Anime Review: Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie Episode 1

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie

Studio: Doga Kobo

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Streaming: Crunchyroll

The latest romantic comedy series from the studio that made Monthly Girl’s Nozaki Kun, is ‘Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie’ which follows Izumi and his girlfriend, Shikimori. Izumi seems like a pretty average high schooler, aside from being extraordinarily unlucky (we see him going to school and falling over almost instantly; suffering other incidents in quick succession). His girlfriend Shikimori is gorgeous and sweet and the two obviously adore each other, but there’s one small issue – she worries that she’s seen more as cool then cute as she frequently ends up saving her boyfriend from various incidents. Compared to his much more mild mannered personality, Shikimori tends to take the lead and comes across often as the stronger of the two… much to her embarrassment and Izumi’s admiration.

The first episode gets off to a good start, perfectly setting up the relationship dynamic between our two protagonists. There’s an interesting role reversal between the two as they go against the typical gender roles and Shikimori struggles with not fitting nicely into the typical ‘cute girl’ role she feels like she should fit into. She feels anxiety about this and we even see this in action where she considers deliberately playing badly in a bowling match with some friends as she’s told this will make her seem ‘cuter’  but then gets caught up in the moment and gets a perfect score instead. It’s a little sad seeing her struggle with going against her own personality, but the series quickly confirms that Izumi actually finds her more attractive when she is her true self.

It’s refreshing to see a series follow a couple who are already in a relationship rather than a couple getting together and their interactions are quite innocent and wholesome. The first episode comes across more as slice of life then having any real overarching story, showing a typical day in their life at school, and then hanging out with friends afterwards. The other characters are quirky and fun, if a little two-dimensional but they balance off the main couple well enough. All in all, the main couple are cute but ultimately a little boring. There are some hints in the opening as to how the each of the protagonists were in the past and there are definitely some suggestion that Shikimori has a darker past then her carefree exterior might seem. I was definitely intrigued as to see how they got together as they seem very different from each other personality-wise, to the point that even other students at school commented as such, much to Shikimori’s chagrin.

Animation-wise the series is bright and colourful, with an unusual colouring choice for the character’s eyes which really make them stand out from other character designs. The opening in particular shows some really interesting and cool visuals, with a great song to sit alongside it. The comedy does hit well quite a lot of the time, particularly with the almost supernatural way that Izumi keeps running into various daily inconveniences – you almost begin to think he’s cursed, it pushes it so far into ridiculous territory.

All in all, the first episode of the series is a good start and really excels at showing the interactions between the characters but it does run the risk of being a little boring.  If you’re looking for a cute low-key romance however with a fun twist then you’d do a lot worse then this series this season.