Hi, which anime do you think has sailed under the radar the most so far this Spring? I’m currently watching all of the season’s big shows (AoT, Yaiba, Fruits Basket, etc ) and recently got a bit more time on my hands to watch another show or two. Looking to give something I may have overlooked a shot. – Anonymous

Prattle: There are a couple of shows that have been sliding through Spring’s cracks mainly because of their immediate optics, and Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai might just be the biggest one at the moment. Ao-chan’s inherent short nature, standard rom-com scenario writing, and upfront lewdness made it a pretty easy skip for a lot of viewers right out of the box. If that wasn’t enough, for those who put a notable amount of stock in MAL’s scores, its 6.78~ rating further hamstrings its ability to be given a genuine chance.

Be that as it may, Ao-chan actually plays much bigger than the weight that it’s billed at. The show has a sneakily sturdy understanding of chemistry, with a main duo that feels like they could have been their own pair in Tsurezure Children. Due to that, Ao-chan can reliably fall back on its leads at the drop of a dime – often being able to mitigate and survive tropey narrative patches with this option based off their sheer dynamic alone. Complementing this, the show’s comedic touch has enough pop to lend a grin here and there when needed, ultimately making your time spent more digestible and lighthearted than first glance.

On a whole, Ao-chan reasonably satisfies its genre’s benchmarks and even has a higher aptitude with some of them – all while offering plenty of adorable moments as upside in the process. I would suggest you give it a full shot. At the very worst, you can at least come away having experienced its low-key catchy theme song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9HGw2dWBMo

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Long time reader, first time writing in. I remember a blog on here briefly talking about seasonal gems and how they essentially don’t exist? Can you comment on that take a little bit more? – Anonymous

Prattle: Sure. Basically, it’s just all a matter of perspective: “Seasonal gems” are typically nothing more than quality works that were under-watched in the general eye of the anime community during their run. Think Planet With from last Summer or even the Summer before that with shows like Mahoujin Guruguru and Princess Principal. The thing is however, these shows aren’t actually gems if you’re doing your due diligence before and during the season. From this perspective, they’re just more good shows, never getting a chance to be a “gem” to you because they were “ dug up and discovered” early on.

So when I say that seasonal gems essentially don’t exist, I mean it in that context, where the viewer is that well in tune with the season’s offerings. Just to really make it clear, let me end on an example: Although plenty of people will consider it a gem, and sticking with last Summer, Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight isn’t a gem to me personally. I consider it a gem as it applies to the community at large for that season, but I watched it while it aired from the start, acknowledged its value, and treated it as another top end work – its quality never being overlooked. So looking back, It was just another good show to me that Summer from where I was standing.

Hope that helps!

 

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