Beauty and the Virgin

Hajimete no Gal Introduction and Story (Spoilers)

Ah, first love. It’s special. It’s meaningful. It can even hurt. That may be exactly what the creators of the Hajimete no Gal anime were trying to convey with this adaptation, and it may have been successful, for all the wrong reasons. Typical average MC Hashiba Junichi gets riled up by his three buddies to go confess to the pretty, delinquent girl in their class. The other boys want to use this poor sap as a Trojan horse to lead them to losing their virginities by first getting close to her, and then having her introduce them to her delinquent friends. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for Junichi, the girl in question, Yame Yukana, is nothing like they imagined. She’s kind, sweet, and actually very thoughtful. She sees through Junichi’s lame attempt to ask her out, but she doesn’t reject him. She instead decides to go out with him earnestly, which is far more than this loser deserves. Thus begins this unusual love story that doesn’t even get off on the wrong foot, as the protagonist wasn’t even standing when he confessed. While Junichi may be a rational thinking individual, the peer pressure of his friends and his own cowardice are going to get in the way of his ultimate goal of having his very first girlfriend. If he manages to act like a decent human being for long enough, he may just get what he was searching for all along.

What We Liked About Hajimete no Gal

There’s not much to say here. Yukana is a sweet, cute girl. The one strength compared to the manga adaptation is her voice actress. She comes off as a lot cuter and sweeter than she did in the manga, even when she is angry. It kind of makes it feel more meaningful when Junichi is being somewhat of an ass or doubting her intentions because of his own insecurities, which, for the plot’s purposes, works rather well. The inner monologues Junichi has and the arguments with himself are also a bit funny. He has his serious side, his lewd side, and then his manliest, most perfect side, all arguing about how to woo her in his head. It can be pretty funny at times, when it’s not overstaying its welcome. Discussion Time Having the manga, several of the biggest changes in the adaptation irked us greatly. The manga wasn’t some great work of art mind you, or some fantastic love story. It was pretty low-brow, lowest common denominator, harem ecchi, light reading. That kind of makes it all the more painful that the anime took so many liberties with story and characters at numerous points. The plot of the anime goes further than the released manga adaptation has gone, so manga readers will be playing catch up. This isn’t so bad in and of itself, especially when some events were actually interesting. The issue comes with the series’ pacing. At only 10 episodes, the show still has many scenes which drag on for too long. Some of these scenes are directly adapted from the manga, but many are brand new. Many of these scenes expand on background characters like Junichi’s three friends, which actually is a detriment to the show.

Why You Should Watch Hajimete no Gal

1. Yame Yukana is a Sweetheart

There’s a longstanding myth in Japan of the so called “gyaru” type delinquent girl. They typically have dark, tanned skin, fake nails, fake hair, fake eyelashes. They will sleep with anyone for money, and are generally people you don’t want to associate with. Based on her appearance and some rumors, Junichi and his friends believe Yukana to be someone that falls inside this archetype. Despite her appearances, she isn’t like the rumors at all. She’s a very sweet and kind girl, who is rather intelligent. She decides to date Junichi out of a mix of pity and finding him too pathetically cute to ignore. Despite his less-than-genuine intentions, she herself was earnest in choosing him. Even though she has a bright and outgoing nature, she is shy and reserved about love and meeting boys. I guess you could say she is the ultimate “gap moe”, in that she looks slutty but is entirely pure and innocent.

2. Gratuitous Gyaru Ecchi Scenes

The animation team definitely knew what type of show they were going for with Hajimete no Gal. There are many ecchi scenes that involve the wild fantasies of Junichi imagining Yukana in a number of lewd scenarios. Several of the scenes would feel more at home in an actual hentai than something you might find on Crunchyroll, so they’ve seriously pushed the boundaries on what you might expect to see televised. Gyaru girls are a bit of a rare sight to behold in anime, so for fans of them this is definitely an anime to check out.

Why You Should Skip Hajimete no Gal

1. Most of the Scenes Drag On

Even at only ten episodes, the show feels like its scenes completely overstay their welcome. It feels entirely like filler, as most scenes develop so slowly that the entire point of them doesn’t really appear until the final 30 seconds. Usually featuring the background or side characters speaking with Junichi, there will be scenes that have them discussing anything but the main point for a good five minutes. This is a very odd contrast to the manga, which had dozens of short chapters that felt rushed more than anything. This includes the ecchi scenes. While it totally makes sense for an ecchi comedy to have them, they are so randomly interjected throughout an episode that it doesn’t deliver any entertainment at even a basic level. Depending on how you’re watching the series, there may be an overabundance of censorship or not. It really doesn’t make much difference, most of the scenes feel like they have fallen flat with Junichi’s imagination running wild.

