Fumiya Tomozaki is Japan's best player in the online game Attack Families, commonly known as "Tackfam." Despite holding such a revered title, a lack of social skills and amiability causes him to fall short in his everyday high school life. Failing to have any friends, he blames the convoluted mechanics and unfair rules of life, forcing him to give up and proclaim himself a bottom-tier character in this "game."
After a fateful meeting with another top-tier Tackfam player, Fumiya is shocked to discover the player's true identity—Aoi Hinami, a popular, smart, and sociable classmate who is the complete opposite of himself. Aoi, surprised at how inept Fumiya is at everything besides Tackfam, decides to assist him in succeeding in what she calls the greatest game of them all. Through the gruesome ordeals of social interactions and relationships, Fumiya begins to advance tiers in the glorious game of life.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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dotta
I want to iterate this before all else being it’s important: This is not nearly as gimmicky as the synopsis puts it. Not only is it arguably one of the most fascinating and culturally relevant anime that has aired in the last decade or so, but it’s a show that contains genuine character exploration and growth. I can’t blame you for thinking that sounds impossible based on the surface level display this show gives off. Though it’s simplistic and very much adapted from a light novel, it’s fully aware of both its audience and the landscape of anime similar to it. It demonstrably stresses theimportance of self-improvement, but primarily it's biting against irrational subconscious anti-social mindsets that cause people anguish.
Fittingly to this narrative, Jaku-chara Tomozaki-kun opens with a scene that can easily be interpreted as generic and a meaningless interpretation of a gamer, but in actuality is one half of communicating the entire message of the show. Tomozaki is ranked 1 in TackFam, the universe’s depiction of a popular fighting game. Up against Nakumura, a regular classmate of his and someone far beneath his skill level, he easily destroys him. But Nakumura is arrogant, he blames the game, the characters. He resorts to blaming the matchups. Tomozaki proves it's a matter of skill, talent, and effort. He beats him even with the worst of matchups. A low level Marth player would still get destroyed by a top level Fox on FD, to put it into Smash Bros. terms, the game TackFam is based on. Tomozaki takes pride in his devotion to the game, and won’t accept baseless slander from someone who hasn’t put in the work he has. When we contrast this to the other half of the basis of the show: Tomozaki’s first interaction with Hinami, we become aware of what the major focal point actually is. When it comes to “real life”, Tomozaki is Nakumura in TackFam. He blames others for his own personal woes. (The ‘characters’) He believes there is a sort of social hierarchy he can’t break free from (The ‘game’), and that some people are just born better than others.(The ‘matchups’) It’s the exact same whiny and arrogant point of view he himself rebuked being directed towards TackFam. It’s blaming others when it's your own lack of effort that has you in the position you are. Why can’t it be any different when it comes to reality? Tomozaki is proven hypocritical.
Make no mistake—this isn’t just about someone growing into a socially viable person, it's a show that’s directly criticizing the type of self-loathing and presumptuous belief that it’s others—
not you— culture that anime itself tends to glorify and coddle those with a similar mindset. This was remarkable, and as a devout anime and light novel adaptation consumer, I was legitimately shocked that a show like this could exist in the climate of modern anime.
Even though I was already sold after the first episode, the show continues forward with a main character who receives proper development, and a cast of side characters who are used to explore other plaguing mindsets. If it isn't already clear by now, this is more of a character driven drama rather than a rom-com with hyperbolic tropes of a gamer and normie popular kids.
Tomozaki is directed down a path of social improvement by Hinami. This isn’t just basic advice, however. It's a decisive strategic motion to make friends and create interest in oneself. Easily said, the key to getting to know people is by showing interest in them or their surroundings. People won’t care about you if you don’t care about them. Yuzu likes Nakumura? Help her find ways to appeal to him. Mimimi wants to run for student council? Ask her if you can support her bid. Let people in, share secrets with them, gain their trust and become someone they can rely on. Fuuka likes a certain author? Read their books. When a time comes where you can ask her out to see a movie adaptation of the same author, you have both an excuse and are giving the other party respect by showing admiration to their interests. It’s physical improvements as well. Get a haircut. Stand up straight. Speak louder and stop looking so grim. Take care of your appearance and dress well. This show talks the talk and walks the walk.
Of course, it can sound problematic to see interest in people as “goals” or for your own sake rather than by genuine curiosity and the desire to get to know someone, but the show has answers to this. Gradually throughout, Tomozaki gains his own agency. He realizes that being himself makes the other person more comfortable. Perhaps it was only through deliberate effort and a push from the back that Tomozaki was able to form relationships, but eventually he grows past the need to seek orders. He changes.
The side characters are real people, not bloated tropes. Anime has a tendency to demonize “popular kids” and make them one dimensional bullies solely for the main characters to ultimately dunk on. I can assure you that with the exception of one single character in one scene, none of the characters in this show are like that at all. Yuzu, Mimimi, Takahiro, and Nakumura are vulnerable in some way. Deconstructing what commonly “popular characters” appear as in anime in a show like this seems even more important when it’s all about demonstrating the importance of having and maintaining relationships. As showing what would be the formidable unapproachable characters in other shows as real people, it’s encouraging and a reminder that we are not so different.
Frequently I was struck at how overwhelmingly positive the show could get. Tomozaki would relish in and internalize his growth. He described the feelings of successful social interactions as “primal” like a necessary need. He grows if only a little bit each and every episode. It’s fun watching him gain the trust of others. It’s heartwarming seeing others take interest in him and care for him. He quickly becomes someone you can route for and support.
It’s a rarity of a show. It manages to be mindfully indulgent, bold, and have meaning. And even if it's not as well-written as other more culturally influential anime, it’s accessibility and ease of entry may give someone what they really need.
RiriHitosuyanagi
Life is nothing but just a game. A game of life that is! Every decision you make will affect what's going on around you, especially your classmates. Tomozaki Fumiya, our main MC here suprisingly is the best gamer in the popular online game "Tackfam". Despite that, he is actually the bottomless-tier character when it comes to socializing. Lacking social skills and also have a slightly unkempt appearance. Then later meet Aoi Hinami who is a god-tier character, an opposite to Tomozaki-kun. With her social skills, Tomozaki-kun embarks on a journey to become a top-tier character in the game of life. Throughout the episodes, you'll noticed Tomozaki-kungradually changing from being an introvert and become better in socializing as he meet new characters especially an energetic and popular girl named Minami Nanami. The story doesn't appeared to be rushed so that's a plus one for me.
The animation in the anime is great overall. Especially it gives several visualisation of the situations Tomozaki-kun is facing and also whenever Aoi Hinami is giving illustration of the situations.
Overall, the anime has a lot of pointers on the social situations happening around us. It has a lot of things for us to learn in the anime. And as a drama anime, it has done really well and very enjoyable so far. If this is the type of anime you enjoy, feel free to watch it and follow Tomozaki-kun's journey to become a top-tier character.
