Shintarou Tokumitsu leads an ordinary high school life while living in a studio apartment just for himself. This changes drastically one morning after he finds something strange on his balcony—an angel from Heaven. The innocent and kind girl named Towa was sent to Earth by God to learn more about humans and their way of interacting. It does not take long for her to get attached to Shintarou, who eventually allows her to live with him.
However, the small apartment provides little personal space and privacy, and hiding Towa's real identity from the public proves difficult. As he learns to navigate his new life with Towa, Shintarou's encounters with other girls may only complicate the circumstances.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
KANLen09
Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included. - A rom-com harem with beings of the supernatural kind...that's kinda decent. In my opinion, if there's a genre that has been overdone for many of its sub-genre creations, it would be the romance genre, right after Isekai/fantasy. And if you need any proof to see why, see the offerings for the upcoming Summer 2024 season. But back to Spring, the genre is still in rest thanks to its lack of offerings (thus far), and this season, from the same author that brought you Fall 2018's rom-com Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu mama. a.k.a As Miss Beelzebub Likes., mangaka matoba is backwith another one of his/her rom-com works, in the form of the author's latest work: One Room, Hiatari Futsuu, Tenshi-tsuki. a.k.a Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included.
They say all the good and remarkable guys will have all of the ladies flock to them for anything they adore, and this can also happen for guys on the opposite spectrum as well. Case in point, the series's MC Shintarou Tokumitsu, who's the embodiment of the fairly typical and unremarkable high school boy who lives in a Studio Apartment alone and works part-time in a family restaurant for his wages, even though he does receive allowance from his parents. This provides Good Lighting for his home, until an angel descends from Heaven with a mission to learn more about humanity, which scares Shintarou much and forces him to accept the fact to take her into his place since she doesn't have social awareness of her surroundings, hence the "Angel Included" moniker.
As far as rom-coms go, this show will absolutely not win any awards for breaking the harem bank (100 Girlfriends already dominates this aspect much), but I have to give props to author matoba for choosing to target the rom-com genre with a touch of the supernatural to stand out from the rest of the overflated pack. Shintarou is at heart a good-natured boy, and the angel he took in, Towa, is truly the embodiment of what angels look like: the perfect caretaker who knows their master's needs and even goes beyond their natural instincts. And she's not just the only heroine of the series, there're others who are taken in by Shintarou's understanding behaviour, consisting of a tsundere, a yuki-onna, a vampire, and a kappa. All the girls, though having unique quirks on their own, are likable and have affection for Shintarou in one way or another, though deep down he already knows who captured his heart from the very start. This is what will make or break the audience watching this show, from the cuddly feelings to the pure boredom of the "will they, won't they" aspect of any plot semblance.
Everything else about the anime is just fine and nothing to write home about. Okuruto Noboru and in-house director Kenta Oonishi did decent, making the show look as pure and pleasing as it can be, as well as tagging together Yui Ogura's OP and SoundOrion's ED for a casual rom-com experience (though I really like SoundOrion's ED...just at a faster pace and not this slow-moving).
To the observant anime fan, this show is regarded as a work easily lost in the sea of many other contemporaries like it, and though I quite liked this to a good extent, I would only recommend this show if you have absolutely nothing to watch and just want to experience a decent to good time of rest of a standard, typical rom-com that's easy to pick up and hard to put down (provided you don't think much about progression).
PanzerIV-J
"Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included" is a good overall anime. However, there is an issue with it. The anime features a female MC with good character development, but it has an overly cringy and bland male MC with an uninteresting personality. Story-wise, "Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included" has a decent plot involving a clueless angel named Towa and a slightly awkward male MC named Shintarou. The premise of an angel adapting to human life alongside a regular guy has a lot of potential. Towa's innocence and Shintarou's awkwardness could create a compelling dynamic. They pair up decently well, at least theoretically, providing moments of humorand charm. However, the big issue is that Shintarou remains overly bland throughout the entire series. He shows almost no maturity and has zero interests besides pleasing Towa by giving her gifts and attention.
