Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki - Reviews

Very fresh story. It was a breather from all the common plots of slice of life and all. Honestly, I dropped it when I watched the first 5 mins. But then I watched it in one go after it was finished. And I'm glad I didn't miss out on it. Very nice story. Artwork is... Normal 😅. Characters are well made. I hope it gets a season 2 sooon.

please bear in mind I don't typically write reviews I just tend to like to do them when I’m completing a secret Santa recommendation. I’ve actually eyed up this anime quite a few times before I got it this year so thanks to my Santa for finally giving me that push to get started~

story:

the base story initially worried me as it seemed similar to Watamote, which I didn't get on with at all. I was partially writing with that except I think this is how that story type should be played out. instead of highlighting all the goofy or cringy things an outcast/loner type character does you get to see that architype actually learn and grow from their mistakes. sure, there are your fair share of cringe moments but there included to be more realistic and to be built upon not for the viewer to point and laugh at their misery. I enjoyed the video game theme and think it worked incredibly well with Tomozaki's speech in the final episode though the initial set up of one classmate lecturing and setting goals a little on the unsettling side. sure, I’ve definatly watched much much weirder anime with far wackier plots but this series felt more grounded and serious to me. there wernt any glaring faults in the story though, every moment or story beat felt necessary and well executed even if I didn't actually like the scenario that was unfolding.

animation:

I’m not particularly a stickler for animation and I don't quite have an eye for it so if you’re a serious animation critique you may want to skip this section. I like they managed show the difference with more introverted characters and extroverted ones with the body language of the characters, the true extroverts were fluid and expressive while the introverts were kept restricted in their smaller movements [which is a detail I can appreciate rather than having them completely still]. obviously like most other anime the food that was included in the series all looked delicious! the gameplay looked distinct and well-choreographed and even scenes with water or animals in them seemed decent or at the very least not worth complaining about. the only complaint I could maybe see is that due to it not being an action-based series there isn't a lot of opportunity for flashy action shots but thats more of a genre thing and not the fault of this anime at all.

sound:

again, I feel like I do this every year with my secret Santa reviews if you thought my lack of knowledge in animation was bad then boy oh boy will you be sad to see my thoughts on sound ^^; sorry please grin and bear it.... I at least hope this made you chuckle a bit. the most impressive sound design I can comment on was that the videogame music, sound effects and narrator sounded very much authentic. outside of that the music and sound during the rest of the anime was.... fine I guess? it didn't draw me in and I was far more interested in the characters and their development anyways. the OP is pretty inoffensive though nothing that stood out to me falling into that 'bunch of cute sounding girls all singing the tune' kind of intro though again the videogame flair with the 8-bit sounding highlights were nice.

characters:

oh boy here we go, my favourate part of any analysis or breakdown~ I’ll try to be fairly brief and selective but no promises.

Fumiya Tomozaki - he's an actual likable main character which can sometimes be a rare treat. I’ve almost lost count on how many main characters are either so neutral since their supposed to be a self-insert or just straight up had a personality type thats sleezy or too jerk-like for me. I can see other people complaining about his initial (and somewhat continual) lack of backbone but he's sweet. instead of jumping at any opportunity to grope or peek on the girls he actually tries to work on helping them in a way that suit the person he's helping. that along with the fact that he actually feels like he develops makes him a very well written MC.

Aoi Hinami - throughout the whole anime I never could quite get a good read on her... I have to admit I read some of the comments on her profile page here and man does she have some haters and I can somewhat see where they’re coming from. she has a very dominant personality whether she's playing the popular school girl, Tomozaki's life coach or just hanging out with her friends and in that sense, she really does come off as manipulative. on the other hand, it really does feel like each one of the 'goals/achievements' she sets really do feel like they have a pretty positive effect on Tomozaki. it’s to the point where I can't really come to strongly like or dislike her and thats likely the point of her character in a way. I remember early on she felt like she was an owner messing with their pet dog but then towards the end it hit me that her tips and coaching was her playing her own game with Tomozaki being her new avatar. something I’m sure the next season will touch on and improve upon