Namaryu
Bottom-Tier Tomozaki is the hidden gem of this season. Many dropped it at first while those who remained slowly began to notice how their view changed, just like the characters did. It’s a Romcom that isn’t revolutionary but introduces concepts that makes it interesting and engaging to follow. It was certainly a show that exceeded my expectations. It’s a true character growth driven story of becoming a better person. On its surface it’s nothing mind-blowing and appears to be a standard Romcom about an unpopular guy who somehow meets the legend of the class and gets a harem that you've seen countless times yet this assumption is verymisleading and Tomozaki, despite appearing as such, is not at all like that.
All the girls introduced are not meant to be part of his harem and the show has wrongly been labeled as such. They are characters that get development themselves, as well as aiding the development of our MC while not coming off as too cliche or tropey. They really feel like people that you could meet in real life.
While you may argue that the situation that our MC, the top player in Atafami finds himself in is very hard to relate to, you have to acknowledge the effort he puts in to change himself. I'd say that the beginning doesn’t seem promising at all but the more we level up the greater it becomes. Everyone deserves a second chance if given the opportunity, right? Then even he should be able to fight to change himself for the better and we, as the audience should understand where he is coming from and not mock his efforts. Such a view is very misleading, and could lead to incorrect assumptions. No matter what, the fact still remains that in order to achieve something, even winning a mere game, you have to put your entire heart and soul into it - something I find admirable.
It's a show that is neither a generic Romcom nor a harem. Its main appeal is the theme of self improvement through hard work and desire, something that would be praise worthy to many and becomes apparent in how our main hero grows as a character and as a human being.
Growth doesn't happen overnight.
It's a long process that requires a lot of time and soul put into it.
This is the message the show tries to convey and we can see how the behaviour and self esteem of Tomozaki evolves the more he levels up and the audience that learns from his mistakes and the quests given by our main girl, Hinami Aoi.
The quests that the main girl gives to MC may seem trivial but are actually helpful in the grand scheme of things. It's one of the main criticisms that the show has received - that it’s cringy, unrealistic and out of touch with reality which is clearly wrong. We should remember that Tomozaki is a loner that has troubles with social interaction therefore these trivial goals that she sets up for him are actually very meaningful despite being so small. The type of a goal doesn't matter, what truly matters is the effort you put in order to achieve said goal.
The animation of this show is very minimalistic with no dynamic movement. At times it serves as a means to move from point A to point B. The majority of the content delivered is through the dialogue of characters. It's decent. While it's certainly not top tier, it's no doubt bearable to watch.
There were few memorable OSTs that played during crucial scenes but often than not it was a sad piano to create the atmosphere or a very light hearted soundtrack to rekindle hope. Overall the music wasn't as memorable but not that bad. I'd like to point out that even the lyrics of a song matter in this show so keep an eye on that.
From a show that started with an interesting premise that at first became something to make fun of, Tomozaki changed for the better and so did the viewers who were watching his development unfold.
It's a series that while not revolutionizing the genre made something unique and intriguing enough to follow by showcasing real character growth that rarely ever happens these days.
If you wish to see a tale of a man who changed his life from the better, struggled but with effort and heart reached his goals, then I recommend watching "Bottom-Tier Tomozaki".
Marinate1016
In a season packed full of highly anticipated sequels, Tomozaki-Kun rose to the top and became my favourite show of the season. Week after week, episodes flew by in what seemed like a few minutes. The characters and premise of the show provided one of the more memorable experiences I’ve had with a slice of life in some time. For me, Tomozaki-Kun is what most people THINK Oregairu is. The concept of a socially inept loser going from a shut-in to normal high schooler is flawlessly executed here. Normally in these types of shows, the MC’s character development doesn’t feel organic or realistic. Either the MCmoves too fast, or too slow. Here we have a protagonist who takes gradual but sure steps out of his comfort zone in order to improve himself and make genuine connections with others. Week in and week out we see Tomozaki become more open to other people and learn more about how interpersonal relationships work. I love the analogous relationship of a video game character’s development to Tomozaki’s and think it offers a unique perspective on this type of show.
Unfortunately, there were a great deal of people who wrote this show off after a couple weeks. Is the MC a loser who says and does cringe things at the start? Yes. That’s kind of the point of the series. What would be the point if a character already starts off as an alpha chad who has nothing else to learn or room to grow? If you can bear with the MC’s growing pains in the beginning, I think you’ll find Tomozaki-Kun to be a very enjoyable show.
I’ve said all that and haven’t even touched on the girls in this show. As with most shows in this genre, Tomozaki’s development is caused and expedited by a girl at school, and there are several potential waifus who play major roles in the series. Unlike other anime in this genre, these are fully fleshed out and well written characters with their own unique quirks and personalities. The girls are not just there for fan service or shipping wars, but offer genuine value to this series and are one of the most enjoyable parts.
All in all, Tomozaki-Kun was by far one of the top 2 or 3 most enjoyable shows this season. It’s one of only a few that I actually looked forward to on a weekly basis and now that the season is over, I can’t wait to get into the LNs. Tomozaki-Kun gets 10 tackfams out of 10.
Piezuri
Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun is about your typical loner gamer dude who plays *not* Smash Bros at a very high level, and decides to one day meet up with the person right after him on the leaderboard, who ends up being a cute, popular girl from his class. After this meeting, this girl, Aoi, having scolded our protagonist, decides to help him out by teaching him how to become a riajuu, a “normie” you could say. I really wish I were be here right now saying good things about this show and how I used some of the advice Aoi gave to Tomozaki myself, but alas, here Iam, incredibly disappointed by what could have been a nice romcom with a school setting. The show presents an interesting idea, I haven’t actually seen anything like it before, but the execution of the premise set in place by the first few episodes is a complete miss.
So, what is this premise? Tomozaki goes through several lessons with Aoi, who teaches him basic social skills, manners, posture, and so on, and gives him challenges such as “talk to three different girls” or “force a smile while wearing a mask”. Tomozaki doesn’t necessarily do well at completing these challenges, but he does try his earnest to do so, more often than not with the help of Aoi. Here is my first issue with show. If the whole premise is about the evolution of a loner into a riajuu, then why does Aoi do most of the work for him? It would be way more satisfying to watch Tomozaki do these challenges on his own, failing them or not, with all the cringy situations that these challenges may bring. I fail to understand why Aoi would be so invested into a random dude she met online. She’s not in love with him, and Tomozaki’s first impression on her was awful. Is it pity? Is it self-fulfillment? Who knows, but Aoi intervening as much as she does only reinforces all of the problems this show has.
