Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san | First Impressions

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As expected, Izumi’s family is a weird one. That is the biggest thing I learned from the third episode of Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san.

I will admit, I thought the third episode of Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san was a little dull. As I’ve mentioned countless times in the past, I have watched so many romcoms that everything is slowly starting to blend together. It has grown harder to distinguish one from another because they all feel the same. Is there something that differentiates Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san from the rest? It’s because of this question, that I’ve decided it’s time to jump into a ‘first impressions’ post instead of an episode review.

In short, Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san‘s first three episodes have been a mixed bag. Apart from the extreme bad luck that Izumi has or Shikimori’s affection for her unlucky boyfriend, I’m not sure if there is anything that stands out at me. Especially with romcoms, I very much think it’s a hit or miss. It’s one of those things that is very hard to get right, but once you have it, then it’s going to be a great success.

Has Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san hit yet? No I don’t think so. To me, that anime feels very one-sided at the moment with Shikimori-san doing all the grunt work. Having one character carry the show has been something I’ve talked about in the past and won’t be something I’ll be getting into today. All you just need to know is that a one character show, isn’t really something I like watching.

I think the biggest issue I have with the anime is that the characters don’t really have anything to offer. They feel rather generic. Yes, Izumi has a serious case of the bad luck. Yes, Shikimori seems to be the alpha female. But what else do they have to offer besides their love for each other? As of right now, I don’t think they have anything else to offer besides that. As a matter of fact, I think most entertained I felt was oddly enough when Shikimori-san had dinner at Izumi’s house. Izumi’s parents both are very funny characters. Izumi’s mother reminds me a little bit Yuriko Hori (Kyouko’s mom), while his father is like a watered down, older version of Kyousuke.

We also have been introduced to a wider set of characters besides the ones we saw in the first episode and of course, the parents of Izumi. Now I don’t think it’ll just be a show that features our two main characters. We’re only three episodes into the anime, we still have plenty of time for the supporting cast to make a bigger impact in what seems to be a very normal show.

I’d say that my first impressions of Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san were okay. It definitely could have been better, but it also could have been worse. So I cannot complain. I’m just hoping that we see more from our characters because I believe we’re lacking on that front.