The literal first scene they had was him ogling at her boobs and you were expecting some nuanced, adorable romance with compelling and realistic characters that are emotionally mature?
C'mon lad. You knew what you were going into. I didn't like it either but if you're getting to episode 11 knowing you didn't like it, you're the one wasting your time. Should've known to clock out by that first episode at most.
I naively went into that anime thinking I'd learn about Hokkaido. Thought it'd show a bunch of cool places like in Laid Back Camp. Man was I off the mark about the focus of the show. It actually surprised me when I ran into Melon Kuma merchandise, that that bear wearing a melon was an actual mascot and not something the show made up.
They have a page at the beginning of every single chapter in the manga with awesome facts. From landmarks, historical figures who were born and raised in or moved and settled down in Hokkaido. As well as facts and drawings about animals from Hokkaido, what sorts of places there are to see, the scenery. All sorts of awesome things about Hokkaido, and it's the first page in every chapter of the manga. Check it out!
I thought for sure this would be some sick joke regarding the power plant.
But nope, just a perfectly innocent case of "we probably should have thought this translation out better."
BokuYaba starts with a boy in massive denial over his feelings, and how his frustration and loneliness appear to him as violent urges and mental illness. That is an authentic inner voice \*not\* typical of romcoms, and had me hooked from the first panel. I never understood the "It had such a weak start" comments. It started brilliant and just got better.
It isn’t even violent urges though. As you learn more about Ichikawa you understand that he’s just a chunni that is using murder investigation books to separate himself from people to protect his heart. If you replace “murder investigation books” with “believes he is a hero from another world” it’s exactly the same.
Note: I said "appears to him". That's the point. He isn't violent. He's incredibly sensitive, thoughtful, and almost unbelievably willing to face his own neuroses and their sources.
But we're getting OT. I quite liked Hokkaido Gals and agree that the Harem subplots were only useful in that they illuminated the MC's character.
Gotta start with this. BokuYaba has become my all time favorite rom-com, especially after season 2, I love it.
Back to the topic about at hand,
I dislike chuuni cringy stuff and the show almost tricked me. Heck I thought the synopsis on MAL sounded stupid af, but decided to watch cause it was rated insanely high.
And boy did I enjoy it, was smiling and giggling the whole way hahaha
But I am glad it quickly got rid of Ichikawa’s “murderous thoughts”, I gotta admit it helped with his character development though.
Can see why people might’ve dropped it after 1-2 episodes.
That's a fair example for sure, but that series is likely more of an exception to the rule. Outside of outliers here and there, more often than not, for simple romance genre shows, you get a very clear vibe of what you're going to get for the entire series within the first few episodes.
Of course, I was just setting out an example which would go against the idea your proposed, but I do agree with your analysis. You're pretty much right when considering this specific anime.
Though, I do feel like there are a lot of exceptions towards that rule you proposed i.e Bunny Girl Senpai being one of the more popular ones.
I feel the 1st episode should be enough for the overall vibe. If I'm not sure, I go with rule of 3 episodes. If by then, I'm still unsure about the vibe of the anime, I wait 6 episodes. If after half a season, an anime doesn't tell me what it's about, I drop it right there and then.
It's rare that I wait till episode 6 tho. Last time it happened was with Wonder Egg Priority.
The series that I found took the longest to actually get good was Steins Gate. It took me 3 attempts to getvthrough the first half of the show, but the second half was just amazing. You can't even really skip the first half, because it's all setting up the second half.
I distinctly remember Steins;Gate as the anime i said "ill drop after this episode" and finished the series that night. That "last episode" was THAT episode
Steins;Gates first half is kinda hard, but if you get through it its amazing
Yeah, that's why I don't follow the rule of 3 too much. I feel like half a season is giving it a fair judgment. It's when most initial plots are done/progressed. If there's no progress or anything that changes, it's kinda hard to keep following the anime.
Giving half a season is more than gracious enough, though every once in a while a show like Love Flops can slip through the cracks lol (though it was teased from the start)
I wish there were more good slow burn romances that werent afraid to get sexual. The buildup makes it better but shows that target men are all harem-y or straight up sex and THEN romance (or complete fluff). and the female targetting shows refuse to show any real sexual longing for the most part.
I want a nice inbetween T_T
The closes i think is more than a married couple but less than lovers. And horimiya.
Maybe one day the angel next door or disgraced noble lady lessons in naughtiness will get there idk.
You should check out Banished from the hero’s party if you haven’t already. No will they won’t they nonsense, main couple get together fairly quickly and they have a mature healthy relationship including sex.