There’s an analogy Jaku-Chara brings up regarding real life and games, even though it’s slightly “cringy”. If real life is treated as a game, then the social skills and achievements can be the equivalent of the skills and achievements in a video game. Tomozaki being really good Tackfam comes with a contrast of him being really bad at real life. This brings up quite a disparity. If you’ve ever played a fighting game, you’d know how much effort it takes to be good, let alone a top level player in said game, even in a game like Smash Bros. It takes years and years of practice before you could consider yourself competent at a fighting game, practice that Tomozaki has clearly put into Tackfam out of his passion for the game. So why is it that he goes from being a complete loner to a good looking socially capable guy in the span of 4-5 episodes?! How come the show is 12 episodes long when Tomozaki achieves all but one of his goals in 5 episodes? Of course, the rest of the show feels like filler content that serves close to no purpose to the overall plotline. I will attribute this to poor pacing. I assume that the light novel goes way deeper into Tomozaki’s struggles and hardships, or at least I hope so.
You might now ask me, “why am I comparing real life scenarios to fiction?” or “Why does it matter that Tomozaki achieved his goals quickly?”. The answer to that is simple, suspension of disbelief.
I’ll let you google what suspension of disbelief means if you don’t know this term, but it’s a fancy way of referring to the reader or watcher believing and investing themselves into a given scenario. Here lies the main problem of Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun: I do not believe a single event that happens in the anime.
When you pick a school setting for your work of fiction, you can go down two paths, a realistic depiction of high school life with down to earth, believable characters (for example, Hibike! Euphonium), or an absurd depiction of high school with extraordinary events and out-of-this-earth characters (for example, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu). These paths aren’t that well defined, and most of the time you can get away with mixing absurd characters with regular high school events (for example, Chuu2Koi), which ends up being quite a nice way of showing what a character is going through, be it a completely exaggerated depiction of an emotion or an emphasis on the importance of a particular event in the character’s life. Chuu2Koi does this with chuuni magic battles, Monogatari does this with long elaborate dialogue, although Monogatari isn’t your typical high school setting show. Point is, your story and characters have to be believable or relatable. You want the reader or viewer to care for the characters you’ve written. As for Tomozaki, his only relatable point is that he’s a loner, and so are most anime watchers. Nobody will relate to being the best at a certain game, and very few will relate to being competent to a high level at a certain game, and most certainly NOBODY will relate to Tomozaki’s character progression. Without being relatable, the main character now must appeal to the audience with his actions, most of which are dictated by a third party or happenstance. He’s effectively a puppet of the other characters in the show, sometimes adding his own ad lib to the situations he finds himself in. Even after becoming a “normie” 5 episodes in, Tomozaki just comes off as bland and uninteresting. He’s nothing like OreGairu’s Hachiman who’s a way better example of a loner working on himself in order to become a better human being. This is the main problem, Jaku-Chara is too unrealistic to be a down to earth high school romcom, and too ordinary to be an absurd high school romcom. The viewer is stuck in a situation where they cannot relate to the main character while also not being able to enjoy his personality or the results of his actions. They cannot “suspend their disbelief” in order to fully invest themselves in the show.
The other characters don’t help. Aoi has no personality, she hardly even fits a trope. She’s somewhat twofaced, but not enough for her to be an appealing or interesting character. Minami isn’t a character; I refuse to acknowledge that someone wrote her as she is. She’s an amalgamation of completely different charm points and gags that the writer probably finds appealing in a waifu. She is so over-the-top energetic that it becomes hard to watch any scene that involves her. Izumi is your generic high school girl, again, without a personality. Out of the female characters, this only leaves Kikuchi, voiced by Kayano Ai, who I like a lot, and Hanabi, who’s cute and inoffensive. I could mention the male characters, but other than Nakamura, who’s sort of another rival to Tomozaki, they, yet again, serve no purpose and just act as filler content, NPCs for Tomozaki to interact with.
Speaking of Kayano Ai, her and Nobuhiko make this show bearable. The rest of the voice actors are unremarkable at best, obnoxious at worst. Hasegawa Ikumi does an awful job at Minami, but then again, Minami is an abomination of a character, so that’s most likely because of poor direction.
The opening is a cheerful song by DIALOGUE+, an unknown idol group, and sounds as generic as you’d expect it to. I thought it was ok at first, but it very quickly got obnoxious to listen to. The ending is unremarkable, as one would expect.
Finally, the art and character design are fine. They’re bland, and I absolute hate the modern character design standards when it comes to drawing eyes and faces, but that’s just me. Again, unremarkable, but at least the animation isn’t appalling.
Without a solid and interesting story, Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun fails to entice the viewer with its unremarkable characters. The viewer finds themselves watching seemingly unbelievable events unfold as the main character lackadaisically moves from happenstance to happenstance that just happen to work out in his favour. Without achievements that can be attributed to Tomozaki’s efforts, the show feels like an empty shell with no substance, an exhibition of events that collectively have no impact.
There is very little to take away from Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun, I wouldn’t recommend trying Aoi’s advice in real life, let alone watching the show. If you want a good story about a loner working on himself, watch OreGairu.
TL;DR:
Pros:
-Kayano Ai voicing a cute taciturn bookworm
-The first couple of episodes and tips
Cons:
-Unremarkable characters
-Unbelievable events
-The show fails to suspend the viewer’s disbelief
-Little to no substance – an exposition of random events
-Minami
-Awful pacing
Final Score: 2/10
Thank you Kayano Ai for saving this show from being a 1/10. God bless.
Stark700
We all have our own ways of separating ourselves from the real world. Video game is a hobby that has become synonymous with society especially with the ongoing worldwide pandemic. Of course, that’s the real world I’m talking about. Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun takes place in a fictional world that shows how one character decided to be a bottom-tier loser. And how does he spend all his time? Playing video games. Talk about being a degenerate. Based on the light novel, I admit coming into this series intimidated me a bit at first. Watching Tomozaki’s life as a gamer contrasts greatly between his real life image. It’s almostlike he’s living a double life. In the virtual world, he is unstoppable and a pro gamer. But from the real world, he’s a friendless loser that people want to avoid. I’m sure this type of character is relatable in some way at a school or workplace you’ve been to. This is a sharp contrast to characters such as Aoi Hinami, Mizusawa, or Mimimi. Those three represent the popular kids at school, the type that everyone wants to be friends with.
Speaking of Aoi Hinami, she meets Tomozaki after the two faces each other in an online game. It doesn’t take long for her to realize Tomozaki’s outer image. So what happens then? She decides to teach him to play real life. That’s right, Tomozaki has his own personal life coach. It’s the hardest game Tomozaki will ever have to play because life is not like a game. He lacks friends, social experience, and in general, has a low self-esteem. No wonder he’s at the bottom tier. This is where Aoi’s role comes in. She teaches Tomozaki how to win at life but it doesn’t come easy. From the first few episodes, we see how lonely he is with a depressive attitude. He is afraid of himself especially with what he says to others and hence, he always try to be responsive than initiating conversations. It’s not until Aoi enters his life that he begins to change. Because in her opinion, Tomozaki can be just as great in real life compared to video games.
