bit a totally valid point. It’s really an absurd amount, like I don’t know they even came up with the ways to insert it in, like the hotel arc. Still, I think behind that very large elephant in the room there are some redeeming qualities. A lot of them actually. Marin and Gojo are one of the internets most beloved couples and I want to see their future, so yes despite everything, I WILL be watching season 2. They got me. Be warned because they might get you too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 7, 2026
The third season of Spy x Family is just as goofy as the other two. Now, after watching the second season you might not believe it, but something actually happens in this one ! Yes, it’s actually kind of rewarding to finish this season.
Maybe it’s just me but for the first few episodes something felt different about the art. Either way I can’t quantify it so it’s not worth anything, and I’ve already described the art in more detail in the other two reviews so I won’t here, it’s really just your run of the mill stuff. I appreciate the colour palette though I find
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it charming. The music is a similar story, decent but not memorable.
I don’t read manga but I imagine reading Spy x Family must be a nightmare because there’s so many digressions and so much filler (as experienced in season 2) however you’ll be pleased to know there is more or less advancement in the story this season. Yes it might be at a One Piece pace but is still advancement! It was a slow start again with this season, and there absolutely still is filler, but we do get to some action. I found the interesting parts to be quite that, interesting, though I do have a complaint. It would be so much more interesting if they did not water down intense situations. A display of courage can only be felt by someone if it takes actual courage to display. There was no reason to eliminate the actual danger in certain places throughout the action, it really takes away from the experience. I unfortunately can’t be more specific without getting into spoilers. Finally in much the same vein, I think they should portray the State Security Service as a more intimidating opponent. This is supposed to be the KGB, a frightening opponent indeed, and the whole idea of a spy is that they have to be extremely resourceful because they can’t survive a confrontation in a hostile nation given the balance of power. There are some scenes where the SSS are menacing, I just wish it would be across the board and not just when plot armour isn’t involved.
Throughout the season they return with their awful anti-war message again. There are tasteful and impactful ways of portraying an anti-war message, and then there’s this way. It’s not anything unique to Spy x Family, it’s the regular cowards anti-war message. Honestly it’s tiring, but you can’t expect real commentary from an anime such as this, you’ll just have to push through it.
Off topic but I never commented before about it but the historical setting is a little odd when you think about it. It’s supposed to be set in the Cold War, the buildings, clothes, technology and cars are proof of this, but there’s perfectly modern shopping centres and limousines. Also, the city they’re in is called Berlint, but it’s clearly a Russian town. Russian vehicles, architecture and uniforms (the altyn helmet featured in this season), and their enemy as seen in Loids backstory is clearly the German army. This has no effect on the plot or rating I just found it interesting.
Now that we’ve seen the bad (season 2, I’m realizing now I severely overrated it) and the okay (season 3) I think the future is a bit uncertain. Spy x Family is a very charming anime but it’s asking a lot of its viewers. I recently recommended to my friend who was uncertain about starting it to watch the first season and if it’s too much (too much filler, too many antics) then drop it, you’re not missing anything. I think some serious pacing and story changes need to occur if the next season wants to retain viewers and interest. This was a step in the right direction, but there’s no grantee they’re going to continue moving in that direction. Let’s be optimistic and hope for a bright future for this charming anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 24, 2026
It’s not my strongest recommendation for sure, and for those who don’t enjoy a slower pace where the story isn’t driven by action it certainly isn’t for you. But if it does somewhat interest you I think it’s worth it to give it a watch, despite its flaws because there isn’t really another in the segment. It’s not life changing in any regard, but as an experience I think you would be better off having watched it than not, though it’s marginal.
Despite being an anime about art, its actual art style is basic. That’s it, there’s no other descriptive word to use. However that
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doesn’t mean bad, just familiar. In the animation department it’s the same story. Characters in general are more interesting in their appearances than other shows who use this style though. Something I particularly liked was the face compositions. They’re not the basic anime ones, there’s more differences and in their features which makes them all more interesting. For me it raises the quality. There’s more thought put into the actual anime part than meets the eye. The actual works of art themselves are drawn well. It is impressive how they recreate oil painting looks with the tools the animators have.
The story gets started quickly, despite that there’s still (roughly) enough for 12 episodes. The story is paced for the experience (and not the viewing one), so as I said those into action won’t enjoy it, flat out. It’s a true slice of life. The writing is possessed with a certain depthless secular spirit in the lessons it tries to teach, which is disappointing but what can you do? It’s an anime about art club I suppose it’s to be expected. There is also a bit of “false advertising” surrounding Ryuji. Looking at the posters and art you might think he would play a much bigger role as he’s always beside Yaguchi. I suppose it’s actually better he isn’t though. On the topic of Ryuji, I found that the portrayal of his character was actually impressively accurate, though in the end the writers come to the “conclusion” despite that. I’m going into too much detail, those who’ve thought more about the issue know what I’m saying though.