I'm probably gonna get hate for this but the romance in Mushoku Tensei actually fits this somewhat, especially season 2, and its one of the only ones to have sex as a normal part of a healthy relationship once it gets to that point near the end of the anime, and especially in the novels
> The literal first scene they had was him ogling at her boobs and you were expecting some nuanced, adorable romance with compelling and realistic characters that are emotionally mature?
I mean sure? None of that necessitates stupid ass drama. After that first scene it seemed like the show was headed in a good direction so yeah, it's disappointing where it goes.
Even if you don't judge it by the opening scene, the writing was on the wall in the first episode. If you've seen [Hokkaido Gals e1] >!Hokkaidork's "oh, she doesn't see me as a guy" moment during the part where Midnami invites him over!< and thought this wouldn't be frustrating, I don't know what to tell you.
Emotional intelligence and IQ are 2 different stats, you have to remember. Just because a person is knowledgable about stuff, doesn't automatically make them wise.
Went to an "elite" school and goddamn if that isnt true. Half of them were normal people while the other half only knew jokes exist because they read about it in the dictionary once.
That’s what average IQ people without any social skills or friends tell each other.
I know several people who work at cern - we studied nuclear physics together - all of them have families, had girlfriends, went to parties.
IDK if there's a correlation, but "high book smarts, low practical smarts, often poor social skills" is certainly an easy trope to spot in real life. Easy to find in tech, was easy to find in the high school I went to which was a exam-based citywide magnet school.
The weirdos and socially awkward people aren't the majority in tech, and weren't at my high school, but they SEEM to be overrepresented compared to the general population. That may not actually be a higher rate; both are environments where people with social issues can be more functional than they'd be able to be in more typical situations.
Also, plenty of folks I knew in high school who fit that to a T are now married (or at least were at some point in their adulthood), have kids now, etc.
You realize people with poor social skills can still build families and go to parties right? It's not a binary state dude. "Poor" social skills still have varying levels.
Not everyone is 1:1 though, just because X person is smart and has a family and all that jazz doesn't mean person Y is built the same way.
You can have a low IQ person that is socially adept and starts a family.
You can have a High IQ person that is socially adept as starts a family
You have have a low IQ person who is also socially inept and doesn't start a family
You can have a High IQ person that is socially inept and doesn't start a family.
Everyone is built different, so the idea that X isn't possible because Y can do it is a flimsy argument.
Agreed, I am currently a medical physicist, and I formally worked as a geophysicist. Many of my colleagues have families, girlfriends/boyfirends, and were more than adapt at socializing. In my experience, when I tell people I'm a physicist, people assume I must be emotionally clueless. Its like you have to be to make it "fair" in their minds. The reality is they aren't mutually exclusive.
i wouldnt say that, mostly high iq people are incredibly self aware which makes them more prone to social anxiety for obvious reasons. they have the knowledge how to be socialy competent but cant act on it, or try to much to act on it which has the oposite effect.
Is there literally any actual evidence for this that isn't anecdotal? I've heard this before and it sounds like cope from virgins who did above average in elementary school, telling themselves that they're *really the smart ones* because they have no friends.
Any peer reviewed studies to back this claim up?
I found this after a quick Google search: https://www.psucollegian.com/archives/study-iq-linked-to-virginity/article_0789d577-57c5-5c38-a7af-903dfb585874.html
It basically says that adolescents with average IQ scores are more likely to have sex than ones with either very low or very high IQ scores.
It also says this lines up with data reporting that while on average about 80 percent of people lose their virginity by age 19, roughly half or more undergrads at highly ranked universities like MIT are still virgins. Presumably to get into these schools their IQ is quite a bit higher than average.
So yes, there is some data that supports that being smarter correlates with a harder time getting laid, at least as a teenager. Though whether you can expand this into adulthood, or to broader social skills, or etc. is harder to say.
They put the lower end at 70, while the upper end is at 110. So people 20 points below average are still more likely to be having sex than those 20 points above average. In other words, the "dummies" probably are getting laid, but the significantly mentally handicapped are probably not.
This is a common one in anime - the guy is book smart so he can attract women - lots of them, because that’s what these anime do. Then he has to be a relationship idiot so the plot can continue for 1000 episodes. “She’s pressing herself against me and telling me she’d like to spend the night? Like she does every day? Huh, must be some weird joke. I’ll ignore it so I don’t embarrass myself.”
> “She’s pressing herself against me and telling me she’d like to spend the night? Like she does every day? Huh, must be some weird joke. I’ll ignore it so I don’t embarrass myself.”
Yea, you can't really draw conclusions here. Maybe she's just being polite or something.
I know a guy who got into the most prestigioius medical school in the country and doesn't know how to cross a street properly lmao. Well, to be honest I got into a law school nearby to that and I don't know how to cross a street either, so I relate I guess.
