The calendar has turned, and now we got our first premiere of Fall proper in anime. Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days was down in the “modestly interested” tier it’s true, but wasn’t without some interest. It’s a seinen romance and a pretty well-regarded one too. I had it down as a sort of “maybe” sleeper going in. There’s not a lot that stands out on the staff list but Ajia-do is a somewhat underrated studio who does well with this sort of material, and Akao Deko has certainly done some good adaptation work as a writer.
Yano-kun no Futsuu no Hibi is mainly focused on two people. Yano-kun is unsurprisingly one of them. He’s a second year high-school (which has to be the most common protagonist age in animanga, if anyone ever counted) who shows up at school every day covered in injuries. Yoshida Kiyoko is the class president who sits next to him, and immediately starts worrying about what’s going on with Yano (Tsuyoshi). Her gal pal Mei immediately realizes, of course, that Yoshida actually has a crush on Tsuyoshi. But Kiyoko is one of those people who refuses to acknowledge the obvious if it conflicts with her prevailing worldview.
The thing is, Yoshida can be worried about Yano-kun because she’s a nice person and because she has a crush on him. The two are not mutually exclusive. She is legit concerned about bullying or “D.V.” (domestic violence). And of course warm for his form. Mei suggests that they follow Yano home one day and see if they can figure out what his deal is. As it turns out his deal is just that he’s a total klutz. And seemingly cursed too, because a lot of totally random stuff befalls him. Kiyoko declares that she’ll become “good friends” with Tsuyoshi and help him. But he doesn’t like getting close to people because of the risk of collateral damage.
Yano-kun is very much a seinen romance, which anyone with experience with those won’t need me to explain. It looks like one, sounds like one, feels like one. There’s a certain subgenre of romcoms – especially though not exclusively seinen – which are built around a hook or conceit, usually with the male lead. Like Kubo-san, or Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge. Some of these gimmicks work better than others – and require more or less suspension of disbelief. So where does Yano-kun fit? I’d say around the middle of the pack, based on one episode. The whole business with Yano’s “predisposition” is pretty silly, if we’re honest. But it has a certain goofy charm to it, too.
I won’t say this premiere has me convinced. There were moments in the middle of the episode where it started to lose me. But I find with this sort of series that a few eps are often required to really draw you into what they’re pitching. And the overall vibe is certainly pleasant. Tsuyoshi and Kiyoko are good kids, and the writing doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously. I see some of the potential that made me call Yano-kun no Futsuu no Hibi a possible sleeper, but it’s too early to say how much of it is going to be realized.
The post First Impressions – Yano-kun no Futsuu no Hibi (Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days) appeared first on Lost in Anime.
