Beginning his first year of high school, all Matsuboshi Raidou wants is to make friends—starting with the cute, tiny, and soft-spoken Reina Aharen, who sits right next to him in class. Unbeknownst to Raidou, Reina shares the same sentiment, but she has a problem. Awkward and timid, Reina is incapable of determining how chummy she has to be when approaching a person.
Due to Reina's complete inability to gauge personal space, the two struggle to spark their unlikely friendship, as even the simplest tasks like talking seem impossible for them. But despite the countless yet pointless challenges that hinder the pair, the overly imaginative Raidou will do whatever it takes to befriend the indecipherable Reina.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Gween_Gween
I started watching the series because the main character looks like Kanna, I keep watching it because of Raidou’s antics, and I ended up witnessing an emotionally relatable ride through the personal growth of two characters that I could not but cheer for. During its 12 episodes, Aharen-san Is Indecipherable delivers an honest yet comical representation of awkward socialization, portraying how the flaws and abnormalities outlines the beauty of human relationships. The strength of its routine, the constant usage of popular references, the coherence of its foundation, the texture of the cognitive distortions, the weight of the self-love messages, each element fuses to create ahealthy and positive experience that portrays an engaging journey of honest friendship and relatable small conflicts between a charismatic and unforgettable cast
Each episode of the series follows a similar structure, where the viewer assimilates the experiences of Raidou, a socially distant guy whose mission is to connect with someone in High School but overthinks any situation that he is in (Awfully accurate social anxiety btw), and his relationship with Aharen, a timid character that barely expresses herself as she is afraid of being too invasive because of her past experiences. While both are the predominant figures of the series, the anime also tends to switch from Raidou’s perspective to the point of view of different characters that embrace different stages of life or social cliches, like an intensively romantic teacher that gets heated by their relationship, an elementary schoolgirl called Futaba that sees Aharen as her rival, a nervous and awkward childhood friend who stalk Aharen, or apparently standard classmates who portray an ordinary read of their relationship.
The attachment to the structure brings one of the strengths of the anime, the story trusts the premise. Aharen as a character is permanently subject to the perspective of each one of the characters, bringing to life the idea of being truly indecipherable to them. Each perspective forms a new source of relatability, a new layer of human irrationality and incomprehension, delineating a diverse empathetic array of emotions and experiences. The dialogue, the behavior, the gestures, everything comes from observing the real-life extension of each character, portraying both the ugly and the desired, creating awkwardness, comfort, and concern, as it can transgress the own viewer experiences. The siblings act like siblings, the friends act like friends, the kids act like kids, Aharen is Aharen, Raidou is Raidou, it is as simple and powerful as that.
The outcome of this trust to the premise and the attachment to reality is an experience that has a unique sense of life and personality, a journey through the connection between Aharen and Raidou, where each perspective represents a clear and engaging identity, where the viewer is allowed to do interpretations about the relationships, reflect on the characters decisions and its roots, and even develop a better understanding of themselves. The anime delivers a human mystery that is carefully revealed as the story progresses, it allows surprising turns and healthy inferences, it delivers a human voice that is not trying to escape or excuse the flaws of each character but search the beauty on their core. The beauty of insecurity, the courage of a first step, the love of a let it go.
However, the main strength from the anime is how it portrays everything through comedy. One of the potential criticisms that could arise from this anime is that the gags are repetitive, as they follow a transparent pattern for each character. The wrongness of such idea is that it abstracts the details, as the formats are nothing but simple templates that allows the generation of a diverse set of jokes (Like any other comedy, by the way). Indeed, while the patterns are prevalent, the reiteration of them should not be an issue at all, because the comedic blueprints are constantly evolving for the purpose of surprising the viewer with a new form. The comedy never overstays its welcome, it is always striving for new elements that could bring diversity.
The main example of such evolution is Raidou’s overthinking. The overthinking normally follows the “Raidou see thing -> Raidou overthinks that thing -> Reality is disappointing” flow, but the content and the punchline of each inference vary enough to keep it completely fresh, creating a memorable gag that by just existing delivers something, be it frustration, be it amusement, be it tension.
How does the overthinking vary? The overthinking variations come from changing the placement of the joke itself. Sometimes the punch is the thought itself, a conclusion completely derailed from reality that just lead to believe that Raidou should seek a psychiatrist, sometimes the punch is the outcome of a delusion, the reaction of Raidou to the impending reality disappointment, sometimes the punch is a reference, how Raidou use popular fiction to parallelize his fantasies or create a social commentary on credit for apparently no reason, or sometimes the gag is not even a joke, it is just a honest representation of how Raidou cares about Aharen and his friends. The gag itself creates expectations, can Raidou be correct once? How wrong is Raidou in this one?
The diversity and similarity allow the comedy to be fantastic, it uses the gags to approach multiple concepts supported by a careful study of the comedic factor of each idea, a fantastic sense of how to build up elements on top of another to create hilarious outcomes and generate iconic gags. How to make a joke about Raidou carrying Aharen funny? Deliver a bunch of frames that represent an absurd extent of Raidou’s extrapolation and put an unexpected moustache on an elderly Aharen. How to make a joke about Raidou being bad at swimming funny? Deliver the most typical technical error of novice swimmers after a juxtaposition to Raidou’s relatable perception of motion. How to make fun of Raidou’s failed youtube channel? Just display a capture of the video statics of Raidou’s past venture to accompany Raidou’s concerns. The anime is overflowing with visual jokes that are both clever and carefully inputted, whether it is to stop a crescendo of absurdity or to play with the expectations of the viewers or illustrate the characters wild imagination. It is smart.