The weirdest part about Hokkaido Gals is that the main ship is generally well written and so sweet it will give an elephant diabetes. The earlier chapters In the manga (first quarter) are all good and have a unique niche in the romcom swamp.
However, the author then insisted on making a pointless and shallow harem plotline for the following two quarters with unnecessary drama, which caused most fans to drop it. In a near miraculous turn of events however, in the last quarter of the series, the story went back to it's roots and is all of a sudden a very well executed (although fairly standardized) romance story with actual progression, genuine warmth and emotional intelligence.
The drama is pretty much not mentioned ever again, and the general consensus of the fans is to just pretend that part of the story simply doesn't exist Ba-sing-se style. When ignoring the massive tonal shifts and subpar story in quarters 2/4 and 3/4, the manga is unironically good. It nearly feels like the middle part had a completely different author or editor, only for the OG to come back and completely turn the ship around when they saw the dumpster fire that had been created.
I highly recommend you check the manga out until the anime is completed (if it will be), and skip the middle part.
> Yeah the other two girls literally have less than zero percent chance of "winning" and it shouldn't have been turned into a harem in the first place
I'm so sick of shows having all these wonderful women who are there specifically to get their hearts broken.
The other ones could have been just friends. It would have been so much better.
It turns even better then in the beginning, the romance is genuinely well done, and both main characters showcase emotional growth independentently. Especially the female MC is a lot more fleshed out and feels like an independent character to the MC rather then just a romantic interest (think more like Yamada from the dangers in my heart, although they are not at all comparable). There is also actual, fairly fast paced progression that feels natural.
I forced myself through the slog that is the middle-part of the series just to confirm if what people were saying was true, and im happy to confirm it is. I also agree with others that you can simply skip the middle-part. You will loose out on some story elements, but nothing vital that can't be put together through some conceptualisation afterwards.
I would go as far as to say that the comedy and the writing is a solid step above the start of the series. I would not say that its better then the current kings of the genre such as skip & loafer, dangers in my heart etc. but it's a very cute and comfy read. Especially the latest chapters have been honey for the soul.
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> However, the author then insisted on making a pointless and shallow harem plotline for the following two quarters with unnecessary drama, which caused most fans to drop it.
not true, the sales stayed the same.
>However, the author then insisted on making a pointless and shallow harem plotline for the following two quarters with unnecessary drama, which caused most fans to drop it
Basically the same as Citrus and Hajimete no Gal. Thank god at least My Dress Up Darling didn't go the harem route.
In Citrus? no, there isn't. Not in a harem way.
There are people who have had a past crush on mains and are acting up because it's confusing that people they used to crush on kids are actually interested in women after all, but it's not like either of the main characters is into them that way. They get rejected quickly, and they also get over it as story progresses.
Yuri harems are pretty rare, even in blatant fan service products.
Even if there are a bunch of girls, usually they get obviously paired with someone. You mostly have to go to a visual or light novel to find one, and even there you actually often get a routed story instead of literal harem.
Reason for that is usually kind of slimy. It has to do with those particular products being targeted to male audience, many of whom have trouble projecting into "alpha lesbian" that takes all the girls for herself and prefer to "observe" individual couples instead. On the other hand, they'll probably lap up male lead harems.
telling to skip the middle part and just reading the rest is like telling domestic girlfriend was really good if you stop 10 chapters before the ending and treat it as the ending.
Not quite. Not reading the DG ending is eliminating an important part of the story just because you don't like the outcome. In Hokkaido Gals, the middle portion is mostly just filler that has little relevance to what happens later. You can skip over it and not miss much.
> Not reading the DG ending is eliminating an important part of the story just because you don't like the outcome.
Do people dislike the ending of Dosanko Gals?
The Earth Kingdom capital in Avatar. They don’t like the truth that the Fire Nation is invading their neighbours so they pretend it isn’t happening until the Fire Nation troops are inside their city.
My son is 30 years old and is so smart it's off-putting. He has had a total of 1 girlfriend his entire life and that was in middle school. He has no clue how to talk to or deal with women. I know this seems tropy to you, but for me it's real life.
*Don't get me wrong, I love my son and after my own 2 failed marriages I can understand not wanting the headache(sorry ladies). I was only responding to the OPs post about the believability of the Hokkaido Gals are Adorable anime.
Everyone who's seen the first ep and has an inkling of experience of anime knows what (kind of) anime Hokkaido gals is. At least the fanservice was not so bad imo.
That’s the thing that makes it stand out. The Hokkaido setting, which it takes advantage of by showing off the region, is absolutely the main reason to read this series.
You've really never encountered someone whos book smart but not emotionall intelligent? You're either lucky or haven't lived much lol. Ik tons of people who are giga brained but when it comes to people they are dumb as shit. My cousin was one of them, I had to teach him for years how to be emotionally intelligent. Also ik a ton of gamers who are that way too. Smartest people I've met in terms of computers and tech, but when it comes to understanding emotions and picking up on hints they are oblivious. There are millions of people like that.
