Yano-kun's Ordinary Days

Hello there. For those who don't wanna read it all, this anime is meh, at best. I'll talk about its quality, not the enjoyment factor, those are not the same. And this is important because most "reviewers" say stuff like "I liked it, it is a good anime". Yes, you can also like bad media (aka "my guilty pleasure") and thats ok. Just know that it is bad. Lets begin. Visuals. Decent art style. Simplistic but still nice to look at. Decent or nice animation. And thats about it. No particularly good cinematography, decent enough colour palette. Lot of scenes with people blushing or shocked, orfocus on the eyes. Audio. Decent sound design. Nice usage of tracks and at appropriate levels. The OP and the ED were on par with the theme of the show. SO that was ok. The VA kinda did was it was intended, I guess. I don't know. Instead of acting you will get either "soft, heartwarming" tone or "shocked/lets yell" approach. I'm sure that was the directing, but it felt weird. The world-building is ok, basic stuff. The pacing was decent. I mean, the anime is boring but it has nothing to do with the pacing. Overall, decent production value. And now, the main stuff. And I'll start with a very important fact. The synopsis, and what most people repeated and took it for good instead of thinking for themselves, is that some guy is a klutz and prone to injury. So basically, this whole anime rest on the idea that a guy is re****ded and the people around him momentarily also become one. And THAT is the important part. Him being dumb enough to walk head-first straight into a pole, to step into a puddle of water? Yeah, sure... I'm mean I don't believe it, not if you're a functional human being, but sure. People throwing stuff at full speed right at him, people dropping objects right above him, for what it feels like every 5 seconds? No, not so much. That means the story is full of plot holes and plot contrivances. It just so happens that x happens, and then that y happens, and then z happens, and so on. Oh, a quick note here. Thats for the 1st half. Afterwards the "accidents" only happen once or twice (or something like that) per episode. And by doing something stupid, like self-tripping in a manner thats physically impossible. But whatever. Ok, lets pretend all of that is normal, that it can happen, what about the rest? The so-called comedic aspect is meh, all around the "funny" accidents, or the reactions of the people around. The romance? For the first 4(5?) episodes it is decent enough, showing us the struggles and such of a highschooler. You've been there or you know someone who acted like that. Then it becomes something else. I have no idea what that is. Happening at the same time, the ML gets more resolute but also he feels more in the background. I don't know how to explain this. It is something that you need to see to understand. He's part of the story, people talk to him, the FL talks to him, stuff happens, and yet it feels all forced, he's toned down. Until he does or say something straightforward. Anyway. I don't even know what I should talk about for the next part, because there's too much to talk about. A couple of good characters and character development. But no, not for our couple. There is also a very annoying toon? Colleague? Plot device person? The aloof character that does things with a smile on his face, only to move the story forward. Yeah, no. Fk it. By trying to remember what happened makes me annoyed with the story, so I'll end it here. "Funny" thing: when the episode 11 ended, I was "Finally. It ended a bit weird, but it doesn't matter anymore". Then I realised that there was one more episode and I did the "No! God!" Steve Carell meme. It gets a rating of 4. Mostly for some character work, and some meh visuals and audio. The comedy is lacking. The romance is meh at most, still using formulas from 20 years ago, but done in a wrong way, so not quite there. The premise is sht and everything that follows with it. A "story" full of plot devices, plot contrivances and plot holes. We got 2 (maybe) episodes of decent stuff, the rest is garbage. No enjoyment, no re-watching value, obviously. Having some decent art, some decent themes and such, it doesn't make it a good anime by default. The execution is very important and here it failed. Maybe the source is better, because you can't see the weird "accidents", but still a flawed premise. Have a lovely evening.