From a character perspective, it’s shown that Tomozaki is actually quite intelligent and always analyzing situations before acting. Although he lacks confidence, he isn’t afraid of being honest and himself. Being truthful to others is especially important as creating a fake image is no way at winning in life. This contrasts to Mimimi, a popular girl who hides her vulnerable façade behind her cherry personality. With Aoi’s influence, Tomozaki begins to open up more including changing his appearance to be look more appealing and even learning how to smile. His social skills also improve as he learns from Aoi through first-hand experience. This includes talking to girls, going on a vacation trip, and interacting with the popular teens at school. It’s like Tomozaki is following a walkthrough with Aoi as her guidance. He’s not just playing the game. He’s living it.
By storytelling standards, you get what you expect. Every episode has Tomozaki advancing forward in some way or form in real life. He makes new friends while gaining new skills and even an appreciation in himself. Now obviously, you have to be patient to see how Tomozaki changes but let’s just say that he makes quite bit of progress. Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to his relationship status with the main cast. Even with the time they spend together, it feels like Tomozaki and Aoi’s relationship really went nowhere. Being labeled as a romantic dramedy, you’d at least have to expect some form of development right? Well not quite. From the first episode to the last, this show does a bottom tier job at relationship development. I’m not even entirely sure why this anime has ‘romance’ tagged under its umbrella. There’s barely any romantic elements in this show besides the ship teasing. Tomozaki and Aoi is the complete opposite of each other that it’s almost like Beauty and the Beast. His relationship with Izumi and Mimimi also goes to nowhere. So if you came to this show with a curiosity about romance, this is not the right place.
Finally, I would like to mention that while the show has its fair share of drama, it’s mostly light so don’t expect the anime to be a tearjerker either. In fact, I’d label this show more of a lighthearted drama with a big chunk of social dialogues. Whether the show has its right target audience can be a bit ambiguous. However, this isn’t a complex storyteller either. It’s simply about a guy following a walkthrough in a real life.
While the show isn’t a grand spectacle to look at, I will give credit where credit is due. The character designs appeals to teenage youth especially for the popular characters. It seems the camera itself is self-aware that focuses on certain body parts of the female cast. Whether this is intentional or not is up to you decide but it’s obvious the anime wanted to give the female cast an appealing image, especially for the popular characters. On the other hand, Tomozaki is portrayed with a moody face and dressed like a loner. Of course, it isn’t until he meets Aoi that his image begins to shine more. Finally, this show pays its video game homage. Attack Families is obviously based on the popular Super Smash Bros. franchise. It’s actually quite clever the show decided to pay homage to Super Smash Bros. as it’s among the most popular fighting game in the world.
Look into his eyes and what do you see? A changed man or someone who didn’t win the game? Tomozaki has his life coach this season but it’s up to him to follow the steps to win. According to the famous Albert Einsten, “life is just like a game and you have to first learn the rules. And then play it better than anyone else”. How do you think Tomozaki played his game?
BadGuyBoog
Honestly I can’t even tell you why this show pisses me off like it does. It’s pretty basic and formulaic but it is so pretentious, like it thinks it is so smart. It’s acting like My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU which is actually smart, but it just has no fucking idea what it’s talking about. They try to do the whole social commentary thing but it land flat on it’s fucking face. It was so in your face that any nuance just went right out the fucking window. I mean it was like that in SNAFU as well but at least that one had somethinginteresting to say and actually had a lot of different arguments and examples. This show can only say one thing and they shove it down your throat at every chance they get. None of the characters are interesting in the slightest and the fucking premise on how they met is stupid. They literally disrespect their own demographic so hard. I mean don’t get me wrong, what they say is true and its demographic absolutely needs to be called out, but like, could they do it in a smarter way? I don’t want to keep comparing it to SNAFU but once again, it’s literally just a better version of this show. Honestly, I never even thought about why I hated this show and I never even made the connection to SNAFU until I started writing this review. I am a genius. I kinda write whatever comes to my head and I am getting off track. Anyway, shit sucks.
Ren-sama-
I was really surprised when Jaku-chara Tomozaki-kun had a very low score at the beginning. I Really Enjoyed this show. It is true that there were a lot of awkward statements made by our Fumiya-kun But it was so funny that I was barely able to hold my laughter. ::Story::8/10:: The story was quite intriguing. It was satisfying to see a unpopular guy turn into a normal kid with a couple of new friends. And I liked the Idea of having goals to beat in each episode. It was pretty interesting. ::Art::8/10:: The Art was Nice and somewhat different compared to many anime. But there is not much youcan point out.
::Sound::8/10::
I didn't have any concerns regarding the sound. If I can say something about it I can say it is calm and refreshing.
::Character::8/10::
The characters are cute and well drawn. I dont know what more to say so lets get to the next one.
::Excitement::8/10::
Like I said there isn't much to point out in this show. I really liked the story and the way Tomozaki is changing each episode. This is a show that Didn't make me feel disappointed.
Bye-Bye!!
Twumi
In a world where terrible humour is rampant and a Super Smash Bros rip-off is so popular that even the outgoing normies play it- cue Tomozaki, a lonely, introverted, outcast of the society. Uh oh, you know what that means right? He has all the qualities to be an epic gamer! Can't we all relate to that? Out of all the tropes in anime, this trope of how the number one player of any popular game has to be an introverted sad freak who is unsuccessful in life and unable to fit in, is the worst trope ever. It's a dumb and illogical trope. Think aboutit, if you're the number one player of a very popular game, are you really unsuccessful? Does it really mean that you have no talent and no one has a use for you? Ever heard of e-sports? Let's just say that there's no e-sports in the world of this anime. Even then it makes no sense. If a game is popular, then a lot of people are wasting their time on it, so obviously people are gonna hold the number one player of that game in some respect. Heck, he could even start teaching others how to get good at the game.
But no, if you're a number one player of a game, it means that you have no life and you can't fit in with other people.
Enough rants about gamers and gaming, I'm not a gamer but I just had to point out how dumb that trope is, since that trope is basically the base of this anime and Tomozaki as a character.
Before I begin the actual review, let me point it out that I'm reviewing this anime, not volume 69 of the novel. I know that there are a lot of light novel purists for this anime, that's why I wanted to remind them that I don't care about the light novel or what happens in the future story line.