If the anime just had the comedy as its main strength, then it would be an excellent anime, but it goes beyond that. As the series progresses through each one of its gags, the characters quirks coherently evolve into their development, defining their own ambitions and insecurities, elaborating a rich characterization that allows both dramatic and hilarious moments to flow without friction. Raidou’s overthinking develops his genuine caring nature and his own anxieties, Aharen’s supposed indecipherability allows herself to express her insecurities naturally, Ooshiro’s protective anxiety develop into a wonderful read of self-esteem issues, Futaba’s childish perception of love and confrontative attitude develop into a character that you cheer for. The peculiarities of each character progressively evolve into an interesting and unique singular entity, it allows the audience to care for the characters beyond their own comedic personality as they are the same person whether it is light-hearted comedy or a serious matter.
The consequence of this consistency is that it allows piecing together meaningful messages and themes, themes that could be felt shoehorned if it were not because of its excellence on the characterization department. From helping each other to being able to receive help; from embracing with pride the uniqueness of each one to being able to accept the diversity; from the importance to be confident on our own abilities to the importance of being able to express our own sentiments and concerns. Each character is cleverly attached to the messages that it is trying to portray, it creates a natural path to organize romance, comedy, and a meaningful and positive purpose. There is no need to display bland or uninteresting scenes where they explicitly state the purpose of the situation, instead, it delivers weighty ideas with emotional subtlety by adopting its characteristic identity, and it makes you care for it. Engaging entertainment, the show delivers the relaxing and healing atmosphere while portraying impactful ideas.
As it creates meaningful messages and portrays interesting relationships, one of the issues that could emerge from the comedy is a lack of sensibility towards some subject matters. Fantastically enough, that does not happen. A character of this series uses the clothes from his sister, but the series goes out of its way to clarify that it is not an issue and that the joke was just Raidou’s interpretation by adding a cute after credits. Raidou’s get fat, but the joke is not his obesity, it is Aharen’s incapability of telling him that he looks fatter because she was the one who did the overthinking this time. It is sensible and aware of what it is trying to portray, and that is wonderful.
While one can criticize the quality of the adaptation, principally by its extensive usage of jarring CGI or its off-model characters, my argument is, who the fuck cares. The anime perfectly captures elements that some other adaptations with extravagant and bombastic animation just can’t, it captures the mutual care of Raidou and Aharen, the dramatic twists of Raidou overthinking, the enthusiasm of Aharen’s classmates, the awkwardness of the teachers. The comedic aspect works perfectly because the timing is polished, it is one second about to fall off the cliff and being unfunny, which is the downfall of plenty comedy adaptations, but it just performs spectacularly in that regard. The romantic aspect evokes a strong aura and sensibility, obviously attributable to the great characterization, but also to how it gives itself the time to fully capture the tension and importance of the moment, the gestures of the hands, the head movements, the voice pauses, they are just enough to convey the intended idea and capture the viewer.
Could it be better? Of course, but I honestly prefer having an extremely horrendous Pokemon-like battle that captures the point of the joke and develop the FEAR reference instead of having a full-blown action scene that just completely ignore the purpose of the scene and just ends up being praised by redditors and easily impressionable people. Aharen looks Futaba for 3 seconds, tilts her head to look Raidou for 3 seconds, then watches the floor for 3 seconds in dismay, to then get embarrassed by an elementary schoolgirl observation, that tells a fucking lot without any sort of ridiculous paraphernalia, get real people.
Aharen-san is then just a fantastic experience with a lovely and refreshing thematic approach to romance and friendship between flawed and socially awkward characters. The comedy works perfectly if you let yourself flow with it, as there is care of each meaningful detail, and the series follows strong necessity to display the facets of cognitive distortions. The anime doesn’t derail into fantasy and search the beauty on its own cores, and as such, is able to create meaningful relationships with characters that will grow on the viewer over time. It is extremely funny, convey relevant and captivating messages, it is a unique voice, it surprises you, the romance is cute, and it has a golden retriever that retrieve things, what else do you need?
“Even if we ended up in different classes, there are all kind of people. Not just in the school, but in the world. A lot of good people. People you can get to know. I’m sure of it”
NextUniverse
This is easily one of the funniest anime I have come across in a while. It is a little funny that I like this so much because I wasn't the biggest fan of the series when I first picked it up. Something about watching this made me realise just how great Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is. It's a gag comedy about two strange people doing strange things in the most normal way (there are other strange people too). It's hilarious. The number of times this anime can create a scenario for the main two and elevate it into surrealism is seemingly neverending. I do find myself laughingat a lot of things, but Aharen-san is a little different, with it being able to make me laugh more than other comedies have made me do so. The contrast between everyday life and just downright nonsense is not to be underestimated. Like, who the hell thinks doing a spider-man in the corner of the classroom is a good idea? But it is funny because no one seems to give one, as well as it being in the array of choices for these two. But wouldn't you know? They are strange people in gag humour. Lol…
I'd imagine people would be *very* quick to point out how this is generic or some "criticism" like that. I'd argue that is not (entirely) the case with Aharen-san. Sure, the usual plots used in episodic anime do find their way to the anime, but it's not like Aharen-san then became devoid of what makes it good in the first place. It just uses its skill to create something with a touch of itself. So even if it did indeed lack plot originality, the quality of this show is simply amazing anyway and it still feels like you are watching Aharen-san wa Hakarenai instead of some rip-off of a 2015 school comedy or whatever.
The main two are something that I like quite a bit too. The relationship doesn't have a bias on one of the two, you know the one, the whole "everyone cares about her more than him" sometimes vice versa, or in other words, one character being more interesting/important than the other. We have Aharen, the one with terrible distance comprehension, and Raidou, the one who overthinks literally anything beyond belief. The chemistry between them just goes through the roof. In addition to making everything, they do way funnier and more enjoyable than the norm. It's a relationship that makes sense, one that you want to see bloom into something more meaningful and more wholesome because these two are simply meant for each other. Who doesn't like sweet stuff like that?
A little on the side characters, whilst the attention isn't focused on them, I did find it that they are respectable people too. For example, Ishikawa and Satou behave like genuine people in this moderately strange world, to the funniest of the lot Toubaru-sensei (bless her) who, well, does the most amazing gags. So hey, there's more to love here.
