When regular salaryman Yoshida wakes up one Sunday morning after a long night at the bar, the last thing he expects to see is that his tiny apartment has a new resident—an unfamiliar high school girl.
The previous night, despite finally gathering the courage to confess to his boss and longtime crush, Airi Gotou, Yoshida was rejected. After drowning his sorrows at a bar with his good friend Hashimoto, Yoshida headed back to his home in a drunken stupor, only to run into Sayu Ogiwara, a runaway high schooler. She asked him to let her stay the night, and with his judgment clouded by alcohol, Yoshida complied.
Now, with his head on straight but with no memory of last night's events, Yoshida has Sayu explain just how she ended up sleeping at his apartment. Having listened to her story, Yoshida finds himself unable to kick her out—especially after learning that she came all the way from Hokkaido! So, despite his reservations about sheltering an underage girl, Yoshida allows her to stay, and their life together begins.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
KANLen09
As a mega fan of the LN (that just recently ended), and even currently reading the manga adaptation of the original source material (which only solicited and solidified my love for the series), from the moment I first laid my eyes on it, the controversy has been slowly building up with the age-gap romance that's sprinkled with lots of depressing drama filled in, and novelist Shimesaba has done a wonderful job at trying to be the better and superior version of the lackluster KoiKimo that aired alongside each other on the same day this season. And before you ask, "cheap" drama doesn't happen here, nada.Your drama "tastes" may vary with this one.
Runaway children. What do you expect for them to encounter while being defenseless without the supervision of adults a.k.a parents, boy or girl. In the case of the JK in question: Sayu Ogiwara, she ran away simply due to family problems that didn't work out, and had to live with the expenses given by her brother Issa until the internal problem could subside (which didn't happen). Being out of money and out of options, Sayu goes out to solicit sexual favours in exchange of having a roof on her head, just to live out another day, on and off. That is until she is spotted under a night lamp by an adult, which she attempts to repeat the same seduction behaviour again, only except that this man rejects her advances outright and teaches her how to do housework, and he goes by the name of Yoshida. From this day forward, the story begins the life of a JK who is being taught how to be a proper high school girl, and the man's constant love afflictions over women whom he desires or has a crush on him at work, going through the hustle and bustle of life while keeping this secret under wraps.
First off, I really want to stress this point home: Age disparity relationships are uncommon but yet still a heavily debated relevant societal issue, though you would often see worldly views denouncing these relationships, from being the shortest marriage possible to facing day-to-day ridicules from people around them. Unsurprisingly, some have eschewed from the norm, and are still able to find happiness over their relationships, and this is definitely the case with the "parent-child" family rhetoric of Sayu and Yoshida. Being an easily vulnerable girl, Sayu has had her share of a depressing past, most of which stems from her natural beauty that others would be jealous of (and friends being scapegoats driven to death), not to mention that the numerous times of her successful sexual favours for a roof above her head slowly seeps in her forced mindless attitude and behaviour of going bleak, in a terrifying fall from grace as a growing teenager and already having her virginity taken away at such a young age. Her remedy is Yoshida, an adult man who is beginning to feel his romance clicks at work with one of his co-workers (the busty Airi Gotou) while being enamored by his junior (Yuzuha Mishima) in a love triangle, all in the name of love and hoping to score with her as a growing adult.
Alas, with the arrival of Sayu, Yoshida has to keep everything about her a secret, lest his neighbours or anyone outside on the street parallel to his small apartment calls him out, even down to his colleagues, to which when hey spot Sayu with him, they begin to question his morales of "taking care of" her when he could've easily exploited her for sex. Nevertheless, this chad adult stood his ground, goes against the social norm by having her around like his own borne child, truly caring for her like a real and mannered adult should be. Even with the growing pangs of Sayu's past coming back to haunt her, as is the eventual reveal with relative colleagues both on Sayu and Yoshida's side, Yoshida faces it like a real man against these problems, though harbouring second thoughts on a clear head at times to stymie his actual body and verbal languages. This is where the original source material and this show finds its "wholesomeness" (and other haters "not buying the cringe drama") in the "parent-child" stranger relationship, where both Sayu and Yoshida grow more fond of each other, while keeping themselves at bay of the potential backlash that they will face in the series going forward. This is IMO character development and background done dreadfully-but-absolutely right, even if on a fictionalised level. If I were to consummate this akin to a quote in the real world, it would be this: "If you want to be successful, learn from the other peoples’ mistakes, don’t learn from success stories.” by Alibaba's CEO Jack Ma.
I'd pray for any studio who got this adaptation to work wonders with the original source material (that's condensed due to time issues), and Project No. 9 got their hands on it, and truly delivered with its limited animation that is made up by the almost-gorgeous visuals, seemingly the best that this studio has pumped out so far that I've seen. It has been a dream come true for fans like myself to finally see HigeHiro on the small screen, and aside from some omissions, this is a largely intact adaptation that does not try to force its themes into one of the stalker kind (I'm lookng at you, KoiKimo) and anything else that detracts from the experience. As for the OST though, it's largely cheerful and doesn't give away the hidden themes that this is an R-rated show with some fanservice and such (that thankfully isn't much). Some good OP/ED songs that fit the expressions of the show well, and Seiyuu idol group DIALOGUE+ has definitely upped their song repertoire quality.
This show won't be a masterpiece of a set piece of dark romance drama, but at least it's a good showing to newcomers who are intrigued with HigeHiro. Make no mistake, there are some scenes that will make you retch at the sight of it, and the drama may go ham and be superficial at times, but when you combine all of them together, it is one hell of an experience not to miss. Finally, a long-awaited show of mine that I can check out of my checklist of works made into anime. It's not for everyone, and you'd be best to have an empty stomach going into what HigeHiro is all about, to letting it ring the fact that you can never easily get out of once you start sinking into this deep rabbit hole of an engrossing drama.
Nyuw
“To the girls that will never graduate from highschool, to the girls that will never find warmth in this world, to the girls that have been abandoned by their parents. I pray that you will find peace in your heart, I pray that you will overcome all your demons, I pray that one day you will say “I’m happy””. Higehiro is not a romantic comedy, it is an anime that seeks to tell a story, a story about despair, about home and most importantly about need. To tell this story we are introduced to two characters. Yoshida, a man who falls in love with his bossand is rejected, and Sayu, a schoolgirl who has run away from home and exchanges sexual favors in order to have a roof over her head. Through these two characters, the author's vision of the world is presented to us.
We learned that the title is the summary of an opera, and in this case it is no different, HigeHiro: After being rejected, I shaved and went to a High School Runaway is exactly what the title says. What makes us think about why such events occurred, the main one, why Sayu exchanges her body for a place to stay? And yes, the main question is not “Why Sayu left her home”. the main point that proves this is the protagonist's attitude towards Yoshida, she not only teases him, but incessantly seeks him to have sex with her. This point is not only stupidly discarded, it is also tossed aside during the rest of the plot and minimized in exchange for another point, her past. her past is portrayed as something dark, traumatic and life-changing, a question that even Yoshida is reluctant to ask.
As we incessantly think about the event that brought about sayu's escape, we are led to believe in Yoshida's goodness and to see him as a moral example to follow, the man who blame his boss for rejecting him, the man who lets a minor spend days in his house, is the same "morally upright" man.
The other characters are despicable and replaceable at any time, besides completing the social circle of our protagonists, they are used to reinforce Yoshida's criminal behavior. They accept the situation calmly and even support him to stay close to Sayu in order to give her the necessary support. As we go through some deplorable fan service scenes, Sayu's long-awaited past is revealed to us, a discussion. The cause of the whole plot is not only stupid, it uses suicide in a disrespectful way, The death of her friend is not the reason for the escape, also there’s no reason for her friend suicide at all, the lesson that is given to the viewer is “Let propel alone, friendships tarnish the beauty of individuality”. In addition to all of the above, we see an incongruity between the facts when Issa is presented in the story, Sayu's brother whose existence proves that the past doesn't make any sense, he always supported her and sought her happiness, he came to afford hotel stays to leave her alone, away from her demonic mother, and how is he presented? Like the villain that will separate lovers.
In the technical aspect, HigeHiro is a mess, the direction is terrible, besides being quite visible how the lack of experience harmed the director, the excess of static scenes (which served in this case to represent the character's thinking) makes the anime dull and uninteresting, there are so many scenes in this format that the thoughts of the characters became predictable. The soundtrack is boring, nothing impactful or memorable, with the exception of the song “Forgotten Event”, which despite not being totally original, is worth listening to.
In the end HigeHiro uses a real and troubling theme to bring out a happy story, where he treats the protagonist as a guardian angel while treating anyone who sees the problematic relationship between Yoshida and Sayu as the story's villain. If you felt bad for Sayu's early story, see other true stories about girls who gave up everything in search of a happy life and a place to call home and all they found was a dark and cold world.
Marinate1016
“Higehiro is a story about criminal activity, make no doubt it.” The words by Higehiro’s author, written in response to an alarming rise in copycat crimes since the beginning of the anime while true, do not prevent the enjoyment of said story. I’ve said it a thousand times, but I will say it again. You can enjoy a story and not agree with the things that occur in said story. I love playing Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. I don’t believe shooting and robbing random people is ok, yet I still enjoy playing video games. Why? Because my brain is developed enough todistinguish between fantasy and reality. I hope yours is too. For that reason, I found Higehiro to be a really enjoyable experience.
