KAWAII DAKE JA NAI SHIKIMORI-SAN

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyKawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san

REVIEWS

• 

  bufis

  38/100
  in the “worst main characters” category 2022

  What's up with their eyes?

  No, but seriously, this is one of the weirdest eye designs I have ever seen in anime. It actually looks good from some angles, but most of the time it's rather creepy. The blonde girl literally has dead fish eyes. And it looks horrible.

  Oh, and, since I see people that seem to be saying that the ratings of this show are low from a lot of watchers because "the expectations were too high", " everyone thought this will be Dress-Up Darling 2", and "yall just watch mainstream media & shounen": sorry to break it to you, but that isn't the case! (at least when it comes to me). I went into this with no expectations, and Dress-Up Darling wasn't the best show in existence anyway; yet, Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie was just not that good. Just like Tonikaku Kawaii. And my most watched/read genre is romance, so this low rating is not because I get bored without an interesting plot, cool fights, a lot of action, or anything that is usually not associated with romantic comedies. Basically, you don't need to find excuses as to why not everyone enjoys it.

  Also, if you're one of the fans that claim that Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie "isn't just a romcom"... hun, "romcom" literally means "lighthearted romantic comedy that relies heavily on the romantic relationships of the characters & is frequently a slice-of-life". Now, can you tell me how in the world isn't this show a romcom? Especially since there is basically no plot/story. I'm waiting for your answers, 'kay?

  CHARACTERS

  Contrary to whom most seem to consider to be the worst character in the series (Izumi), I'd say that it's actually Shikimori herself. She is obsessive, very jealous, and possessive. She doesn't have any hobbies and sticks to Izumi like glue, and doesn't seem very pleased with the fact that he has friends. Even worse than that, her whole identity is basically just trying to be seen as a cute girl while also "protecting" Izumi. That's all she cares about, aside from winning in every game/competition. Well, honestly, it's not like Izumi is much better. I get it, he's unlucky, but for being a main character, he sure doesn't have a lot of focus put on him. Rather, it's like he is there just for Shikimori (and 2 other girls haha, didn't know this was a harem) to have someone to be cute & a mommy for. He doesn't have any presence, like, at all; I almost forgot he was the other main character while writing this. He just exists to be the kind, cute prince that captures the hearts of lonely girls just by being kind to them. But, I mean, he's trying to overcome his unluckiness and do sweet things for his girlfriend and friends. At least he's trying. And his culinary dishes are said to be delicious.

  (On a side note, Izumi's unluckiness is not even that bad. His worst unlucky moments were jumping in the bushes to avoid being run over by a bicycle and drowning, though the last one is pretty bad. The rest were just random, almost harmless inconveniences, with him losing his wallet or tripping; so, no, he didn't deal with it well or anything, since there wasn't really much to deal with in the first place. The only thing I remember was him trying to be prepared for anything that could go wrong on a date, which I mean was cute, but not that smart? Since he knows he often loses his stuff no matter what he does, why doesn't he let someone else keep them when he's going out? Like, giving his wallet to Shikimori would have resolved the problem. As for tripping… taking a few gymnastics classes or just doing some exercises to improve his balance would probably help, but it doesn't seem like he has thought that far; he just lets his "unluckiness" get the best of him.)

  As for the side characters, they surprisingly have more character development than the leads (who have, like, almost 0 growth). Two of them, to be more specific; they have a whole episode dedicated to each of them, and it was quite nice to see. Though, the extra characters that were used in one of the episodes were just pure mockery. But all in all, the side characters are better than the main ones, that's how bad this show is.

  STORY

  Just in case you were wondering… I haven't mentioned anything about the story because there is literally no story. It is a slice of life romcom with school setting; and instead of going for a boring, generic plot, the mangaka (since I suppose the "story" is the same in the manga) chose to not have one at all. Which is not a problem at all, don't get me wrong; however, it means that in order to make the anime/manga enjoyable, it is a must for the characters to have amazing chemistry (among other things). And sadly, this is not the case at all. The main focus of the show, Shikimori and Izumi's romantic relationship, is very awkward and unrealistic. They are supposed to have been together for one year already, yet act like they have only known each other for 4 months at best. It's like they don't even really know each other's personalities that well. It's just... very weird, you know. They don't seem to be comfortable with each other at all, and it bothers me. It feels like they are both looking at an idolized version of their partner, only seeing what's at the surface: a soft unlucky guy that needs to be protected and a cool, beautiful, perfect girlfriend. Well, the point is that their chemistry it's rather weak, and nowhere near good enough to make me want to watch more of it. Though, a 12-14 years old person may find it cute and enjoyable, I guess, its demographic is shoujo after all.

