OP: “Alcor to Polaris” (アルコルとポラリス) by Reina Kondou

The Spring parade of romcons continues apace.  Jijou wo Shiranai Tenkousei ga Guigui Kuru. (the manga was localized as “The Clueless Transfer Student is Assertive”, which I vastly prefer to “My Clueless First Friend”) checks off the elementary school box.  And that can be a tricky little genre, too.  Grade school kids really aren’t an appropriate subject for a romance unless it’s handled with extreme care.  But that’s not to say it can’t and shouldn’t be done – kids this age (the leads here are fifth-graders) do sometimes fall in love and play at being a couple, even if they don’t really understand what that actually means.

As is that weren’t a big enough banana peel, Jijou wo Shiranai Tenkousei is also built around bullying.  And “bullying comedy” is likewise a minefield, though again it can be done well (Bimyou ni Yasashii Ijimekko springs to mind) – it’s a matter of getting the tone right.  Somehow, with these two huge obstacles to navigate, this series manages to find its way.  It does get the tone on the bullying right, just right in fact.  It’s never emotionally minimized, but doesn’t drag the series into tragedy either.  And it puts the focus squarely on the “com” half of the romcom tag, which is where it has to be with a couple this young.

That couple consists of Nishimura Akane (Kohara Konome) and Takeda Taiyiou (Ishigami Shizuka).  She’s an impossibly sweet little girl with “glaring eyes” who’s been branded as the Shinigami (grim reaper, more or less) by her classmates for as long as she can remember.  She lies to her father every night and tells him things are fine, but lives a life of isolation and loneliness at school.  Into that life sweeps transfer student Taiyou-kun like a force of nature – which let’s face it, is exactly what he is.  Taiyou is an “odd duck” as Akane calls him, and he finds the idea that she’s a shinigami utterly cool.

One can react to this premise and premiere in a couple of different ways I suppose, and they’re both part of my own reaction.  Akane is really a sad little thing, kind as can be, and more concerned than anything that Taiyou might have his social life wrecked before it starts by being seen as close to her.  That’s really goddam sad.  But it’s hard to be sad when Taiyou is around – he kind of has the same effect on the audience that he does on Akane.  His relentless tornado of guileless positivity sweeps over everything, oblivious to anything but his schoolboy ideas of what’s awesome and what’s fun.

For me, the MacGuffin of Clueless Transfer Student more than anything is that Takeda-kun is the world’s biggest chad, and has absolutely no idea that this is the case.  He regularly lands knockout blows on Nishimura-chan, who’s doubly unprepared because she’s so unused to getting any positive attention whatsoever.  This dynamic is pretty unusual in romcom and I find it absolutely hilarious here, and Takeda and Nishimura impossible not to love.  They’re over-the-top sweet, no question about it, but the humor has just enough snark to it to give the show’s palate some variety.

Mind you, there are times when I think Taiyou knows more than he’s letting on – that there’s a method to his madness.  But you can decide that for yourself, and one way or the other as long as he’s using his powers for good, what difference does it make?  I’d also note that the supporting cast here is adorable and very funny, but by far the best of them is eternally tank-topped Hino Daichi (Kawanishi Kengo), who’s already declared himself Taiyou’s best bud.  He gets more laughs per minute than anyone in the cast.  Also, this is an incredibly faithful adaptation – everything from the character designs to the tone and rhythm of the dialogue.  That’s Pierrot’s (Signpost) speciality, and one they get way too little credit for.  Their visuals aren’t the flashiest, but they capture the essence of a source material as well as any studio out there.

ED:  “Kokorone” (ココロネ) by Kitri