The ending was incredibly predictable. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but I would assert there would be more artistic value if the other outcome had occurred. Either way the point of the show isn’t to get to the ending, it’s everything between there and the beginning.
It’s not the most interesting or profound anime there is. But it’s 12 episodes of a unique premise with almost none of it being definitively unenjoyable. Little shows like this often come at you from a new angle and ultimately leave you thinking about them for a while afterwords and that’s the case here too. It’s not a commitment, I think for the majority of people it would be a positive takeaway, if for no other reason than exposing yourself to something new.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 4, 2026
Artistically this season is identical to the past (though there was some framey animation here and there), though in terms of plot it the quality is definitely diminished compared to the first season. Yet somehow, this one is more enjoyable?
Yes, simultaneously the writing and story are worse than the first season, but more entertaining. Character interactions are more fun, especially with Kizuna. The darkness of the first season is nearly all gone so interactions between the heroes party and others are more characteristically isekai. For good and bad. All that to say there’s more humour in this season and friendly interactions. Also on the topic
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of characters, Kyo really ups the quality of this season. Maybe some people don’t like him and find him agitating, but I think he’s great. The voice actor did a great job.
So what’s up with the story? Well the biggest thing is that it feels out of order chronologically. If the spirit tortoise has the power to end the waves, why is there no emphasis put on that choice? They just go in and kill it with no consideration. Why? I don’t know. But it could have something to do with the fact they’ve gone through maybe 2 or 3 waves at this point. The whole spirit tortoise arc should have been positioned much later, when there’s real pressure applied by the waves and the choice is much tougher. Maybe this would’ve been difficult because of the interactions in the other world, I get it, but I think a bridge could have been made. At least it would have been better than what we got.
Speaking of the other world, if the whole premise is that Naofumi and his party start from 0 again in a whole new world, why does he have all his old abilities back in a few episodes? They start a gimmick then just throw it aside but make his shield rectangular. Annoying.
The third issue with the writing is the character development. Rishia, who is known for being weak, gets mildly inspired and now can go head on with one of the deadliest villains to date? Strength is supposed to come with long training and sacrifice, it’s supposed to come from real development. They could have done that with her, but no, she becomes immensely powerful literally instantly. The same thing happens with Raphtalia, but even worse. Once she becomes the Katanna vessel weapon wielder she instantly unlocks all its abilities and the knowledge of how to fight with it is just transferred into her mind I guess? No training or development there, but then Raphtalia goes from a sweet kid (though she’s technically got an adults mind) to a battle hardened hero. On top of the fact that that personality doesn’t fit her, it just happens instantly.
So yeah, only complaints on the story side, and in the end the whole season had an air of just being filler to stall for main story advancement, it was surprisingly enjoyable.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 25, 2026
Let’s be real Rising of the Shield Hero was never destined for greatness, but that doesn’t make watching it a waste. For a 25 episode season my notes are very short, it didn’t give me much to write about, for good and for bad.
In terms of art, both character and environmental it’s totally devoid of any originality or personality. Totally average to an absolute tee. The artists do a good job with character design, though in a fantasy setting that’s not a difficult one. Either way characters don’t usually look boring or ugly so I can’t complain. Environmentally there’s nothing of note, if you’ve
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watched one anime of the same genre you’ve watched them all, more or less, from the nature art point of view. Most effort is obviously dedicated to battle scenes, and it’s certainly no Demon Slayer in this regard but it is a step up above peacetime animation. Fights feel intense and if you’ll be wowed (even just a little) it will be during a battle. I was impressed with the creativity of Naofumi’s different attacks and shields, you’d think there’s only so much a shield can do, but they don’t hold back.
The opening and closing music of the series I must say is kind of bland. I can’t say it’s necessarily bad though. The soundtrack during the series is a bit odd, I can’t say I’ve ever heard saxophone during a battle scene before in all honesty.
The beginning was incredibly stressful. Not because it was bad, rather the writers actually did quite well here. You do get very angry and the treatment of Naofumi as you should. The rest of the story is also surprisingly good. I started watching it hoping for something to be negative about, but I ended up pretty invested in what was going on. As always good shows have something unique about them story wise, and in this case it has to do with the characters. Usually in this type of series party members are acquired friends or are there from the beginning. I haven’t seen another series add party members through the nursing of a slave, and literally homegrowing one. And it fits with the story too. The characters are a strong point in Rising of the Shield Hero. The storyline is more complex than the regular fantasy quests, but still casual and easy to understand, and yet still engaging.