A good comparison to this anime is the first season of "Tonikaku Kawaii" (AKA, TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You), which features a male MC named Nasa who has a well-constructed personality. In "Tonikaku Kawaii," Nasa is shown as intelligent, hardworking, and deeply in love with his wife, Tsukasa. The producers actively show Nasa's beliefs and the reasons behind his actions, making him relatable and engaging. His actions are driven by his values and goals, which are clearly communicated to the audience. In contrast, Shintarou feels like a blank self-insert character with almost no personality. This is probably because the producers were afraid of giving him more depth that could be critiqued. As a result, Shintarou's motivations and actions often feel shallow and unconvincing.
Here's an example to illustrate this: [Tiny Spoiler] In the last episode, Shintarou buys a gift for Towa at a gift shop just because she glanced at it for a moment. This act, meant to be touching, falls flat due to its lack of depth. Instead of showing Shintarou's growth or genuine understanding of Towa, it feels like a forced attempt to create an emotional high point. Shintarou's decision seems driven more by the need for a "wholesome" moment than by any real connection between the characters. Compared to other well-crafted series, where such gestures are based on solid character development, this scene in "Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included" feels like a missed opportunity. It focuses on surface-level interactions and misses the deeper emotional resonance that could have been achieved with better, more thoughtful writing.
🗿 Overall, a tad disappointing and expected a lot more out of this anime, 6.5/10. 🗿
Marinate1016
Tenshi-Tsuki isn’t anything new. Teenaged hs student who somehow lives alone meets beautiful girl who ends up being an angel on the way home one day, she moves in, she acts as the perfect mother/wife figure to him, other girls join harem etc. We’ve seen this set up dozens of times, but where Tenshi-Tsuki separates itself is in execution. The girls are all cute, likeable and the story is really about them all coming together and forming a friendship group with the MC at the center rather than just competing with each other for the MC’s affections. They all genuinely care about one another andit makes for a very lighthearted and enjoyable viewing experience. It really ends up playing out more like a traditional wholesome CGDCT slice of life with the harem aspect in the background. The added spice of each girl having supernatural origins and struggling to connect with other people as a result was a cool twist. Really enjoyed seeing all of them gradually come out of their shells and be accepted for the first time in their lives.
The show is also really damn funny. It plays on some tropes heavily, but I just thought the jokes landed well. The girls all have their dumb blonde moments and they’re just so earnest and pure you can’t help but giggle when watching them.
Like most MCs of this genre, Shintaro is a little annoying with how flustered he gets and how he acts at times towards the girls, but he’s not the worst by any means. He’s actually pretty reliable and knows exactly what to say and when to say it. Room for improvement, but he’s solid.
Fanservice is surprisingly not a big thing in here. Yea there’s a beach episode and some occasional shots, but it’s nothing crazy and definitely mild compared to other harem shows, so if that’s something you’re not into, you may appreciate that. For me it was a little disappointing since I love fanservice, but hey, can’t win em all.
Bottom line, this is a fun show that surprised me. Thought it would be the generic harem of the season and ended up giving me some of my fave characters and moments this season. Gorgeous art, designs and a nice seiyuu line up. I’ll miss it a lot. I will certainly be reading the manga.
Tenshi-Tsuki gets 9 wings out of 10.
snetygun
Obligatory TMT. One Room, Hiatari Futsuu, Tenshi-tsuki (or Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included if you prefer the localized name) is a feel-good anime centering around the lives of Shintaro and Towa, and in all honesty, that's about it. It's a great-looking, feelgood, substance-less show whose primary good points come from it's production. The plot is haphazard, because it's not meant to be much of story told as much as it resembles all of the working parts of a basic romcom. The heroines, for the most part, are interesting characters (sans Hisui who I have some grievances with) who work as fun foils for one another -even with a surprisingly mature scene with Noeru. I think it's safe to say that I did enjoy watching this show.
My biggest criticism is that a lot of the more serious heart-to-heart scenes are downright eyerolling, and a big example of this I feel is Hisui. Hisui, as a character, feels like unnecessary bloat to the cast at best, and a romcom plot device at worst. For how much screentime is dedicated to her, she fails to stand out as a particularly interesting character, and especially not one that I'd rather see have screentime or development over the other heroines. For all of the attention the plot draws to her, there is very little meaningful payoff be it comedic or otherwise. My worry is that this may be a precedent for a hypothetical (though definitely not happening) second season - if they introduce new characters just to develop them slightly and take away from the currently implemented cast, the series will likely be worse off for it. Please just let me see more of the chuuni-vampire.