I had some knowledge of the light novel coming into the anime, but didn’t get a chance to check it out before the anime aired. Admittedly, I too was thrown off by the premise, but once I got into it, I realised not only were people overreacting, they were missing out on a genuinely heartwarming story. Before I go further, I will add that as far as the anime goes, there are NO romantic goings on between an adult and a child. The light novel on the other hand… well that’s another story. So if you found that to be a deterrent, don’t worry, you’re good. Instead, what we do have in Higehiro is two broken people at different stages in life, crossing each other’s paths at the perfect time. Sayu and Yoshida are exactly what the other needs and are able to help each other move on from the past as well as look forward a new future. While the show at times does make a meal of the whole young high school girl living with an older guy thing, its purely an innocent relationship in nature and I respect that. While I personally would not have minded romantic undertones, I appreciated that the story(anime) gives us a genuine platonic relationship between a girl and guy. We don’t get many of those, so this was a refreshing experience.
I enjoyed not only Sayu and Yoshida’s dynamic, but I think the side characters were great in this as well. There’s not a huge cast, but the 5-6 other characters that we see on a consistent basis in the story are really fun. While pacing wise, I felt things were a bit slow at times, that’s to be expected with this type of story. I loved the art style of the show. It’s the same studio and team behind last season’s Tomozaki-Kun, so similar glimmery style art and bright colour palettes. As with most slice of life, character designs were really well done too.
Look, Higehiro is not for everyone. It’s slice of life, a bit slow at times and technically does depict illegal activity. If you’re sensitive or unable to separate reality from fiction, leave it alone. If you are able to enjoy things and not equate them to real humans, this is a very fun and heartwarming story. There’s some genuinely positive themes such as accepting and moving on from the past, as well as dealing with dysfunctional families that can be taken from the show if you’re willing to listen.
Higehiro was one of the four best shows of this Spring 2021 season and I am sad to see it go. Higehiro gets 9 out of 10.
Stark700
Imagine going home one day and see a high school girl at your doorsteps. Now imagine that same girl offering you sex for a place to stay. What would you do? Chances are, you'll have a million thoughts running through your head but would you take or ditch her? Twenty-seven years old Yoshida made a daring choice to take a high school girl into his home and thus begins their bizarre life experience, one that neither of them will ever forget. Based on the light novel of the same name, Higehiro does indeed sparks certain levels of controversy just by the premise and context alone. Theage gap difference is a red flag. High school girl Sayu Ogiwara is essentially a runway and at her age of 17, she lacks the financial support that a teenager needs. To get by, she sleeps with various men and made that same offer to Yoshida. In response, he refuses to sleep with Sayu but does offer a place for her to stay. What does that action tell us about Yoshida already? Honestly, it shows that Yoshida is a caring young man who isn't afraid to take risks. Some guys woul've taken advantage of her or worse, reported Sayu to the police. Instead, Yoshida offers her shelter, kindness, and companionship.
Yoshida is fundamentally a hardworking salaryman who lives by himself until taking Sayu in to his home. He works overtime when needed and seems to have a decent working relationship with his co-workers. In fact, his personality and professional ethnics has attracted the attention of his female co-workers, including Yuzuha Mishima. Unfortunately for her, it seems Yoshida's inexperience with women made him dense about their feelings. Throughout the show, you can see the numerous hints she throws at him, including asking him out or showing signs of jealousy. Yoshida seems so dense that he hardly notices any signs of romance aimed at him until she confessed directly. By this act, you can pretty much say that when it comes to romance, Yoshida really needs more social experience. However, that doesn't mean he lacks a love interest at work. In fact, we see that Yoshida confess but rejected right off the bat by his co-worker, Airi Gotou. It set off a chain of events that ended up with Yoshida taking in Sayu to his home. They say that romance can begin like a fate so perhaps it's also a sign. However, do very aware that Yoshida and Sayu's relationship isn't exactly romantic.
The meat of the show is about Yoshida and Sayu's rather complex relationship. Besides their age difference, it's shown that Sayu hides her vulnerability and believes in a simple way of living her life. She often puts on a facade behind her smile although it's shown in rare occasions in the beginning when she is surprised by other people's kindness, especially Yoshida. As more episodes progresses, we see that she opens up more to others and be more of herself. Thanks to Yoshida's influence, she even gathers the confidence to face her future rather than running from it. Life is a reality and Sayu had her own troubled past with her mother, a fellow classmate, and even herself. On the other hand, Yoshida is rather resistant to Yoshida's charms. Even when asked if he wants to join her in bed, he passes it off as a joke. However, Yoshida does grow as a person when taking responsibility. Previously, he was a very independent person who works hard to get by, a contrast to Sayu's carefree way of living. Now, he realizes the importance of also being a people person. Similarly, Sayu begins to take responsibility by taking care of the house and even getting a part time job. Luckily, she also encounters a co-worker who gets along with her named Asami. Their sisterly bond represents a beacon of light in Sayu's new life as Asami is very protective of her. Thanks to Asami and Yoshida's influence, we finally see Sayu being able to open others like ways she didn't realize she could before.
As a romance drama, you can bet that the show is prone to some emotional outbrusts and sensitive topics. These include underage prostitution, bullying, suicide, and social alienation. When I came into this show, I had this level of expectation with the materials the show promoted. If you're a new viewer, chances are that you may be thrown off by some of the show's plot elements. Most importantly is Sayu and Yoshida dealing with life challenges. Watching Sayu facing her past is one of the most important part of her character growth. At first, she couldn't do it alone and the past comes backs to haunt her. Two examples includes her own strict mother and Yaguchi, a guy she once hooked up with. The latter becomes a main problem that triggers Sayu's vunlerable side until she is finally able to let go of her past. Indeed, Higehiro wanted us to experience what Sayu has been through but honestly, her character and choices are controversial. Let's ask ourselves, if Yoshida refused to take Sayu in, what would of happened to her? Chances are, she'd end up in the streets again and using her body to make a living as she always have. It's a shameful reality when we look at the real picture. There are individuals in our real life society that can be relatable to Sayu. When you examine her character, Sayu is fundamentally a naive girl when taking on the world by herself, or at least was, until Yoshida entered her life.
The real question you may still be asking yourself if the romance truly develops between these two people. Fate tied them together to meet but does it bloom into a true relationship? Unfortunately, this season remains ambigious and doesn't make them into an official couple. Sayu and Yoshida's relationship does develop from strangers to close friends but it's not the type of close where they are considered lovers. So if you're looking for some real romance, prepare for some disappointment. To be fair, this anime isn't truly about romance in the first place. In other words, this show is more about facing life obstacles and challenge themselves to make the best them.
Art style and production quality retains a consistent pacing throughout the series. It adapt straight from the light novels to give our characters an appealing look. Sayu indeed has the look of a high school girl decorated with a charming face and slim figure. Yoshida is also crafted with a handsome face that attracts the attention of ladies. As a salaryman, he retains a sense of professionalism at work and adult at home. If you're also asking for fan service, there's definitely some controversy. This comes from Sayu's early attempts to seduce Yoshida and to be quite frank, it's slightly disturbing to watch. Again, controversy is a word that seems syonyomous to this show at times so be aware.
Higehiro seems like a series that was destind to get an anime adaptation. Controversial or not, Higehiro is one of those shows that tries, to be real as it can be.
ExemplarCayman
An anime adaptation of the “you have to eat all the eggs” meme (google it). Considering this series is tagged by MAL as Drama/Romance, but is not, in fact, tagged as Hentai, anyone who ever read half a book should be able to guess that its title is not meant to be taken at face value. Anyone who read an entire book would likely go even further and, taking the Drama tag into account, assume the title is intentionally provocative and the story is some sort of social commentary on sexual exploitation of minors or something. That assumption is, sadly, couldn’t be further from reality. HigeHiro isan otaku-pandering ecchi harem with a heavy dose of soap opera in form, and a rapist’s wish-fulfillment fantasy in substance. Vulgarity-wise, I would put it in the ballpark of such titles as Domestic Kanojo, but that would be insulting to Domestic Kanojo and similar smutty soap operas, as, for all their flaws, those at least manage to not be hypocritically pretentious in their moral bankruptcy.
How is it pretentious:
Episode 1 - an underage runaway girl escaping domestic problems spends six months traveling across the country and prostituting herself for a roof above her head.
Episode 2 - a faceless self-insert protagonist has a harem of three big-breasted moeblobs who are all tripping over themselves in a race to suck his dick because of how nice he is, resorting to soap-opera-tier scheming in order to win his attention.
Episode 3 - straight-up sex scenes.
Both heavy drama and frivolous smut have their place. That place, however, is not within the same fucking story, it is incredibly tone-deaf and distasteful.