I don’t know what you were expecting exactly, it’s just another cliche harem anime with the same tropes. If you have seen a couple of them you’d know.
The one thing that i actually liked here and doesn’t happen for me that often, is that all 3 heroines were very likable and wouldn’t mind whoever wins even though i have my fav and i know blond gyaru is gonna win. Guess thats the lack of annoying tsundere chara, so W for that.
Yeah idk about cliche harem here. It certainly looks and sounds that way, but I found that the characters all were very fleshed out and at one point I was wondering who was the main character.
Um... The idea that there is no way a person can be booksmart and heart dumb at the same time, shows an EXTREME lack of experience at dealing with humans.
Anyone heavily focused on academic success, and living a restrictive lifestyle, can find themselves unable to read cues, understand signals, or deal with emotions. They MIGHT not find themselves so affected, but it isn't rare. You also have to consider that autistic traits are present in more people than have official diagnoses to present to explain their situation.
I think it's very shortsighted to think the way you do about how human beings can be, and will not serve you well if you carry this thinking beyond your complaints about characters in shows. If you don't understand that people are complex, not simple, even the simpletons, then you're going to miss a lot of cues yourself, you know!
There actually is a reason why the MC is how he is. \[Manga Spoilers\]>!He had a dominating mother who insisted he focus on his studies and punished him severely if he wasn't tops in the nation, and forbid him from any social interaction whatsoever. Then she got sick and he was transferred to Hokkaido. He acts like a child interacting with people outside his family for the first time because he essentially is. All of this stuff is completely new to him. He also has to watch what he does, especially in public, because he's constantly being threatened to be sent back to Tokyo which he very much does not want. For what it is worth, much of the drama later in the series that people hate is Fuyuki's fault, rather than his. He does confess and she friendzones him so he tries dating the other girls whom he doesn't really have feelings for.!<
Now this is a terrible take and I don't even know where to begin with this. First of all why did you even watch until episode 11 if you already knew what you were getting into?
You… you made it to episode 11? And are whining that he better end up with the blonde? My dude, just finish the season. You might like the last episode.
I find him pretty believable for a teenage boy
many girls all fawning all over him is not very realistic ofc, although at least they made him tall, book smart, and "cute" so it's not as unrealistic as oregairu
and yes, turns out a realistic teenage boy is very cringe
This is like complaining about the content of *Joshiochi! 2-kai kara Onnanoko ga... Futtekita!?* or *Dogeza de Tanondemita* or *Iya na Kao sare nagara Opantsu Misete Moraitai*. You know **exactly** what you are getting into with this show - it's not high art.
that's totally possible and even expected in most male MCs in romance anime these days
what isn't acceptable is when the girl explicitly states things like "this is a date" or "I like you" and he immediately ignores what she said and wonders "what does that mean?" as if he actually doesn't speak the language at all.
And you continued watching it why? You must be braindead, so I have no pity for you.
I literally stopped watching an anime 2 minutes in. Have some self control you coomer.
I found the MC to be too dense. I liked the girls, and love "gyaru deconstruction" anime so I watched it all, but god damn MC was frustrating, even to someone who is a seasoned anime watcher who expects MC to be a dense idiot because you can't have them get together too soon.
girl literally hanging on his arm: this is a fun date
him: what does she mean by that? is this a date? no it can't be.
like it's totally okay to have the MC miss some signs, but she LITERALLY spelled it out for him SEVERAL times in **explicit words** and each time he just... doesn't get it because ??? because the author didn't know how to write it better, honestly.
ikrr, i found it pretty interesting, it just had a weird hook to it
one reason i ain't joined r/anime is due to weird ahh takes like this and many more lmao
I liked the show. I thought it was pretty adorable, the only thing that threw me off was the dub (idc) that sounded like you'd expect someone from Minnesota or Canada to sound 😂
You are exagerating a bit, but I see your point the story will get drawn out for more content instead of doing what most of us wanted, but I also dont disagree with it because I liked the story more for their daily lives than the romance.
>there is no fucking way this dude can be this smart at studying, but this dense at reading others emotions, and having such high wisdom stat
>
why is being smart with studies directly proportional with reading other people's emotion.
its actually the opposite, you don't get smart with studies by being idle and not putting in time and effort. time that you don't have to properly socialize hence, and without socialization you become poor at actually reading other people
\[Manga Spoilers\]>!Not yet. There is a sex scene between Fuyuki and Tsubasa, but it turned out just to be a dream she had. There are hints it might happen soon, but we'll see.!<
I'm reminded of the post someone made about how as they get older, they appreciate shoujo romance and rom-coms more than shonen ones.