Yano-kun's Ordinary Days - A rom-com disguised under the guise of injury and caretaking? Seems typical, but oh-so-sweet to experience in its innocent form factor. There're many ways to do rom-coms, and anybody can be an expert at it, if the qualities are solid and there's foundation in the makings of a decent story that proves that love is for everyone out there. But in the case of mangaka Yui Tamura's lone work of Yano-kun no Futsuu no Hibi a.k.a Mr. Yano's Ordinary Days, "ordinary" being the word of choice and focus here, I'd like to focus your attention to a quote from famous philosopher LaoTzu, that sums this series well in a heartbeat: “I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures”. The first teaching of Simplicity: you really don't need to reinvent the rom-com formula, but try to be as authentic as you can and deliver your story to the very best, even if it sounds blasé at best. The story goes of the couple in the making: the class president Kiyoko Yoshida and her somewhat klutzy classmate of Tsuyoshi Yano, who somehow always never fails to show up to class without wearing a bandage on his face due to the many bruises that's accustomed to the never-ceasing amount of injuries that he takes on a daily basis, Yano's really just THAT clumsy from the outset. However, it's the act of reaching out to make sure that he's at least protected from simple day-to-day scrapes, as such with Kiyoko Yashida, being known in their class for her reliability and kindheartedness, that starts the "strangers to friends, then lovers" cycle for the both of them. It may not sound much on the grand scheme of things, but trust me, it's sweeter than thou once you see how this progresses into quite the relationship that's filled with innocence and purity, but with abundance. The second teaching of Patience: that's pretty much Yoshida's objective with making sure that Yano is taken care of, and incurring minimal "damage" as possible from his daily clumsiness. Her motherly instinct caring for Yano is not mistaken by her friends, as such with supporting people like her best friend Mei Yuzukawa and Izumi, and even with the guys with Yuudai Hashiba and Haruto Tanaka. It's precisely her acts of service towards Yano that naturally bonds her to want to be close to Yano and learn who he truly is, beyond his antics that always leaves him with scars on his body and face. But love blossoming from a first-aid kit and a mission to always deliver nurse-like care? That's only a fantasy's dream for anyone wishing to be in Yano's shoes, of which this truly is that showcase for mishap-related injuries. The third and final teaching being that of Compassion: it's not just a one-girl affair for Yoshida to fully take care of Yano, as there're others also seeing her antics to contribute to their friendship-turned-couple relationship in some form or manner. For sure, Yoshida's kind-hearted nature allowing herself to be permeated by Yano through all walks of his life, and with the others witnessing the love sparks around them, it's natural that love's sinful nature would come up and oppose the hearts of those who don't feel like they're a good couple. Take Hashiba for example: as one-sided crushes go, he's the typical standard young man who feels like Yoshida's good-natured self is for everyone, until someone tries to take advantage by progressing to the next step of eventually asking her out, and in some ways, Hashiba is reality down to the T. Him seeing how Yoshida sticks close and even closer to Yano like a sore thumb, and he being the naturally jealous one who has always had a crush on the class president, having to navigate multiple feelings at once, and yet at the end of the day, realize that he's never going to get Yoshida's heart to quietly support the couple in the making, I at least appeciate that Hashiba is written with heart and not for the sake for drama. It's really then, the same with the others: both Mei and Izumi fervently support their good friend, as well as the joker of Tanaka who just acts whatever he likes. Don't you love it when a joker truly acts like THE joke? An adaptation like this that serves simplicity as its silver platter, truly doesn't need much from the get-go. Studio Ajia-do surely knows what's best for its clean sheet of production to go for expression, as much as this is an in-house project led by storyboarder-cum-episode director Shinpei Matsuo, which this show serves as his directorial debut to deliver a decent to good job, all things considered. Even the music is also there and sounds fine, with FANTASTICS (from EXILE TRIBE) delivering a serviceable OP alongside iScream's ED. This then, goes back to what I've mentioned at the review's header: in the realm of rom-coms done "masterfully", can simplicity edge out even ideas gone amok and going for broke? I think yes, if the ideas are there to service a story that might not look and sound like much, but at the end of the day, if it captivates, then its job has been done. And Yano-kun no Futsuu no Hibi a.k.a Mr. Yano's Ordinary Days, while is a show that is deserved in your extra time, it really doesn't hurt to experience a rom-com at its simplest, but also being effective at the same time, that knows how to serve you a good time waster. Solid show all around, and Yano, please learn how to protect yourself, or Yoshida will come clean with you!