How is it morally bankrupt:
Evidently, not everyone knows how morals work, so here’s a PSA: if an adult man runs into an underage prostitute soliciting him for a homestay - the ONLY moral course of action for him is to call the police and child protection services. If he is actually bringing her home - he is a rapist aiming for sexual gratification. Period. No amount of closeted pedophile’s mental gymnastics about “helping” her, or “having good intentions” can change that. The MC of HigeHiro is a rapist. Romeo, Alfa, Papa, India, Sierra, Tango. Rapist. He isn’t a nice guy, he is a “nice guy” - a predatory creep “helping” a vulnerable underage girl with an ulterior expectation that his wahmen-respecting effort will get rewarded with her affection. PSA No.2: the premise of this series is a well-known irl occurrence in Japan, commonly referred to as “kamimachi,” and housing a minor that ran away from home is legally considered abduction there - exactly to protect minors from rapists like this one (refer to Chapter 23 of We Shall Now Begin Ethics manga for a non-delusional portrayal of these “saviors”). But instead of framing this rapist like the lowlife scumbag and literal criminal he is, HigeHiro attempts to glamorize and glorify his abduction, clearly with the intent to peddle him as a self-insert fantasy to his real-life counterpart white knights/male feminists/aspiring rapists (PSA No. 3: if you’re a woman, never be alone in a room with a self-proclaimed male feminist).
Oh, “but the MC doesn’t literally stick his dick into the girl, that makes everything fine.” Yeah, no. That’s a load of hypocritical crap and exactly what makes this show masturbatory wish-fulfillment. The MC doesn’t stick his dick into the girl - he just keeps this gorgeous-looking, dick-hungry JK waifu that is completely dependent on him in his apartment as a pet/house worker, getting hard from all the boobs she voluntarily shoves in his face and cumming from his sense of superiority that he refuses to fuck her even though she begs him for it every 30 seconds. That, kids, is something called “domination fantasy.” Where I’m coming from, using BDSM slave roleplay as a “moral” substitute for sex makes a story more degenerate, not less. Just let it sink for a moment - this show would become LESS depraved if it had its protagonist fuck a minor. That’s how far up its morally bankrupt ass it is.
Btw, I’m sure that the female lead being a 10/10 underage fapbait has no relation whatsoever to this “wholesome” show’s appeal. This “drama” would be just as popular if the MC was trying to help a 40-years-old crack whore with rotten teeth, or an HIV-positive gay twink, right?
Hige wo Soru is also morally bankrupt in a different sense - it glorifies Darwin-award-worthy stupidity. Here’s PSA No. 4: if an underage prostitute solicits a man to “adopt” her like that, realistically only one of the two outcomes is going to happen: 1) The next day the man wakes up with a terrible headache to find both the girl and all of his valuables missing. 2) The next day five “brothers'' with baseball bats show up and demand compensation for defiling their “sister.” Anyone taking this idiotic shlock seriously should try to watch more crime reports on the news to learn how real life actually works.
Even if viewed exclusively as an ecchi harem, HigeHiro is still subpar trash.
I’m no stranger to fictional smut. A story can be infinitely vulgar - and still have artistic merit, as evidenced by ShindoL’s Emergence, or, if you read actual books, the entire bibliography of Henry Miller. If you don’t know who that is - try reading his Wikipedia page. Does it give you an impression that he was writing hardcore pornography? It probably doesn’t - in recognition of his pornography’s artistic merits.
Hige wo Soru has no artistic merit. Its plot is soap opera trash, its characters are shallow one-dimensional trash, and its story is beta-male wish-fulfillment trash. Trash, trash, trash, trash. I’m gonna elaborate on the characters, as they are great at driving this point home:
Yoshida, the “nice guy” rapist MC. I described him already, his whole personality is that he respects wahmen and is non-descript enough to self-insert into. His real substance is that he serves as the perfect representation of this show on the meta-level. Every woman within the story wants to suck his dick because of how “not like the other guys” he is. Then the story itself fellates him as a saint because he doesn’t put his dick into a minor, as if it’s some grand moral achievement, and not, you know, sane human behavior. And then the fanbase fellates the story for being stunning and brave, delusionally overlooking how evil and repugnant it actually is.
Sayu, the white-knight-bait female lead. 10/10 moeblob looks (to get the white knight’s dick hard). A prostitute (always thirsty and down-to-fuck without the need for grooming/forcing on the white knight’s part). Underage and underprivileged (submissive to, and dependent on her “daddy”). At the same time, no inconvenient baggage that will make “saving” her harder or less appealing - no rap sheet, no drug addiction, no disfiguring injuries, no Hepatitis B. She also has no agency whatsoever - sure, she might beg the MC to fuck her, but if he refuses - she obediently desists, because she’s not a woman that wants to form a relationship with this guy, or wants to get an advantage over him, or just plain wants to have sex - she is a fuckdoll whose whole raison d’etre is to be the object of his savior fantasy.
Gotou, the soap-opera-incarnate female senpai. She is a manipulative psycho that was friend-zoning the MC who had a crush on her for years, supposedly because she just wasn’t attracted to him. Except when he gets female attention, she becomes insanely possessive and tries to seduce him - and instead of being framed like the sociopath she is, the show treats her with the “tee-hee, what a tsundere” attitude. Also claims to be a virgin, despite being 28 and having a disposition of an onlyfans millionaire - because every harem trash has to have a pure waifu.
Yuzuha, the likes-the-mc-because-she-just-does female kohai. Exists to accept the unnatural relationship of the leads without questions, deluding the audience into thinking that an “average” person won’t call the MC out on being a rapist. Also exists to have more body types/waifu options/fapbait in order to boost sales.
Asami, the gyaru. Exists to accept the unnatural relationship of the leads without questions, deluding the audience into thinking that an “average” person won’t call the MC out on being a rapist. Also exists to have more body types/waifu options/fapbait in order to boost sales.
Yaguchi, the human-shaped “NO U!” See, he is the only sane person in the entire show, calling the MC out on his hypocrisy and bringing up all the sane person arguments on why the MC’s actions are not okay. He’s also a psychopathic remorseless rapist - so that the target audience can screech NO U and dismiss those arguments based solely on who is making them. Plus, no hypocritical moral masturbation is complete without the “savior” having to make a “sacrifice” of becoming hated and criticized for doing the “right thing.”
There are also Sayu’s mother and brother, they’re plot devices that exist to force some contrived soap-opera-level drama which I can’t describe without spoiling the ending. Which I would actually do if there was some critical point to be made about it, but the thing is, the ending is just a resounding “meh,” as delivering any sort of compelling finale was never on the author’s to-do list, and here’s why:
This series is a scam.
My first impression was that the author was just writing his own wish-fulfillment. But after seeing the interview where he openly admits that what Yoshida is doing is a crime and urges his readers not to imitate his fiction, I know that’s not really the case. “Guys, buy my novels and live vicariously through the MC that gets praised and rewarded for his actions by the entire universe, but don’t do what he does, it’s bad, mmkay?” What a fucking hypocrite. This author knew exactly what he was writing and why - he was writing a get-rich-quick scheme because he’s an unscrupulous grifter. Kamimachi has long been a staple hentai plot. And it always plays out in hentai exactly like in HigeHiro - the guy “selflessly” showers the girl with fatherly caring, which makes the girl fall for him and “willingly” fuck him out of gratitude. So the author seems to have figured out that copying that, removing explicit penetration scenes, and putting up a hypocritical veneer of false moral superiority would sell like hotcakes with otaku. Good for him and his wallet. But as an audience, I couldn’t care less about how well a story sells, I care about its substance - and this is vomit.
1/10 for “cynical low-effort cash grab.”
P.S. Eleven days prior to the airing of the final episode of this show, NHK News Web ran an article about a 29-year-old lawyer (sic!) arrested for housing a high school runaway after just four days of cohabitation, and as of the date of publication of this review, I can’t stop laughing. You can find the story by googling “Real life doesn't work like anime – Tokyo man arrested after letting schoolgirl live with him”.
P.P.S. If you want to see the kamimachi premise explored in an actual drama not written by/for human garbage, I recommend the “7 troublesome days with the future bride who is too kuudere” LN/manga (it's still NSFW, just without the moral bankruptcy).
AnimeExplorer21
Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway... This anime is seriously one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen - it's like a masterclass in friendship and relationships. I mean, Yoshida? He's like the ultimate dude. I'd have lost my cool like five times over if I were in his shoes, but he just keeps on trucking, always looking out for Sayu. And Sayu herself? She's like the most precious thing ever! I just wanted to give her a big ol' hug and protect her from the world. What really got me was how the series tackled some heavy stuff- like abandonment, rejection, and finding your place - but did it in a way that was so gentle and uplifting. It's like the anime equivalent of a warm cup of tea on a bad day.
And the character development? Yoshida and Sayu's relationship is like a slow-burning fire - it's like watching a flower bloom in real time. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next.
I'm seriously hoping for an OVA or season 2, because I need closure! Do they end up together? Do they stay friends? I need answers!
RobRidd
It's been disappointing to see people knock this series and make a big fuss about how it promotes "criminal activity," specifically, relationships with minors. Unlike a handful of other anime/manga that come to mind, this isn't a story that revolves around an inappropriate, lewd relationship with a minor. The plot almost solely focuses on the bond developed between the MCs and how they individually grow as people and improve their lives as a result of their time spent together. More than anything, it's a coming-of-age story that highlights a young man and a teen girl each overcoming their own unique challenges & facing them together.The only two things keeping this from a PERFECT 10 for me are the ending and overall lack of romantic progression (don't worry no spoilers here).