The entire first season is just Aoi Hinami, the female MC, trying to teach Tomozaki basic human interaction knowledge, it's so fun isn't it! Instead of getting professional help, Tomozaki completes daily tasks given by Aoi Hinami. These tasks include forcing yourself to talk to another classmate for a few minutes, "messing" with another classmate at least three times and getting a girlfriend. Her idea is that this so called task system resembles a game and if Tomozaki hears the word "Game" he must get super horny, so that's why she keeps giving him all these tasks daily and increases the difficulty of the task day by day.
Every time Tomozaki can't do something, he'll say that he can't do that because he is a "bottom tier character". You can't get a girlfriend? Oh man you must be a bottom tier character. You don't have any friends? You must be a bottom tier character. Tomozaki's coping mechanism is so annoying, at one point I've had it with him. He thinks life is a game and whenever Hinami says that "Think of life as a game!" He gets all riled up, so riled up that he can do anything! Tomozaki is not a bottom tier character, he is more of a spectator because everything in the anime just happens and he just happens to be near those happenings, it's not like he does anything special other than making unfunny jokes which are not really jokes but everyone in the anime laughs anyways.
Here is literally a conversation taken right from the anime-
Mizusawa: You really are a hard worker. Aren't you Tomozaki?
Tomozaki: I'd say I'm more of a gamer.
Mizusawa: You are a funny guy
Tomozaki: That's not really a compliment
Misuzawa: It is!
That's literally one of the conversation. To Tomozaki, this is his idea of messing with someone. And surprisingly, the other character sees Tomozaki as a comedy god, not only that character but literally every other character laughs at these so called jokes that Tomozaki often makes (That I always seem to miss) and everyone starts laughing. If you want, you can ask me for those moments and I will show you a clip of it, you'll understand what I mean by "terrible humour". I can't stand Tomozaki, he's pain inducingly cringe. But hey, at least he gets better later.. right?
And now, we talk about the other MC of the anime, if you think Tomozaki is bad, boy oh boy, you haven't seen anything. Cue Aoi Hinami, a literal deity. She is the perfect human and according to Tomozaki, she is the number one player in the game of life. Let me explain- She's good looking, she is popular among her close friends, classmates and the entire school, she is an amazing track runner, she is an amazing basketball player, she is the top student of her class/school, and she is also the 2nd best player of the Super Smash Bros rip-off game that Tomozaki is no. 1 in. See what I mean by a deity? What I fail to understand, even if she puts a ton of effort into all subjects, how is she good at everything? She has enough time to study and become the top student of her school, she has enough time to mingle and maintain a good relationship with her friends, she has enough time to do makeup, she has enough time to practice for basketball, she has enough time to practice track, she has enough time to climb all the way up to the 2nd place in the most popular video game. How? And when Tomozaki called her a top tier character, she probably also says that she had to put a ton of effort, so I'm guessing she wasn't born a deity. Even so, how did she manage to become so good at everything? We have no answer. Even though she's good at everything, she claims that her being perfect is only an act. When Tomozaki and Hinami had that little fight where Tomozaki being a reasonable person for ONCE in the entire anime, and Hinami got mad at him. Basically Tomozaki refused to do one of her task which was to confess to a girl, because he thought that those weren't his true feelings and he was doing it because Hinami told her to do so. After hearing this Hinami got mad and gave a cringy speech, I might be wrong but from what I understood, all she said was "What is point of doing what you want? That's a waste of time! Doing what others expect of you is a true productive human!" So basically, in summary, Aoi Hinami is a slave and she was mad that Tomozaki wasn't a slave like her.
Other characters are boring and have nothing special to them, emphasize on the 'nothing', absolutely nothing. The side characters are so boring, they often come on screen to remind us that the main characters aren't as boring as them.
Animation is just average, nothing special to it. All the budget went into animating the lips of female characters, which were the only good thing about this entire anime.
The ending sequence, which deserves a better anime, is the only redeeming thing about the sound aspect of this anime. Because voice acting is meh at best and they tried to add sad piano soundtracks like OreGairu and miserably failed.
My overall impression of this anime is just bad. I wouldn't recommend this anime to anyone. This anime is pseudo deep. The only reason why I thought I should give this a chance was because people claimed that this is as good as OreGairu, which was a massive lie. If you're having trouble sleeping, then this anime might help, otherwise if you haven't seen it, then don't. Well, it's all up to you anyways.
LazyPanda99
First of all, I literally thought that this is going to be a typical Harem anime, but it wasn't. It did justify the "comedy" genre, but somehow I felt it lacked or rather did injustice to "romance" genre. It was basically a gamer trying to think life as a game too and tried to raise his level but somewhere along the line he realised he wasn't doing what he "really wanted". It did have some comic moments and its a good slice of life but it wasn't, not even a little a romantic anime. It was more like friendly kind of thing and nothing more.But even so, if it does gets a sequel and justifies the "romance" part of the story then that would be something to look forward to.
Overall, you can watch it if you are bored or something like that. But not worth that much of attention though. My rating would be somewhat 4/10.
Macaronii_
I've seen plenty of reviews rate it a 2, but I don't understand why. The anime is very good in my opinion. It's well animated, and the sound is phenomenal. The story is a bit lacking, and the 'romance' isn't really there. It's just about a girl who gets a guy to be more like a normal person. Some of the story was a bit cringe, but I just went past it without much worry. The character design is amazing, and when our MC gets a glow-up, you could have them side by side as different people. Overall, very nice, and I would watch it againin a year or two.
grr_mal
Are there people that really look at life as a game, and play and manipulate it and other people for their goals? Could you do it too? Would you even want to? How much could you achieve if you did? Is it good or evil? Is it real or fake? It is a surprisingly serious, almost scary topic for an anime. I could write a ton about it but let's not turn this review into a philosophy essay. Like any other highly philosophical question, you won't get a definitive answer out of it. There probably isn't one to begin with, so expecting to get it froman anime is a bit much. But just rising the question is already good enough to make this anime worth it. As a bonus you'll get to see the answers that a few of the characters arrived at, no matter if you agree or not, and you'll enjoy the ride they take along the way.
All in all, a pretty great show. I'm hoping there's more seasons coming.
KANLen09
If there's one way to sell this show in the most perfect situational case scenario, it'd be this starting monologue: "Life is a God-tier game...or so one famous copypasta goes. But from where I stand, that's complete BS. You get discriminated against or treated poorly from your face, build and age. No matter how hard you try, if your HP falls to 0, it's all for nothing. All these absurd rules are gone unchallenged. I'm a good example. Playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Nintendo Switch with classmates when they hear that I'm good at it. Most of the time, I always keep my mouth shut and don'ttalk...they're unreasonable and unbalanced. That's what life is.
"Only because you're NOT trying!" is what some people would say, that's just some biased thinking from people born as top-tier characters. And some NOOB gamer who is born lucky enough to enjoy cruising through life on Easy Mode, doesn't get to talk about life.
I should know. I've dominated plenty of games in my day. The Game of Life is (absolutely) garbage, or life is but a shitty game."
- Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki-kun, the central character of the series.
Now tell me that doesn't hit hard from a #relatable stand-point, because if you don't, I don't know what to say to you. Go and play some games, you twat. Fraggers only, noobs beware, you'll be pwned motherfraggers.
Once again, another case of "I don't understand the hate for this show, just because it doesn't relate to you doesn't mean you can bash it according to your POV." but in a more controversial way...that is the love-hate relationship surrounding the "Oregairu meets Gamers!" in a Netoge-like type of genre mix. Unfortunately, while many are caught off-guard for the amounts of "introverted, character bias" cringe straight from Episode 1 alone, this is a show where the unwritten 3-episode rule MUST be followed, and to great lengths, because this show likes to subvert expectations that are mostly based on character drama. A LOT.
But let's take it from the top. The main story and plot is centralized on one person: MC Fumiya Tomozaki, and you're free to characterize him as such: a loner, a NEET, a game champion recognized as the #1 player of the "TackFam" rip-off equivalent to Smash Bros., anything that resembles the gamer-y status that rhymes and categorizes well with the shrill-haired, depressing-looking MC. That is, until the #2 top player spot came around and challenged him to some matches, and no surprise, Tomozaki aces them all. What's the surprise you ask? The person is a girl, and to make things even more surprising, also goes to his school, is widely considered as the school idol, and Her name: Aoi Hinami. The two meet IRL, and seeing how much disheveled Tomozaki looks and sounds, it doesn't take long for Aoi to figure out his shitty IRL game, and the training ensues from the top-tier character to train the bottom-tier character in breaking out of his own shell and learning to socialize like a typical normie with classmates-turned-friends as the series progresses its paces.
The never-ending, unnerving stigma with such gamery-like situations is that circumstances like this are bound to go the usual tropey and cliche one-way street of love and relationships (see Gamers! and even Project No.9's 2016 Netoge show). In Tomozaki-kun, this trope is anything BUT that. In fact, this can be closely inferred more towards Oregairu in the realm that Tomozaki is like Hachiman in every lingering way of the monologue: being so downbeat from the very start, and it's with more interaction from other side characters that only brings out both the best and worst in each character with the passing time. Furthermore, going from being only able to judge from a perceived view of a personal bias to learning what should be the right or wrong responses, and that's where the show shines at its best. If anything, I'd like you to keep an open mind about Tomozaki, because his character development is very tightly paced to fit into the many situations in the show, and therein sets the difference between the life of a NEET and the life of a normie of his own depiction that shows his slow but gradual development from knowing that "Making friends isn't so hard, you just have to reach out in any possible opportunity." to "Stupid replies in conversations are actually OK when you're friends in a clique." I know I've personally went through that rite of passage before, and from an otaku standpoint, it hits harder than it usually did. But for the many who've experienced the top-tier treatment, you're also not wrong in the sense to create the maligning bias of such extreme levels of otaku-ness. All you need to do, is just understand where they're coming from, such as the case studies of socialism in general.
Unsurprisingly, the character cast is the sole highlight of the show, and where all the School-esque-based drama and "romance" helps in defining what Tomozaki-kun is all about. For realism' sake to keeping this show in pure authenticity, I'll label them by their cliques:
- The "romance" clique of Aoi "NO NAME" Hinami, Minami "Mimimi" Nanami, and Fuka Kukichi:
The feeling of knowing the school idol who is regarded as the "perfect existence" ever to grace humanity, is as potent, both in anime and IRL, and Aoi is just that: excelling at everything from studies to sports while maintaining the standard of a likable personality that everyone can count upon, but her policy is putting in terrifying amounts of hard work, and being an avid strong believer of concrete, dedicated effort in order to succeed at everything there is in life, while deep within the barricade of the "ideal character" façade, she holds true to her own beliefs, and wouldn't grace others trying to trample her perfect record that sounded like insults to injuries. Subsequently, the relationship between her and another girl in the same Track-and-Field team is a ferocious one. Minami, like Aoi, wishes to dethrone Aoi's top spot like the constant admiration from all distances, and is jealous of her popularity despite being the cheerful demeanor of a joker character she wears on her face. But deep within, like Tomozaki, she feels insecure about her ownself and the personality that clashes with the change of mood. It's a blast to have Minami always being the meditator when situations are hard to call it off and resolve conflicts amicably. Of the 3 girls, Fuka Kikuchi stands as the most introvertedly reserved, yet innocent character that I can relate to the most, because that's where most of Tomozaki's normie "motives" are relayed to. A libarian and simultaneously a bookworm, both Tomozaki and Fuka started off on the wrong foot about their interests, creating the typical nonsense misunderstanding. But as both hit it off with Aoi's conquest for Tomozaki to start befriending and "capturing" for relationship's sake, they eventually come onto their own, and Tomozaki pretty much accepting the kind allures of Fuka, only makes the heart grow fonder for the potentials of a real boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Honestly IMO, the prospects of Tomozaki and Fuka are quite high for the "perfect' relationship acquired for a normie, but sadly that wasn't part of the focus from the very first place.
- The "over-dramatized" clique of Erika Konno, Hanabi "Tama" Natsubayashi, and Yuzu Izumi:
To anyone who's been in Eriko's shoes, please don't be a sullying bully, please. The world has enough trouble of bullies trying to make their mark like a domineering person that has people cower in fear, no more of that. The detractors of Yuzu Izumi and Hanabi Natsubayashi are also just that. Being the social and empathetic classmate, Yuzu cares for her friends alot, and mostly dislikes conflicts, so when Eriko tries to go on her condescending bullying stance, she's afraid to speak out, and it's a legitimate reason that places pride over humanity. Besides being the first target of Tomozaki's for opening friendships, she has a crush on Nakamura, so the interweaving line between the two is through Smash in order to get closer to him. Similarly, Hanabi (or Tama to refer easily), like Tomozaki, is blunt and unsociable, and due to the case of being an easy target for bullying from Eriko, she's unceremoniously made into a nervous wreck. But it's by the grace of Minami's happy-go-lucky spirit that she starts to open up and therefore, create the idolizing caricature of a friendship that she holds dear and close to her heart, always concerned for Minami and caring from a distance. That's the hallmarks of a cherished friend for long-running friendships.
