The cute girl of the season sweepstakes wasn’t that hot this time around, as Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie got much more mixed reactions than expected. Let us take a look at how it was in this review.
Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie Overview
Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie, or Kawaii Dake Ja Nai Shikimori-san in original Japanese is a comedy, romance, and slice-of-life anime based on a manga written by Keigo Maki and serialized in Magazine Pocket. It is being brought to the medium of anime by Studio Doga Kobo, whose previous shows have included similar themes and appealed to a similar demographic as Shikimori-san. Plastic Memories and Monthly Girls’ Nozaki Kun are a part of Doga Kobo’s catalogue.
The series is being directed by Ryouta Itou, who has previously directed shows like My Senpai is Annoying and has done animation work in several others. It was a weekly series we extensively covered on our website, which you can go ahead and read right here. You can also read our review of the final episode of the show right here!
– Kawaii Dake Ja Nai Shikimori san Review does not contain spoilers –
Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie Review- The Plot
There is a lot to like about this show, mostly because of the concept that carries it. This isn’t a show about an interested party courting someone and trying to win their affection while being in the centre of several shenanigans. This also isn’t a tale of two people who aren’t too fond of each other, coming to realize how much they like each other. This is a tale of two people who love each other very much, dare to tell each other how they felt about each other, and are now in an extremely loving relationship. This really shouldn’t be as unique as it is.
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Anime as a medium is full of romance shows that never get anywhere. The most you’ll get to see when you start an average show is the couple getting together in the finale, and if you’re lucky, you’ll have a montage of the couple at the end that shows them having a happy relationship. There aren’t many shows that showcase a relationship as it exists within the lives of two high-schoolers. There is a good reason for this occurring- a normal old relationship is nowhere near as fun as watching the earlier stages of the courtship. However, it is hard to deny that a formula change is sometimes necessary.
Shikimori is just that- a change. It is an incredibly sweet tale of two high school sweethearts that love each other despite one of them being the unluckiest person in anime this side of Saki Yoshida. The dynamic of them always being there for each other and helping each other out (one much more than the other, but who’s counting?) is a fantastic one that carries the show on its back for the entirety of its runtime. Them being all lovey-dovey for each other was great and didn’t get old by the end of the show despite one expecting it to.
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The show went through all the motions of a regular slice-of-life show based in a high school. There was the school cultural festival, sports festival, summer festival, an amusement park visit, a game of volleyball, and everything else that is common in shows such as this. All that it did differently was that the main duo were already a couple and could enjoy all of these together, which was enough of a change to make this stand out from the others while not changing the medium as a whole. There was even a decently done love triangle storyline, which was a welcome surprise.
The anime, however different it was, wasn’t anything that you will remember once this season is out of everyone’s mind. It didn’t do enough to stand out in any case and hoped to coast by on the strength of its titular character and the hype generated by shows like My Dress-up Darling. It was a pleasant end to every week when it was airing, but I can imagine how boring it would get watching the same thing over and over again for someone who decided to binge the entire thing. Overall, the plot is a unique one that didn’t need to make much of an impact.
Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie Review- The Characters
The characters in Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie are all very likeable and lively. There’s the main duo of Shikimori and Izumi, who are adorable together. Izumi’s extremely helpful and giving personality, alongside his down-on-his-luck nature, would make you feel terrible for him in any other show, but not this one because he has Shikimori with him to protect him from a lot of the bad luck that he would generally have. She can’t be there for him every single time, but she’s there enough that he isn’t in as bad a position as he would have been otherwise.
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However, that’s really all there is to it to them. They don’t have personalities beyond loving each other, having good/bad luck, and being good people. Shikimori, in particular, is an oddly written character in that her motivations for being cute make sense only when you don’t take the show’s title seriously. She is also the stereotypical girl who is somehow good at everything, but she has less of a justification for being that than other characters written like that. She gives off a confused and out-of-place vibe in a show that was named after her.
The other characters in Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie are also decently written. The core best friend trio of Inuzuka, Nekozaki, and Hachimitsu are all funny and energetic (except Hachimitsu, but her being funny makes up for it) and complement the show’s theme well. They are all also kind and decent people because Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie doesn’t do negativity at all. Izumi and Shikimori’s family and a few other characters like Kamiya also got a decent showing in the episodes they were in.
Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie Review- Animation and Music
There isn’t much to say about the production of Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie, except that it is good enough. There isn’t much that can be said in good faith because this is a show that was wrecked by the COVID-19 pandemic during production, and the team at Studio Doga Koba did an exceptional job with it under the circumstances. The show looks really good for what it is, and it doesn’t need to be anything other than a pretty and airbrushed romance show.
The music was also decent but forgettable. The opening theme of Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie is a weird one. It captures the essence of the show perfectly, but it isn’t very catchy or a good song in general. The animation of the ending theme is very cute, and it made watching through the entire credit sequence a pleasing experience. Overall, Doga Kobo did a great job with the show, and there isn’t anything to complain about in this department.
Verdict
Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie was a perfectly good show that succeeded in being a cute and fluffy teenage romantic comedy and not much else. Then again, did it ever need to be anything else?