The ending isn't bad by any means, but felt premature and just left me wanting more. I really wanted to see what life was like for our favorite characters after everything was said and done, even if it was a sneak peek. The story keeps you so locked in that when the show finishes you're like, "Wait, that's it? No season 2? What happens in the manga? It must go on, right?" Perhaps the ending feels this way due to how they loaded such a captivating story into a single-season anime. Regardless of how you like the ending, it gives perspective on how much time and thought was put into developing the relationships between the main characters. More impressively, how they masterfully conveyed these details in just 13 episodes.
As for the lack of romantic progression, this is more of a personal preference than a flaw in the actual story. It felt like there could have been more romantic advances in the main and side relationships beyond the standard teasing, flirting, date-nights, & confession(s) of love. With that said, I can see the author wanting to limit these kinds of developments considering they could have unnecessarily complicated a plotline that was already excellent. To be clear, I'm not asking for Domestic Girlfriend levels of action here... as a matter of fact, that probably would have been overkill for this story. However, I do believe that additional displays of romantic progression coupled with a flushed out ending (or even a potential season two) would have put the cherry on top for a perfect 10.
Overall, I really enjoyed this show and highly recommend it to any slice-of-life enjoyers - even if you're not a romance fan. There are also a good number of organically funny moments that feel wholesome and contribute to the development of the characters and their relationships.
Hope my review helps and you give this anime a chance!
Final Rating: 9.5
imperadise
If i could describe this show in one word its hypocritical. For a show that talks about the sexual exploitation of minors it sure exploits its high school student a lot. Spoilers As a western fan of anime one thing i hate about anime is the over abundance of incest, minor exploitation and rape culture. this is a show that seemed to try and tackle the issue of real life sexual exploitation of minors in japan. the show does this by covering the story of a high school student who runs away from home and gets exploited by men until she meets the main character.while i understand some of the scenes to drive home their point the show does entirely too much fan service of the high school student and the entire show becomes meaningless with the ending. the show also has a problem with direction. it can not decide if the main character should be acting like a father figure or a boyfriend and that just adds to all the other problems.
Gween_Gween
When I first wrote a review about Higehiro I gave it a 2. I thought that this show was pointless, shallow and just a sad attempt to attract the lower common denominator of anime viewers into inserting themselves to the main character Yoshida. The premise, out of a hentai doujinshi, could have been treated better by being more risky, I wanted to see some tit. I didn't see some tit, I was disappointed. Now, when I have ended this series, I would gladly say that this is not a 2. It is a 1. And I will happily express why I think that this iscase, why GROOMING HERO is a despicable piece of media.
Lets start with the production, the production of this anime is atrocious and can be compared to my favorites hentais, even worse than some of them. Maybe this decision had a deep reasoning. "Well, this plot looks like a hentai, wouldn't it be a great idea to make this also appear like a hentai?" It didn't work, staring to an still shot for 5 seconds, watching the forehead of the main character get BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER each episode was awful. If one thing you won't like about this anime is the animation, so how about the characters?
The characters are abhorrent. The main story features 2 characters. One is Sayu, a girl that at the start of the story cant really express herself and throughout the story gets the bravery to establishing her own desires to the world, a classical coming of age topic. The problem is that Sayu is an abhorrent character that have no coherency. Her mother told her something wrong and she have the courage to leave the house, but then she almost get raped and have no courage to face the rapist, instead she laugh it off like nothing happened, WHAT? Her background was treated like shit, the episode that explains the reasoning behind her runaway is maybe one of the most gigantic pieces of unintentional comedy of this season.
Then we have Yoshida, Yoshida is a plain character that it is supposed to be YOU, that is his purpose. YOU are Yoshida, Yoshida is correct, never make wrong decisions, well he does, BUT his wrong decisions are MORALLY correct. YOSHIDA IS A NICE GUY. And YOSHIDA is wanted by everyone. By the gyaru, by the slut, by the big titties office boss and by the cute junior. Everyone. And that is the worst shit, Yoshida only good quality is being reasonable. It. Is. Incel. Bait. It. Is. For. You. To. Insert.
Then lets not say the fact that all other characters are almost completely irrelevant and say the same thing over and over to Sayu. All other characters talk to each other like they are a phone in power mode trying to save data. No point.
So, why would you want to watch this series instead of watching the latest NTR hentai? I don't know, maybe you want to live the fantasy of people treating you well because you are nice. I don't know, maybe you want to masturbate to softporn. In any case, if you want to watch a reasonable plot with good animation and characters, this anime is not for you
1 out of 10, I could have read more doujinshis instead of watching this and would be happier.
LordSozin
This anime is not good. Higehiro tries to deceive its viewers by presenting itself as a more mature, well-researched, and well written by having some serious approach to pedophilia, rape, sexual harassment, and child abuse in anime. Yet, the anime also contradicts itself by neglecting the very same thing. I find it extremely baffling that the anime gets away with its hypocritical depiction of these elements. Now, let me explain: To start off, Higehiro tries to showcase the trauma and tragedy that Sayu suffered from her days as a runaway on numerous occasions. The anime deliberately went out of its way to show flashbacks ofSayu being forced by a random grown-up working man to his, presumably, residence from a busy city street and forced her to have sex with him so that she could have a place to stay. Sayu herself even stated that she had many sexual activities with different men because that was the only way she sought temporary placement. Now, the anime was depicting these elements carefully and seemingly condemned such actions.
To enforce the tragic experience that Sayu had even more, in one of the later episodes, the anime showcased a brief scene of Sayu being fucked by a rapist; the whole scene was depicted as disgusting and traumatizing because Sayu was literally dead inside as she was being fucked over. My initial takeaway is that the anime showcases this to facilitate its message: Condemning rape, pedophilia, and essentially, child porn. But when Sayu reencountered the rapist, the rapist manipulated Sayu because of her vulnerable position, forced himself into Sayu’s current shelter. When they got into her current shelter, the rapist pinned Sayu down onto the floor and attempted to rape her again in SOMEONE ELSE’S home. Yet, in the very next episode, after the rapist was caught and kicked out, he was FORGIVEN! That’s right. The rapist was not arrested and put into custody after he was caught. Instead, he was forgiven. In fact, no one actually made the damn call for the arrest! Not even Yoshida, who was portrayed as a mature and morally right adult through the entire fucking anime. What’s even more mind-boggling is that the rapist and Sayu were allowed to work in the same job environment. And somehow, after a brief little talk with the rapist, Sayu seems to have washed away all her trauma, worry, safety, and allowed the rapist to act friendly towards her.
This resulted in the complete destruction of this anime’s original intention: Condemning rape and pedophilia. A complete contradiction and neglect of its themes. What this anime ended up portraying is that people who have committed immoral, nefarious, and sinful acts can be forgiven. They won’t face any consequences for their actions—a criminal act, at that.
There’s this saying: You can’t make this shit up and expect to get away with it. But somehow, Higehiro found the loophole.
Another egregious writing choice in Higehiro that makes this anime even more despicable is that this anime victimizes Sayu in the worst way possible in order to try and make the viewers be sympathetic towards her. The whole incident that initiated these cascade of events is the suicide of Sayu’s one and only friend due to bullying. The anime, again, depicted this as traumatizing and that the bullying should be dealt with. Yet, Sayu doesn’t do anything to help her friend. She doesn’t even report the bullying of her friend to the school staff or trusted adults. Sayu lets the incident continue until her friend jumps to her death. And then she has the audacity to play the victim by crying, lamenting, and playing with other people’s emotions. That’s the problem I have with this anime. It’s victimizing Sayu in the most illogical way possible.
Furthermore, immediately after her friend’s suicide, her household was in the spotlight of the news. Sayu’s mother was obviously stressed and couldn’t handle the burden, which is understandable. But the mother blames everything on her daughter when she knows full well of the incident makes no sense to me. Apparently, the mother believed that her daughter’s friend suicide and bullying was all her daughter’s fault and said it directly to her daughter with no remorse. In fact, due to her obstinance to sympathize with her daughter, the mother is depicted as someone who hates her own kid!
I’m sorry, but at that point, I saw this as nothing but to play up the drama. There’s no logic in its writing. It’s just a pure bullshit attempt to get me to sympathize with Sayu in the worst way possible. This is the problem: The anime victimizes Sayu in the worst way possible in order to squeeze out the melodrama.
Going into the latter half of this anime, the melodrama becomes the main driving force for Higehiro, and the drama makes no sense whatsoever. As the drama was amplified, so does the neglect of its original intentions of this anime: condemning rape, pedophilia, and overcoming trauma. It’s absurd how the authors of the source material can be this deranged from their own work.
As the anime progressed, the writing of this show went down the toilet. Not only was the narrative full of bullshit and contradictions, but the characters themselves also became increasingly pathetic and pointless. Yoshida, who was the mature adult in the anime at the beginning, turned into a character that is only there to spew out the most obvious moral dilemmas through his monologues and dialogues. Sayu became the victim of her own show. The original intention for her character was to confront her past, to find the right environment for her to overcome her traumas and grow. Initially, I thought the confrontation of Sayu with her mother was the main arc--the factor that will facilitate her growth. But instead, Sayu was turned into a plot device that drives the melodrama of the show. There’s nothing to be taken away from the set of characters in this garbage anime.