I don't really have much else to say honestly, I've said everything that needed to be said. The story of this whole thing is just well… everyday life, an absurd one at that. This is easily the best thing in the season of Spring 2022 too, so another good feat to point out if you want to go and watch this. It's nice to see this get a pretty good adaptation too although I guess everyone anticipated this would happen soon with other similar titles getting the anime spotlight.
ExemplarCayman
Romance between two kuuderes spliced with deadpan British-style humour. It’s eye-rollingly common for slice-of-life/comedy titles featuring a guy MC and at least one girl to get piled on by toxic rom-com audience for the sin of “lacking progress” regardless of how irrelevant and non-existent the romance aspect is in that particular series (e.g. Dagashi Kashi, Komi-san, Nozaki-kun). Aharen-san seemingly comes as an answer to such sentiment. The entire content of the show from its first to its last second is absolutely nothing but a progressing romantic relationship. The caveat is, it's not an anime rom-com kind of progress, but rather a real-life-romance kind of progress, muchto the bafflement and dismay of the rom-com crowd.
A guy and a girl meet in a formal setting and strike up a conversation, then they talk some more, then they start hanging out together in their free time. Eventually, they introduce each other to their friends, and then - to their families. Over time, they progress to being a bigger and bigger part of each other’s lives, becoming closer and closer emotionally, until a realization comes that they live rent-free in each other’s heads, so they formally state their feelings to each other and inform their social circle that they are an item. Which isn’t treated as a “mission accomplished” moment like in a typical anime rom-com, the only thing that changes is now they are a tad more open in showing their physical and emotional affection, and also they start considering their long-term future plans with being together in mind. As most people outside of their mom’s basement normally do. This is what Aharen-san portrays.
One of the most important aspects of a real committed relationship, by the way, is communication - and the show shines in driving this point home. The full title is “Aharen-san Is Indecipherable,” the fact is, both leads are eccentric “indecipherable” weirdos with a tendency to jump to conclusions. Dozens upon dozens of misunderstandings arise throughout the course of the story - and they all get solved within minutes by talking things out like normal human persons do. Another rarity in the realm of anime romances.
Speaking of, the male lead has an outstandingly unique personality, and *his* antics are the main driving force of the series’ plot and comedy, in contrast with a typical rom-com template of a blank straight man reacting to the quirkiness of a female lead.
The comedy of the show, as mentioned above, is of the distinctive British sitcom variety. Weird people being weird while other weird people refuse to acknowledge anything weird is going on because they don’t want to make a scene. I can easily imagine seeing Simon Pegg’s and Edgar Wright’s names in the credits. Again, it’s almost the exact opposite of the usual boke-tsukkomi, where exasperated calling out of the weirdness is the whole point.
As a source manga reader, I can tell that the adaptation does everything right - streamlines the early parts of the story to give it a more deliberate direction that matches later developments, connects isolated chapters to frame them as a continuous narrative, casts all the right VAs for the roles, goes for a tonally perfect for the intended atmosphere visual/audio design, and ends the season on a right story beat.
Also, this show features the second-best dog in all of anime (the best one is Dog from Aho Girl).
Also, it makes fidget spinners look cool.
10/10 for an objectively perfect rom-com.
SpRayquaza11
Aharen san is a strange anime, When I talked to my friends many of who have seen more anime than me, half of them really hate this anime, and the other half love this anime. As for me, I personally did enjoy watching this anime, it's nothing new, a semi-slice of life combined with a gag manga type of show full of pop culture references! The anime has more references to other pop culture and JOJO (obviously.) than I have seen in a long time, they are hard to spot but always random and funny af if you can spot them we got Ooshiro spoderman , Aharenhairstyle of Shinobu, Jousuke, Katzosky kicks Aharen, Gojira, Beyblade, Aharen Arale from DB universe and many more!
The central part of the show is Straight face / absurd comedy, you know the chunnibyou kind, Raidou has the wildest of fantasies and sometimes they turn out to be true!
Aharen and Radiou do some wild shit and/or Radiou has the weirdest and the most insane premonitions. It will either make you cringe hard or do a Mutley laugh, there is no in between, the comedy is very very subjective and if it doesnt click for you, I’d suggest dropping it. Me, personally? I do Laugh out loud at fart sounds so well, I am pretty easy to please.
Review time *clap clap*
Story (6/10)
It's a gag manga, most of the plot is straight-up ripping off the most recent trends xD, Be it Beyblade, Fidget spinners, Rap battles, Demon slayer, JOJO, spiderman, etc. There isn't to find in terms of the story that can be found here and it isn't A CGDCT either. There are hints of romance and a bit of a serious arc towards the end (which wraps up rather quickly and is quite wholesome and realistic).
Characters (7/10)
Obviously the main part of any gag manga but in This case, it is a hard topic to elaborate on so ill just make it as simple as possible.
The characters will either be a 0 to 2 /10 or 8 to 10 /10 depending on the person and their sense of humor, this is very subjective, for me they are quite fun and a 7/10 but if you find yourself not being able to enjoy the characters this show is gonna be a hard sell.
Sound and VA (7/10)
The general OSt is standard and forgettable. The op and ED are pretty incredible however but the art in them is rather weak.
Art and animation (6/10)
Standard Loli with standard straight man is what it feels like at first, but there are some good scenes where you can see the animators clearly having fun with their characters. A bit of CG that looks awkward here and there.
Give the first few a shot! If you enjoy them it'll be a great ride, if not consider dropping the show because what follows is just more of the same.
