ThatAnimeSnob

This is one of the craziest premises one can ever hope to encounter in a romcom. Despite sounding like a goofball comedy, it is actually doing a lot more than that. At the same time it’s not like it ever manages to create an awesome overall.

So after you watch the first episode and you run out of dirty jokes involving hands, you will wonder where the heck is this thing going at? You have a duo whose chemistry I dare say is very rare in the genre, in a form of coexistence that is simply mind-bogging. It is a very rare thing for me to be hooked by a romcom/ecchi premise and this is where Midori no Hibi manages to be quite captivating. I mean, seriously, WHAT THE HECK WILL THEY DO? WHERE IS THE PLOT HEADING FOR?

I will not focus at all on its production values, which to be honest are the epitome of mediocrity, and instead I will focus on the elements which made this show an unorthodox specimen amongst its kind. I don’t know about what expectations you may have of a show but I love to see something uncommon in a tired formula.

1) The hero
It is nice to see the protagonist NOT being a lame meek four eyes beaten up by tsunderes. Seiji is practically a fighting shounen protagonist, thrown in a romcom (for some reason he reminds me of Ichigo from Bleach). He is a delinquent who loves fighting and then suddenly his right hand transforms into a girl (insert random dirty joke) and then he has to cope with that by hiding it from everyone and not losing his coolness. A remarkable personal conflict.

2) The heroine
It is also nice to see the girl who is madly in love with the hero being more than a platonic girlfriend or ecchi generator. Unlike most fighting shounen she is NOT useless, and unlike most romcoms she is NOT a neurotic bitch with the tendency to express her feelings by kicking the crap out of you. She is there to help the protagonist in any way she can and is able to. Because she can’t exactly do anything she likes, since she has transformed into his right hand (insert random dirty joke).

3) The coexistence
Many ecchi comedies deal with a ronery guy suddenly having pretty chicks dropping in his life. None else I can think of can excuse such a tight coexistence without some sex. I mean you guys are living together and she is crazy for you SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? In this case it is much excused since they can’t do anything more than exchange random dirty jokes. Plus, getting naked in the bathroom is not something that happens accidentally. Hell man, they share the same body, IT CAN’T BE ACCIDENTAL.

4) ONE guy, ONE girl
There is no harem in this, although there are romantic triangles. The show never tries to make it more complicating than it needs to be.

5) The development and the resolution
Unlike most romcoms or ecchis, this show actually offers progress and conclusion. To be honest the development is neglected to the most part and shows it only towards the end, plus the ending itself is rushed and rather open. I also hear the manga had a lot more material that was never animated. Whatever, at least they didn’t just leave it in the middle of nowhere and since they never made a sequel I hold no grudge.

Thus the basic outline of the series is wonderful. On the other hand it is by no means a masterpiece, since the production values are mediocre, there is character development only towards the end, and the ending itself is abusing the amnesia routine to reset all progress, which feels cheap and makes everything that happened so far to be meaningless. But it’s ok; I am not going to bitch that much for these annoyances since the makers did try something different FOR A CHANGE. It is an ok series for its kind and I recommend it. But don’t expect super whoa storyline and characters because to its core it is still nothing more than a silly romcom.