It is so crazy for me to think that this is only the third Random Wednesday here on the blog. And yes, the name of this post makes it sound like this is going to be some sappy personal confession. Alas, this is just an anime review for the anime My Love Story!!. For those of you unaware, Crunchyroll has a random feature which will recommend you a random anime. This time around it recommended me My Love Story!!.

Admittedly, I remember when this show first came out, but at the time I had no interest in it or the genre. A lot of time has passed and I now have a sweet spot for the slice of life, rom-com genre. I like the quirky nature and visual gags (not slapstick but more so character faces and body language).

For half the episode I was unimpressed. The colors were gorgeous and vibrant. They really helped set the genre up right. However, the character designs were borderline hideous. Maybe this was halfway intentional. Takeo Goda is almost directly compared to the red ogre. Whereas, Makoto Sunakawa is the handsome lady killer. Either way. The character models were really off putting. Semi-bored with the plot, I thought to myself, “I would just prefer to watch TONIKAWA: Over the Moon.” (A new romance anime I watched the first episode for). However, midway through My Love Story!!, the genius of the show’s use of irony really clicked.

The show centers around three characters. The aforementioned Takeo Goda and Makoto Sunakawa and the love interest, Rinko Yamato. Goda and Sunakawa are near opposites. One, Sunakawa, is graceful, beautiful and charming. The other, Goda, is awkward, unattractive and just kinda fumbles around. Anytime he loves a girl, the girls fall for Sunakawa. Enter, Rinko Yamato. I wont replay the plot here. Just know, Goda and Sunakawa save Yamato on a train ride. The three begin to hang out daily. It becomes very clear to the audience Yamato likes Goda. However, due to the history of the two best friends, Goda assumes Yamato has fallen head over heels for Sunakawa. It is worth noting Goda really likes Yamato. He likes Yamato so much, and wants her to be happy, that he is willing to put his feelings aside and help Yamato land Sunakawa. Remember, every girl he likes becomes enthralled with Sunakawa. Sunakawa, on the other hand never has any interest in the girls. Goda thinks if Yamato is rejected by Sunakawa it will ruin her. He does not want to see her hurt like all the other girls.

I love the relationship dynamic and the unexpected irony. The characters really grew on me as the episode developed and even the art got a little charming as it went along. All in all, I really enjoyed my time with episode #1 and look forward to seeing how the weird pseudo-triangle relationship works out.