REVIEW: ‘Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku?’ Episode 1 – “Can A Gal Be Kind To Otaku?”

Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1, “Can A Gal Be Kind To Otaku?,” introduces Takuya Seo (Shou Komura, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity), a shy otaku, as he learns some surprising things about a pair of popular gals in his class, Kotoko Ijichi (Yû Serizawa, Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story) and Kai Amane (Konomi Inagaki, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury). Could it be possible that they may share things in common with their otaku classmate?

The shy, “weird” boy getting to know the hyper-popular, cute girl in his class and bonding with her is not new territory for anime. This odd-couple dynamic has been explored in plenty of ways in the past. With such familiar territory, a series seeking to stand out needs to deliver a lot.

Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1 delivers a loosely connected series of vignettes.

It needs not only memorable personalities to win hearts, but also some unique plot hooks. Whether it be bad luck, the pursuit of cosplay, or encounters with the extraterrestrial, a story like this needs something more to create a compelling narrative. Sadly, Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1 gives no hint at such a narrative being forthcoming. 

This pilot episode delivers a loosely connected series of vignettes as Takuya comes to connect with his new friends. Each encounter is heavily dominated by Takuya’s frequent internal panic attacks as he struggles to accept that the two gals may just be nice people who aren’t offended by his love of anime.

This emphasis on Takuya’s anxiety wears thin fast. While it makes sense for a shy person not to immediately warm up to new people, the intensity of his freak-outs leaves little feeling for the protagonist aside from annoyance. This general feeling isn’t helped by his attitude towards Ijichi and Amane at the beginning of the series.

Takuya starts the series on the wrong foot.

When Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1 first introduces the pair, we learn about them through Tokuya’s point of view. His attitude towards them, despite no mention of any previous hostility, is pretty mean. He refers to Ijichi as an airhead whom he hates. Amane gets less harsh criticism, but is still labeled as someone he can’t stand. Funny enough, though, this attitude changes the minute he discovers the girls’ willingness to accept his anime-centric interests. 

Takuya’s about-face towards the other leads leaves him feeling incredibly shallow and judgmental, especially as the episode reveals more about the girls. One scene sees a joyful Ijishi running down a hall, wishing random students a happy day, and the reactions indicate this isn’t unusual for her.

That Takuya would reduce a seemingly friendly and outgoing person to being an “airhead” speaks incredibly poorly of him. That the episode does not acknowledge his misjudgment, or what it says about him that he would change his mind solely because she seems to accept him, leaves little hope that his attitude will be addressed in the coming episodes. 

Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1 gets the series off to a rough start.

The visual side of Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1 mostly lands. The energy of the episode is well-handled, as TMS Entertainment does a good job of delivering tried-and-true high school anime visual elements. Freak-outs and glamour shots both deliver the impact one would expect. 

The only place the animation fails is in the opening moments. When we are first introduced to Takuya, we see the world through the young man’s eyes as he lifts his head from his desk and looks around. There is a choppiness to the animation here that makes the whole moment feel distorted and rough. It only lasts a few seconds, but it’s a rough way to introduce an audience to your show. 

Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1 gets the series off to a rough start. Between leaning on unoriginal tropes and a largely unlikable protagonist, the series doesn’t have a lot to recommend itself. It’s not terrible, but there are many better options to watch out there. 

Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku? Episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.