Higehiro devised a perfect beginning by deceiving its viewers in trying to present the notoriously badly handled topics in anime and tried to sell it at something more deep or sophisticated than it actually was. If you were to take a moment and contemplate its setting, writing, characters, and themes that Higehiro presents, the more offensive the anime is.
Score: 2/10
Flyingsparks1130
Well, this anime certainly surprised me... Before I begin, most of my reviews are made without prior knowledge of the manga or light novel. I usually read those after I get interested in a new anime. So my perspective is solely based on what I think after watching the anime this season. So back to what I said earlier. The direction that the anime went was very different from where I thought it would go. Initially, I thought this was going to be darker and messed up with very explicit scenes. But this anime took a different turn from what I expected. As the story progressed, therewas so much character development. Along with great chemistry between Yoshida (the salaryman) and Sayu (the runaway high school girl). Yoshida and Sayu kind of give me a father and daughter vibe throughout the show. Both characters grow from each other which makes their relationship very strong. Sayu unintentionally teaches Yoshida how to be a caretaker and to be responsible. While Yoshida slowly helps Sayu overcome her trauma. Although she is not completely out of the woods yet, she shows significant growth from where she started. The relationship between the two is something special.
However, there were some aspects that “triggered” me a bit. This series is pretty dark as Sayu is not particularly in the best state of mental health in the beginning. Traumatic events back in her hometown broke her to the point that she fled from everything she ever knew. She becomes a nomad surviving from offering her body for a place to stay. Eventually, when she meets Yoshida, we slowly piece together her past and we see massive character growth and maturity from her. It sucks that she has to go through this. The character development and backstory were pretty well done. The drama aspect of the anime does not disappoint.
One may turn away from this anime because of the age difference between Yoshida (full-grown ass man) and Sayu (only a teenager). Creepy right…. That was me initially, but after watching the whole series it makes sense. It works out. It is very complicated though. It’s not for everyone. Again, the relationship between the two still confuses me very much and I still don’t know where the anime will go from here. If this anime does get a second season (40% chance or less I dunno) I will be interested in watching this again.
(Also Hige Wo Soru turns a little into a harem anime. Only slightly...) We see multiple women in his life that all take an interest in Yoshida. By no means is this a harem anime, but we do see some elements of the genre. Just something I noticed.
By all means, it's up to you whether you want to watch this anime or not. I’m just here to give my perspective so I’ll leave it at this.
I unexpectedly enjoyed watching this during the Spring season. It gets some points negated for being kind of messed up and kind of dark. But, it's not bad. It’s a great romantic drama anime that you should pick up in your free time if you have nothing else to watch.
Overall: 7/10
sushiisawesome
HigeHiro is the embodiment of a series with good intent proceeding to then absolutely shit on them while being comically unaware of its failings. It covers a highschool runaway turned prostitute by the name of Sayu, who crashes in at the place of our resident main MC Yoshida, starting a rather heartwarming story about her increasingly finding family in Yoshida as well as others and becoming more and more self-sufficient on her own. This works for the first stretch of the series, but runs into numerous issues even early on that only become more and more exacerbated. Even early into the show, there's a heavy emphasison Sayu needing to pick up her bag and head back to her family - which considering this is a highschool runaway with clear traces of emotional abuse, is obviously out of the question for any sane person to do, yet Yoshida and the rest of the cast keep insisting on this like it's the only option before even bothering asking Sayu why she ran away in the first place. Sayu is desentized involving sexual activity, and this is unsurprising considering her experiences until meeting Yoshida, yet her flirting with him only increases as the series goes on regardless of what happens - even if Yoshida rejects her advances. This colors their interactions in a rather inappropriate romantic light, with the two often blushing at events like going to the fireworks or stumbling on top of each other in a manner reminiscent of a romantic comedy - which is a problem, because this show's romance is rather poor and it certainly can't be described as comedic, especially the later into the show we get.
This series has precisely zero tact involving the subject matter it is covering. This includes Yoshida's coworkers chastising him for keeping a girl with him and encouraging him to kick her to head home - which is doubly astounding considering that all of these people are adults and as such should be aware that her reasons for running away must have been rather heavy if she had to resort to the measures she had. It doesn't help that neither character is well-developed, with the majority of their characterization surrounding their feelings for Yoshida or position on Sayu staying with him, but never much about them personally - in fact, we don't get to know much about the cast at all minus Sayu and her later friend (and easily best character in the series) Asami. Asami is the closest thing the series has to a well-rounded character, and her characterization involving going against her parent's wishes on what to study as well as friendship with Sayu was fairly well done and marked what I consider to be the strongest point of the series. Unfortunately, the later into the series we go, the more its issues run rampant.
A point of criticism against the series in Japan is that Yoshida's actions are illegal, as keeping a minor against the wishes of their parents with an adult is legally perceived as kidnapping (though isn't considered kidnapping if the parents don't press charges/nobody reports it). While I cannot speak to the validity of the criticism made by locals, it misses another point entirely, being that she had no clear authorities to turn to for her troubles (something unfortunately common among most victims of various shades of abuse and mental trauma worldwide) and had to resort to leaving her family entirely. Various series have explored these points in different ways; Ryukishi's work in the Higurashi and Umineko visual novels, for example, extensively cover how abuse can occur in tight social structures, helped greatly by Ryukishi's own experiences as a social worker and how these experiences can materialize. Monogatari, for all its flaws, extensively covers this subject in several character arcs - shown from both the perspectives of victims as well as perpetrators - and handles it exceptionally well, particularly in Nekomonogatari and Second Season. Chi no Wadachi is a pretty neat psychological horror manga, showing to what extent abuse can scar someone and diving fairly deep into the victim's psyche. And there's countless media in the sphere that has covered this topic with quite a bit of care on some level - the recently finished airing fantastic Fruits Basket reboot being yet another example, the Little Busters visual novel's Haruka route being one as well to cap things off.
Unfortunately, as mentioned before, HigeHiro is not a case where this is handled particularly well. Sayu gets guilt-tripped all series long to essentially fuck off and return to her family, and her backstory showcases her family being sociopathic asshats who didn't care for her trauma at worst, and negligent at best. Her mentioning her background unfortunately does not change the pace at which she is pushed to leaving Yoshida and returning to her family, which is doubly astounding considering that everyone interacting with the situation minus Sayu is an adult, and her family as insanely toxic - her mother, for example, is absolute scum, immediately conservatively enquires on her daughter's chastity and talks about the trouble she caused her. One would expect the narrative to confront the incredibly conservative attitudes being shown here, which played a huge role in Sayu fleeing from her family. Instead, Yoshida bows his head to her and everything is resolved seamlessly, which leads me to another issue involving the series; it has no idea how to deal with antagonists.
The earliest instance of an antagonistic character in the series is some playboy who attempts to rape Sayu, which actually is a pretty accurate portrayal of standard sexual assault; victim already knows the perpetrator, blackmail, sexual harassment and so on. The issue is that once the playboy is chased off, the next time he's in an episode he's suddenly conscious of hiding Sayu from her brother stalking the supermarket they're working and is all of a sudden portrayed in a positive light, with his previous actions forgotten. This...is a recurring problem in the series, with Yuzuha and Sayu's moms similarly being victims of the series' strange willingness to forgive people who probably really shouldn't be forgiven, and sweep their actions under the rug due to its clear conservative tint.
There are, however, unique problems to the anime that do not exist in its light novel or manga counterpart. Volume 3 of the LNs - which gives Yoshida quite a bit of backdrop and characterization - is casually skimmed through, making Yoshida himself come off as rather flat, with very little characterization. In both other versions of the story, he's given some exploration of his past with a previous girlfriend, and his distant approach to personal relationships is emphasized to contrast with Sayu's, who receives similar development in the next volume that the anime adapted more concisely. 5 volumes is quite a bit for a 1 cour anime, and while I do think Project No. 9 had a lot on their plate here - this being a decently budgeted anime right after releasing Tomozaki-kun - this show clearly needed more runtime to expand on its cast of characters, and I say this as someone familiar with the source material and up to date with the manga as of the time of this writing. This could have at least somewhat recontextualized some of the dynamic between Sayu and Yoshida, and I'm not sure why Yoshida's backstory was dropped out of the anime in favor of a fireworks date.
Perhaps no larger offender of HigeHiro's issues exists than its ending, which while acts as a bookends to the beginning of the story, also serves as a clear romantic conclusion considering the romantic and sexual friction between both Sayu and Yoshida - culminating in a rather questionable conversation between the two before his flight home wherein he mentions that he wouldn't mind being romantically engaged with her once she comes of age, but won't wait for her to pursue a different relationship. Judging by the fact he was willing to invite her into his apartment post-timeskip, that leaves very little to the imagination about his relationship status and where their relationship goes from her - while I do think age gap stories can be interesting depending on their execution, there's no mention of the disproportionate power dynamic between the two or the fact Sayu very clearly spent so much time being unhealthily attached to Yoshida, who while her savior also acted as a guardian over the course of the story.
