Kimi to Boku didn’t turn out to be the series I hoped it’d be, but at least it didn’t end up being the series I feared it would.

Like Fate/Zero, KtB is taking a break before returning in the Spring with its second cour.  The final episode is very much of a kind with the ones that preceded it, a nostalgic and somewhat corny trip down memory lane as the boys – with Chizuru in tow – return to their old kindergarten as part of a school work experience day.  Naturally this is a somewhat traumatic exercise for Kaname, who had an all-star kindergarten crush on the teacher, Kaori-sensei.  Most important to him is that “the little monkey” doesn’t find out his embarrassing secret, but Shun and his loose lips sink that ship before the day is done.

The kindergarten story is full of the mildly pleasant and occasionally quite amusing time-wasters for which this series is renowned.  Mostly, it revolves around the pint-sized brat Ken-chan, who acts like a bully but deep-down just wants to be loved, especially by his crush Sono-chan.  When a game of house leads to Kaname being cast as Sono’s son (along with Chizuru, with Yuki as the husband) a kick in the crotch is sure to follow.  Oddly, Chizuru seems right at home with the bunch of rugrats, and one boy tells Shun he’s pretty and tries to kiss him.  JC Staff continues to cater top their core audience with this show.

While not fulfilling my hopes, which I’d have known were unrealistic if I’d read the manga, KtB turned out to be a fairly good series all things considered.  I wanted a real alternative take on the “Girls @ School” trope, with an honest attempt to portray the male side of the high school experience with some authenticity.  Well, that’s not what this was – the material was way too nice for that.  Mostly this is gender neutral stuff that could just as easily have happened to girls as boys, and what gender-specific stuff is included is generally aimed straight at the fujoshi heart.  But what saved this cour is that the show turned out to have an agreeably offbeat sense of humor, and embraced weirdness for its own sake often enough to keep things entertaining most of the time.  A few authentic guy experiences even managed to slip through, though there were certainly the exception rather than the rule.

It’s certainly my hope that Sunrise’s Daily Lives of High School Boys does turn out to be that authentic series I was looking for, and judging by the promo mini-episodes and the to-notch staff list, it has a pretty good chance of happening.  But I still appreciated Kimi to Boku for what it was, and I’ll be tuning in this April to see where things go from here.  After a rough start things really picked up when Miyu Irino’s Chizuru entered the scene and added a much-needed burst of energy and mischief.  There wasn’t much in the way of a recurring plot, but there were a few elements like the Mary-saki love triangle (though I don’t know if it can be called that with Shun involved) that should bear fruit in the second cour.  Until then, let’s see how a “Guys @ School” series with a little more of a rough edge fares this season.