Another nitpick that doesn't affect the score of the show but does reflect the current status of the anime industry is the localized subtitles on Crunchyroll. I understand that not every western viewer is gonna know what a "JK" is, but localizing it to "zoomer" just makes me frown. It's not offensively bad like the dubbing of Dragonmaid, but come on, man...
All in all, though, that's just my opinion. If you want to watch a 12-episode anime with a great production value and a solid cast with decent humor, this anime is for you. If you want something more, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.
RobertBobert
One Room, Hiatari Futsuu, Tenshi-tsuki is one of those pseudo CGDCT harem shows that adds romance and a male self-insert protagonist to the classic "cute girls doing cute things" four-girl ensemble formula. It more or less works if you want a big dose of sugary moe in a non-all-female anime, but ends up being pretty mediocre if you're expecting at least an average harem show from it. It's far from a perfect female focused Slice of Life anime, but it does a good job of delivering cute content. All the girls are cute and have more or less well-defined personalities. At least for this type ofshow. I had no problems getting involved in what was happening and I quickly began to care about it, waiting to see how this or that character reacted to the “irritants” that arose. For example, I particularly liked and remembered Noeru with her quirky take on friendship based on Class S or even yuri-ish tropes from an all-female show (again, going back to my comparison to CGDCT above). The main character, Towa, is also quite sweet, her naive reaction to even the most mundane things is written quite sweetly and believably, although a little too silly at times.
Where this anime really starts to have noticeable problems is in trying to be a harem story. Or even have some story in general. While the first episodes tease us with the idea of romance between a human and an angel and all that that entails, and then the difficulties of finding an ordinary person in the spotlight of various supernatural beings (which the anime repeatedly tries to satirize itself), by the middle it all gets thrown into the direction of a very slow cliché development and plotless comedy CGDCT. The central quirks of the characters are noticeably smoothed out and then we actually just see cute girls with some kind of comedic character trait. For example, the Noeru I previously mentioned already after 2-3 episodes almost completely loses her supernatural part, simply becoming a hyper-impressionable girl who is familiar with friendship only from manga and anime.
The same applies to romantic development. If you've watched at least 2-3 harems, you can clearly see where each of the girls expectedly began to develop feelings for the MC, but all this remains rather formal outside of Towa as the female lead and another character with the gimmick of an unlucky childhood friend. Although One Room is one of those harem shows where the male character constantly leads a group of girls in love like a mother duck to her ducklings, the show spends more time on its CGDCT with the male protagonist than it does anything to develop its romantic aspect. Although to be fair, the emergence of girl's romantic feelings that we can see, seems quite natural and reasonable, allowing you to see and feel the MC's chemistry with various girls. Especially with the original three.
Ultimately, I would have no problem recommending this show to you if you want to relax and watch something similar to CGDCT, but with a male protagonist that you can identify with. The show is funny and cute enough to entertain and relax a not particularly picky viewer. But it's not the best show if you're looking for a harem romance or a show with "monster girls", as the show disappointingly quickly stops developing that, concentrating more on the comedic Slice of Life of cute quirky characters.
AniFan003222
One Room, Hiatari Futsuu, Tenshi-tsuki” is an amazing anime filled with sweet moments that melt your heart. The adorable scenes and incredibly cute gestures are simply irresistible, making you fall in love with the characters. The countless hilarious situations will have you laughing out loud. Truly, this anime is a delightful experience ! The story of “One Room, Hiatari Futsuu, Tenshi-tsuki” is quite unique with its charming blend of everyday life and supernatural elements. Even if some parts are predictable, the delightful interactions and heartwarming moments make it enjoyable, especially if you are a fan of this genre and setting. The art style perfectly complements the story.The cute and vibrant visuals enhance the overall charm and appeal of the anime, making the sweet and funny moments even more impactful.
