My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU - Reviews

Oregairu is one of those series that many were fooled to think it’s deep and mature by supposedly criticizing whatever people take for granted and giving it a cynical view. For example, the very first thing you hear is how youth is a lie, it is evil, when for most people it is supposed to be the best part of their lives.

Then the protagonist who wants to come off as super smart and fully aware of the hypocrisy in modern societies, proclaims real life is not like in fiction and romantic comedies do not happen. And he says that while being in a romantic comedy where his teacher wants to help him be more social not by informing his parents so they can talk about it with him, and not by sending him to a psychologist so he can give him advice.

She does it by hooking him up with a cute schoolgirl, so we can have lots of silly school comedy nonsense, as he is trying not to fall in love with her. Something that could only happen in school comedies and not in real life. So yes, the show is attempting to be a satire of romcoms while still being a romcom, and thus often comes off as pretentious. It’s like saying violence doesn’t solve anything yet everyone in the story is solving every problem by punching the bad guy really hard.

Some would say this is the point of the whole story. To have a protagonist who is hiding behind his cynicism and acting like he’s too smart to fall for the bullshit everybody else is a victim of, thus excusing his anti-social behavior, when in reality he’s just an average guy who is too selfish to admit he’s in need of emotional support like anyone else. He has mental issues and needs help, not because he came back from a war or survived a traffic accident, or is trying to survive through an economic depression, or anything that is actually traumatic and significant. It’s really simple first world problems, like social anxiety or getting friend zoned by the girl you like. Oh, how traumatic, ow!

Besides the plot being as tame as it gets, it doesn’t even work that well in execution. It is presenting itself as a down to earth romcom that is dealing with the issues of real teenagers, while still using logic-defying anime tropes, such as a contest where the winner can freely boss around the loser. All approved by the teacher who is also free to violently punch any student whenever she feels like it. What kind of a realistic school would do that? The answer is none, it’s done for the sake of typical anime comedy. Many things they say are your usual sex jokes you find in any light novel. Oregairu is not reinventing the wheel, it only pretends to.

It’s just using snobbish remarks about society to come off as smart in front of people who for some reason never heard about such profound things, although they are self-evident and nobody would be standing still with their mouths open, listening to truths that make them feel bad. They would scream like idiots, they would laugh and walk away mid-sentence, and then they would spread lies about you all over the internet so their followers will cancel you for telling them the truth. That’s how actual people react when you try to reason with them. Trust me, I experience it every day.

Despite being hailed as relatable by a lot of people, Oregairu is so detached from reality, it’s basically a harem in disguise. The supposed anti-social protagonist who doesn’t want to interact with anyone is surrounded by numerous cute girls, and even a femboy for yaoi flavor, who really like him right away, and they constantly sexually harass each other while making it come off as a joke. Hm, I wonder what the target audience for this show could be. It can’t possibly be anti-social teenage boys who think nobody gets how smart they are and wish they had a dozen cure girls loving them despite treating them horribly, can it now?

The reason I am repeating how it’s not any different from any other romcom out there is exactly because the fans of the show insist it is unlike anything we’ve seen before, when really, it isn’t. They go through the same school events every school anime has, everyone walks around with infinite money to spend and of course parents are nowhere to be seen. It’s as anime as anime get.

You can claim it’s more self-aware and it has close to no fan service and it can get pretty dramatic at times, but even then it’s not doing anything meaningful with its subject matter. The conflicts are really petty shit that doesn’t matter in the least. I was constantly wondering what’s the problem? It’s just people being a bit mean to each other from time to time that always amounts to an otherwise anti-social dude getting swarmed by cute girls. Where’s the realism? Take out his pretentious views about life and you won’t be able to tell this show apart from any other out there.

Also this anime is so bereft of plot, 70% of its duration is people sitting down and talking with a cup of tea or coffee in front of them. Like, holy shit, they drink something at least 3 times in every episode. Are they able to sleep at night with all that caffeine they consume? It’s more like something the animators constantly do just so something will be moving on screen when in reality nothing happens. Just like every story based on a light novel, you don’t really have to look at the screen because there is nothing going on, they just sit and talk and drink coffee, over and over and over and over. And many of the things they say are just about saving a school club from disbanding or some bullshit. How is this remotely important? It’s just a club, you know, you can still meet outside the school, which the anime wants you to think it’s the center of the universe and nothing can possibly happen outside of it. I have been banned from 20 sites and platforms at this point, always unjustly, and every time I was just making more groups or channels and life went on as before. So what’s the fucking problem with the conflict in this show? Just shut down this problematic club and make another less stressful one.

In case I wasn’t clear enough, I don’t like this anime. The conflict is peanuts and is dealt with in a breezy manner, and it never stops being about a supposed anti-social unhappy boy having a far more social and happy life than any normal social person in existence, while being surrounded by a dozen cute girls who love him right away. Not even the basic premise ever shows on screen, so why would I ever recommend it? It’s just another romcom and on top of that a very pretentious one.