2. Junichi’s Friends Are The Worst

Due to their own cowardice, Junichi’s friends forced him to ask Yukana out so that they could lose their virginities to her gyaru friends. Throughout the series, they attempt to push them together or break them up when it serves their purposes. The brains of the operation, Sakamoto Shinpei, often orchestrates situations to the other two’s benefits. These include the somewhat normal Ishida Keigo, as well as the obscene, fat, lolicon Kobayakawa Minoru. The latter of which is one of the worst characters I’ve ever seen in anime. He constantly tries to approach children in all of his scenes, and the anime tries to make light of his pedophilia in some incredibly tasteless ways. As a manga reader, these three losers weren’t prominent at all in the series before the anime adaptation. They didn’t scheme this much, they acted as typical jealous friends in any harem ecchi comedy, always making the protagonist seem more normal by being completely off. The changes that the anime has given them makes them some of the worst characters you will watch this season. Even when they finally attempt to “redeem” themselves in the series finale, it’s far too late. Acting like decent friends in the last 8 minutes of the series doesn’t make up for a season’s worth of cringe-worthy antics. If for nothing else, I would advise you avoid watching this just to keep from seeing these three. They don’t do anything positive, and they kill any momentum an episode has every time they appear.

3. Plot Changes Are Inconsistent

Aside from Junichi’s three male friends, the biggest change is the introduction of his childhood friend, Fujinoki Nene. In the manga, she had moved away during their younger years and did not return until Junichi and Yukana had already begun dating. Thus, it made sense as to why Junichi, who was ready to confess to anything female with a pulse, did not approach his busty and affectionate childhood friend before risking it on the potentially dangerous class gyaru. The anime has her being a little sister type right off the bat, a much shorter girl than she was drawn in the manga, and thus making it impossible for Junichi to see her as a woman. It’s one of many changes that affect the overall story of the series compared to the manga.

Final Thoughts

It’s hard to really pinpoint how much better or worse this would have been if they’d stuck to a direct manga adaptation. They might have tried and found it didn’t work. From what we watched and read, we can say that the anime was several times worse than the manga. Although I was very surprised when it was announced that Hajimete no Gal was getting an anime adaptation to begin with, it didn’t strike me as a series that had enough going for it to deliver one, but I never imagined it’d feel this forced. Even as the sacrificial, seasonal, ecchi comedy, it doesn’t quite deliver, and just ends up feeling hollow. But depending on your tastes, and whether or not you’ve read the manga, you may enjoy it nonetheless.

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Summer Fever

Tsurezure Children Introduction and Story (Spoilers)

Based on a four-panel web manga written and illustrated by Toshiya Wakabayashi, Tsurezure Children is all about young love. Taking place mostly in a high school setting, each episode follows two students as they either try to form, progress or even end a relationship. Although, the former two are given the most time and attention. This quirky romantic comedy is all about these couples, with no filler or side-stories. With a huge cast of over 20 characters, an episode is divided into an array of sketches. Despite taking place in mostly the same location, these stories are not interconnected and the cast rarely ever mix. Continuity comes in the relationships themselves, as over the course of the season, we witness the natural progression of around 10 couples. While most segments end with a punch-line, Tsurezure Children takes the concept of puppy love rather seriously and most of the situations play out in a genuinely realistic manner. Pretty much all the characters are infatuated, therefore their main motivation is to understand their own feelings and get closer to their person of interest.

What we liked about Tsurezure Children

Tsurezure Children’s strength lies in its honesty and lack of over-the-top theatrics. Yes, the characters do tend to get emotional or panic over the slightest thing, but it is handled in a way that feels authentic to the situation. At no point does a girl punch a guy to the moon just because he accidentally saw her panties. As romantic comedies do not always focus on the main relationship, preferring to throw in dozens of side-stories to stretch out the run-time, we appreciated the anime’s willingness to get to the point. This is a romantic comedy in its purest form. The cast consists of colorful and easily distinguishable characters, all dealing with their issues in their own way. As the individual stories tend to follow a similar pattern, Tsurezure Children ran the risk of getting bogged down by too much repetition. Thankfully, each relationship stands as a unique entity and delivers something special. For example, Haruhiko Takase and Chizuru Takano spend most of the season staring at each other while refusing to make a move due to believing they are not good enough. On the other hand, Yuki Minagawa straight out confesses to Jun Furuya, but her unpredictable personality forces Jun to question whether she is being serious. At only ten minutes per episode, Tsurezure Children is a quick sit. For some other shows, we might complain about wanting more, but this faster pacing greatly helps the series. As there are no side-stories, it feels like an episode has been edited down to half the length after removing all the unnecessary scenes. This narrative choice makes sense, as when someone is in love, their whole existence tends to be dictated by that desire. We might only see these characters interacting with their significant other, or occasionally their best friend, but it reflects their current mental state.