The characters are well-rounded, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They are not overly perfect, which makes them relatable and endearing. Their unique personalities and quirks add depth to the story.
I believe others would enjoy this series because of its heartwarming and humorous moments. The adorable characters and engaging storyline have a broad appeal. Even if someone doesn’t typically enjoy this genre, the quality of the storytelling and the charming art style might still win them over.
10/10
Tonalpaca
A lovely blend of fanservice and cuteness in just the right amounts, all packaged up in a visual treat. While this anime won’t make you come to any life-changing epiphanies, it will provide a joyful amount of enjoyment across all spectrums of typical anime spheres. Unless you absolutely hate fan-service or need blood and gore in your anime, this one is worth a try for sure. There is fanservice in this anime, yes. However it's in very modest amounts, and doesn’t feel out of place or incredibly forced to the narrative. It's also considerably front loaded and diminishes as the season goes on. It alsocomes with it some very prettily drawn elements of clothes and bodies, ones that would be inspiring to an artist or mangaka.
Everything else illustratively in One Room is stellar, from the expressive eyes to the variations between characters. It’s not a masterpiece by any stretch, however it doesn’t need to be. That said, the backgrounds and landscapes could do with a bit more variety, but that feels like nitpicking for what this anime is.
Probably the biggest surprise of this anime is how well the voice casting and voice acting is. Lines delivered by all have a strong sense of emotion behind them, and the voice for the female MC in particular is perfect.
Storyline wise, this isn't a masterpiece or a thought provoking grand epic, but that's to be expected for an anime in this genre. And while it does get somewhat harem-ey, its nowhere near as bad as it could have been.
This series is worth a try for the first four episodes, and if you love it or like it, keep watching. If you don't then it's not for you and that's okay!
AnimeExplorer21
This anime was a delightful surprise, like finding an angel on your balcony (literally!). Shintarou's ordinary life is turned upside down when Towa, a kind and innocent angel, crash-lands into his studio apartment. I loved how their relationship evolved from awkward encounters to a heartwarming bond. Towa's curiosity about humans and her childlike wonder made me laugh and smile. But what really stood out was the exploration of personal space and privacy. With Towa living in the tiny apartment, things get cozy (and complicated!) fast. I appreciated how the show tackled the challenges of hiding Towa's true identity and navigating relationships with other girls. And then there's Tsumugi,Shintarou's classmate and friend - she's an absolute sweetheart! If Towa wasn't in the picture, I'd totally ship Shintarou with Tsumugi. Their friendship is genuine and adorable, and Tsumugi's energy is infectious. She's definitely a highlight of the show!
The animation was lovely, with a soft color palette that fit the show's gentle atmosphere. And the music? Wonderful!
Overall, Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included is a must-watch for anyone seeking a heartwarming anime with a touch of humor and romance. It's a delightful ride that'll leave you smiling!
Lessap
"Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included" oferece uma experiência leve e divertida, ideal para quem gosta de comédia e slice of life com um toque de fantasia. A química entre os personagens principais e as situações cômicas são os maiores pontos fortes, enquanto a trama simples e o ritmo inconsistente são os principais pontos fracos. No geral, é uma série que vale a pena assistir para momentos de descontração, sem grandes expectativas de profundidade narrativa. Pontos Positivos. 1 Personagens Carismáticos: Kotarou e Tia têm uma química divertida, e suas interações são o ponto alto do anime. A ingenuidade de Tia e a atitude resignada de Kotarou gerammuitas situações cômicas e emocionantes.
2 Comédia e Slice of Life: O equilíbrio entre momentos cômicos e situações cotidianas realistas torna o anime leve e agradável de assistir. As situações absurdas que Tia cria por desconhecer as normas humanas são hilárias.
3 Animação e Arte: A qualidade da animação é boa, com cenários bem detalhados e expressões faciais que realçam a comédia e as emoções dos personagens. A arte é colorida e vibrante, refletindo o tom leve da série.
4 Desenvolvimento de Personagem: Ao longo da série, há um desenvolvimento visível nos personagens principais. Kotarou começa a sair de sua apatia e encontrar novos significados para sua vida, enquanto Tia aprende sobre a complexidade da vida humana.
Pontos Negativos.