On a technical level, the series is competent; it's decently directed and nice to look at, the character designs are attractive to look at and the animation remained largely consistent, with clear jumps in quality in better moments in the series. The sound design is worth of praise, with pretty good voiceacting, a neat OST and consistent sound effects - to say nothing of the OP, which is pretty nice, and the ED, which is pretty catchy and highlights what I consider the series' best parts. Some people found the fanservice distasteful and while I can't say it bothers me much, I can see where they're coming from involving how the show covers it.
In conclusion, HigeHiro starts off decently enough, but rapidly disintegrates under the weight of its subject matter and themes, of which the author is clearly unequipped to tackle. I wish 'em the best of luck in future endeavors - the series' better moments are clear indicators of what they're capable of - and that they'd improve from this series' failings.
Thanks to anyone and everyone for reading this review. Any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Source for the Japanese reception to HigeHiro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDwtfXUGiZ4
bulkyhog
When I watched the first 4 episodes of Higehiro, I was a bit off-put by the unnecessary fanservice and sexualization of Sayu during serious moments, but I was overall intrigued by the story's premise. I thought I was in for a serious exploration of PTSD, manipulation, family struggles, etc. Instead, I don't know what I watched. Higehiro tries to touch on many serious topics in its "story", only to end up doing absolutely jack shit at the end of the day. I'd like to think the takeaway message is that good parenting is important/what it means to grow up, but I don't even know anymore.And the final 3-4 episodes are excellent proof of the bullshit writing in this series.
A mom, who clearly needs medication/therapy help, is somehow swayed over by the words of a total stranger and she decides to change her life outlook because he prostrates himself. (btw, what kinda brother puts up with that environment and doesn't think of proactively helping their younger sibling more?)
And why does Sayu apologize to this figure? It's the show's attempt at making her seem like a righteous and honourable person but all it does is highlight her stupidity. And the "wanna have sex" shit in the final episode was just straight weird and illogical. Yoshida's made his stance extremely clear on that stuff, yet she continues to push it for no reason. If that isn't "out of character" fanservice, I don't know what is.
Yoshida is also propped up as some holy messiah who saved Sayu by her brother, but it's really not like he did anything special aside from offering a few words of advice. Propping him up as this amazing, father-like figure is just an attempt to pander to the cucks jerking it off throughout this show.
While audiovisuals were good for the first 4 episodes, I got tired of hearing the same melodramatic/suspense soundtracks being played over and over. Also doesn't help that animation quality took a massive hit in the final few episodes. Movement became stiffer, especially lips when talking. Far-away shots of characters were also downright atrocious in terms of art quality and clarity. Gross.
Ultimately, Higehiro had an interesting premise and relevant themes it could have explored properly. But it just went and fucked everything up when it came to pacing, storytelling, and characters (especially the conclusion of these character arcs). While these flaws aren't imminent in your first few viewings, they become painfully obvious as the series drags on and culminate in the shitstorm that is the final 3 episodes.
Danae
Higehiro is a series that disguises itself as a show with mature content that tackles real life issues with the utmost care and empathy. However, it fails to do that at almost every turn, because it comes off as an erotic fantasy that is thinly veiled by abuse and trauma. Let’s start with the plot. Yoshida, a 26 year old man, finds a high school girl, Sayu, sitting alone at a lamp post without anyone to take her in. He decides to give her a place to live in exchange for her doing housework. Sayu has been running away from home and living in random men’shouses in exchange for having sex with them. It is hinted lots of times that besides her sexual abuse, there must be something terrible that made her run away from home. Yoshida provides her a warm home and a place of respite. The scenario of bringing a cute high school girl home is akin to a sexual fantasy. She is cute, she cooks, she does all the housework, she's basically an incel's dream come true.
The characters are as average as you can get. Yoshida is our main protagonist, and his personality is boiled down to him being empathetic, a yes man and a semi-responsible adult. He is completely oblivious to his co-workers simping for him, despite him being 26 years old. His main contribution in the story is allowing Sayu to stay at his place, supporting her and worrying about her. He has no backstory of his own or a particularly meaningful relationship other than Sayu. The narrative repeatedly tries to hammer the point that he is a great guy simply because he rejects Sayu's sexual offers. The author almost wants us to feel like he deserves a medal for the bare minimum. He says he's not into kids, but then he says he finds Sayu's smile sexy. He doesn't like her that way, but then he blushes and is turned on by her anyway.
Sayu is our heroine, the only one given sufficient backstory or development. She is a traumatized girl who has ran away from her home and tries to build her life anew in Yoshida’s home. Seeing her get a part time job, have fun and make a new friend was a treat.
Other than our main characters, we have Gotou and Mishima, who basically constitute Yoshida’s harem. Gotou is presented at first as a woman who has a boyfriend so she can’t answer Yoshida’s feelings for her, but then we learn that she’s actually a virgin and was simply afraid to open up or pursue a relationship with him. This is the most immature and unrealistic thing I’ve heard in my life. No adult woman ever behaves like this, it makes no fucking sense. Despite these two being well over the age of 25, they act like immature teens. They even discuss her bra size over beers. This is something you’d expect to hear in a middle school banter. Mishima on the other hand, is Yoshida’s coworker who is also 20-something but acts like a high schooler. She stalks him, yells at him, wants explanations for something that really isn’t her business. Naturally, the only time all these adults are acting like responsible adults is when it concerns Sayu, which is a nice change of pace. Apart from that, their personalities could easily belong to teenagers and the only thing that distinguishes them from minors is them drinking alcohol, working and smoking.
The relationship between Sayu and Yoshida is constantly edging towards parental or romantic according to the writer’s whims. Boy, Freud would be having a field party if he were to watch this show. There are parts where it’s portrayed as parental, like when Sayu asked him if she would have a happier upbringing if he was her father; and there are moment where it seems romantic, like in the summer festival that felt straight out of a shoujo manga. It’s like the author was not entirely sure which outcome he wanted, so he kept toying with it for as long as they could. Age gap stories are tricky and can be considered creepy by the majority of the fanbase. But if someone, for some reason, wanted to draw something like that, making their relationship parental is probably the wrong way to go about it. It not only reinforces the idea that it involves grooming of a minor but also comes off as disgusting and plainly uncomfortable. The author should have decided on whether he wanted the relationship to be familial or romantic and leave it at that. Seeing Sayu ask for a parent like Yoshida and then ask him to have sex with her is literally giving me a tonal whiplash.
This series handles the topics of consent, sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts. bullying and depression. But does it handle them well? I’d say that mostly it doesn’t. Sayu being sexually abused by all these men is something that is written with empathy. But instead of following through, we get multiple fanservice angles that sexualize her. We get to see her cleavage and her underwear during important conversations. Why in the goddamn hell do we need to see that? The narrative falls apart when they decide to sexualize the very girl that has been sexually abused. Another disturbing issue arose when someone who had been sheltering Sayu for a while in exchange for sex appeared to be working at her part time job. He blackmailed her into sleeping with him again despite her crying and just tearfully surrendering to not lose the happy life she’d built in Yoshida’s home. This disturbing arc is only resolved by the man apologizing and deciding not to harass her ever again. Sayu then stops being terrified of him and even lets him help her out from time to time. How in the fuck is this a good portrayal of sexual harassment, assault and consent? You can’t go to being friends with someone who’s blackmailed and assaulted you. The way this issue was handled is also shallow, flippant and straight up insulting. It’s like they wanted some cheap, forced drama without handling consent and sexual abuse in a responsible manner. The last point I’d like to mention is Sayu’s past. Her past is written lazily and there are many things that logically make 0 sense but are shoehorned anyway purely for drama. This arc of hers is full of melodrama, cliche scenes you have seen in every work out there and scenes that serve no purpose other than to force the audience to cry. It’s all done in such a perfunctory way that you can’t help but feel disengaged from Sayu’s predicament, her mom’s treatment or her friendship with Yuuko. The author has no clue how actual abusive parents are, how depression and sexual abuse affect a person and how they can be resolved gradually through therapy instead of a 15 minute talk. Well-intentioned or not, it feels like the author watched a movie about said topics and simply incorporated them into his work without researching them first.
Truth be told, Higehiro could have been so much more than what we got. It tries to be mature but the frequent sexualization of Sayu, the one-dimensional writing of the cast as plot devices and the ambiguous nature of the main characters’ relationship give so many mixed signals it ultimately destroys the series’ credibility, seriousness and maturity. It attempts to handle serious real life issues properly but it fails at doing that. I wouldn’t recommend this story to anyone who wants to see a realistic portrayal of these issues or someone who is looking for a parental show like Hinamatsuri.
OniZen
TLDR; Don't let critics who complain about the fan-service or male fantasies or anything along those lines discourage you from giving this a shot. I explain more below as to why I have to say this. It's decent, not anything extraordinary, but decent if you're looking for a somewhat short wholesome series about a father-daughter dynamic with a dark topic at hand. There is fan-service but only early on, and there is a story reason for it relating to the topic at hand. I mostly came across this anime because I found the art style to be quite pleasing to look at, as well as thecries of viewers from both perspectives whether this is a wholesome story or not. I've seen many others say the story presented here is very controversial especially with how it handles its problems it's trying to portray.