  The friendship of the rest of the characters feels off sometimes as well, but overall it's passable. The trio of girls (Shikimori, Nekozaki and the other one) seem rather awkward with each other for being friends for more than a year. Again, it's like they have only known each other for like 4 months.

  ART STYLE/ANIMATION

  When it comes to art style and animation, well... The animation is as good as it can get, and the style itself is pretty nice, though generic. Very charming color palette, well suited for the genre, atmosphere, and demographic. But like I said, weird eyes. Oh, and while I did say the animation was good, it had some slip ups here and there.

  CONCLUSION/ENJOYMENT

  Well, having said all that, here's the catch: it's not a horrible anime. As far as entertainment goes, it is actually passable. In short, I didn't hate watching Shikimori trying to look cute for a date, Izumi having to spend his time at a school event in the library, Nekozaki laughing or smiling most of the time, and Inu's laid back attitude. I mean, if I did, I wouldn't have completed the anime. What I'm getting at is that it is not that bad of a show either. At least when it comes to the enjoyment.

  The best thing about it, though? Its OP! Hands down one of the best this year. The ED was pretty enjoyable as well.

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• 

  Mcsuper

  78/100
  Side Characters Really Saved This Show

  Well… this show’s actually pretty good… wait, everyone hates it? I guess I’ll just have to play a bit of devil’s advocate here then…

  This show presents to us a bit of a different take on the romance genre, a clumsy but lovable main character, with an alpha, and very cool female main character. This show gets people into huge debates about gender roles and the dynamic between the main characters, but for me, the problems lie not necessarily on the dynamic of the main couple, but more on the repetitiveness of certain tropes presented. There are a lot of good aspects about this show as well, especially some of the supporting cast, which was surprisingly strong and intriguing to watch, and I’ll highlight all of that in my review below.

  My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

  STORY: 17.2/25

  The story isn’t this show’s strong point, and that’s to be expected as this is a slice of life romance anime. In a nutshell, Izumi is a “cursed” kid, who’s very clumsy, and needs to be protected. His protector, and girlfriend is Shikimori, a very cool and badass character, who can be cute at the same time. Its overall premise is unique in the sense that the relationship starts from episode one, and it’s not one of those romcoms where a romance is developed, which is a welcome change for sure. I would have liked the backstories of the main characters a bit earlier in the series, but at least we got one.

  What this show does super well is its handling of side characters. There are other people potentially interested in our main characters, and I’m glad that didn’t draw anything out in terms of romantic development, or create any unnecessary trashiness or love triangles, harems or anything of the sort. That’s why I liked Kamiya so much. It shades away from fan service as well, and didn’t need to rely on that to make the show more intriguing for the viewer, rather, it just used normal romcom slice of life elements to create a more organic path for our main couple.

  It’s not perfect though, because the jokes are repetitive for sure. Izumi’s constant “bad luck” moments get a bit over the top and unrealistic, like the guy almost got isekai’d by Truck-kun, and that’s a main reason why people don’t like the show probably. I do think it’s repetitive, but that’s the premise of the show, and it’s just a minor drawback for me. Shikimori’s moments are also a bit repetitive, in that her thing is saving Izumi, and getting jealous. I’m glad that the characters had a little bit more depth, as shown in the backstories, or else the characters would have seemed a bit dry.

  ART: 8.3/10

  It’s a decent style, and I’m glad Doga Kobo was able to handle the production issues due to the studio getting closed down in April. Didn’t see any quality issues in later episodes.

  MUSIC: 8.5/10

  The opening and ending were pretty top-notch and one of my favourites of the season, as they were decently creative. The soundtrack was pretty solid throughout.

  CHARACTERS: 14.8/20

  This show shines a little brighter than the romcoms due to the greatness of the side characters, but first I’ll talk a bit more about Izumi and Shikimori.

