Wakaranai

Rating:    

In the story, Yuuto Ayase is an ordinary boy in an private high school with the usual cliques. Haruka, the school’s most unattainable girl, is so idolized in the school for both her beauty and smarts that her classmates nickname her Nuit Étoile (The Silver Star of the Night) and Lumière du Clavier (The Shining Princess on the Piano). However, in the school’s library, Yūto stumbles across her and her darkest secret — she is a diehard fan of anime, manga, and otaku culture.

Haruka Nogizaka is a straightforward romance anime deviously repackaged with an otaku slant to ensnare the more hardcore anime fanbase who might otherwise not identify with it. Admittedly, I would not have watched it at all if it was sold as a boy-meets-girl textbook romance, but the boy-meets-gorgeous- girl-who’s-secretly-an-otaku variant baited my interest. Misleadingly, it gave the impression that it would be focused around the otaku culture aspect and be more of an upbeat silly comedy, but it ultimately took itself and the romance between Yuuto and Haruka very seriously. Ironically, I ended up enjoying it on its romance aspects, and usually found its attempts at humour more of an annoyance than anything else. It was kind of refreshing seeing a love interest develop successfully without the typical clichéd intrusions of a harem or even a love triangle. And unlike, say Zero no Tsukaima, they actually do become closer and share some genuinely intimate moments. Of course, it’s far from being an accomplished romance story – fans of this should look elsewhere; it’s just that this happens to be its only strength and makes it watchable.

In fact, looking elsewhere is probably sound advice for anyone in regards to this show; I certainly did my fair share of looking away in the more boring moments. Despite avoiding predictable love-triangle entanglements, it is not free from the shackles of cliché. The typical misunderstanding scenario was painfully stretched out into a whole episode. Where’s Akira Takano when you need her? In a better anime. Moments bordering too close on real physical intimacy (like –gasp!- a kiss) were predictably interrupted, and there were just a lot of moments that cried cliché convention. The show also relies to a degree on a sprinkling of fanservice. Also, there was a tendency for the series to be overdramatic at the most inappropriate of times. I was baffled as to why the writers thought it would neat to make the last two episodes about Yuuto’s gift-shame. It felt totally out of character for him, and it was just such a silly emotional story to wrap things up with. Of course, it represented the issue of Yuuto being unfit for Haruka’s daunting wealth, but the show never bothered to bring it up before and it was done so poorly. You don’t need to spend half an episode devoted to some rosy, blonde foreigner gratingly spurt out demeaning comments and ‘desu wa’s. Please. The “we have lots of money and you don’t!” aspect was totally overplayed, feeling totally dumb and unrealistic.

            

Actually, Haruka Nogizaka no Himitsu has some real issues with reality. The premise of the show is every otaku’s sad fantasy, and the fantasy pervades every character and plot turn, from the flirtatious younger sister, or the perfect, innocent moe-girl who’s also an otaku (not going to happen), to the way the issue of Haruka’s hidden hobby is dealt with. With all the crying and “Why should Otaku’s be picked on! It’s not fair!” sentiments being tossed around you’d think Otaku were being burnt at the stake or herded into concentration camps. I just hope the people watching this show don’t have the same kind of inferiority complex. Okay sure, some otaku out there may have been bullied but that was probably because they were a socially graceless, insecure mess, and either way the last thing we need is anime designed solely to help otaku feel better. But despite the messy melodrama and fairly flat humour, the show might just be worth watching for those few touching moments shared between Yuuto and Haruka and for some of the characters who are cute and fun, even if they don’t seem believable.

As the male lead, Yuuto could well have done with a bit more charisma or personality, but I suppose he wasn’t too bad. Despite looking like he came off the lame harem lead mass production line, he does not exhibit the usual emotional and social patheticness – mostly being mature and thoughtful. Haruka herself is a beautiful, elegant, handle-with-care kind of girl who will no doubt hold a lot appeal to the male audience, with her soft-spoken loveliness. She’s not usually the girl I go for, so perhaps some of the show’s appeal dodged me. Mika, on the other hand, is a lot more fun, notable for her upbeat demeanor and her relentless flirtatiousness and precociousness. The ideal little sister for someone else to have. I get the feeling she could have been a pain in the arse, but Mai Goto gave her the spark needed to a lone ray of colour in the show’s otherwise tepid pool of characters. Shiima had an utterly pointless role. She might’ve been better used if she’d just kept up with her revealing bumping-into-Yuuto routine. Haruka’s father, Gentou plays an ineffective antagonistic role as the no-nonsense father who won’t tolerate Haruka’s non-academic anime/manga hobby. Although I wonder if he’s not a closet otaku himself, as he seems to be doing a poor job imitating Seto no Hanayome’s Gouzaburou. Following the lead of anime’s all-time most annoying character Saori Shikijo(Mahoromatic), two minor characters prove to be a major headache. The busty, drunken, loud-mouthed duo Yukari and Ruko will challenge anyone’s faith in humanity as fundamentally tolerable beings.

The production values were up to scratch, perhaps even more so. Although they were not particularly excellent later in the series, at least in the beginning the animation quality was so good I’d say it was wasted on this kind of show. The character designs are well-detailed (if not particularly good), and the cel animation is fluid and consistent (except for when they attempted to animate moving cars). The background art is pretty standard. The musical aspect of production is completely forgettable, and may have even detracted from the show rather than adding to it. I had to cringe whenever the violin kicked in for one of those totally overly dramatic scenes.

All in all, this is not a show that I would recommend to anyone, but the fact that I watched it all in good time is evidence to suggest that it is watchable.　At times it is grating, other times flatly mediocre, but dotted throughout are some genuinely sweet moments and the odd laugh. And, like the romance in Birdy the Mighty Decode, the love interest was strong and refreshingly simple. It does us all good to be reminded that love does not have to be a mess of tsundere and harem. In more shallow terms, some may also be swayed by an abundance of fanservice. But if you’re after a genuine romance, there is elsewhere to look, and if you’re after otaku references or gags you might want to stick to Lucky Star.
 
 

 
 
What they said:

Overall Rating 7.5: It managed to be both uncliche and cliche at different times. It had enough unique flavor, especially in the male lead and Mika, to put it a step or two above all of the other generic lovecoms out there.

… but beyond that it largely floated merrily in its own sea of medicority, never looking likely to either swim to the shore of greatness or sink into the dark depths of dulless. If I had to sum up the series in a single word then? Average.