Stark700
What happens when you put together two awkward characters together in the same classroom? Have them spend time together and who knows, maybe they can discover more about themselves. Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is very clear about showcasing two main characters who are socially awkward with wild imaginations that stretches beyond common logic. There's actually plenty of logic in Aharen-san wa Hakarenai but it's how you approach the anime that defines what you get out of it. For instance, we are immediately introduced to Raidou and his social akawardness around others. But looking beyond his stoic face and personality, you can actually see that he is afriendly person. Upon meeting Ahraen, he wants to help her in any way he can. Our main protagonist Aharen has an even more stoic face who seems to be misunderstood for her expressions. In the first episode, their social interaction can be described as particularly strange. Let's face it, both characters have trouble expressing themselves. So when you have two characters behave in a similar matter, it looks like you're watching a mirror image of the two.
I must also inform that there's no complex story revolving around the two main characters. It's really about the two spending time together in a slice of life adventure. In other words, you shouldn't come into this show expecting some deep storytelling or even in-depth characterization. What should you expect is the non-linear sitcom like segments that we see from each episode involving the cast. Yes, Raidou and Aharen carries this anime on their backs with their personalities and wildly imaginations. In every epsiode, you can see from their point of view and their imaginations come to light. This is more evidenced in Raidou who often pictures Aharen in some wild fantasy. Don't get me wrong though. It's mostly innocent and stems from his perceptions of Aharen's character. There's no shock fan service or ecchi that misleads the viewers.
With the countless amount of humourous gags, it does make you question what the author was thinking when they made this series. And it's simple: to entertain. There's no hidden motive about this show at all. When it comes down to it, Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a comedy slice of life that loves its cast and characters. Even outside of the main cast, we have characters such as Mutsuki, Futaba, and even Aharen's family members that connects with the audience. Let's face it, you shouldn't be watching this show if you're not ready for some popcorn entertainment and laughter. When I watch a slice of life comedy, the very first thing I look for is the humor and that's what this anime is all about. HUMOR.
Based on the manga, each episode is decorated with simple yet effective designs. The most prevalent is how characters react in the case for Aharen and Raidou. They express themselves with curiousity yet are also very socially awkward. It's in human nature that they react in their own personal ways, just as we do. But make no mistake, their personal imaginations can go beyond the limits at times. Yet, the show is able to capture the magic of these imaginations with fluid and creative style of animation.
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is probably not an anime that you'd pick up easily as your first show. Even as relaxing and simple as it is, the anime can be quite bizarre for a slice of life. But does it work as the author intended? I believe the answer is absolutely. With each daring episode, I was entertained. By trascending beyond common sense, this anime is on a level of its own.
KANLen09
*Kan sits down with the male lead to talk about this show* Me: OK, So Raido, tell me what your show is all about. Raido: Domo (Hello), I'm Raido Matsuboshi, and this is the rom-com story (well, mostly SoL chill comedy) about me and my aloof classmate that is Reina Aharen. The things she does can set me overthinking about 1001 scenarios, from something as simple as sleep to even animals, in the most extreme of ways. Examples like: Why is she sleeping in class, did she get a scuffle with the Yakuza at night, only to reach home so late that she couldn't get a wink?Or why is she always ordering her pet dog around, did she develop personalities overnight so that she can be like a blatant master torturing her own servant?
Also Raido: Oh, Aharen has a big family to take care of, so much so that she couldn't sleep at home. And she's teaching her pet dog to obey simple commands. I see.
Me: Ooh, I see. *Showing the Resting Bitch Face*
It's this blatant, unassuming comedy and humour that makes mangaka Asato Mizu's 2nd anime adaptation through Aharen-san wa Hakarenai a.k.a Aharen Is Indecipherable (or Unfathomable, rather) really enjoyable, and for a very good reason. Asato Mizu is not just your typical author as he/she has no less than 15 series to the name, albeit only some that are worth mentioning like the 2014's Doujinshi ●Rec and 2011's manga Denki-gai no Honya-san (which already had an anime adaptation in 2014). If anything, Asato Mizu is the epitome of this quote: "Don't judge a book by its cover", something which've been refined since ●Rec, and it has worked well for this prolific author enough to use this quote as the core workaround of this manga, especially between the characters since this is a character-driven show.
Communication Disorder: It's a condition where a person has problems communicating with other people. This person is an example of someone with such a condition. An important thing to remember is: just because the person has problems communicating, doesn't mean that person doesn't want to communicate with others.
Wait, wait, wait, CHOTTO MATTE KUDASAI, why in the hell is Komi-san's driven dialogue here in Aharen-san wa Hakarenai??? The reality is very simple: Raido is like Tadano, starting off his first year in high school, but unlike the latter with his averageness that doesn't concern anyone, Raido possesses a naturally unfriendly face (or as the modern day culture calls it: RBF or Resting Bitch Face, which this unironically cracks me up, no shit xD), so much so that its hard to get to know him as a fellow classmate. Reina Aharen, on the other hand, she is similarly like Komi to the fact that she doesn't know how to communicate (initially), but at least she is aware of her surroundings to help Raido understand her intentions, which as I've already mentioned at the beginning of the review: tell Raido 1001 things and he'll still be overthinking about the possible scenarios which frame Aharen as anything and everything but herself. I sometimes wonder if this ongoing gag will get old pretty fast, but nope, Raido is always adapting to the situations that he is in every step of the way with Aharen, that this gag evolved to actual jokes and plays that are just plain ridiculous to watch, sometimes evolving to hilarious scenarios with things that have cemented themselves in pop culture a.k.a the fidget spinner (clearly shown in the ED) and Pokemon GO! (which is period accurate to the manga's release in early 2017). And this redonculous premise is what actually helps Aharen to propel the fact that while "comedy is subjective", it can be fun too, and this show embraced all of that and more, AND I LOVE IT. Shirorin!