1 Trama Simples: A história pode ser considerada rasa por alguns espectadores, já que a premissa e o desenvolvimento são bastante simples. Não há grandes reviravoltas ou uma trama profunda.
2 Ritmo Inconsistente: Em alguns episódios, o ritmo pode parecer lento, especialmente quando a comédia não é tão forte. Isso pode fazer com que alguns espectadores percam o interesse.
3 Personagens Secundários Subdesenvolvidos: A série tende a focar bastante em Kotarou e Tia, deixando outros personagens com menos tempo de tela e desenvolvimento. Isso pode fazer com que o mundo do anime pareça um pouco limitado.
4 Clichês: O anime utiliza muitos clichês típicos de comédia romântica e fantasia, o que pode ser previsível para espectadores que buscam algo inovador.
JrDetectiveUBet
Anodyne. Nothing particularly good, but nothing bad either. I wouldn't bother leaving a review, but I'm super pissed off, and need to vent. Whoever translated this into English needs to knock that shit off, westernizing Japanese expressions. It's insulting, like 90's anime translation style. Do the job right, of seek life elsewhere. MAL is making me pad the review, so I'll include an angel joke: There was this preacher who was an avid golfer. Every chance he could get, he could be found on the golf course swinging away. It was an obsession. One Sunday was a picture perfect day for golfing. The sunwas out, no clouds in the sky, and the temperature was just right. The preacher was in a quandary as to what to do, and shortly, the urge to play golf overcame him. He called an assistant to tell him that he was sick and could not do church, packed the car up, and drove three hours to a golf course where no one would recognize him. Happily, he began to play the course.
As this was going on, an angel up above was watching the preacher and was quite perturbed. He went to God and said, "Look at the preacher. He should be punished for what he is doing." God nodded in agreement. The preacher teed up on the first hole. He swung at the ball, and it sailed effortlessly through the air and landed right in the cup three hundred and fifty yards away! A picture perfect hole-in-one. He was amazed and excited, his mouth open in shock. The angel was a little shocked as well. He turned to God and said, "Begging Your pardon, but I thought you were going to punish him."
God smiled. "Think about it... who is he going to tell?!?"
Flacion
A normal high school student that ends up with an angel in his apartment and a twist in his life that only grows weirder. We follow Shintarou, a normal high school boy, who one day has an angel, Towa, show up at his apartment. From that point on we follow the two of them as they start to live some sort of a normal life, where slowly more people get involved in it. From there we follow their everyday life and the interesting situations all the characters end up in. For the plot, it is very clear that the season is very much about introducing all thecharacters in the Harem, and then to actually start learning about the different characters. Though the different characters are often introduced through different means and situations, which gives the plot some flow to it. The supernatural part also helps make the plot more interesting, because otherwise it would just be another very simple slice of life harem anime.
The characters are not unique in itself, they are very much cookie cuts of known stereotypes, where each girl is a very distinct type. There isn’t that much noteworthy progression in the characters, where only a few of them take some steps forward. The only thing that really sets them apart is their relation to the supernatural spectra.
When it comes to the genres, the anime covers all the different aspects just fine. It lives up to the comedy and romance part through it being a romcom harem, and the supernatural and mythological part is clearly shown through the characters.
The animation is in general a very normal level, but one thing that is noteworthy is the amount of still images used throughout the show.
Overall it is a fine anime, where if you really like harem anime and would like a supernatural twist to it, is this definitely worth watching. But if you’re not that much into it, I would recommend watching something else.
ST63LTH
One Room is a series where fictional entities like Angels, Kappas, and Vampires enter the modern world with a twist—they are cute anime girls. Choosing Shintarou Tokumitsu as their host, he must brace for the unknown and unexpected, all while working a part-time job and studying in high school. What awaits Shintarou on his journey of interacting with them? Story & Character: 5/10 The story is nothing unique, featuring a stereotypical average modern-day main character swarmed by cute non-human characters. What sets One Room apart is that Shintarou isn't parading around girls; instead, we experience modern amenities and activities for the first time through a lifestyle approach.The story can feel slow at times since the narrative is driven by adventures with no sense of plot goals, making the characters more of the focus than the story.
