夫婦以上、恋人未満。

FUUFU IJOU, KOIBITO MIMAN.

ANIME

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
12
RELEASE
December 25, 2022
LENGTH
24 min

DESCRIPTION

Third-year high school student Jirou Yakuin hoped to partner with Shiori Sakurazaka of the same class in the mandatory "Couple Practical" course. In this practical, students must demonstrate that they have the necessary skillset to live with a partner of the opposite sex while presenting a certain level of harmony to the video surveillance that grades them.

Unfortunately, random chance put his slightly subdued self into the practical with the person polar opposite to him, the gyaru Akari Watanabe. Akari on the other hand hoped to be paired with her crush Minami Tenjin.

Their hopes are doubly dashed when they find out that Shiori and Minami are assigned together. Thus, they reluctantly decide to cooperate to reach the top ten, which would give them the right to exchange partners if both couples agree. To that end, Jirou steals Akari's first kiss without realizing what he'd done, while giving a hurried good-bye kiss...

CAST

Akari Watanabe
Saori Oonishi
Shiori Sakurazaka
Saki Miyashita
Jirou Yakuin
Seiichirou Yamashita
Sadaharu Kamo
Shou Nogami
Minami Tenjin
Toshiki Masuda
Sachi Takamiya
Minami Takahashi
Natsumi Oohashi
Azumi Waki
Mei Hamano
Yui Ogura
Shuu Terafune
Shuuichi Uchida

EPISODES

Dubbed

| | |

Not available on crunchyroll

RELATED TO FUUFU IJOU, KOIBITO MIMAN.

Cover Art for Fuufu Ijou, Koibito Miman.

MANGA ComedyFuufu Ijou, Koibito Miman.

REVIEWS

Mcsuper
35/100
A Premise That Felt Extremely Underused
I am minimally curious about how enjoyable this “marriage practical” thing would be if it actually was a real thing in real life. Things would be spicy in school, the tea would be spilling nonstop, and it would genuinely be really entertaining to watch the gong show unfold. Sadly, in this anime, this “spicy” premise of the marriage practical felt merely like a farce, and didn’t contribute much to the story other than the first few episodes. After that, it turned into a very generic romcom, but so, so frustrating to watch. Time after time I find myself pausing the episode just to facepalm and groan at how stupid it all felt. At least the bright colour palette looks good, just don’t watch it in a dark room unless you want to ruin your eyes.

STORY:

The premise of the marriage practical felt very dumb for a school to do, but the fact the show didn’t even use that premise a whole lot after the first few episodes really irked me. In a nutshell, high school students are paired up with people of the opposite gender and must live together and live as pretend married couple, getting monitored and graded in the process. It’s quite immoral, the fact that you’re getting monitored in your own house by your own school, while they expect the groups to do “married couple” things. The romcom elements feel like Toradora to some extent, as the two main characters Jirou and Akari like other people at the outset, but grow closer as the show goes along. Such an original show this is, but just to be even more tropey, let’s throw in a childhood friend trope as well.

It’s quite frustrating watching this show, because nothing notable happens for most of it other than random ecchi scenes, and whenever there’s a chance to make things a bit spicier, it just doesn’t happen most of the time. It’s simply a show built on ecchi scenes and misunderstandings.

ART:

It does look good, with the bright colours, and the animation is definitely the highlight of the show, though it’s a bit too bright sometimes, so make sure you watch the show in a well-lit room or only during daytime.

MUSIC:

The ED was very good, otherwise, not much notable music to note here.

CHARACTERS:

The characters are one of the most generic cast ever, and honestly, the side characters were more entertaining. Jirou is such a boring character, your typical protagonist who daydreams about romantic situations, but when there is one in front of him, he turns into a tomato and grows weak in the knees. Akari has some good moments, when she’s a bit more vulnerable around Jirou especially, though her initial first impression for the viewer leaves her looking like a very annoying and arrogant character, and she becomes more and more generic as we went along. Shiori is your typical shy childhood friend character, and I guess I just have a soft spot for childhood friends, since I always root for them to some extent, but she made it quite hard to cheer for her with how inconsistent her character was. Sometimes she’s indecisive, and sometimes she’s so bold.