Not to be outdone, what's the main cast of characters without the supporting characters. And let's start off with Aharen's childhood friend, the inadvertently huge-sized Mitsuki Oshiro who's tall, nervous, a crybaby and has androphobia (fear of men). Despite her nervous nature and with the stalker obsession of protecting Aharen from Raido for fear of contaminating her pure soul (like many other childhood friends do...in anime, that is), Mitsuki's a warm-loving and trustful friend that is able to confide in Aharen when she is down. But I'd say that she works really well on the basis that when Raido and Aharen are doing things together, her stalker senses are up to 100. Yet another childhood friends duo of Ishikawa and Hanako Sato, they haven't been around with the main character cast much, but one could speculate that they would be a couple, or at best a ship anyways. On the topic of Aharen's family however, everyone looked exactly the same as her, so much that the genetics are truly one-of-a-kind. The eldest in the family that is Reina, the youngest brother Ren and the middle sister Eru, everyone in the Aharen family is such a delight, but the one thing in common is not to infuriate the sisters when they have a knife in their hands, they can do harmful things out of jealousy (at least on Eru's case). But, BUT, if there's one set of characters I WOULD LOVE to have more of them, it's gotta be the homeroom teachers, mainly Aharen and Reina's teacher Toubaru "Momo"-sensei and Miyahira-sensei. These pair of teachers can be a subvert comedy gag on their very own, as Tobaru-sensei is even more wilder than Raido by fantasizing countless lovey-dovey delusions between Raido and Aharen in the most esteemed fashion possible, and losing countless heaps of blood from the resistance to wholesomeness. Also, Tobaru-sensei voiced by HanaKana just puts the icing on the cake much more worthwhile to display Death by Esteem. ESTEEMED, ESTEEMDER, ESTEEMDEST! Shirorin!
The relatively new director Tomoe Makino only has Spring 2020's Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro and this year's Netflix ONA Kotarou wa Hitorigurashi a.k.a Kotaro Lives Alone to his name. So, being an inexperienced director, they had to call someone for help, and that person is chief director Yasutaka Yamamoto (famous for 2013's Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?). He is a very versatile director who's been directing lots of shows that showcased different degrees of genres, and it definitely ain't a surprise that he directed the anime adaptation of the infamous adult visual novel Nekopara at studio Felix Film (which only started producing Nekopara content to begin with years before the 2020 anime). And I'd suppose that if not for Yasutaka Yamamoto, Aharen wouldn't be adapted as great as Asato Mizu's manga made it out to be, and it's an enjoyable feat through and through that's a blast to watch with the chill vibes. Really bright and colourful visuals with soft animation that still punches to the gut, also in a chill way that's easy on the eyes that makes Felix Film's production values really well done, considering that the main producer is the Chinese anime conglomerate licensor Bilibili, which means that this is a Chinese-Japanese production mix. Shirorin!
The chill vibes don't stop there, as the music is thoroughly the same as well. TrySail and HaKoniwalily's OP/ED OST is also enjoyable to listen to, as do the peppy BGM that makes Aharen sound like a jokester syndrome prank of a show that's playing with the audience of its gag contraptions. It's lighthearted and doesn't grate on your ears much, while maintaining the subtlety that this is SoL at its best and most calm. Shirorin!
It's safe to say that while Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is marketed as a rom-com of all things, it also isn't really one per se, as the comedy is more straight-laced and the SoL vibes are pretty much strewn all over the place to make this a cute and wholesome show. And no doubt that Aharen soothes the soul as you start the weekend to a relaxing gaze, just wanting to watch more seasonal mainstream anime that anyone and everyone can just pick up and watch, and not have anything to complain about. There has been too much action lately, why not try something more chill instead? To that I say: Aharen has got you covered, and this is comedy at its finest. Shirorin!
NomineMalum
"Quirky but delightful" Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a comedic slice-of-life anime between a tall "scary" guy and a soft-spoken petite gal. There are a ton of hilarious moments that are out of the cliché slapstick, at the very least I was taken by surprise by how wondrous this show truly is. Overall this anime has been great. The relationships between both protagonists are really wholesome and I am eager to read the manga to see their journey as countless individuals have been telling me to have a look in my own spare time. I definitely recommend this anime to anyone who just wants to sit and just experience thegood old friendship power trope.
A great show nonetheless 9/10
JiangHaoyi1979
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai or Aharen is Indecipherable.........Ok, for a Chinese owned studio "BiliBili" ok so let's get down to brass tax: Story-Good 7: Well, a lot of reviews don't have much love about this anime given that there is another with the same female character characteristics and yes that would be Komi from "Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu" which has a sequel in this season. But unlike the latter, this one was pretty much likable , give the relationship between tall guy and short girl didn't give us much annoyance. Also, the friendship between tall guy and short girl did give such comedy and romance substance thatthe said genre weren't boring to watch.
Art-Decent 4: Well, give that this anime doesn't show a lot of fanservices and the illustration were that erotic, such rating is just.
Sound-Good 7: At first we were goanna be give another female character like that of Komi but as it turn out the timid female character's voice wasn't a disappointment, even though she has to sort of whisper what she has to say, nevertheless, the seiyu who did the female lead's voice wasn't wasted.
Character-Good 7: Ok, so let's go over each character;
Aharen Reina- Ok, so she's the short girl who is indecipherable, why she was called that, even thought the one who often has a lot of wild imagination about her is her partner , Raidou? Is a big question in fact I really don't get as to why the original creator , Mizu Asato, has portrayed her like that, even though she can be deciphered.
Raidou, Matsuboshi-Now, him being this person which such fantastic way of understanding or misinterpreting Aharen, does give this anime it's pizzazz cu'z without his bizarre way of interpreting Aharen this anime would've have been boring.
Ooshiro, Mitsuki- She's the villain around here , even though she a girl with anxiety problem. But it was her stalker's personality that makes her the antagonist around here, despite of her being this weakling that any bully can take down.
Enjoyment-Good 7: Honestly, this wasn't really bad and it wasn't that annoying.
Overall-Very Good 8: Overall, this was just good, so season 2????Hummm, maybe yes or maybe not, but why not.
