I think “ridin’ the dog” means something different in Japan…

I was already on-board, but Aharen-san wa Hakarenai keeps raising the bar.  It’s totally working both as a comedy and as a feel-good romance, and now that it’s finally expanding the cast its comic arsenal is expanding.  That’s a crucial element for really good anime comedies – the supporting characters can give a series the ability to spin (heh) diverse kinds of humor (Minami-ke may be the ultimate example).  This one has a chance to reach some pretty lofty heights if it keeps improving at its current rate.

The first new (mostly) player this week is Toubaru-sensei (Hanazawa Kana, as funny as she’s been in a long time).  And she’s the perfect pick from the spice cabinet to liven up this already-tasty stew.  An ultra-romantic with a passion for Heian poetry and an imagination as unbound (and unhinged) as Raidou’s.  Toubaru-sensei misinterprets (or does she?) everything she sees from Aharen and Raidou through her classical romance prism – it all comes down to “aware” and “okashi” (esteemed/cordial).  It helps that what these two are doing is so absurd for a classroom in the first place, giving her imagination plenty of room to concoct original explanations.

This is especially effective (and clever) because Raidou and Aharen are so blissfully unaware on the romantic front (at least as far as we can see).  That of course is one of the most charming things about them – they’re free of all those embarrassment tropes we’re used to in romcom anime.  They’re just a couple fidget-spinning goofy dorks who’re joined at the hip (almost literally at this point).  Whether it’s great one-off sight gags like the “possessed by the devil” bit, longer concept pieces (like the fidget or the rapping), or character comedy, Aharen-san is pretty much firing on all cylinders at this point.

I think the rap chapter was probably my favorite this week, though it’s a tough call.  It starts out with Raidou massaging Aharen’s face to try and help her be more expressive (with predictable results).  Eventually it lands in a CD store with her buying a Japanese rap disc and getting caught up in it.  This seems like the perfect means for communication – with a microphone he can hear her, no problem.  Raidou’s own initial attempts at freestyling are predictably awful, but with diligent practice he becomes… less awful.  Their “rap battles” are hilarious, and even Imouto-san gets caught up in them.  But it all comes to naught when their mics are confiscated at school.

Then, the fidget-spinning, which didn’t trail the rap chapter by much.  This one has a little of everything – sight gags, Raidou’s fantastical delusions, Imouto rapping.  It also segues rather neatly into the final chapter, as Aharen’s other-worldly spinning skills win her a trio of acolytes at the park (not that she wants them).  The park is the setting for the last couple of chapters, the first one finding Raidou in a panic as he interprets a tiny shiba inu and a cat as “wild beasts” he must protect Aharen from.  Eventually the owner claims the dog and the cat is scared off by the (clamorous) arrival of Aharen’s schoolboy threesome.

This trio includes Atsushi (Fujiwara Natsumi), who seems to be their leader.  Atsushi is destined for a larger role here, it seems, as is Futaba (Sashide Maria), his self-declared osananajimi who declares “Aharen Reina” a seductress trying to steal her man.  I think this was the first time we’ve heard Aharen’s first name – I assume Raidou has one too.  Futaba threatens to pull the stranger danger rip cord every time Raidou tries to intervene, and eventually challenges Reina to a Reversi match with Atsushi as the prize (basically). Raidou steps in but she thoroughly dispatches him.  Aharen too – the difference being that she loses on purpose, unlike Raidou.  We haven’t seen the last of this subplot, that’s for sure.

When a comedy is nailing pretty much everything it touches it’s quite an exhilarating watch, and that’s where we are with Aharen-san wa Hakarenai at this point.  It all worked this week, right up to the post-credits scene with an exhausted Reina riding home on the family dog as if it were a royal steed.  It all revolves around the main pair being as great as they are, but the addition of strong supporting characters (who aren’t stalkers) only gives the series additional fertile comic ground to sow.  I had decent expectations for this show as my main sleeper for the season, but at this point they’re being comfortably surpassed.