Giji Harem

When a harem evolves to the point that it consists of only one girl, you get Pseudo-harem. This anime is perfect for those who love harems filled with lots of girls with different personalities but just can't choose who to simp over. Or maybe you just want to see two well-adjusted and kind-hearted adolescents having lovey-dovey moments.

This anime is the equivalent of powdered sugar-covered candy. Every part of it is sweet and delightful: the colorful animation, the serene background music, and the way the characters interact. Simply amazing.

Right off the bat, though, the story doesn't have one plot. It's more of a compilation of ... their sweet daily lives. But then again, this anime doesn't really need a plot when it's pretty much visual diabetes. It was meant to make you giggle and punch the air with joy and a slight hint of jealousy like an idiot, and it succeeds in doing so.

The animation is pretty good and well-suited for this type of anime. It's not visually stunning or anything, but it does the job of capturing the cute and wholesome tone of the show.

The OST is also much appreciated. It gives off that 2010s romcom anime feel. The OP can easily be on my no-skip list; play it on the speaker and put it on full volume.

The MC in this anime is very likable. He's not dense or annoying. He's supportive, humorous, and his voice is surprisingly nice to hear. He's not a plain beta male like in some anime. He knows he likes the heroine and sometimes even confesses his "love" to her but cleverly hides it by saying things like "Oh, it's just acting" or "Oh no, I'm confessing to one of your personalities." But I think the creator isn't very subtle about showing that he indeed really likes her.

As for the heroine, oh boy, where do I start? She's genuinely amazing. A girl that can "transform" into any type of girl that you want, but at the same time, remain the same sweet and lovable girl that she is. You can't get anything better than that. The author was definitely daydreaming when they created her. If she's based on someone the author knows, then I'm seriously envious of the author for ever meeting someone like her. Every time she smiles, I just want to get on my knees and propose to her. She radiates so much sunshine, energy, and positivity that if you put Enoshima Junko next to her, they would start pulling at each other like magnets.

Highly recommended for those with a sweet tooth.

Here's why you should watch Pseudo Harem:
1. Hayami Saori
- If you're a fan of her, you will definitely enjoy this one. The role she's playing has her utilizing her talent in every corner, so you get to hear every kind of voice aside from the renowned soft-spoken tone you'd hear from her usual roles. Not to mention having her character being an actress, you would get an endless amount of talent just oozing in every second of her screentime. Let's not forget the other guys as well, they do well to commend the character and help make Rin stand out as well.

2. Just Cute
- Like ... the many roles her characters have to strap into, you get many scenarios with the main couple that are enjoyable to watch for romance fans. Blushing, rizzing main heroine endlessly, holding hands out of nowhere, or getting close, it's the whole package for your romance delicacy.

Biggest Downside of Pseudo Harem:
No Build-up/Storytelling
- The anime is only interested in showing you cute scenes and has no actual scenario creation. There's no plot cohesion either, so you're constantly jumping from one cute scene to another without proper build-up or connection between scenes. It may seem like a plus for not having your romance being sidetracked by the other plot, but the lack of plot means there is no chance for character development except for cute moments or random drama it sometimes throws once in a while.

Other than that, you get an experience equivalent to getting diabetes. As much as I would appreciate the anime having storytelling, think of it as a large dose of sugar sweetness that keeps going nonstop without a break. It's a good ride, try it if you want to.

Thank you for reading.

Why does it seem like anime studios don't put in any effort into their shows? This is actually an anime that I've read the manga for first and really enjoyed. I loved the characters and they actually have great chemistry for once. I don't know why but for some reason in anime romcoms, the writers are so hellbent on focusing on how to force circumstances onto their characters to progress their love, that they forget to make them actually have an interesting relationship. Like these two characters are a really fun duo. You believe their romance because you see their friendship first. They play off ... of each other well and have a trusting relationship that is fun to watch, and it's because we see how much fun they have together that we root for their romance. It may just be my ideals from the American culture in which I grew up, but I prefer relationships built on enjoying the others presence more than emotional residence. Anyways, I love the characters and I really loved the premise of acting out a harem. It's cute, charming wholesome and just a good time.

So, why the 3/10? You see, I was talking about the manga. Now, what I'm about to talk about is not one of those "the manga was better" spiels (even though it was). The biggest issue I have with the anime is the fact that the 10-page chapters that the manga had, where it was just focused on one sort of gag a chapter (kind of akin to American comics like Calvin and Hobbes) does not translate well to the cinematic format. These are not episodes of a show. They are five unrelated circumstances that have the same characters, mushed together jarringly into 20 minutes. It is a series of gags, not a story. This worked for the manga because of how manga is formatted. Where it takes like 2 minutes maybe to read a chapter in the manga, it takes 5 for it to play out in the anime. It does not work for anime. Why is Japan so insistent on just copying the manga verbatim?

Now that kind of series of gag show can work. Nichijou is amazing and it does the same thing. So does Saiki K. But those work because their gags are short and there is enough variety that it remains interesting. This show only has two actual characters and each segment of the episode is 5-6 minutes. As much as I love these characters, these unrelated string of 'things that happen' is not engaging enough for a 20 minute episode.

Why can't they make an original story, with the same characters, the same premise, the same humor? Just add a story. That's all you need to do to make this show great. Deviate from the manga and make a story that fits into the 12 episode run-time. The whole manga is based around the Drama Club, right? Why not make a story about them going through a troubled production, or just give us a sense of time progressing like Horimiya? Add new characters, add emotional depth, as long as you keep what made the manga so great (the chemistry and the humor), we won't complain. I am asking as a fan of the manga, to not just copy and paste, but do something with the source material so it can fit the anime medium. But they would never do that. Because making an original story takes effort and risk.