- The "Three Stooges" clique of Shuji Nakamura, Takahiro Mizusawa and Takei:
When you have such competitive friends that always blames the circumstances rather than themselves, you KNOW that they're quite the nuisance, and this is the case with Nakamura. Another TackFam player that mostly plays to achieve victory, he's quite the petty gamer to the point of being obnoxious when he loses, a sign of the over-competitiveness of his character. Initally one to coin the "garbage game" term when facing against the ranked No. 1 IGN "nanashi" himself, and blaming the game rather than his lack of skills coupled with some "bad" luck, he's just as what Tomozaki refuted him to be: "A gamer's biggest shame". Overtime, as both guys counter it out, Nakamura begins to see the light and evenutally accepts Tomozaki's prowess, which does not look like a lot, but it is in fact A LOT. Takahiro, more than just the ladies' man, being the smartest and wisest member of the clique, he's Tomozaki's role model of achievements. And last but not least, Takei is akin to Minami in the sense that he's the mood clicker of the clique, but he can't be relied upon since he's the most dense member as well, despite being a spontaneous sport for some idiotic clown-like entertainment being the center of attention.
In a nutshell, each character is made to serve a purpose, and not just for simple pleasantries either in every stage of character development towards the central MC that is Fumiya Tomozaki. It feels so apt, yet so satisfying to see character development done so well at that level.
In other words, I have nothing to rant about the low-budget feel of Project No. 9's works, almost every other show before and after it just looks the same from every crease and angle. The most notable is in the original character designs, done by Fly (of Iroduku fame) that is easy to miss with character designer Akane Yano's usual studio work, but is strikingly done on a high pedestal of artistic levels, well done. Same likewise with the music, it's just so-so with the usual idol group level of decent song repertoires, but man did DIALOGUE+ nail the OST so well with this one. Also, shoutout to music composer Hiromi Mizutani for another fantastic run of his composition (from Non Non Biyori to Tanaka-kun), it creates the whole immersive effect of the show that contributes to the enjoyment of a not-so-cringe show.
Hey y'all, Tomozaki-kun is not as bad as it looks, and IS certainly not cringey as it sounds. This show is some deep, inducing learning traits of socialism and the way how social interaction is done IRL, and all I can say is: I've stuck from the beginning, and never dropped it because there's something special about this show (other than being the 2nd show of Project No. 9 to score a 7+ rating, but the 1st to clinch the highest among many mediocre contemporaries in years). If you're still skeptical, take this show with a pinch of salt, but don't be going all salty about it.
pokekevin
I'd hate to see a good show with genuine, heartfelt content in it be dried up in what could be considered by some a poor adaptation, and by the more autistic fans perhaps a "normie filter". It's almost disheartening to see how poor the presentation of this show is in general. The art direction is incredibly bland, with the backgrounds showcasing the most generic depictions of modern day Japan in history and Fly's very pretty art being placed into animation that doesn't quite match up with the pristine glittery nature of his designs. The music, while good, is horribly misplaced and and throws off thetones of certain scenes by a substantial amount. The pacing of the adaptation is horrid, with the first 3 episodes whizzing past you without you having even a clue about what's happenign or where the story is headed.
All of the above, compounded by a bizzare "epic gamerz" hook that has little to nothing to do with the show's themes other than an extremely broad "life is like a video game" thing that Hinami and Fumiya like to throw around sometimes and the rather cringe-inducing way Fumiya acts in the beginning seems to have driven people away in droves.
Indeed, this is the return of the "omg he is so me" type of protagonist that seems to eternally exist within the deep realms of our minds that everybody loves to see on screen. He's doesn't care what anybody thinks! He's got no friends! He's a super cool sigma male who's here to spit on your corpse and fuck your wife! They've existed forever and will probably never go away because there's always going to be that one demographic of people who loves to eat this shit up. These type of omegaloner protags seem to always pull the salt of the guys who stare in from outside, calling them edgy or losers or incels or whatever shitty term is in favor that year.
What strikes me as odd is how these characters all seem to categorically blend together in people's minds. As an example, Hachiman, an unsociable kid who's never had a real chance to make any friends, and Ayanokoji, a psychopath who doesn't understand the concept of friendship, are two incredibly different characters who's stories have little in common. And yet, despite their rather unnuanced differences, people have still just collectively grouped them up into the same type of person for what seems to just be the superficial reason of "they're like, both loners or something, right?". Maybe it's just because all of these guys always seem to be randomly packing heat, or maybe it's because the anime adaptations of these light novels are always shit, but regardless of how high Excaliber stands, the title of King can only ever belong to one.
It doesn't mean that there's no reason that all of these characters always seem to attract the same type of audience, however. There is obviously some reason why these characters are all grouped together. The real categorization, instead, should probably be the "unmotivated protagonist". Never wanting to do anything, never wanting to change, and letting destiny coincidently fall into their hands before they even deliberate on acting. This description rings true for almost all of the lowlife good-for-nothing le "i was bullied 40 years ago" guys that sit on their ass and wait for Misaki's salvation.
Fumichad is not that type of guy.
Waking up at 8 am on Saturday morning, he wakes up and gets out of bed. The ground shakes before him as he marches onwards to open up his Nintendo Switch and grab a Gamecube controller from depths of his asshole, he sits on the smelly destroyed cushion on the floor of his room. His hands already ramp up to 10 billion APM, as he ghosts some combos before his button inputs could be detected by the console.
Fumiya is a guy that just has his priorites elsewhere, and this show is just a show about a guy that shifts his motivations towards self improvement into the real world.
That's pretty much it. This show is about a loser improving both himself and his surroundings through his own effort and Hinami's guidance. For anybody going into this show, please do not take this as another crusade against society and those who have wronged us. It isn't a critque of society at large, but rather the of the indiviual. For what the show is offering and for what you could consider a "call to action" for so many losers in the otaku community, transcendent of cultural boundries. I'd love to exist in a dimension where the struggles of the Tomokos of society are free to suffer in their own patheticness without dirty looks from others, but while real life is much a place where nobody can care enough about anybody else to really think that way, the losers of the world are very quick to rise up and tell those other losers how much better they are then them.
If I've been using too many shitty analogies or whatever, what I'm trying to say is that writing the show off as bad because it's "cringe" or whatever is pretty retarded.
And to the same extent, please don't disregard the show if you disagree with what Hinami seems to view as a "winning state" in life. The series is rather careful of what it likes to showcase as the right and wrong morals a character might act upon, and isn't caught up in broadcasting the author's personal beliefs through a holy messiah.
But saying that brings up another question: if this show isn't a drama series or a romance series, what is this show really about?
Tomozaki-kun is a rather unenjoyable show. I'll reiterate though that this anime's presentation is really quite shit. The art is below average and the soundtrack is incredibly distracting due to a bizzare inconsistency between the mood of the certain scenes and what track plays in the background. The pacing of the show is absolutely horrendous, too, and will feel incredibly rushed and confusing until the later half of the show.
The show itself isn't very entertaining. The comedy is subpar at best, the majority of Fumiya's dialogue with other characters aren't very interesting, and a lot of Fumiya's behaviour is at best sad and at worst incredibly cringe-inducing. It's all compounded by the fact that many of the people who wouldn't mind that last part too much are completely scared away because half the cast, and especially Hinami, can be seen as both the idealized and totemized versions of the perfect riajuu.