"My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU" - A Mixed Bag of High School Insights

Story (5/10): "My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU," often referred to as "Oregairu," takes a unique approach to the high school romantic comedy genre. It centers around Hachiman Hikigaya, a cynical and anti-social student who joins the Service Club, a student organization that helps solve various problems. The story explores complex themes of social dynamics, self-discovery, and the true nature of human relationships.

While the series offers a fresh perspective on high school life, it can be somewhat polarizing. It tends to get lost in its own philosophical dialogues, which can either be enlightening or overly verbose, depending on your preferences. The slow pacing might leave some viewers wishing for more engaging developments.

Animation (6/10): The animation in "Oregairu" is decent but doesn't stand out for its visuals. The character designs are faithful to the light novel's illustrations, and the series successfully captures the ordinary yet distinctive setting of a high school.

Sound (6/10): The sound design complements the series well but doesn't leave a lasting impact. The background music suits the mood of each scene, and the voice acting is solid, effectively portraying the characters' personalities.

Characters (7/10): One of the series' strengths lies in its characters. Hachiman Hikigaya is a complex and refreshing protagonist, providing a unique perspective on high school life. His introspective narration adds depth to his character. Yukino Yukinoshita, the other main character, offers a counterbalance with her intelligence and sharp wit. The interactions between the characters, especially within the Service Club, drive the story forward and offer many thought-provoking moments.

Overall (5/10): "My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU" is an anime that stands out for its character-driven narrative and philosophical exploration. However, it might not satisfy viewers looking for more conventional plot progression or visual spectacle. It's a dialogue-heavy series that excels in introspection and character dynamics. Whether you'll enjoy it or not depends on your appreciation for deep character studies and contemplative storytelling. While it's not my personal favorite, it has garnered a dedicated fan base for its unique take on the high school romantic comedy genre.

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Is Not Working as I Expected) is anime's best effort to take a cynical loner and ramp up enough ... well, sympathy is not the right word, so we better settle on understanding.  And so, with the MC Hachiman Hikigaya, you can't but loath him, and champion his cause to drop the society and social functions of the high school scene.  You'll find that cheering on ol' 'Dead Eyes' Hachiman is the most sensible thing you can do with SNAFU.

It's basically the high school scene that has destroyed Hachiman.  Rejected by a girl that he cherished, Hachiman is devoted to rejecting the whole HS system.  It is not surprising that the sports festival that makes up the final episode pits the popular students against the ilk like Hachiman.  It is the supreme irony that devoted (and deadly with punch and kick) teacher Hiratsuka assigns Hachiman to the Service Club to do something positive with that cynical attitude.   And, ironically, his best work is based on that ugly cynicism.  Joining Hachiman is his Service Club duties is the club president Yukino Yukinoshita.  Remarkably, this beautiful girl is as much a loner as Hachiman.  She has had negative run-ins with the popular girl on campus, Yumiko Miura, girlfriend to popular boy Hayato Hayama.  Though paired up due to their 'good looks,' Hayama and Miura are polar opposites, Hayama saccharinely overly-friendly and Miura a born bully.

Floating between the loners Hachiman and Yukino and high school royalty Hayama and Miura is Yui Yuigahama.  Yui has all the aspects of the social butterfly.  Able to mix with any group, but never having a strong enough personally to actually fit in.  Yui joins the Service Club to create the non-functioning love triangle that is going wrong as one should expect.  Throw in girly-boy Saika and mad-jack chunibyo Zaimokuza, and we have the ingredients of a passible comedy featuring on all the aspects of high school life old-timers would love to forget.

For Hachiman is the boy you’d love to hate and end up warming up to.  His tactics for survival are abysmal.  He aids a girl on the outside of a cliche by turning the cliche against each other.  He lowers the expectations of the cultural festival by regarding it as a time to dance and sing ... as we are all idiots anyways.  And he tries to secure a victory over the team of popular kids by the most conniving (and comic) ruse to snatch the win away from Hayama et. al.  And this without falling for either Yukino or Yui ... at least just a little but not that serious.  Seasons two and three are still coming, so shall Hachiman crumble?

The animation is passible, the humorous banter or the members of the Service CLub and the antics they get into being strong enough to carry the day.  The music has a sense of the heart-warming, particularly the closer, Hello Alone.  All this creates the empathy one should have for Hachiman, though more importantly are the two girls that have become allied with his cause of serving up his doses of cynicism.  The premise is laughable as Hachiman sounds convincing.  Only Yukino can control the tone of a repressed dignity (being the younger sister to a former HS popular girl can do this to you), while Yui continues to smile through her problems.

It's the chemistry which should guarantee future success for the next seasons.

This is the best RomCom anime that I'm currently addicted to, although there isn't any progress on the relationships of the protagonist, reality was clearly point out on the story, At first I was amused on how Hachiman views life, his weird look, poor socializing and high presence among the other character although he tries his best to stay invisible, but for me Yukinoshita drawns a lot more attention in the story, she's very mysterious albeit she and Hachiman has almost the same perspective on socializing she's popular.

It is a nice and cute anime to watch but if you're looking for a lot of action and progress to happen along the way, then this isn't the anime to be watching.