Fuka kikuchi - oooooh my gosh she's such a precious angel that I just wanna protect! I honestly found it difficult to choose between Fuka and Minami as my favourate character as both of them are very well written characters that just so happen to fall under character categories I love. the way she supports Tomozaki is just fantastic. Hinami may be ideal for giving Tomozaki the logical and psychological way to interact and be social but Fuka really completes the lesson by teaching him the importance of genuine heart to heart emotion while also matching his natural tendency to be somewhat awkward in a conversation. the mirroring also extends to their similar hobbies, books and games both in their own ways allows them to be comfortable in their own built-up worlds whilst simultaneously allowing them to break out of their shells!

Minami Nanami - honestly... I do think Minami is probably the better written character out of her and Fuka [and I should hope so since she has more screen time] but Fuka just appeals to me more thanks to her character type. still her personality is absolutely wonderful! she is perhaps the most genuinely extroverted character in the series bubbling with energy and positivity. sure, she may be a bit handsy and makes the odd slightly dirty joke and plays off as being slightly stupid on purpose. there all build up her deeper-rooted problems all the more. with her inability to beat Hinami really cutting deep it’s no wonder she acts like a social ditz... if I were forever cursed to be second place, I too would play down my abilities so that it doesn't sting so bad. we get to see those cracks very well and so far, other than Tomozaki who is the main character those vulnerable cracks arnt demonstrated so well on other characters.

Takahiro Mizusawa - a little bit of an afterthought for me he was eerily similar to Hinami in my eyes. which I guess ended up kinda being true. for a lot of the series, it seems he keeps his cards close to his chest. a lot of the time he always gave off the impression that he was only being nice to Tomozaki because it got him close to Hinami. not that he actually did anything wrong. if he continues his friendship with Tomozaki in season two after what happened that I may be more interested in his character then

Yuzu Izumi - I honestly thought she would be more stuck up but she actually ended up to be pretty sweet. I kinda wish she was more involved in the story after the initial 'talk to her 2 times a day' objective. why on earth she has feelings to that asshole Nakamura I have no clue. I’m not going to be writing a whole analysis on him but from what I’ve seen he's an incredibly toxic partner to have. she puts in so much effort just to get on his radar and it’s just such a shame to watch him treat her so badly

summery:

all in all, I really quite enjoyed watching it even if I did get a little mad with some of the characters and their choices. thank you Santa~

This series is really underrated I think. It's production or plot wasn't the best but it was really interesting and entertaining. I really look forward to season 2! I believe this could turn out to be like Monogatari i a sense. You either like it or not. And I've heard the manga is really good so I really have faith in this anime. I really recommend it.

Boring ( imo )

I lost interest at episode 5, but I still finished the anime just for the sake of it.

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, an anime that I felt had potential at the beginning, made me lose hope right at the first episode, and left me feeling that it was just okay and will probably fade into oblivion once the seasonal spring anime season begins.

But just what do I think about the show in the different categories, let’s dive in, shall we?

STORY

Ah, the story.  We have a pro-Smash play- er…I mean TackFam. My bad, let me start again.

So, our story begins with Fumiya Tomozaki, Japan’s best TackFam player that is somehow a complete loser at his school, despite being widely recognized as an amazing player. You would think that at least someone would hang out with him, one person. Anyone. Well…no.

So being a complete loner and a loser and all that stuff, our main character here really hates life calling it a trash game and how it’s filled with ‘normies.’ Yes, they use that specific word. I wish they were joking, but it’s meant to be serious.

But just as he’s calling out the gacha gods on giving him such trashy stats, he strikes gold when he meets Aoi Hinami, that TackFam player that he’s often defeating in online multiplayer. But while he may be the top player in TackFam, she has what he doesn’t, a social life.

But lucky for him, she agrees to show him how to truly ace the game of life, all in terms of goals of objectives that will relatively make you ‘well-seen’ in society. Or more like well-seen at school since this is set in high school.

The anime basically revolves around that premise, and while it may be a drag to get through the first episodes due to how cringey the writing was, it gets better. You just have to be patient, which if patience is not your thing then this show is far from what you would like.

