Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru/ Oregiru review

The base story of Oregiru is very simple and slightly unoriginal, yet it develops into a rather unexpected gem as the story progresses. The anime has been adapted from an ongoing light novel series sharing the same name. A second season is currently in production and will mostly likely air later this year, however a date has not been announced.

Story and Characters*

The story revolves around an antisocial loner named Hikigaya Hachiman. Hachiman is soon forced by a strong willed teacher into an unusual club designed to help others. The club only has one other member, Yukino. At this point you might be thinking, yes another typical romance, but you would be wrong, very wrong. Both Hachiman and Yukino have a significant lack of social skills and have developed natural defence strategies to prevent themselves being hurt by others, which only causes them more loneliness. The story also introduces another character named Yui. Yui appears socially knowledgeable on the surface but we soon learn that her social happiness is mostly hollow. The series really shows you the darkness, the pain and the happiness that is experienced in social ranking systems in a way that not many anime's do. The show is more focused on those with problems unconsciously working together and helping each other, than it is about romance. While romance is a focus in the story, interaction between these well written character is what makes Oregiru unique and well worth the watch.

Art and Animation

The art and animation in Oregiru is really nothing spectacular but it does have it’s own unique style. The colour, particularly in the backgrounds is vibrant and pleasing to see. The facial details can sometimes leave much to be desired, however this is mostly likely done deliberately to emphasis the blandness of the character’s personalities. The animation as a whole is a little bit above average, there are some scenes where it is impressive and there are others particularly in the classroom that can be rather average.

Music

There isn’t really much to say about music due to its generally narrative based plot, however when used, it is used quite well. The background music never overpowers the scene and the openings and endings are quite enjoyable as well.

Conclusion 

Overall Oregiru is a very enjoyable anime. It is rare to find a slice of life that will make you think about the actions of the characters and to understand their motive. At the same time it is not too content heavy, it can still be a sit down and relax type of show and I enjoyed doing just that. I give this series an 8/10, not perfect but it had enough to keep me very interest and eager for the second season.

*Note I have chosen to combine the story and characters for this review as they are heavily intertwined.

- PandaSlayer