Character development is executed fairly well. One Room takes an episodic approach, introducing new characters each episode. Working together, they try to overcome obstacles, which is evident through character drama. Shintarou acts as a mediator throughout the series, resolving conflicts, even light-hearted jealousy between characters. However, this isn't groundbreaking or noteworthy, as dedicated dramas and psychological series delve deeper into character psychology.
Art & Sound: 6/10
The art of One Room is simple and enjoyable. There aren't any fancy bouts of animation or noticeable drops in quality throughout the series.
The sound design is decent by modern standards. The quirky music helps with comic effect when needed, and the ending music is very cutesy and iconic. Voice acting is generally well-done, though I'm not a fan of Towa's dialogues at times because they sound awkward (intentionally keeping the vocals soft and high-pitched). However, both art and sound are decent enough to avoid noticeable discrepancies.
Overall & Enjoyment: 5/10
One Room was an entertaining watch, but there were aspects I didn't personally favor. I'm not a fan of the fan service, but I'm glad it was rare. The weak self-insert MC trope is criminally overused in this genre, but I could tolerate Shintarou. It would have been nice to have some male characters, like Shintarou's friends, join in the activities, but the harem tag viewers likely prefer no competition for their waifu. Despite this, I enjoyed the light-hearted comedy and moments of random absurdity.
iwoply
This anime is wholesome and cute but it fails as a Romance Harem and should have been a pure Slice of Life/Cute Girls doing Cute Things, anime instead, because that's what it excels at with exceptional female characters that are more than their tropes. I genuinely believe that the shows highs are completely undercut by the male lead although he does act as connective tissue between the girls. The Male lead is your generic NICE GUY Harem MC but somehow less than that. One could describe him as an extreme discount version of Rentarou from 100GF's but saying that is a disservice to 100gfs. My main gripeis that the show excels at the characterization of the female cast & the interactions between the girls which is something noticeable from episode 3 and reinforced as the season continues. These interactions elevate the entertainment and watch value something chronic because the interactions between the MC & Angel while to some degree are cute, end up lacking in comparison & if you look beyond the cute stuff, you can see a weirdly controlling nature because she can't leave the apartment without him, which even gets addressed by another character and then swept under the rug. Their scenes take the majority of screen time which is a shame because it’s the worst the show offers outside of needless & recurring fan service. Episode 10 is one of the best episodes in the season because it's just the girls hanging out and exploring their friendship.
Honestly, I think this would have been great as a Cute Girls Doing Cute Things Slice of Life anime instead of a Harem with a male lead because he is no match for the girls quality and what good moments he has with them is few and far between. I don't think it's worth watching as a Romance Harem. If you're out of things to watch and/or you want some great interactions between the girls in the show that aren't restricted to their tropes (although those interactions are limited) Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included should be watched for those alone.
Stark700
I convinced myself that nowadays, any anime can have any type of character seemingly dropping into a protagonist's doorsteps for no apparent reason. Obviously, that's part of how to get a plot running but this can easily be applied to this cute little gem known as Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel. And yes, you can guess it from its headlines, the main protagonist meets an angel in a one room apartment. Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel introduces itself as a modern day rom-com with supernatural elements. And yes, the poster does indeed gives off a bit of harem vibes. That's not necessarily a dreadful thing asnot harems are created equal. Instead, we should focus more on the main story and cast. From the start, the ordinary high school student known as Shintarou Tokumitsu is introduced to the audience. I emphasize the word 'ordinary' here because he is about as ordinary as any high school student in an anime. If he wasn't the main protagonist, you can technically replace him with any side character and the audience wouldn't notice. The first episode takes off immediately when we are introduced to the angel, Towa. Dropping into his apartment literally, she becomes the main focus of Shintarou's life. And for what reason is she even here? The cliffnotes version is that God assigned her to watch over humans and bring happiness. There may or may not be other motives but we should go with the flow. Nonetheless, Towa is the main female protagonist.