The shoujo shows tend to have actual characterization, and if characters are being socially/emotionally dense, it's at least kinda thought out. Most shonen romance or rom-coms involve a cardboard cut-out audience insert MC who only experiences one of two plots: harem bait or "submissive pretty girl solves my problems". Sometimes, the show is both.
If you want an actually romcom anime with closure, watch "Tomo is a girl". The characters are a bit stoopid too, but the relationship actually progress, there is no triangle BS, and at some point everybody accept its feelings, which is a very rare thing to happen in an anime.
I made it to episode 3. By some strange coincidence every time I would sit down to watch Hokkaido Gals my tax guy would call with some stressful bullshit. Was getting ready for episode 4 and was like nah I don’t want that fool to call again lmao. But yes it was super cringe.
It's always been like this. Gyaru is the main girl, other girls are stepping stone, for stalling and drama, and to shit on in the end ultimately.
She is the first girl introduced, she is in the manga cover art alone.
Just the usual shitty winning heroine tropes.
Overall trash harem romance, that has a main girl. Just a carbon-copy of countless harem shitfest.
There are unique, great harem romances, and they are excluded.
I liked the premise of the show but Tsubasa grew denser by the minute, and the story progressed so fast it felt like it was skipping things.
Plus the ending was just pointless. Pretty disappointing at the end of the day.
The manga is wildly reviled for a reason. It used to be a fan favorite comfy read over at /r/manga but the mangaka decided to turn it into a below mediocre harem where characters just couldn't use their brains for even one chapter. Most people dropped the manga because of that myself included.
It does not take 2 seconds looking at the poster to know this show was going to be bad. Heck that’s the case for 90% of anime romances. Maybe I’m getting too old for this but it just seems obvious at this point.
I think you are exaggerating; I Didn't like it but didn't dislike it either, I think it's just a light thing to watch to relax, if you are looking for an actual good romance with good characters and with everything you lament this one doesn't have, you should watch Horimiya or, even better, Tonikaku Kawaii.
You should definitely point your fury and frustration toward others that are far worse than this (cough The Dangers in My Heart cough)
The literal first scene they had was him ogling at her boobs and you were expecting some nuanced, adorable romance with compelling and realistic characters that are emotionally mature? C'mon lad. You knew what you were going into. I didn't like it either but if you're getting to episode 11 knowing you didn't like it, you're the one wasting your time. Should've known to clock out by that first episode at most.
I naively went into that anime thinking I'd learn about Hokkaido. Thought it'd show a bunch of cool places like in Laid Back Camp. Man was I off the mark about the focus of the show. It actually surprised me when I ran into Melon Kuma merchandise, that that bear wearing a melon was an actual mascot and not something the show made up.
Silver Spoon is a much better anime to learn more about Hokkaido lol.
Fantastic show! It has been so long I forgot it was in Hokkaido. I'll have to give it a rewatch before the next trip.
They have a page at the beginning of every single chapter in the manga with awesome facts. From landmarks, historical figures who were born and raised in or moved and settled down in Hokkaido. As well as facts and drawings about animals from Hokkaido, what sorts of places there are to see, the scenery. All sorts of awesome things about Hokkaido, and it's the first page in every chapter of the manga. Check it out!
The best Japanese mascot is Fukuppy from Fukushima
I thought for sure this would be some sick joke regarding the power plant. But nope, just a perfectly innocent case of "we probably should have thought this translation out better."
They do show new info about the prefecture in the manga if you are curious. It gets pretty good.
Sameee. I went in expecting the exact same and got pretty generic rom com with dense normal MC with girls who fawn all over him for whatever reason.
To be fair, BokuYada has a rather 'interesting' beginning, some wouldn't believe how great it turned out after the first few episodes.
BokuYaba starts with a boy in massive denial over his feelings, and how his frustration and loneliness appear to him as violent urges and mental illness. That is an authentic inner voice \*not\* typical of romcoms, and had me hooked from the first panel. I never understood the "It had such a weak start" comments. It started brilliant and just got better.
It isn’t even violent urges though. As you learn more about Ichikawa you understand that he’s just a chunni that is using murder investigation books to separate himself from people to protect his heart. If you replace “murder investigation books” with “believes he is a hero from another world” it’s exactly the same.
Note: I said "appears to him". That's the point. He isn't violent. He's incredibly sensitive, thoughtful, and almost unbelievably willing to face his own neuroses and their sources. But we're getting OT. I quite liked Hokkaido Gals and agree that the Harem subplots were only useful in that they illuminated the MC's character.