  Izumi, probably the character that gets the most hate. He’s clumsy, but kind, and needs to be taken care of. I know that a lot of stuff that happens to him is quite unrealistic, but we got to remember that this is fiction, and this stuff isn’t reality. His constant mess-ups do make for good comedic moments at times, and when he’s able to be, he can have his good, wholesome moments as well.

  Shikimori is an interesting character, in that she protects Izumi, and also loves him, most likely because he’s kind and tries his best to take care of her too. She has her moments, but honestly, she felt a bit of a boring character to me, even though she was very cool, and showed off her skills. Basically, she’s the OP character you’d normally see in an isekai series, maybe she could be a solid isekai protagonist.

  Now to the side characters, and in my opinion, one of the best parts about this show. Inuzuka and Nekozaki don’t contribute a whole lot to the overall story, but they have quite a few comedic moments that were very fun. Hachimitsu was one of my favourite characters, because what can I say, I’m a sucker for deadpan humour. She’s a good friend to everyone, and she kind of feels like Izumi, in that she tries her best at things she struggles at, and was the pinnacle of comedic relief. Personally, the character I was most impressed with was Kamiya. The way she was written to prevent any love triangles from forming was awesome, and just saying, if this series went that route and got trashy, INSTANT 2 OR 3/10. Luckily that didn’t happen.

  ENJOYMENT: 13.5/15

  I was very impressed with the handling of Kamiya’s character, and the backstories too. Good that there were some good comedic moments.

  THEMATIC EXECUTION: 15.8/20

  I enjoyed how the romance was handled, and the depth that some characters had as well. The development felt well paced, and all the characters had their time to shine. Some jokes were repetitive, but overall, the show worked for me.

  OVERALL: 78.1/100

  A pretty solid show for me. Sure, some of it was boring, but I don’t really get the hate it gets. Perhaps people were wanting a new waifu at the same level as Marin, and a show like My Dress Up Darling, but a show with little to no fan service, and a good, and different romance was just as good and funny for me. Remember, Izumi and Shikimori are a fictional couple, and while this type of dynamic isn’t seen a lot in real life, it is a heck of a lot of fun to watch their interactions.

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• 

  Waintheweeb

  50/100
  Could have been brilliant, but settled for okay

  I have a little bit to say about this show

  First off I want to say that the opening and the side characters are the reason I continued this show past episode 3, honestly, the side characters carried hard. I loved how dry yui was, shuu and kamiya were also brilliant additions to the cast.

  But unfortunately they weren't the main cast so we watched shikimori and yuu for 12 episodes be embarrassed and absolutely refuse to have any substantial character development until the final episode when it was crammed into a measly 24 mins.

  It tried to be the rom com of the season like dress up darling was before it but unfortunately it failed. Whilst it is by no means bad, it is defiantly not peak and it does not live up to the hype I had going into it, unfortunate really because it had so much potential.

  The opening was the best part of any episode, and I actually loved every second of it from the great visuals to the amazing voice to the well done track. Defiantly one of the best parts of the show after yui.

  I hope that rom coms try to put more of a twist on the genre as opposed to just 'make the girl the dominant, safe keeping, one' but whatever,

  It is one of those shows that I finished because it is short (finishing at twelve episodes) but in all honesty, I wouldn't have watched it if it was a full twenty four episodes simply due to how bland the main boy and main girl are, but there we go.

  This is a show that I firmly believe did not live up to the hype.

  It could have been brilliant but settled for okay

  ---

  now my review has concluded I need to reach the 2200 character and 2100 word limit I will answer four questions I made myself:

  who is my fav character from this show and why?

  Yui because her sense of humour and dry delivery made the episodes significantly better, unfortunately, it did not save the show.

  If i could change 1 thing about the show what would i change?

  id make the main two have a more three-dimensional relationship and three-dimensional characters, maybe have yuu suffer an actual consequence of his bad luck, for example, his bad luck causing actual problems in his relationship with shikimori somehow, etc. Id also make shikimori less of a love dove for yuu and have her own problems that are significant enough to make her seem like an actual character as opposed to being akin to a bodyguard that happened to be in love with her client.

  is shikimori best girl of the year?

  shes not even best girl of the season (that would be yor or chika fujiwara

  would i rewatch this show?

  I would not simply because there are shows that do the same basic plotlines much better, for example, my dress up darling, maid sama, and wotakoi : love is hard for otaku

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