AnimeExplorer21
Oh my gosh, where do I even start with this anime?! This show is hands down one of the most beautiful romantic comedies I've ever seen - it's like a warm hug for your soul. From the moment I met Aharen, I was hooked. She's literally the cutest girl I've ever seen in my life - her adorable expressions, her quirky personality... I just can't get enough! And Raido, the main guy, is perfect for her - their dynamic is so sweet and natural. But what really makes this show shine is its ability to balance humor and heart. I laughed out loud so many times, butI also found myself feeling all the feels. The supporting cast is amazing too - they add so much depth and warmth to the story.
I love how the show explores themes of friendship, love, and self-discovery. It's like they took all the best parts of life and wrapped them up in a beautiful anime package.
I'm seriously begging for a season 2 - I need more Aharen and Raido in my life! If you haven't watched this show yet, do yourself a favor and get on it. Trust me, you won't regret it.
10/10, would watch again and again and again.
Snowtime4K
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS* Enjoyment: I believe this show is somewhat of a hidden gem this season, despite appearing rather typical at first glance. The dynamic of the cute, highly talented Aharen-san and Raidou; an average high-school boy with a vivacious imagination, works surprisingly well. I wouldn’t say the show is a masterpiece or that it outclasses other shows in the romantic comedy genre, but it holds up as a decent choice. It’s solid, but not very noteworthy unless you categorize yourself as someone who:1. Highly enjoys gratitude from an innocuous girl
2. Highly enjoys references to pop-culture from half a decade ago. ‘Blasts from the past’
Story:
Mostly episodic but has an overarching romance developing between the main characters. The show is simplistic and showcases both original and cliche characters. The pacing is fine for the most part, but there was a span of 3-4 episodes where the story seems to ramp up. If you pick up the show, you are watching entirely for the comedy, with the romance and other story elements being kept in the background.
I was satisfied with the ending, though I wouldn’t be surprised if another season was in production.
Comedy:
The jokes grew on me after 5 or 6 episodes, falling under formulaic humor with a few running gags. Often, Raidou will jump to outlandish conclusions from the smallest things. Raidou’s thoughts are shown through various scenarios in his mind, complemented by the neat art style. This constitutes a majority of the show’s humor. While a decent portion of the jokes seem “outdated”, they come across as refreshing rather than antiquated, due to the nature of the show’s general vibe.
Characters:
The characters aren’t too fleshed out and remain relatively traditional until the end. In a year from now, I won't remember anything about the characters besides the basic trope they encapsulate. If you’re looking for realistic or relatable characters, I would turn away immediately. The supporting cast is mediocre, if not mundane, except for the hilarious little girl who carries around a child safety whistle. Overall, the main team of Aharen and Raidou heavily carries the show’s enjoyment with their cute and funny dynamic.
Now for the bit that nearly made me drop the show. They introduce a character who spies on the main cast and doesn’t contribute well enough to the story to require her presence at all. I don’t think she fits in the story too well, when the author could have replaced her with a funnier character. Instead, she acts as a recurring gag for the entirety of the show and wastes screen time. They heavily detract from the humor and shift the mood of every scene possible. In all fairness, she is not completely awful. She does get a small amount of backstory, but it does not justify her character at all. If you are like me, you might have the urge to skip the scenes that she is involved in, but I would suggest powering through it anyway.
YamI_SukeHir0
Romantic comedies about awkward turtles seem to be all the rage lately. Whether they be shy teens or emotionally immature adults, most anime romcoms come with more than a dash of fumbling and socially-stunted quirkiness. Aharen-san is a girl who doesn’t know any personal boundaries. When associating with anyone, she constantly gets way up close, physically clings onto them, and stares deep into their soul without flinching. Our male lead, Raidou, is conveniently accepting of this personal quirk, but not without some initial hesitation. The story begins with Raidou getting to know this strange girl, while also incorporating some tactics to help with her “condition.” Aftera little while, this premise is completely dropped and everything goes straight to Hell. Just how I like it.
I’ve purposefully said very little about the male lead, Raidou. Based on what I’ve described of him, what do you think he’s like? Docile, but accepting? Nervous and fidgety? Blushes tremendously whenever Aharen gets anywhere near him? I’m sure you imagined this to some degree. Raidou is, one could argue, weirder than Aharen, the blunt chemistry these two share as a comedic duo, with Aharen partaking in weirdly intimate things and Raidou observing it completely objectively. Both characters often are drawn with completely blank expressions that hide their inner feelings, making everything vaguely cynical, which makes the humor all the more effective.
A lot of it comes from misunderstandings, which is commonplace, but the active imagination of Raidou makes everything so blissfully weird. Aharen is constantly hiding her face? Raidou believes that she recently got into a scuffle with a tiger and wants to hide the jagged scars from the world. Aharen can’t focus in class? She’s not getting enough sleep due to the multi-billion dollar corporation she runs suddenly coming under fire for money-laundering schemes. (These are fake but similar scenarios.) It is that imagination, however, that makes him, and the anime, so charming.
Unlike a lot of gentle comedies, however, Aharen-san has actual jokes. Gags! Japes! And a lot of them are actually really funny! Humorous! They tickled my funny bone! The nice thing about Aharen and Raidou being so soft-spoken is that it means the humor can't lean on the character's CONSTANTLY YELLING and instead has to find other ways to make a joke land. This made me very happy because I don't find headaches fun and humor-screeching is the fastest way to give me one. Instead, the physical comedy varies from making me smile to making me laugh out loud, because how could I not at the sight of a tiny girl throwing herself into her tall friend's skull like a purple-haired missile, shortly after pelting him with folded-up slips of paper all day?
So even if Aharen-san isn't the best or most original rom-com on the market, it's sweet and it's certainly funny enough to justify its own existence. The chill vibes hooked me instantly. Perhaps they're what you need too.