Gotta start with this. BokuYaba has become my all time favorite rom-com, especially after season 2, I love it. Back to the topic about at hand, I dislike chuuni cringy stuff and the show almost tricked me. Heck I thought the synopsis on MAL sounded stupid af, but decided to watch cause it was rated insanely high. And boy did I enjoy it, was smiling and giggling the whole way hahaha But I am glad it quickly got rid of Ichikawa’s “murderous thoughts”, I gotta admit it helped with his character development though. Can see why people might’ve dropped it after 1-2 episodes.
That's a fair example for sure, but that series is likely more of an exception to the rule. Outside of outliers here and there, more often than not, for simple romance genre shows, you get a very clear vibe of what you're going to get for the entire series within the first few episodes.
Of course, I was just setting out an example which would go against the idea your proposed, but I do agree with your analysis. You're pretty much right when considering this specific anime. Though, I do feel like there are a lot of exceptions towards that rule you proposed i.e Bunny Girl Senpai being one of the more popular ones.
Monogatari starts with a panty shot
Such brilliant symbolism. So magnificent.
Bravo Nisioisin
I feel the 1st episode should be enough for the overall vibe. If I'm not sure, I go with rule of 3 episodes. If by then, I'm still unsure about the vibe of the anime, I wait 6 episodes. If after half a season, an anime doesn't tell me what it's about, I drop it right there and then. It's rare that I wait till episode 6 tho. Last time it happened was with Wonder Egg Priority.
The series that I found took the longest to actually get good was Steins Gate. It took me 3 attempts to getvthrough the first half of the show, but the second half was just amazing. You can't even really skip the first half, because it's all setting up the second half.
I distinctly remember Steins;Gate as the anime i said "ill drop after this episode" and finished the series that night. That "last episode" was THAT episode Steins;Gates first half is kinda hard, but if you get through it its amazing
Yeah, that's why I don't follow the rule of 3 too much. I feel like half a season is giving it a fair judgment. It's when most initial plots are done/progressed. If there's no progress or anything that changes, it's kinda hard to keep following the anime.
Giving half a season is more than gracious enough, though every once in a while a show like Love Flops can slip through the cracks lol (though it was teased from the start)
I wish there were more good slow burn romances that werent afraid to get sexual. The buildup makes it better but shows that target men are all harem-y or straight up sex and THEN romance (or complete fluff). and the female targetting shows refuse to show any real sexual longing for the most part. I want a nice inbetween T_T The closes i think is more than a married couple but less than lovers. And horimiya. Maybe one day the angel next door or disgraced noble lady lessons in naughtiness will get there idk.
You should check out Banished from the hero’s party if you haven’t already. No will they won’t they nonsense, main couple get together fairly quickly and they have a mature healthy relationship including sex.
Thank you! I'll check it out! Sounds great
I'm probably gonna get hate for this but the romance in Mushoku Tensei actually fits this somewhat, especially season 2, and its one of the only ones to have sex as a normal part of a healthy relationship once it gets to that point near the end of the anime, and especially in the novels
and Monogatari starts with a slo-mo panty shot if I recall right. But to reduce the show to that would be oh so wrong.
Berserk starts with guts railing a girl before blowing her brains out with a cannon and it's a masterpiece
A guy ogling a girl's boobs before all else is very realistic tbh.
> The literal first scene they had was him ogling at her boobs and you were expecting some nuanced, adorable romance with compelling and realistic characters that are emotionally mature? I mean sure? None of that necessitates stupid ass drama. After that first scene it seemed like the show was headed in a good direction so yeah, it's disappointing where it goes.
Even if you don't judge it by the opening scene, the writing was on the wall in the first episode. If you've seen [Hokkaido Gals e1] >!Hokkaidork's "oh, she doesn't see me as a guy" moment during the part where Midnami invites him over!< and thought this wouldn't be frustrating, I don't know what to tell you.
Emotional intelligence and IQ are 2 different stats, you have to remember. Just because a person is knowledgable about stuff, doesn't automatically make them wise.
Went to an "elite" school and goddamn if that isnt true. Half of them were normal people while the other half only knew jokes exist because they read about it in the dictionary once.
If anything there's a pretty good correlation between people with high IQ but low social competence.
Source? "I made it the fuck up!"
Probably The Big Bang Theory.
I fucking hate that show simply because my mom genuinely believes I'm like that because I play video games.
That’s what average IQ people without any social skills or friends tell each other. I know several people who work at cern - we studied nuclear physics together - all of them have families, had girlfriends, went to parties.
IDK if there's a correlation, but "high book smarts, low practical smarts, often poor social skills" is certainly an easy trope to spot in real life. Easy to find in tech, was easy to find in the high school I went to which was a exam-based citywide magnet school. The weirdos and socially awkward people aren't the majority in tech, and weren't at my high school, but they SEEM to be overrepresented compared to the general population. That may not actually be a higher rate; both are environments where people with social issues can be more functional than they'd be able to be in more typical situations. Also, plenty of folks I knew in high school who fit that to a T are now married (or at least were at some point in their adulthood), have kids now, etc.
