This show is such a great execution of formula, really.  Superficially it’s not really doing anything unusual, but it tweaks the expected just enough to be unique.  And then it embraces its identity perfectly.  Making it look easy is something really good comedies almost all have in common, but the reality is that comedy is one of the hardest things to execute.  The vast majority either overcomplicate it or simply don’t have enough raw materials to begin with.

We start out of “Hokkemon“, which may be a parody of an existing game universe, though I don’t want to commit myself.  Aharen is apparently not very trendy (which fits with her never having heard of fidget spinners), and has gotten into the sumaho version of Hokkemon long after its peak of popularity.  Raidou has been at it for a while, and when she challenges him he’s confident with his “Yankeeras” (ROFL) he can handle her entry-level Shirorin.  But apparently Raidou simply can’t win at any competition, and Aharen’s adoration of him isn’t (yet) stronger than her intense competitive drive.  Incidentally, rumor has it that all those tricks she used to defeat Yankeeras are actual moves in that theoretical real-world game.

At the game center, Aharen has another feast at the crane game while Raidou (I’m worried about his dietary habits now) is attending to other business.  Futaba shows up, determined to win a Yankeeras for Akkun’s birthday and with it, his heart.  But she’s horrified to see the “shotacon” Aharen Reina on-hand.  Aharen’s has shown a willingness to set aside her competitive juices where children are concerned, and she gives the haughty Futaba a covert lesson in how to win a Yankeeras (she does all but put one in the chute).  The rest of them wind up on Raidou’s bed, which I’m beginning to suspect is going to be a running gag.

It’s kind of hilarious that we never got an explanation of why Raidou suddenly showed up at school thirty pounds heavier.  It just happens and kicked off a comic chain of events, and then he’s back to normal.  The payoff is so Aharen-san wa Hakarenai – “oh”.  That’s this show in a nutshell – Raidou going off on a wild tangent based on his imagination, hijinks, “oh”.  The same with the cleaning chapter – after he sees that Aharen is a cleaning ninja, Raidou convinces himself that she’s a ninja, period.  This is really a setup for the bookcase incident, though, which is itself a setup for the final chapter (as is typical of this sort of series, the most heartfelt of the episode).

All I can say about the studying bit is that it’s a good thing the homeroom teacher wasn’t around to see it, or she’d have been in critical danger from loss of blood.  In the end the classroom is the best place, and that hug – what more can you add to that?  It was totally sincere and unironic in a way only a series that earns it honestly can be.  These two are too sweet to exist in our tainted world, seriously.  I was glad to see Raidou actually got a good end, too – he broke the top 100 (80th) on the exams thanks to Reina’s help.  Her powers (and their kawaii energy) are apparently such that they can even overcome his hopelessness at anything competitive.