*SOME CONTEXT*
For those that don't know, this story is inspired by an on-going problem (and surprisingly common) in Japan, teenage runaways that turn into prostitutes due to being taken advantage of and the mental health issues along side it. As much as we might all love weaboo land, Japan has a lot of problems too, this being one of them. Immediately, you should head into this as a story trying to bring that problem into light. Also, you must go into it trying to apply Japanese or at least Asian societal/social standards to it as well rather than a Westerner's approach to the problem. I say this because, one of the biggest reasons why Japan and its people are seemingly peaceful, at least on the outside, is because a large part of their culture revolves around one concept, don't cause trouble for others in any fashion if you can. I also say this because the topic of mental health is pretty much taboo in Japan and the majority of Asian cultures in general, as someone who lives in it. There is basically zero medical or even social support when it comes to the topic of mental health in Japan and in the majority of Asian cultures. So if you think that the main female lead, Sayu, should get professional help, sorry to say, but there is none in Japan. Mental health isn't something commonly taught or even talked about in Asian communities period, it's basically a Western idea. It's because of this that bullying can either get out of hand or is just more common in Japanese schools as well, and why it's a common depiction in anime (it's not just because it's tropey). Emotional and mental implications are things that aren't just aren't as widely taught there.
*CONTEXT END*
Unraveling the Character That Is Sayu & Why Critics Are Mad:
In the beginning, you're going to feel very uncomfortable as Sayu, our teenage female lead, is quickly shown with fan-service and it doesn't really stop until a couple of episodes in. I know this is a point many use to point out that this show is terrible and hypocritical as it's taking advantage of her and lessening her as a character. I say that's exactly the point of why they show it. Sayu has a reason why she is running away and she has been running away for months by the time she meets our male lead, Yoshida. It is slowly hinted that due to Sayu's household life and on-going trauma, she has extremely low self-esteem and self-worth. She even has a line in one of the episodes that she says that despite her knowing that she's being taken advantage of, she can't help but feel like she's actually wanted when having sex with others, despite her not actually not wanting to throw her body at others. THIS IS A HUGE PLOT POINT to her character that every critic seemingly ignores. Her actions contradict her thoughts because that's just how much her mental state has deteriorated, and also because that's the way she's been living for months before meeting Yoshida, meaning she's extremely desensitized to the cycle she's been living. Even if they say no at first, she's used to them eventually giving in and taking advantage of her. So, she chooses to skip the first step altogether. She basically says all this in the early episodes too.
You're supposed to feel uncomfortable because you're now in the seat of every man that has actually taken advantage of Sayu. Your eyes are forced to leer and forced to see her skin because that's how every man before Yoshida has treated her and seen her as. And Yoshida is a man as well, so it's not like he dismisses it and doesn't acknowledge what we're seeing either. He acknowledges it and simply tells her no as he immediately notices just how desensitized she's become to men treating her as such. All her actions of seduction lessens her character because that's a physical representation of how low her own self-worth is now. She also even feels a need to repay Yoshida for his efforts with her body because she thinks that's all she's worth.
This story is basically a redemption arc for Sayu as she learns to slowly gather herself again until she's strong enough to face the problems she ran away from in the first place. Yoshida serves as her mentor and her parental figure as we learn that she never really had one in her home life.
The Mentor, The Father, The Lover? Yoshida:
Yoshida is an average salary man living alone in his apartment. His design is meant to look like your average normal joe. He doesn't really have any defining features as crazy other anime protagonists out there. What makes him stand out is his character. He's very morally principled and such he serves as Sayu's mentor and helps continually support her. He helps Sayu realize that all the men before him are not supposed to be the norm even if, sadly, they are. The things he preaches wouldn't be anything special to most viewers, but to Sayu, they are. Again, lacking a mentor, parental, and any emotional support in her life, Yoshida is the first person Sayu has ever encountered to go to such lengths to take care of her sincerely. It's this journey the two take together as they learn more about themselves while taking care of each other that many call it wholesome. He also suffers from dense-anime-protag syndrome with one of his peers.
Aside from Sayu's problems, the problems laid throughout the show come from Yoshida's peers being afraid of his situation. After all, he's taken in a random teenager into his home, and that can spell loads of trouble. However, the primary reminder everyone gives Yoshida is to not grow too affectionate for Sayu or otherwise that may lead to romantic feelings for her and lead him to sleeping with her. There's always tension in the air between Yoshida and Sayu, and this is where many critics have a problem with the anime, a romantic sub-plot between a middle-aged man and a teenage girl. From Sayu's perspective, it's very obvious she's slowly falling for Yoshida as he is the first to ever sincerely and actively take care of her. From Yoshida's, Sayu's companionship and him taking care of her so actively is making him experience emotions he's never really touched with. His life is suddenly more eventful, both good and bad, but it's hard to say if he actually dislikes it since ultimately he's helping Sayu. It's because of this dynamic between the two and that ultimately, Yoshida always refuses Sayu as he continually states he's "into older women," that I'd argue, what's happening is pretty natural. I think many are afraid of the potential of grooming and so on, and get stuck on that idea for the rest of the anime souring the experience, despite it not going in that direction as the two continually tackle Sayu's problems. An average man who hasn't been in a relationship since high school and has been living alone for years on routine suddenly finds himself enjoying another's company? Sure, there's sexual implications, but that's a product of Sayu's mental well-being and past experiences, not because he is actively being a creep, he's the exact opposite.
Other Characters, The Peers, The Nobodies:
Admittedly, the characters we see the most, Yoshida's co-workers, who know about Yoshida's situation are pretty flat. And that's probably my main criticism for the show. Each of them comment on Yoshida's situation without really actively doing much of anything that would even affect his situation. They mostly serve as characters to bounce off concerns that we, the audience, might convey ourselves to Yoshida. None of them really have much character development as the stars of the show are our leads, of course. I suspect maybe the source material gives you a better feel for them, but aside from one character who crushes on Yoshida, none of them really do much. Aside from what I've mentioned already, I suppose they also serve as a way to heighten Yoshida's character. The way they all talk about him, they end up placing him on a sort of pedestal, but of course, Yoshida is dense to it. Basically, it's just to reinforce the idea that Yoshida, might be the average-joe, but his kindness and demeanor precedes that of what the majority of men are, that of course, hinting to men that take advantage of Sayu. In a way, I'd prefer to see them less as actual characters, but more like different lines of thought going through Yoshida's head throughout the story.
Many might also argue that these characters should actively do something to send Sayu back, or something along those lines as that's what we, the viewer, might do. But, seemingly, the peers who have interreacted with Sayu understands her mental state, and that she isn't ready to go, so they agree without saying it that's it's better for her to stay so she doesn't worsen, sort of deal. There's also the problem of maybe one of the female peers could've just taken in Sayu as they are single as well to avoid all the romantic implications, but that was never explored. So if there's any explanation to this, I'd imagine context to everyone's living situation, or that if this is truly supposed to be a reflection of Japanese society, no one actually wants to potentially put themselves in a risky situation, which would me everyone is putting Yoshida on a pedestal because the things he does, are things they wouldn't do admittedly, which makes more sense. As in the context I've mentioned, Japanese mentality is a lot of, don't start trouble, and don't invite trouble.
Argument Against Some of the Reasoning Critics Use (Black & White):
People tend to get stuck on the idea of grooming, as I've said before, or even calling this a male fantasy purely because of the fan-service being shown in the first couple of episodes, not acknowledging the fact that the fan-service dies down as Sayu gets a better hold of herself, which is character progression by the way, meaning it's not just fan-service to be fan-service. As the anime progresses, she also has a better sense of self-worth and takes care of herself more, and in parallel the fan-service dies out. She is a runaway teenager who has become desensitized to being abused as a sexual object for men for MONTHS, but critics exclude this fact and treat it as though her self-worth and self-image should still be perfectly normal from the very beginning of her introduction, added on top that she has issues that sparked her running away in the first place. They then let this initial conclusion ruin the rest of the story and continue to complain about the objectifying despite the fan-service dying out as the anime continues.
Imo, it's just critics trying really hard to pick what is black, and what is white due to the topic at hand, disregarding that things can be both. This is also why the majority of scores both in the West and East are either very high or very low. Many also are projecting their own views on mental health and scoring low despite mental health being a unique case for every individual, yet people are judging based on their own views for entertainment and virtues? It's hypocritical and shows lack of insight. I think people are afraid of exploitation media and that's fine, but the goal of this anime from the get-go was to confront the problem at hand and shine a light on it, so it's not exploiting it if it's trying to solve it or at least bring awareness right? Or should we just not talk about it at all because talking and showing it period counts as exploitation for cheap entertainment?
Overall:
The way the story is formulated and the reason behind its conception means this is a subtle hit-piece and critique of Japanese society from the author. There's fan-service with the purpose to make you uncomfortable with what you're seeing because this is an actual problem in Japan where older men take advantage of younger runaway girls, and that's what they see as it is what they are interested in, but instead of Yoshida saying no, they say yes. Exploring more of the mental implications of being a runaway and the potential reasoning behind a runaway. Condemning those that do take advantage of the runaways. What type of help a runaway might need whether it be mental, emotional, or physical support. The importance of mentorship and proper guidance is to those of younger age. The execution here isn't perfect, but it's not trying to be overly theatrical as imo, all the high points are still somewhat grounded. The dialogue isn't anything special, it's more just common sense.