It sure is an average (one might say ordinary) high school romcom, huh. I only checked this out because short of a pair of specs, Kiyoko (the FeMC) sounded right up my alley and like is she the greatest class prez/rep there's ever been? I mean obviously fucking not, see my anime list background, pfp, about me, favorite characters list, etc. But she's decent. The problem is she's really the only one that stands out (and even then, that's probably because of my predilections, more "objectively" speaking, it's not like she's particularly well-written compared to the others). The titular Yano-kun is a clumsy boy and feels awful about itand is a heckin' awesome dude who everyone wants to protecc but has brains the size of rocks which... to be honest, that's every character in the show. It's not infuriatingly stupid or anything but it'd take the whole cast to change a lightbulb given their average IQ. The friends are slightly different shades of lukewarm romcom wingmen soup but the main one I want to talk about (and one of the biggest detriments to the show) is Hashiba. I like Hashiba well enough but the problem is he's used as a romantic rival for Kiyoko and, like, idk man. Why are we doing this, man? It's never in doubt that Kiyoko and Yano are the true pair so why bother? It only serves to make me feel bad for Hashiba and build resentment towards Yano. Hashiba even goes "oh, even if Kiyoko and I never date, my feelings for her will never fade" like you did not have to write that, Yano Gal. And, like, presumably the reason there are exactly 4 scrimblos outside of Kiyoko and Yano in the friend group for the vast majority of the show is so Mei and Tanaka (whose name I actually had to check, although I did guess it right) and then also Izumi and Hashiba can be paired off But like then why bother? Mei doesn't like Yano like that. Izumi doesn't like Yano like that. Tanaka doesn't like Kiyoko like that. It's JUST Hashiba and like what's the point, man? For some cheap drama that's quickly glazed over? That's really my only big, throbbing problem with this show. Otherwise, it's main problem is it doesn't really do anything to stand out to me compared to, say, KareKano or Kaguya-sama. Which is fine, do I expect every single show to be a shoujo masterpiece directed by the guy who made Evangelion? No. But as someone who keeps a yearly ranking for all of the anime I watch, once I finished the show, it spoke volumes that I looked at my 7s and went "is Yano-kun better than any of these" and my answer immediately was no and the question was really "how far down in my 6s is it going". To its credit? Not very far. But it's just a Fine show. If you like your average romcoms, it's another filling for the trough. Otherwise, no real reason to go out of your way for it.

Did you watch Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie and think to yourself, "man, they really underutilized the whole clumsy boy trope," then do I have the show for you. Yano-kun's Ordinary Days is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Tamura Yui. I'd probably label it a shojo (and then be beaten to death by shojo elitists). The story centers around the female MC Kiyoko, the class president, who's concern over her classmate Yano grows into affection, then into full fledged romance. Yano is a very clumsy, accident prone boy, who seems to draw misfortune to himself; he always comes to school injuredheavily, wearing an eye-patch. Kiyoko's determination to keep him from harm ultimately proves largely ineffectual, but charming and to Yano, very endearing. Yuka Nukui, the actress who plays Kiyoko, does a fantastic job. Her reactions, panic, and emotion all come across so honest and believable that I really grew to like Kiyoko as a character. In comparison again to Shikimori, who's more of a baddie, guardian angel type, Kiyoko comes across less powerful, and more concerned. I think both are very good characters and I appreciate the different ways of approaching the clumsy-boy trope. Yano, very much like Izumi of Shikimori, is a beacon of calamity. Misfortune seems to follow him around constantly. I found myself calling him cursed in episode 1... When episode 11 rolls around though and a character is introduced from Yano's past, I felt like they kind of rushed through the traumatic backstory in order to find resolution, and the new cast member's presence wasn't really well executed. Yano's pretty pathetic, but his positivity and unwillingness to break in the face of all the bs he constantly dealt with left me wanting to be inspired; to what end? Not sure. I would happily watch another season of this series and buy the manga if they decided to license and print it in the US.