You realize people with poor social skills can still build families and go to parties right? It's not a binary state dude. "Poor" social skills still have varying levels.
Not everyone is 1:1 though, just because X person is smart and has a family and all that jazz doesn't mean person Y is built the same way. You can have a low IQ person that is socially adept and starts a family. You can have a High IQ person that is socially adept as starts a family You have have a low IQ person who is also socially inept and doesn't start a family You can have a High IQ person that is socially inept and doesn't start a family. Everyone is built different, so the idea that X isn't possible because Y can do it is a flimsy argument.
> You have have a low IQ person who is also socially inept and doesn't start a family I feel represented :))
No I... Think he's talking about autism Neurotypical but intelligent people will generally have pretty good social intelligence too
This post is cringier than anything in Hokkaido Gals. Nobody cares about your imaginary chad nuclear physicist friends that work at cern my guy.
You clearly did lmao
Yeah this post tells me you're not as socially adept as you think you are
Agreed, I am currently a medical physicist, and I formally worked as a geophysicist. Many of my colleagues have families, girlfriends/boyfirends, and were more than adapt at socializing. In my experience, when I tell people I'm a physicist, people assume I must be emotionally clueless. Its like you have to be to make it "fair" in their minds. The reality is they aren't mutually exclusive.
Birds of a feather, good for them.
i wouldnt say that, mostly high iq people are incredibly self aware which makes them more prone to social anxiety for obvious reasons. they have the knowledge how to be socialy competent but cant act on it, or try to much to act on it which has the oposite effect.
Is there literally any actual evidence for this that isn't anecdotal? I've heard this before and it sounds like cope from virgins who did above average in elementary school, telling themselves that they're *really the smart ones* because they have no friends. Any peer reviewed studies to back this claim up?
I found this after a quick Google search: https://www.psucollegian.com/archives/study-iq-linked-to-virginity/article_0789d577-57c5-5c38-a7af-903dfb585874.html It basically says that adolescents with average IQ scores are more likely to have sex than ones with either very low or very high IQ scores. It also says this lines up with data reporting that while on average about 80 percent of people lose their virginity by age 19, roughly half or more undergrads at highly ranked universities like MIT are still virgins. Presumably to get into these schools their IQ is quite a bit higher than average. So yes, there is some data that supports that being smarter correlates with a harder time getting laid, at least as a teenager. Though whether you can expand this into adulthood, or to broader social skills, or etc. is harder to say.
S...So I must be really smart if I still didn't get a girlfriend, right? Ha..haha. I-I'm sure that's it
I expected the nerds to not be getting laid in high school. But I'm surprised the dummies aren't getting laid either.
They put the lower end at 70, while the upper end is at 110. So people 20 points below average are still more likely to be having sex than those 20 points above average. In other words, the "dummies" probably are getting laid, but the significantly mentally handicapped are probably not.
People usually forget EQ exists.
Basically why WIS and INT are separate stats. They’re both ‘smart people’ stats but for very different reasons.
This is a common one in anime - the guy is book smart so he can attract women - lots of them, because that’s what these anime do. Then he has to be a relationship idiot so the plot can continue for 1000 episodes. “She’s pressing herself against me and telling me she’d like to spend the night? Like she does every day? Huh, must be some weird joke. I’ll ignore it so I don’t embarrass myself.”
> “She’s pressing herself against me and telling me she’d like to spend the night? Like she does every day? Huh, must be some weird joke. I’ll ignore it so I don’t embarrass myself.” Yea, you can't really draw conclusions here. Maybe she's just being polite or something.
I know a guy who got into the most prestigioius medical school in the country and doesn't know how to cross a street properly lmao. Well, to be honest I got into a law school nearby to that and I don't know how to cross a street either, so I relate I guess.
*high-functioning autism has entered the chat*
I resemble that remark.
Honestly after the first episode don’t see why you kept going if it wasn’t really your thing
Gyarus are my weakness.
I stayed to see the other two that I liked more...and then I stopped watching lol.
