I don’t know man, I need to do reviews but most of the airing anime are in a rather sensitive position right now… Aharen-san seems to be the safest anime to review right now. Oh well, here goes nothing I guess. So I started this anime on the recommendation of a friend. I was thinking it will turn out to be another rom-com or something like that. But no, this is so much better than an average rom-com or SOL anime.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Aharen-san, and I have to say I’d be down for a 2nd season. It is not out of this world in plot or anything, it is a normal surprisingly funny anime. So well, let’s get started with the review. Don’t worry, there will not be any spoilers ahead.
Plot
So Aharen-san is the story of a guy called Raido. Who is rather socially awkward and wants to make friends in his high school. So he decides to first start by getting along with the little girl who sits beside him, Aharen Reina. Little did Raido know how much of a wild ride his friendship with Reina was gonna be.
Sounds simple enough right? But Aharen-san has plot twists believe it or not. Yes, this SOL anime actually has plot twists and some pretty wild ones at that. Granted they are mostly on the funny side but yes, plot twists do exist here. The plot may be simple but it is defined by how far Raido is willing to go for Aharen-san and how their relationship progresses.
Characters
of course, Aharen-san and Raido are the focus of the show. They get quite a lot of character development throughout the show; well, it is more skewed towards Reina but still. The side characters on the other hand are pretty well-written and entertaining on their own. I really like Eru and that one teacher who gets nosebleeds among the side characters. I also love how Raido always ends up thinking about an extremely extreme situation. Also, Raido when he’s sick…. oh yeah.
Animations and Soundtracks
The animations are pretty bright. They are a bit above average but, that is fine. Aharen-san doesn’t really need that much effort in animations. Some scenes though (mostly from Raido’s imagination) do look really good, so props for that. The series direction overall is very good IMO. The soundtracks though, do not appeal to me as much. The opening and ending themes are also kind of forgettable but, that is not that big of a concern.
Conclusion
Here are my final ratings for Aharen-san:
- Plot – 7/10
- Characters – 8/10
- Animations – 8/10
- Soundtracks – 6/10
- Enjoyment – 8/10
- Raido being superlative – 10/10
- Overall – 7.5/10
Yeah, I usually avoid giving decimal ratings but I was really torn this once. But, I do think my rating is pretty fair. This is all just my personal opinion though, let me know what you guys think of Aharen-san in the comments. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!