As for the good characters, only Sadaharu comes to mind. He carries the comedy aspects of the show, and honestly carries the show on his back. All his moments are so out of place, but I laugh anyways.

ENJOYMENT:

I constantly paused the episodes to facepalm and sigh, so you can get a sense of how frustrating this was for me.

THEMATIC EXECUTION:

With some good background shots, any big moment in the show is executed effectively, but those felt so far and between. As for how the whole marriage practical is concerned, it was very disappointing to see how that whole theme became obsolete as the show went along.

OVERALL:

Just your typical trashy romcom hijinks, that could have been much more. The relationships could have been more interesting, the drama could have been way spicier, and the characters felt so flat throughout the show. The premise just felt like a huge mask behind what was just a generic romcom. There was a lot more they could have done with this premise, so it definitely was disappointing to me.
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Alicemagic18
87/100
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice!
Koi to Uso in Toradora fashion? Heck, I’m in!

I couldn’t believe how I fell in love with this show.

Since the last movie of Karakai Jouzo no Takagi-san, I was yearning for another cute romance to watch. I accidentally stumbled in this show and it is the best accident I’ve ever had. I was not expecting grand will happen since I thought that it would be just another romance like Sono Bisque and Shikimori-san. This show is very sweet and cute to watch. It made me felt on why I fell in love with romance animes from the start.

The story is what I’m not expecting it to be. I didn’t watch the trailer or read the synopsis. But I got a glimpse of an idea of a setting that would be focused on marriage. Heck, it’s about marriage but in a practical course. It’s a nice setting because it can be necessary for the students in high school years on how will they behave in case they would be married in the future. Koi to Uso was like a fixed marriage so it’s a different story. What I like about the story is the alliance moment between the two characters. Jiro wants to be partnered with Shiori, while Akari wanted to be partnered with Minami. So they made a goal to reach for the top 10 to switch their partners but through the course of the series, one of them might get fall in love. It made me remember Toradora, which is one of my favorite romances animes.

The good thing is, there’s no such thing as NTR here. Each episode and moments are funny and entertaining. The comedy in this show made me giggle every time. Sadaharu can be somewhat similar to Sunohara in Clannad. The romance in this show can make you thrilled and feel the fluffiness of what romance had in the first place. Every episode is so good that it can leave you wanting more. The ecchi is somewhat great but it is not the main selling point of the show. It didn’t bother me that much because Akari is a gyaru but a good character. It’s inevitable to have ecchi moments in romance animes and it can be entertaining. I thought if Sono Bisque was just like this and more focused on the romance and its message, it could be one of my favorite romcoms. The funny part of that moment is they are both shows from the Seinen demographic. You can see obviously that Sono Bisque is somewhat a wasted potential due to the excessive ecchi moments and a misleading interpretation of romance.

I love all the characters in this show. It’s not going to have you screaming at the characters, but it will have you rooting for them. This is the first time that I like a gyaru female lead like Akari and she made me understand her emotions throughout the story. She is so beautiful, alongside Marin and Shikimori. The Character Development of Akari warms my heart, I used to dislike this girl at first but after watching the episodes of this show, I concluded that I love her Personality and Character Development the most. Shiori's Character Development is not that well developed from what I can see, but we all know how much development she has it will never lead to a happy ending for her. Childhood friends mostly never win and that's a fact. Unless the author will do something that makes us in awe. The character development of Jiro is great too but he can be dense at all times. It’s not bad because most people aren’t psychics, to begin with. The other characters are so lively and full of energy. They are well-presented and fun to hang out with. Jiro and Akari have chemistry as a couple. I want him to root for both of them but Shiori is sometimes annoying. But that something happens when you low-key reject the person that likes you. You’re too late to realize your feelings for him/her.