Towa is truly a kindhearted angel, who is more than just a pretty face. Despite being oblivious to the modern age and human world, she learns quickly and tries to be as helpful as she can. It's established early that Shintarou has a crush on her although Towa herself doesn't seem to understand the idea of romance. This is where the plot gets more complicated as the two builds on a relationship, one that is based more on trust rather than being lovers. However, Shintarou himself is often clueless about romance and oblivious to others' feelings. Take for example, Tsumugi Tsutsumi. She practically fell for him on first sight but it's clear the feelings are not mutual. She is quickly disregarded as a serious romantic rival when all we see is Shintarou showing eyes towards Towa. This trends more as a recurring gag whenever Tsumugi gets jealous or when Shintarou is with other girls.
Now, I mentioned about the harem tag earlier. And indeed, the show has a more dominant female presence as Shintarou is the only relevant guy. The show has a diverse range of characters although some falls under standard rom-com traps. The additional twist is among them, some are not humans as seen in the example of Noel Izumi and Lilshka. As a rom-com, the show generally leans towards lighthearted romance that doesn't venture into controversial angles. Shintarou may be a dull protagonist but he isn't someone who cheats or manipulates others to get what he wants. The main story flows more like everyday adventures that connects character paths together. Treat this show like sitcom that pairs characters together in situations. Even with supernatural characters added to the mix, it still adheres to normalcy than you'd think. However, the unfortunate downside is a lack of major character development. Towa might be adapttng to normal society but she doesn't stray off to far from her original character. Similarly, Shintarou is often the victim of common rom-com and harem tropes. There will be substantial amount of accidental walk-ins, fan service, and awkward moments you'll have to prpeare for. If you're familiar with these type of tropes, then look no more. It's how these type of tactics rom-coms use to entertain the fans.
The previews and promotional material advertised this in a way that viewers really shouldn't expect the unexpected. Okuruto Noboru, an animation studio founded in 2017, made its character cast as delicate as they can be. Towa's innocence is evident from day 1 while other more mature characters such as Noel has more human characteristics. Unfortunately, you'll have to watch endless hours of Shintarou and his monotonous personality. He drags down the show alot by his personality alone and I don't believer the show tried to make his character any better in the end.
Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included is a rom-com that will get overlooked this season. It's not because just being in the same season as other more mainstream titles. No, it's just that it couldn't commit much on its characters from start to finish. While this show has a colorful cast, we don't really see them beyond how they are protrayed. That's fine and all, but keep your expectations in check. This doesn't set the gold standard of a rom-com.
kchakrak
Cute, simple fun anime with a very loose harem context. Mostly it's a sort of found family comedy, at least that's the bit I enjoyed. This isn't groundbreaking but I found it relaxing and fun. I'm not a fan of harem anime at all in all honesty, so here are my two big usual issues and why this is one I enjoyed: Dreadful protagonist - I hate the usual highly strung, terrified of women (or, shock horror, seeing part of naked woman). While our friend here isn't entirely different he is a lot of fun and has a good nature. He's openly quite lonely at the beginningwhich really helps the growth he experiences make sense.
Objectification of women - Most harems seem to see women as romantic and sexual objects only. Rarely do they have agency, intellect or lives of they're own. While Towa is very much like this it is discussed, to a limited degree, throughout the show. The other factor that helps is the romance element is kept really lightweight, these are just a bunch of lonely people who've found friends in eachother.
As I say, I didn't have to overthink this and found it fun for that reason. There's an element of Interviews with Monster Girls here, which helped me enjoy it. Give it a shot if this these genres are ones you enjoy.
ZNoteTaku
I’ve long abandoned the idea that every anime needs to aspire to artistic greatness. To think that they should is to be so consistently setting an impossible bar and inevitably getting disenfranchised, as well as to ignore that sometimes media can, in fact, purely exist for the sake of entertaining or distracting its audience for a brief time. There’s nothing wrong with that – media carries innumerable uses. Although, it does unfortunately mean that the phrase “turn your brain off” has become accepted as a default soundbite to undermine critique of a show that’s simply trying to entertain and, to the person in question, failingto even succeed at that level. Media does not need to “make a point” or “be about something” in order to function or even be considered good, but media also does not get a magical get-out-of-jail-free card simply because its aspirations are “lower.” Aiming low is, after all, still aiming and carries the risk of missing.