However, the story did have some frustrating aspects. Simply put, Naofumi certainly doesn’t pick the “dialogue options” that I would have. That’s just my personal experience, but having a main character you can’t exactly resonate with because of his decisions or point of view doesn’t really add to the experience. They do a decent job of at least making it understandable where Naofumi is coming from, but there are certain instances where you just wish he would’ve fought back, or said something different, and things of the like.
There’s also some plot “holes” surrounding the fantasy aspect of the setting. You would think, if you can think at all, that it my be a little unrealistic to have the city vendors make the cardinal heroes pay for equipment, given the fact that if they fail to defeat the waves, the entire world is doomed. If that occurs there’s very little use to the currency they so desire…But no, infact Naofumi’s lack of funds is actually a driver of the plot. There’s also the “video game” aspects of the fighting. I think it was actually done rather tastefully, and it’s kind of par for the course to have things like levels, and XP, and other video game elements in a fantasy story, but I think at the same time it detracts from the environment. The threat of the waves is lessened if you imagine it as a part of a game. The relationships Naofumi forms in this world also become shallow if they’re viewed from the lens of the main character is just playing a game. I would’ve liked to see all those “video gamey” things integrated in some way to the world. Still, it doesn’t ruin anything, I’ve just got to write about something at least.
It’s definitely a commitment to watch the show. If you’re unsure I’d recommend maybe watching the 45 minute first episode, and if you wonder what happens after to continue with the show. If you don’t like it, I don’t blame you, it won’t be for everyone. What it will be though is a brainless consumable that you can enjoy, and that offers something interesting to you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 25, 2026
Fragrant Flower is so quintessentially anime. It’s got everything. The music, the environment, the story, the characters, and it does it so well. Not really one unique thing about it, but despite that it’s exalted in the community. That’s the result of doing all those things well.
What’s hallmark number 1 of a good anime? Praiseworthy art and animation. No question Fragrant Flower has that. Astonishing landscape art was mastered by artists in like 2001, so I can’t say that the beautiful clouds and beaches and all that are unique at all, but landscape and environmental art adds so much to a show. I’m very
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happy these skills were mastered and spread to many more pieces. Great character art isn’t as guaranteed though, so it’s a very welcome treat here. It’s a little stylized but very high quality, and their success at making characters visually gorgeous is notable. There were many scenes where the masterful character art just stood out so much and wowed me.
What’s another hallmark of the romance anime? A slow burning and wholesome love story where the characters very rarely speak their real thoughts out loud, because they get so flustered they’re incapable of doing it…Yup, we’ve got that too. Though on that topic of expressing thoughts, interactions between characters are not always the smoothest. Dialogue between characters fighting was notably pretty bad, but even in those important scenes for the story it feels like the characters speak constantly as if they’re confessing. They stumble over themselves, it’s hard for them to get the words out, it’s like they’ve got a cold and speaking hurts their throat. When they do spit out a word, well it’s more than likely that word would be “sorry.” Rintaro, Kaoroku and the others are almost pathological apologizers. In the West we have the victimhood olympics, but if your only metric was this show you would think in the East they have the apologizing olympics. It was honestly kind of astonishing how many times the words “I apologize” and “sorry” were uttered. I’m not sure it was intentional, it may unironically be a cultural thing.
The dialogue quirks of the characters didn’t ruin the show though, really they just reinforced how stereotypically anime Fragrant Flower is. Rintaro (and the others too) has a hard time expressing his thoughts, but if anything it makes his character more sympathetic.
The show is only 13 episodes long, and it starts off quick. You’d think they might run out of story, but it flew by and never felt dry or lacking. The 12-13 episode romance has really been perfected at this point. It’s feel-good the whole time, and I found myself smiling quite frequently. The story essentially follows the formation of a couple and their group of friends out of people who once avoided each other, about the expression of feelings and the teenaged experience. The representation of how another person can better you and bring happiness into your life, and how you can do the same to others. I believe those that are really critical of the show must just hate happiness. You can’t look at every story with the same lens. Maybe for a different genre Fragrant Flowers dialogue would be a mark against it, but not in this case. You kind of have to embrace the trope. If slice of life isn’t for you, Fragrant Flower certainly won’t be.
Fragrant Flower is a beautiful show about being young. You always feel good watching it, I promise it will make you smile. On top of being a sweet romance you also get a reminder of how precious youth is. And on top of that it’s a strikingly beautiful piece of art. The constant apologizing won’t get on your nerves, it will just be another thing to smile about. Even the flaws of this show make it better.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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