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Meanderings
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Friday, 28 October 2011 21:55 |
Kodaka Hasegawa has just transferred to St Chronica's Academy and he's having a hard time making friends. With his naturally blond hair and fierce looking eyes, people constantly mistake him for a delinquent. One day, he runs into his bad-tempered loner of a classmate, Yozora, while she's talking to her imaginary friend, Tomo. Since neither of them have any friends, Yozora decides they should join a club and use that to make new friends themselves - and so the Neighbours' Club is born. Initially not too keen on the idea, Kodaka finds hes' not really being given a choice in this...
A quick word on the naming: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukanai is the original Japanese name; I Have Few Friends is the English translation of that (and you'll find it referred to as that a lot online); but FUNimation in their infinite wisdom have decided to retitle it Haganai. Not sure what that translates as, but there you go. Watched the first two episodes of this one, and I have to say I like the idea - if you haven't actually been the class loner, you'll certainly have known one, and to a certain extent the show gives you a little insight into what it's like.
But only to a certain extent, as this is firmly a comedy. After the first episode introduces Kodaka, Yozora and Sena, the second gets down to the funny business by taking two videogame genres - multi-player fantasy and dating sims - and giving them a bit of a kicking. I had great fun watching that, personally. There's also a good line in sarcastic put-downs, but while watching the OP you'd maybe get the impression that the fanservice level here would be well up the scale, it's mostly kept surprisingly low-key (although episode 3 is set to be a swimsuit episode, so that may be about to change).
THE GOOD: Funny, sarcastic, the way Yozora and Sena bounce off each other is great fun. I love a good hate-hate relationship.
THE BAD: Kodaka isn't as interesting / strong a character as the girls, and is playing the Kyon-kun role of bemused observer. Kinda getting tired of that sort of male 'lead'. Not sure where they're really going with the idea.
Good outweighs the bad, though - this one had me chuckling along happily, which is just what I was looking for. A keeper.
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Backbites 