I bring this up because *Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included* is a show that dispels any notion of deep storytelling within its first minutes to let its audience know what they’re in for, and still manages to wilt like flowers in a basement with its bar being set so low. With its emphasis on the cute titular angel, the sugar-coated sweetie named Towa comes to Earth in order gain more firsthand knowledge about humanity. But thank goodness that she just so happens to land on the apartment veranda of Tokumitsu Shintarou, who is such a gosh-darned nice guy that he lets her live with him. And while she’s at it, why doesn’t she spruce up his place and cook him his meals? And why stop at just one supernatural creature coming into Tokumitsu’s midst when the show can throw at least another three on top of that as well?
The show’s presumption is that the inclusion of fantastical characters from varying myth or folklore is enough to carry interest. Let’s put aside any of the details concerning the differences between angels, yuki-onna, or any of the other myth creatures that find their way into the series since those are such a given. *Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included* has its distinctions between characters feel less like distinctions and more akin to reaching into the metaphorical hat and pulling out a character trait to assign them. It’s most evident in the material’s treatment of Towa; her inherent nature as an angel is less of a presence than one would expect, as it only ever manifests in rare moments of attempted comedy or for what is supposed to be tantamount to a big reveal. Instead, Towa’s nauseating adorableness is often trumped by her naivety of the eye-rollingly absurd variety (how else would you explain nearly getting lured by a suspicious man in her first day on Earth to a love hotel despite having studied some Earth behaviors). The other characters do not fair much better in this respect. Any references to their mythological origins are treated as window dressing rather than something that could provide more off-the-beaten-path variety to the show’s cheap vanilla taste. A blizzard being conjured or other such things make for trifles.
Tokumitsu isn’t treated much better either because he is not a person. Not really, anyway. There is virtually nothing about Tokumitsu that would instill any sense of confidence in his ability to provide anything of note within the material. He exists almost exclusively as a blank slate, lacking any singular “thing” aside from his niceness that makes the group of oddball women flock to him like flies to honey. That niceness he has might be a relief in the sense that he’s not acting like a prick and still manages to get a bunch of women to hang around him, but it does not go a long way in making him appear like anything other than an author insert (even though the mangaka Matoba is actually female). The overarching sense that colors Tokumitsu, the other characters, and the scenario as a whole is just that of no effort, pallid personalities that do little more than take up space on the screen.
And that’s the show’s tragedy – there is no effort anywhere to be gleaned here. Whether within the writing itself, the character designs, or the overall aesthetic of the show, *Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included* does not succeed because it does not try. When it’s not using a phenomenally bland color palette or bare-bones storyboarding, it is constantly recycling or reusing settings and backdrops that have been seen countless times with no attempt to appear different, at least to any degree that anything matters. It does not go ham with its own mythological riches beyond the shallowest ways because it clings to its own moe so tightly. It thus comes to the detriment of essentially everything because everything else HAS to adhere to that cuteness overload. The unintended consequence is, ironically, the absence of anything warm. It all instead has the illusion of warmth, feeling so cold in its seemingly unapologetic and zombie-esque clichés.
I do not blame director Oonishi Kenta or main series writer Yasukawa Shougo for what transpired here – with how equally-unimpressive the original manga is, I doubt that anyone could have taken Matoba’s concept and done anything meaningfully with it. Between this material and *Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu mama,* it seems that Matoba has a fascination with tinkering with notions of mythological characters or creatures to reimagine them as cuteness incarnate. That’s not a concept without merit – in an entertainment age so suffused or overstuffed with irony and attempts at being meta or “meta,” something good is perhaps buried here.
But here’s the thing – good media, regardless of whether it’s trying to entertain or say something profound, does not make itself. Putting a bunch of characters in a room and having them occasionally do a thing or realize something is not, in and of itself, the same as creating intrigue or fun. *Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included* seems to operate under the assumption that its characters simply existing and moving through pre-programmed motions of iyashikei / romantic comedy slice-of-life and the occasional moment of “development” is somehow enough effort to justify its creation and existence. Any such motions are too hollow to matter here. This show is an automaton – soulless and godless no matter how many angels you throw in.
To put it another way, it sucks.