I fell in love with the art style and animation. It seems Blue and Pink are the main colors of this show. The color palettes are so beautiful and eye candy to watch. The animation is good as expected from other romance animes. Akari keeps on becoming hotter throughout the series and it’s a good thing. Every detail in the background scenes is very capturing to the eyes.

Gosh, the sounds. I didn’t like the OP and ED that much, but the soundtrack is beautiful and warms my heart. It made me remember the soundtrack of 5-toubun no Hanayome. The music is suitable for every moment in this show. It can make you feel the romantic vibe that this show has to offer. Forgettable? I think not. The best? One of the music that’s pleasing to the ears.

I highly recommend this show to audiences and fans who want to enjoy solid romance animes. You might fall in love at first sight, even though the story is somewhat predictable. I’m captured by its title and I surely will pick the manga to see what will happen to the story. It has the potential to be one of those romance animes that’s so sweet and you might enjoy. The show has typical romcom cliché moments but it can keep you on the edge of your seat. Although it’s not perfect, it’s worth watching!

As for the last note, let’s not deny the following statement. The word “Pretending” is always going to be “Official”.

Story: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Entertainment factor: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
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KaalBron
75/100
Very sweet and colorful look into teen love troubles that begs for a second season.
More than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers is my surprise of the season.

You'll immediately get sucked in with the anime's very bright color palette, but you'll stay pressed against the screen for the wholesome story full of very likable characters. The premise is a bit crazy, if not impossible. Students get randomly paired with a member of the opposite sex to practice functioning as a married couple. The school scores their progress by how well they work together during this time, which is probably done with cameras... which would be pretty problematic in the real world. Nevertheless, if you decide to accept this insane premise as something that is just a part of this world, you'll have a lovely time! Sometimes you just need to put characters in an unrealistic situation to get a unique show that follows how they adapt to it.
The two main characters, Akari and Jirou, are both very unhappy with the pair choice for this fake marriage. Both of them already like someone else, so they decide to do their best to rank up to the top of the marriage grading leaderboard so they could switch members around with the couple that just so happens to consist of their respective love interests. They are also very different people. Jirou is your typical otaku with interests in gaming and manga, while Akari is a popular gyaru that finds otakus disgusting. With time while trying to get a better grade, they develop feeling for each other as they begin to see different qualities of one another that would not be apparent if not for the prolonged time they've spent together. They're both having trouble admitting these feelings not only to each other but also to themselves as they still have a second love interest lingering above their heads. They are also embarrassed by their feelings as this is not the type of person they'd usually go for and their friend would have a difficult time understanding and approving of the relationship.

The targets of their second love interests are Shiori for Jirou and Minami for Akari. Shiori gets explored very well in the show and gets a ton of screen time, while Minami is not really someone the show focuses on, but rather just a tool for the story to progress. This is not a bad thing in itself, but it does lead to a predictable outcome with his character. There are also other characters with their own respective love interests, but those are not well explored, and discussing them would be too complicated for a simple review. Let's just say those also keep things a bit more interesting and in the air. To talk just a little more about Shiori, she also has a crush on Jirou but is having trouble telling him so and just like vice versa, isn't sure if he likes her back. This leads to many comedic and uncomfortable, yet sweet moments.
The highlight of the show is definitely the interaction and relationship progress of Akari and Jirou. It is believable and sweet, with just a hint of ecchi that isn't distasteful. This is the first time I've actively rooted for one girl to win over another for a place in someone's heart. And this competition seems to be leading us to a second season since the relationship decisions still haven't been made in the last episode of the show. To me, it is a bit disappointing for it to be so because I feel there was an opportunity missed here to have a really short but sweet love story that could touch many. Instead, it seems that onward we'll get a competition for Jirou's heart. Still, since I'm in love with the characters I'm also a bit glad to be able to spend a bit more time with them in the future.

In conclusion, if you love romcoms you'll love this one. The situations the characters find themselves are great fun and there's a lot of love to be discovered and felt in the show. Just don't expect a conclusion in this season.
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