Discussion Time

After sitting through Tsurezure Children, we can confirm this is a faithful and solid adaptation of the original four-panel manga. Romantic comedies are a dime a dozen, and only a select few do it well. How often does an anime come around which has a great cast and a solid sense of humor but the main relationship ends up dragging it down? Too many shows start almost as a slice of life anime before haphazardly shifting into a full-blown romance during the last handful of episodes. As Tsurezure Children consists of nearly a dozen couples, most people will find themselves invested in at least some of them. If you are not a fan of awkward humor, Tsurezure Children might not be an ideal recommendation. Most segments end with a misunderstanding, one of the characters missing an opportunity to confess, or a return to the status quo. Although the anime can get a bit predictable, the punchline is never embarrassing just for the sake of it, preferring to remain grounded. Seeing Takeru Gōda struggling to understand his girlfriend, or a mother interrupt her son as he tries to get it on with his partner, is uncomfortable because the situation is taken seriously.

Studio Gokumi put in the time and money required to create one of the standout anime of the season. With no action sequences or even all that much movement, the animation quality rests on the design of the characters, which is stunning. With such a huge cast and maybe four minutes for each individual segment, the teenagers must be instantly recognizable to avoid any confusion. While this could have been accomplished superficially by throwing in a few outlandish hairstyles, the studio managed to give everyone their own identifiable appearance without going to extremes. Who does not want to relive their high-school years? Actually, thinking back, it might be best to leave those days in the past. If nothing else, Tsurezure Children provides an opportunity to reminisce about the good old days from the safety of our living rooms. For those known to enjoy romantic comedies, this two-hour series is well worth your time and attention.

1. Shin’ichi Katori

Nearly every named character is involved in a relationship. The only exception is Shin’ichi Katori, a third-year student who is the self-appointed Dating Master. One of the funniest characters in the entire anime season, he occasionally appears out of nowhere to provide some sage advice before vanishing. Despite his flamboyant nature, Katori is somewhat of an idiot and gives nothing but terrible advice. And we love him for it, as he provides a respite from the teenage drama.

2. No Cheap Laughs

Seeing the premise of Tsurezure Children, one might expect a fair amount of slapstick and violence-based humor. Thankfully, these are teenagers are capable of dealing with a situation without hitting whoever is in front of them. Although there is a decent amount of comedy, the stories are never actively looking for a joke. They progress naturally, with laughs arising from the way the couple tries to get closer to one another.

3. Character Development

Twelve episodes lasting around ten minutes each, the audience does not get to spend all that much time with these characters. Some couples barely get five minutes of screen time, while the most popular ones receive maybe 20 minutes throughout the series. Yet, it is amazing how much character development is stuffed into Tsurezure Children. The stories mostly take place over the course of a semester, and that passage of time is reflected in the behavior of the students.

Tsurezure Children removed some of the more annoying aspects of the genre, but it is still a romantic comedy and will not be for everyone. There is a lack of variety in the structure of each segment, which might be pretty boring for someone who does not really enjoy this type of anime. We still believe it is worth trying, but if the first two episodes do not hook you in, it might be best to move on. Everyone is going to have their own favorite couple or student, but there is no guarantee they will appear in an episode. For example, Satsuki Sasahara has a few sketches in the first three episodes before seemingly dropping off the face of the Earth. On the flip side, there are a few couples that feature in nearly every episode, which could make for a frustrating sit if someone happens not to like them.

1. Takeru Gōda and Ayaka Kamine

If forced to select one central couple, it would have to be these two. The first to form a relationship, and playing a significant part in most episodes, Takeru Gōda and Ayaka Kamine are rather dull compared to some of the others. They are likable and we enjoy seeing them together, but their segments nearly always revolve around an unwillingness to talk to each other directly. Although Kamine’s attempts to get Gōda’s attention are adorable, their scenes failed to ever really surprise us.

2. Not Ideal For A Binge Watch

Tsurezure Children is not the best recommendation for a binge watch, despite the short run time. The repetitive nature of the stories, with a heavy focus on angst and drama, can weigh on a viewer. Unlike other sketch shows, the variety is totally dependent on the cast rather than the plot. Eventually, watching two teenagers trying and failing to express how they feel, can get tiring.

Final Thoughts

Tsurezure Children is an intelligent and worthwhile addition to the romantic comedy genre. Touching, and often laugh-out-loud funny, the short episodes capture what it means to be in love for the very first time. There is pretty much no fan-service, so this is an anime the whole family can watch. It is unlikely to convert someone who hates this type of series, but it is unique enough to warrant a glance. Did you agree with our review? Did you have any additional input you would like to add? Please let us know in the comments below!