CBMiura
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai it's a decent anime. The animation it's good, the characters are developed through the show. But for me, the anime fall into the sameness. It's the same pattern, it's like a copy and paste with a little development of the characters. I found it enjoyable, but it was very hard to keep the same energy through the entire anime. So in my opinion, the anime start strong and from that, went down little by little. If you just want to laugh a little maybe Aharen-san wa Hakarenai it's good for you. But if you want a comedy anime that keep improving while developíng it'sstory and characters, then, I woudn't recommend this for you.
lycoping
As you might see from my previous reviews, I have very little tolerance for anime that phones it in. Whether it be an anime that takes itself seriously and falls flat, or that doesn't take it seriously but can't deliver, I'm usually pretty hard on anime when they don't measure up. This is one I actually really liked and don't have too many negative things to say (but there are a few). This is a comedy. There are ordinary situations taken to absurd lengths for comedic effects, and then those absurd lengths become part of "canon" and are lampshaded by other characters. This issomething that's very difficult to pull off and can be very annoying when done wrong, but in this anime, it's not done wrong. The absurd situations are just absurd enough to be funny and somewhat unrealistic, but not absurd enough to take you out of the story.
The story centers around an expressionless boy's efforts to get close to his expressionless (and indecipherable) classmate, Aharen Reina. They quickly strike up a close friendship - very close, because Aharen can't judge distance well. Physically, as well as socially. As the story progresses, it becomes something closer to a sweet romance rather than just a friendship, but it's still really cute and the trevails their relationship encounters are believable enough that it doesn't take you out of the story.
For the most part, I enjoyed this anime, enough so that I bought the manga.
As with nearly all anime, though, this one's not perfect. My biggest complaint about this anime comes from a tsundere child character who is, well, in Japanese they'd call her a mendokusai (pain in the rear). She keeps accusing the MC of SA, or threatening to, for no reason, and that's amazingly annoying. She's also interested in a little boy who's, well, a boy, and, well, it's an arc (and character) that I kind of could do without. Aharen does kind of become a big sister to her, though, and that's a little cute. And there's also a female teacher character who gets *absurd* nosebleeds for reasons that are a little, um.... creepy. I won't go into more details to avoid spoilers, but she's supposed to be a comic relief character and that just falls flat. There's another character who is, I think, Aharen's childhood friend who is pretty much the exact opposite of Aharen in almost every way - including physically, and is somewhat prone to violence. I'm still trying to figure out why she wears a different uniform, but, maybe it's just because Aharen's wouldn't look as good on her. That's kind of a bad reason for character design inconsistency, but I guess that's a small complaint. And then there's Aharen's brother, er, sister, er... ummm...
Basically, many (nearly all, come to think of it) of the supporting characters are useless and add nothing to the story, in fact, they often detract from it. They're not even funny. But then, you don't watch an anime for the supporting characters (usually) so it's not a huge deal.
But that doesn't take away from the story itself, particularly between the two main characters. All told, I really liked it, and i don't regret watching it. There aren't many anime I can say that about wholeheartedly. So, a nice "recommend" from me, and not just because I think *you* might like it - this is one of those anime where I did as well.
Mcsuper
It’s iyashikei greatness. This isn’t your normal run of the mill rom-com, it’s more a slice of life of two classmates, and then it gets a little romantic. Raido’s vivid imagination and Toubaru-Sensei nose bleeding just makes me smile, and I don’t know why. Maybe I’m just a sucker for deadpan humour, but this was better than some other big rom-coms this season. Yes, I’ll say it, I think it was better than Shikimori and Komi this season. Also, a comedy where the romance actually kinda gets somewhere? Who knew that was possible? This was a joy to watch throughout for sure, not because itbecame more romantic in the second half, but just how consistently funny it was for me.
My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20
STORY: 17/25
There’s really not a whole lot going on in each episode, since it’s pretty episodic for the most part, and there’s not a whole lot to talk about in the plot department. Glad that the characters had some development and the comedy was pretty decent throughout though.
ART: 8.2/10
It’s pretty basic, but it is colourful and vibrant, and fits the atmosphere welL.
MUSIC: 8.7/10
Big fan of both the opening and ending. TrySail and Hakoniwa Lily did a great job. The soundtrack itself isn’t too noticeable but from what I heard of it, it fit the vibe of the show well.
CHARACTERS: 17.2/20
This show benefits from having a good main duo, but also a bunch of very fun side characters, which not every show has. Obviously Reina and Raido are fun to watch. Reina is a very small girl who doesn’t really know social boundaries and talks very quietly, but quickly this theme became obsolete as the show progressed. Raido is someone who is also pretty deadpan and doesn’t show much emotion, but has very vivid imagination about Reina’s antics, ranging from thinking she was a killer, even making a Kill Bill reference along the way, to thinking she was a sumo wrestler when Reina ate too much and got fat. The imagination was pretty enjoyable to watch, since it was very different each time.
Now, the side characters. My favourite side character has to be Toubaru-Sensei, since she’s all about esteem, and when Reina and Raido do something cute, or weird, she reacts in the form of nose bleeds, and the sub plots about her and Miyahira-Sensei being together was just honestly hilarious.
And what’s a rom-com without a little side romance? Futaba and Atsushi’s little thing together was so fun to watch too, and how Atsushi regards Raido as “king” was so funny to me too.
Finally, we got Reina’s siblings. They all look like her. That’s basically the gist of it.
ENJOYMENT: 14.5/15
Even though it’s pretty bare bones in terms of production, I still really enjoyed this show, and it gave me a lot of laughs along the way.
THEMATIC EXECUTION: 17/20
The comedic themes were handled great, really loved the deadpan comedy they went for, and it works. The romance themes were a bit sudden, felt like the source material, which I haven’t read, was probably slower paced in terms of romantic developments, but that’s just a guess. Overall, just very enjoyable.
OVERALL: 82.6/100
It’s not the prettiest out there, it’s not a “loud” or “fast-paced” show, it’s iyashikei done very well. The comedy definitely intrigued me more than the romance side of things, but all things considered, there’s not much to complain about. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it was definitely fun to watch every single week.
Oh, one more thing, fidget spinners in 2022? That, I did not expect.
