A couple stipulations up front. First, I liked Otagal (which is the accepted shorthand for this series and takes less time to type). I had enough of a vibe on it to preview it. But then getting a specific rec from sonicsenryaku upped my sleeper radar a little. sonicsenryaku also recommended I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class, which I also watched and liked. I did like this show better, though – everything clicked on a slightly higher level. And it was a surprising good production, too – very decent animation and a really good ED sequence. Hell, I can’t believe they got Miki Shinichirou to play some random jamoke asking for directions, ROFL.

The other stipulation is yes, this is pretty standard formula. And wish-fulfillment. We’ve seen the “otaku boy-popular girl” trope played to death, so don’t go into Otagal expecting much that’s new. With a series like that it all comes down to execution, and I think that’s where this one pretty much nails it. It doesn’t have a mean bone in its body, but doesn’t drown itself in excessive treacle. The chemistry between the leads is appealing pretty much immediately, and most of the gags are quite amusing. And wish fulfillment or not, building around the simple premise of people being unexpectedly nice to each other (even Miki-san’s jamoke) – and that creating its own rewards – is wholly appealing.

Can gals be nice to otaku? It happens – maybe not that often, but it’s not impossible. The connective tissue here is “Glittermon“, otaku Seo Takuya’s favorite anime. It’s bad enough socially for Takuya to be an otaku – the fact that he likes shoujo anime is truly gilding the lily. “Glittermon” comes off as something like Digimon aimed at girls. The first gal is Ichiji Kotoko, who sits on front of Seo-kun. She mistakes “Glittermon” for Pokemon (that happens with muggles) but doesn’t mock Takuya when she learns what he’s into. The other gal is Amane Kei, who’s more reserved by nature but just as popular. She’s a closet “Glittermon” fan but desperate to avoid being outed, so she keeps trying to pass her interest off as that of her little sister.

You can kinda see where this is going. And it mostly goes there, but there are a few interesting twists along the way. For me it’s Kotoko that’s the standout character. Kei is fine, but her tsundere otaku persona is relatively standard. Kotoko is more of a wild card, and her genuine niceness as a person really defines the episode (the way she handled the textbook thing was textbook-perfect). She’s the one who instigates almost all the contact despite legitimately having zero interest in “Glittermon” herself. And not only that, she’s open to being converted (admittedly less risky for a girl than a boy).

As for Takuya, he’s nothing too revolutionary as a protagonist to be sure. But he’s not a total doormat either. His has scar tissue, but he’s actually pretty assertive about establishing diplomatic relations once he realizes Kei’s dark secret. This all culminates in a trip to Animate, which you know is a sponsor since no names were changed. A new “Glittermon” figure is coming out but it’s a lucky box kind of deal. The gals and Takuya meet there randomly, and while both Takuya and Kei are the ones who understand the “group purchases helps our odds” thing, it’s Kotoko – who has no skin in the game – who suggests that they actually do it. All the more proof she’s best gal…