ANIMATION

 The animation is done by Project No. 9, a studio with a relatively small line-up of shows that many people have probably never heard of.  Being this a dialogue-driven show, the animation isn’t going to be flashy or eye-catching like a show with lots of action, but the artwork overall looks okay.

I have seen better of shows of this style, but I wouldn’t call the animation bad. I felt they got a bit creative with a few particular segments by making them in the styles of RPGs whenever Aoi would explain Tomozaki what his new goal was going to be, or when Tomozaki just compared any mundane thing to a game.

SOUND

 The Opening theme was an upbeat and catchy song by the name of Jinsei Easy sang by Dialogue+, a voice actress unity that does j-pop and a genre called Anisong which by the name I assume it refers to tracks that are specifically used for anime openings or endings. I felt that the OP was cutesy and a nice contrast to how monotonous the show felt at the very beginning.

The ED, on the other hand, was much calmer in comparison and was a song by the name of Ayafuwa Asterisk, which depending on the episode it would change singer. As some episodes focused on one of the female characters more than others, depending on the girl it was focused on that would be the seiyuu that would be singing the song, which was a nice touch if you happened to notice it.

The OST, in general, I would say it was fine. I wouldn’t say any composition stood out to me, but I wouldn’t call it awful. I may not be knowledgeable in music, but even I can tell when a track doesn’t particularly fit a scene. The score can only be described as fine, it’s not memorable enough to deserve another word in my eyes.

CHARACTERS

Now that we have reached the section of the characters, I can finally unleash my lengthy description on how I felt about our lovely cast of characters.

First, of course, Fumiya Tomozaki. I will admit that he was by far one of the cringiest characters I have seen. I would say he’s up there with the protagonist of Rent-A-Girlfriend. I was close to dropping the show several times since I couldn’t stand Tomozaki. I feel that characters that are meant to be socially awkward are always written so overly exaggerated that it’s hard for people that actually have those traits to actually relate.

However, I know when to give credit where it’s due. And that’s on Tomozaki’s character development. The boy deserves a round of applause because he went from being someone, I couldn’t stand to someone that I could actually care about as a character. That’s what I would call good character development.

Next, we have our other lead, Aoi Hinami. The popular girl that seems to be perfect in almost every aspect, academics, socializing and sports. But not games, Tomozaki’s got her beat in that department and he sure loves to rub salt on that wound.

But Aoi’s character is shown to not be so perfect, something I won’t go much into detail since it’s spoiler territory, but it was a change that I noticed that a couple of people in the forum didn’t like. Yet, I think otherwise. I actually liked that Aoi was not so perfect as the show made her out to be but make no mistake that doesn’t mean I find her likeable. I am just saying it makes the show more interesting and realistic on how teenagers can truly be.

There are other secondary characters like Minami Nanami, a girl that comes as overly hyper at the beginning, Fuka Kikuchi, a shy bookworm and an aspiring writer and Takahiro Mizusawa, your textbook definition of the pretty boy that gets all the girls.

These were characters that the show explored briefly, but I felt that didn’t fully develop with the exception of Minami.

Other than the traits I just mentioned for Fuka and Takahiro, you won’t really know more about their hidden sides if it wasn’t for the monologues, they gave you. This is one of the moments that I felt they could have included a bit more show and don’t tell, so we were able to really get to know them other than they explicitly telling us that they are this way.

Unfortunately, two characters can’t carry a whole show, so I feel that I can’t give this category a better score.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

I won’t try to understand what the whole monologue about desires and games was all about, but what I can tell you is that the show had some ‘interesting’ writing. It started being a bit cringey at the beginning, but it actually made some fair points in a couple of episodes, showing how fake teenagers can be for the sake of fitting in.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that this show is particularly amazing as I believe there are better dialogue-oriented shows revolving around teenagers trying to find their own place in the world, like My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, but I digress.

I believe the show is going to be easily forgettable due to how the few good it does comes so late, but at the end of the day this is my own judgement and people can form their own judgement by watching the show themselves.