BowlerConspiracy
"Can you match my speed, Aharen-san?" -- the following is a brief paragraph on my overall thoughts, followed by spoilers of formula and those last few episodes. reader discretion advised. -- Inoffensive fluff is what I'd probably call Aharen Is Indecipherable. It exists and therefore it is, nothing more. It isn't very funny, the leads are enjoyable, it's formulaic, the majority of side characters are bad, etc. A show that obviously brings heavy comparison to Komi, this suffers from similar and different problems. Aharen's main focus is the chemistry between the two leads, the titular character and Raido. Both of them are brand new high school students andRaido decides that this is the point in his life where he'll be more sociable which starts with befriending his seatmate. A friendship forms. The formula of the show is usually as follows:
Aharen is attempting to do something in a way that attracts Raido's attention.
Raido assumes the activity is something deeper than it is like she's an assassin or training to be a sumo wrestler or any other outlandish possibility.
He discovers it's something fairly normal and assists her in success.
The assistance consists of bizarre methods rather than the straightforward one or just a flurry of ideas. We need to make an art project, let's try sculpting, modeling for one another, etc. It's hard for us to communicate, let's try morse code, communicating via falcon, etc.
They succeed in some way, she shows gratitude for him, end arc.
It gets repetitive after multiple episodes but stays, as I said, just something slightly fun to keep you entertained for the 20 or so minutes it's present. There are sideplots to spice it up, but all of which I found boring and, well, unfunny. A teacher that finds their relationship so 'esteemful' she passes out whenever they do something, a little girl who sees her as a rival for her crush, a childhood friend that has to watch from a distance, and the Aharen family being confused by Raido as Reina.
Over the course of the majority of the season, it seems to be fairly standard slice of life. Yet, it takes on romance near the end. Everything beforehand seemed to just be of a friendship forming and how Aharen acted with everyone, anything romantic could usually just be dismissed as her failure to interpret distance. It goes on to be a thing of more blushing, friends and family telling Raido how she talks about him, all culminating in a confession that's well done visually and conceptually. A friendship can grow to be something deeper. I thought the problem would be "where do we go for here?" as if these antics couldn't continue in such a way if they were dating, but the last episode seems to reaffirm that everything will be the same with Aharen noting that her new partner is "dense".
As I will repeat for the third time in a slightly different manner, it's light and easy to digest anime. Will you be laughing consistently? Nah. Will you be filled to your heart's content with emotion? Nah. Will you grow attached to the characters? Nah. Does it occasionally strike gold and surprise you? Yeah. Shouldn't be at the top of your watchlist, but not a worthless addition to the catalog.
nalist
Kinda comedy that slowly transforms into romance/comedy. First episode is lame and almost made me drop this anime but I am really glad that I made through it. Whole thing of socially non-functioning Reina is a hard sell because of how bad it is first pictured, but it doesn't lasts and after couple episodes this theme is almost forgotten. When you get into the story, it flows pretty good - simple and enjoyable. But structure of generic gags doesn't really change throughout series so it can become stale and bothersome at the end. Story does have school setting which could be a minus, as it ishighly overused, but thankfully it is kept to a minimum of plot importance. Generally story revolves around pair and does not put much into highschool stuff so it is kinda ok.
There is strong Kanna-san vibes from Reina (which is nice?).
Ssj_1nstinct
I don't remember what made me mark this down to watch but I'm glad I did. It's perfect I like all the characters in this show. They're so adorable, funny, charismatic, weird etc. One of the main characters looks like a regular boring plain faced anine guy but this dude is absolutely hilarious. His imagination is wild and it never gets old and he's super expressive internally. Aharen in so genuine and sweet and funny and that extends to some many of rhe other characters. I've seen characters like the ones in this show and they end up annoying or unintentionally mean or something butthis is all so wholesome.
I haven't kicked my feet giddy like a teen girl in a while but this did it. No spoilers
LikeAFerro
Aharen-san is a simple, wholesome, funny romantic comedy. There is really not much to say about it, it's just a feel good show, a very good one at that. If you think this is just a Komi-san round 2... Well you're not entirely wrong, the similarities between the two shows are quite evident, but I'll say they have their fair share of differences. Aharen-san has really a ton of funny gags, I don't think I've watched any of the episodes without laughing. While Reina herself is cute and clumsy, has some extremely memeable scenes but isn't really much more than that, Raidou is surely the MVP ofthe show and one of the funniest male leads in recent romcoms. His way of talking, his imagination constantly running to extremes and his character design all contribute to making him funny in every situation.
Add the supporting cast featuring a handful of characters who, while not getting developments (which honestly this anime doesn't need) all have their respective gags which I found pleasantly enjoyable (special shoutout to Toubaru-sensei).
The art style is great, the OP and the ED both rock, the animation is solid when it needs to be.
Overall, Aharen-san is a great show to watch whenever you're looking for a lighthearted romcom.
Chief_AJ
Aharen-san is a feel-good that can put a smile on anyone's day. I wasn’t expecting much, but the comedy would hit from time to time, some episodes being better than others, but overall if you're looking for an anime that makes you feel happy inside, this is a solid choice. Art: 6 The art was fine, to be honest, but it's not like I was expecting god-tier-level animation. It sufficed when it needed to and I have no complaints about the art. I guess you could say the character design is whatever, but still pleasing to look at. Sound: 6 If I had to be honest Iwasn’t the biggest fan of the sound design, but the wacky sound effects that would come in, in the background fit the type of show that it was. Also, the opening and endings weren't bad either.
Characters: 7
The characters are a little one-dimensional, but it just fits into the comedic bill of the entire show and they do delve into the characters from time to time. I dont really have a complaint as they did the job just fine.
Story: 9
This may seem like a high score, but I wasn’t expecting much story for this anime to be completely honest with you, and I was personally impressed by how solid those last sets of episodes were, as I was thoroughly satisfied with the ending.