I'd recommend this if you're looking for a short and wholesome series. It's not super satisfying or anything along those lines. But it's good for what it is trying to convey.
Gilgameshuu
“I came looking for copper and found gold, then I went to get that gold tested and turned out it was a rock painted like gold.” - Basically my opinion of HigeHiro HigeHiro was a huge disappointment, a painful waste of good potential. The premise is unique, I mean where before have we seen an anime tackle the real life issue of runaway girls in japan? Answer: Never before. The show started strong, and I had high hopes with the story but with each episode, I kept noticing that I get more and more bored and uninterested, and the quality was progressively getting worse and worse. Consideringthe issue the show is trying to portray, you would think they would go about it in a mature and realistic way? Hahaha nope, instead we get a lot of unnecessary and contrived drama. Thought we would get a heartwarming and emotional story of a high school girl learning to face her inner struggles and problems and decide to go back home? Well, kinda, I’ll give it that. But the execution is decent at times, and downright terrible other times. It felt like the author didn’t know what he was doing and threw a bunch of ideas together into one clusterfuck that has nothing to do with the story he was trying to tell, and it doesn’t help that the author keeps adding forced drama upon forced drama like adding unnecessary toppings to a dessert, it detracts from the experience and overall makes it worse, and on top of that, the stiff animation and mediocre directing definitely didn’t help.
Let’s talk about the characters shall we? Because the characters in this show make me mad.
First there’s the main girl Sayu, I liked her at first, but as the story went on I’ve progressively grown to hate her. Why? One, she’s dumb as a brick. Two, she’s a damsel in distress and doesn’t do anything for herself, I can understand because of what she’s been through, but she never develops and become independent even towards the end and always has to rely on Yoshida to do shit for her, which is unhealthy and bad writing.
Oh speaking of Yoshida he’s next, I don’t know why fans like to label him as a “chad” and such things like that when he is a literal criminal, but I’m not going to talk about that. He’s no chad, he already he said it himself, he’s just a normal person, but people really like to think he’s some god when he is as normal as one can get. Well apart from that, I’m actually impartial towards him, he is a decent character, nothing stands out and not a lot of problems with his.
Now let’s get on to the side characters and we’ll start with the worst one so that I don’t get to think about him for the remainder of this review, that is of course the unnecessary rapist guy. Sorry, forget his name. He came out of nowhere and his entire shit got resolved in a single episode. He’s one of the previous dudes who Sayu stayed with. Well cutting out the boring stuff, he basically attempts to rape Sayu and the next day they’re all friends like literally nothing happened the day before, what the fuck is up with that? What is his purpose? Why does he exist? Why? To add more and more unnecessary and contrived drama of course.
Sigh… with that rapist guy out of the way let’s finish up the rest of the side cast. There is Yoshida’s work buddy who, wait why does he exist again? A hot senpai who is the MC’s love interest, she is the typical ‘ara-ara’ and ‘onee-san’ type of waifu because it can’t be anime without one, and you know what else is a staple in romcoms? You’re right, a love triangle, though in this case it’s a love square! Well anyway we have the yellow haired girl who also seemingly doesn’t have a purpose other than to be in a love square, and simp for Yoshida, oh and that reminds me… why does everyone simp for Yoshida? Because he’s the MC of course! Then we have Sayu’s brother who I’m chill with, best character in the show. Then Sayu’s friend who just there for emotional support, couldn't care less about her tbh, and then her other friend who yeeted herself, honestly don’t want to think about her as that whole episode dedicated to Sayu’s backstory was one huge clusterfuck, and finally there’s Sayu’s mom who screams, and screams, then screams… and wait that’s it? Oh wait I almost forgot, she screams, did I mention she screams yet? Anyway you get my point.
I’ll give the show plus points for it’s OP and ED as it’s really catchy also I really liked some tracks, but unfortunately that’s where the praise ends. The animation is really bad, it’s stiff all the time, even parts when characters talk look off, which is basically the entire show. Directing is meh, nothing good to say about it, but it definitely made me hate the show more, the emotional moments have mediocre delivery.
Overall HigeHiro has a unique plot but was poorly executed however, I wanted to like it and I did for the first 4-5 episodes but since then it has become a progressively worsening experience the more I watch it. But I’ll leave it here because the more I think about this show the more frustrated I get. I wanted to make this review to vent out my negative feelings towards it, so I can forget about it as soon as possible. Thank you for reading.
mythical_k
While I admit, the concept of having a minor living in the same home with an adult isn't something I like, the main focus of it is mainly on personal change. Take away the romance aspect of Higehiro, and then it'll form a good story on how to become a better person and overcome any obstacles in life. The story's plot is mainly a drunk worker who takes home a runaway teenager, the man whose name is Yoshida refuses to do anything inappropriate to her. As each episode goes on, it focuses more on the runaway girl Sayu's past and how she goes through some emotionalproblems before the series began. With Yoshida not being considered interested in her sexually, he helps Sayu overcome her problems and finds her resolve with his help, showing how there're adults who treat others like humans and are there for each other. I found that part endearing since it's rare for people to be like that.
The story itself was simple but occasionally has some tension during most of the episodes while diving into the romance aspect, including Yoshida being the center of attention among a few girls in this show. However, despite not being interested in dating anyone, he focuses more on Sayu overcoming her dark past and making sure her life will get better. Unfortunately, one character was removed in this adaptation to wrap up this series in thirteen episodes, and while I was somewhat disappointed in that change, it was understandable.
Most of the characters were good, but they were mostly a hit and miss in my case. The main guy and girl, Yoshida and Sayu, definitely had good chemistry, while Sayu also had a nice character arc. Yoshida himself wasn't the type of guy who wouldn't take advantage of underaged girls but set standards for himself and continued to be there for Sayu as a guardian, proving him to be one of the better adults in anime. Sayu herself was cute and deserved to be in the contender for the best girl this spring, Sayu's character arc was the main focus. Each episode helped her change for the better and near the end, it wrapped up that character arc nicely and I give props for it. The other characters were okay, a few were tolerable, while some I felt angry towards that they got away with their acts.
The music itself sounds wholesome, it gave me the impression that an idol group was performing, which is rare for me. The opening mainly gave that impression, while the ending highlighted how Higehiro has its sad moments after each episode. For some reason, someone said Higehiro had "slideshow animation," however, I disagree, it was fine, it's a romance anime, there aren't any action scenes in it.
Overall, Higehiro had a pretty good plot without any indications of romance to be seen. Even though the concept of Yoshida and Sayu ending up together is an obvious case since they're the main character, the character arc for Sayu and Yoshida's influence made this series what it is. Sayu's character arc is done well and wrapped up at a nice pace, and I loved Higehiro for being able to show how not every person out there is horrible. I recommend this series for those that want to learn how to overcome their problems, but if some parts bother you, don't watch it. Also, the author said not to imitate picking up a minor if you're an adult, that's considered a crime, even in Higehiro.
AnshulGoyal
I will need some basic spoilers to explain my View. The show had great perks. 1) The start and summary of the show were catchy. 2) The anime had a constant flow to it. 3) The character design was in accordance to the story and all the characters had a charm to them including supporting characters. 4) The sense of fulfillment was there with this show. An adult with a high school girl and the journey is completely platonic. The story couldn't get more exciting. The flavors this show gave like yoshida in love with her boss. Yoshida's female colleague in love with her and he having a girl at home.A little harem can be made and Platonic word adds more excitement to it.
Sayu's brother entry , sayu's former relationship being employed in same store with Sayu were really thrilling.
solidramza
This review has some light spoilers, especially in the characters section, so be wary. Story: 1/10 From the beginning the story is bland and hard to believe or dive into. Why would anyone take home a minor found in the streets without even knowing her story and knowing full well it could spell disaster if police or anyone found out? But the more the show goes on the weaker the story gets to a point where you really start questioning everything. Episodes 9 and 12 especially really take the cake in terms of disappointment. Moreover, the narration is filled with cliches and foreseeable things that make theoverall show very boring and predictable.
Characters: 0/10
The whole cast is made up of either totally useless characters in terms of story progression or characters who behave in a totally unrealistic and inhuman way. Airi, Yuzuha, Asami, Hashimoto and the male cashier serve no purpose to the story progression; what the first two feel towards Yoshida is irrelevant; the way all the character react after finding out that Yoshida is living with a minor is absolutely unrealistic. Furthermore, Sayu's story and motives are filled with cliches and unreasonable things to the point watching the show becomes frustrating. Yoshida and Issa also act in very unrealistic fashion especially during the later episodes where Sayu's mother is involved, the latter being an awful character in any possible way who's there just so she can piss off the viewer and make Yoshida fell like an hero.
Art: 4/10
The art is not totally bad but nothing special either, with some episodes having terrible animation and bad drawing overall.
Overall: 1/10 (and i wish i could go lower)
The longer you watch this anime the worse it gets, with the later episodes being dreadful to watch. I found myself wishing it ended as fast as possible and even went so far as to watch the last episode at 1.5x speed. I was so angered (but also relieved to be honest) at the end that i decided to write this review. So, in conclusion, don't watch this anime cause you'll regret it.