It's basically driven many people in it's own target demographic away from the start. Of course, being lonely and antisocial isn't wrong nor is wanting to experience relationships in a natural, more genuine matter, but many seem to already have taken whatever Hinami said and just ran away with it like the author has injected his own blood and tears into her words.
Keep in mind that Tomozaki-kun isn't a romance series or a proper drama series until the later volumes/season 2, either. So what we've really been left with seems to be an adaptation not too disimilar to the "quality difference" between the Monogatari's series' first and second seasons.
But for anybody who's interested in seeing the show, please keep your balls empty and your mind open to whatever is to come, and I promise you that you will have a much better time then you would otherwise.
normie4lyf
"Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun." It's like a precious gem among all the anime out there! This show goes beyond the usual stories and gives us something deep and thoughtful. The story follows Fumiya Tomozaki, who is a skilled gamer. But it's not just about gaming; it's about understanding people and their feelings. The anime teaches us about friendship and personal growth, which is really important. The animation and music are fantastic, making the show even more enjoyable. Each episode feels like a beautiful poem, touching our hearts with themes of self-discovery and the search for true connections. Watching Tomozaki's journey is inspiring and makes us think about our ownlives.
The characters are wonderful, and Tomozaki, the main character, is relatable and resilient. His journey to find himself is motivating, and he's supported by a diverse group of interesting characters.
As we follow Tomozaki's path, we learn about camaraderie and compassion. The anime reveals meaningful life lessons and shows us that everyone has dreams and insecurities. It's like a puzzle of human emotions and experiences.
In conclusion, "Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun" is an exceptional anime that goes beyond expectations. It's a beautiful story about the importance of human connections. If you love heartwarming and thought-provoking anime, this one's for you!
Rating: 5/5
Hellschwarz
TL;DR watch it Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun starts out as a very cringe-worthy show. The MC is an absolute loser who's only interest in life is to be the best at Smash Bros (or TackFam how the show calls it). He meets up with the second best player, who turns out to be the perfect girl from his class who's just the best at everything. She is disappointed because her nemesis is such a loser and proceeds to teach him how to succeed in life. Since they are both nerds, they use Videogame Speak and treat real life just like a game. Aoi (the girl btw) starts giving Tomozakiquests what to do in real life and he does so because he doesn't have anything better to do anyways.
People would call this cringe - and guess what, it is. That is the point, you've reached the conclusion - treating real life as just another game with quests and XP is cringe. Do you honestly think a healthy person would act that way?
Turns out, Aoi has problems on her own, although they are not that visible. She tries harder than anyone else at everything and thus becomes the best almost every time. Like a Robot.
In school she has this mask on and noone except Tomozaki ever glimpsed behind it.
If you realize this, the show is really great in my opinion. This is not "Loser MC gets rescued by Pixi maniac dream girl" - this is a loner dude who gets in contact with a highly functioning sociopath. At least in my opinion.
so overall this is a 9/10 for me
And if you are not sold, at least listen to the Opening - don't you want to try better in liife after listening to the "Ganbatte, Ganbatte..." ?
Smilomaniac
Season 2 has just started so here's a take for whether you'll enjoy season 1: Slice of life with a subdued romance plot in favor of focusing on how to approach social interaction. There are no misunderstandings or pervert scenes, the story is played entirely straight and down to earth. One of the genres is attributed as 'drama' but there's not a lot of it and it's certainly not a focus. It's a bit closer to a comedy. If you like shows where there's positive progression without forced drama and out-of-nowhere spanners being thrown into the machinery, then this is for you. Our loner protagonist Tomozaki Fumiya doesn'tstand out in school, in fact he's ignored and similarly ignores people around him, being somewhat unsatisfied with life. Instead he's poured his time and effort into a 'Smash' like title and achieved the number one rank in all of Japan.
One player by the name of NO_NAME consistently challenges him in game and upon their latest loss requests to meet with Tomozaki in real life, only for both of them to find out that they know each other. From class.
Revealed to be the most popular girl in school, Hinami Aoi is disappointing in finding out that the one person she can't beat is the class loner, a loser who's given up on the ultimate game: Life. She delivers a harsh verbal beat down of the kind of person Tomozaki is and to her surprise he doesn't lash out or gets insecure, he concedes that she's right.
The story continues as Hinami sets goals or achievements for Tomozaki to reach in his social life, with the perspective of it being like a game. Social interaction? Clothes coordination? Going out with people? Why not treat it all as something to work at and win?
---
Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki is an interesting show for the sake of how people look at social life in their day to day and how they approach goals.
The writing is clever albeit a bit contrived when Tomozaki consistently gets shocked at the new goals set, which in reality aren't really that high of a bar, even for an introvert lacking in social skills.
The characters seem quite believable to me and are flawed enough to be interesting and give the show enough depth to entertain without it being an all out drama.
If I were to critisize something, it'd be that his world class skill in one of the most popular and beloved games of all time (being an equivalent to Smash) plays almost no role. It may be a focus in season 2, but for now it's a story hook. You'd think he'd be playing competitively in tournaments or the like or would be a streamer at the very least. It feels like a missed opportunity.
On the flip side if you enjoy drama-thriller or soap opera moments, then this will seem comparatively tame and may even come off as a bit boring. This is definitely more of a casual relax and enjoy kind of show.
ItsSPY007
This anime is about a gamer boy who plays something that seems like Brawlhalla but with more complicated mechanics. My man never touched grass and has zero social life but is the best player in Japan. He is literally #1 on the leaderboards and is unbeatable. You disrespect him he won't give a s#!t, but if you disrespect his game, he will beat the s#!t out of you. Anyways, the person who is #2 on the leaderboards one day asked him for a meet-up and that person later turned out to be the heroine of his school, the most popular girl. Ah yes, looking atthe romance tag people would think that this would be another Most Popular Girl dating the Least Popular Boy anime, but in reality, nothing romantic happened between them and the fandom even started shipping the male MC with a side character. Anyways, the plot is that the Female MC, the #2 on the leaderboards, started helping the Male MC to get better in life and become more socially active. So yeah, it is more of a Least popular boy trying to be the most popular boy under the influence of the most popular girl anime.
Overall, it is a decent anime. If you want some slice of life, this anime is highly recommended. Also helpful if you want to get better in life. Thanks for Reading!!!
m0s
shit is trash bro aint much more to say, had to watch the last few eps at 2x speed idk why i even finished this garbage what kills me is they tried to shoe horn in some physiological shit towards the end one i finished this anime i felt like tearing off my cock and feeding it to myself what a fucking horrid show, if i where to be more objective a 3/10, but that would just have been if i dropped it like 3 eps in. watching this fully has caused me so much suffering imma give it a 1/10 shit is trash bro