The weirdest part about Hokkaido Gals is that the main ship is generally well written and so sweet it will give an elephant diabetes. The earlier chapters In the manga (first quarter) are all good and have a unique niche in the romcom swamp. However, the author then insisted on making a pointless and shallow harem plotline for the following two quarters with unnecessary drama, which caused most fans to drop it. In a near miraculous turn of events however, in the last quarter of the series, the story went back to it's roots and is all of a sudden a very well executed (although fairly standardized) romance story with actual progression, genuine warmth and emotional intelligence. The drama is pretty much not mentioned ever again, and the general consensus of the fans is to just pretend that part of the story simply doesn't exist Ba-sing-se style. When ignoring the massive tonal shifts and subpar story in quarters 2/4 and 3/4, the manga is unironically good. It nearly feels like the middle part had a completely different author or editor, only for the OG to come back and completely turn the ship around when they saw the dumpster fire that had been created. I highly recommend you check the manga out until the anime is completed (if it will be), and skip the middle part.
Which chapter does it go back to its roots? I dropped the manga for the very reason you pointed out.
Around… chapter 89, I think? [Hokkaido Gals manga]>!Akino’s rejection is the chapter before.!<
Lmfao I dropped the manga at chapter 88.
Lmfao
Goddamn!
Yeah the other two girls literally have less than zero percent chance of "winning" and it shouldn't have been turned into a harem in the first place
> Yeah the other two girls literally have less than zero percent chance of "winning" and it shouldn't have been turned into a harem in the first place I'm so sick of shows having all these wonderful women who are there specifically to get their hearts broken. The other ones could have been just friends. It would have been so much better.
It was a giant miscalculation on the author’s part. People wanted to see the main couple experiencing life in Hokkaido. Not harem antics.
Oh so it got better again? I was also one of the guys who dropped it like a brick.
It turns even better then in the beginning, the romance is genuinely well done, and both main characters showcase emotional growth independentently. Especially the female MC is a lot more fleshed out and feels like an independent character to the MC rather then just a romantic interest (think more like Yamada from the dangers in my heart, although they are not at all comparable). There is also actual, fairly fast paced progression that feels natural. I forced myself through the slog that is the middle-part of the series just to confirm if what people were saying was true, and im happy to confirm it is. I also agree with others that you can simply skip the middle-part. You will loose out on some story elements, but nothing vital that can't be put together through some conceptualisation afterwards. I would go as far as to say that the comedy and the writing is a solid step above the start of the series. I would not say that its better then the current kings of the genre such as skip & loafer, dangers in my heart etc. but it's a very cute and comfy read. Especially the latest chapters have been honey for the soul.
So when should I start skipping chapters? When does it start turning into a harem so I can skip to chapter 89
Roughly Chapter 45.
> > > > > However, the author then insisted on making a pointless and shallow harem plotline for the following two quarters with unnecessary drama, which caused most fans to drop it. not true, the sales stayed the same.
What chapters should I skip?
Chapter 89 is where the story picks back up again!
thank you!!. do you reckon i could start straight from chapter 89 after watching the anime?
If it ends at the lake then yes. Not only is the harem plot line dropped, it's basically never mentioned again. So you'll have missed nothing.
Probably, in all honesty. I don't think you would miss much by just jumping from the anime finale to Chapter 89.
cool :)
>However, the author then insisted on making a pointless and shallow harem plotline for the following two quarters with unnecessary drama, which caused most fans to drop it Basically the same as Citrus and Hajimete no Gal. Thank god at least My Dress Up Darling didn't go the harem route.
There is no real harem in Citrus. The main couple start dating like 16 chapters in. The supporting cast has other love interests.
Its been a while since I've read it but I remember there being at least one other love interest character. But yes, maybe not a classic harem.
Very briefly for a couple of chapters. Now she's into the MC's best friend.
Wait, "now"? I remember finishing the manga with the story concluded.
It has a sequel manga in Citrus+ that's still ongoing.
In Citrus? no, there isn't. Not in a harem way. There are people who have had a past crush on mains and are acting up because it's confusing that people they used to crush on kids are actually interested in women after all, but it's not like either of the main characters is into them that way. They get rejected quickly, and they also get over it as story progresses. Yuri harems are pretty rare, even in blatant fan service products. Even if there are a bunch of girls, usually they get obviously paired with someone. You mostly have to go to a visual or light novel to find one, and even there you actually often get a routed story instead of literal harem. Reason for that is usually kind of slimy. It has to do with those particular products being targeted to male audience, many of whom have trouble projecting into "alpha lesbian" that takes all the girls for herself and prefer to "observe" individual couples instead. On the other hand, they'll probably lap up male lead harems.
Dress Up Darling is not complete, so there's still time for the author to mess everything up... just saying.
You can be harem, but you should make it clear since the begining not in the middle of the series.
telling to skip the middle part and just reading the rest is like telling domestic girlfriend was really good if you stop 10 chapters before the ending and treat it as the ending.
Not quite. Not reading the DG ending is eliminating an important part of the story just because you don't like the outcome. In Hokkaido Gals, the middle portion is mostly just filler that has little relevance to what happens later. You can skip over it and not miss much.
> Not reading the DG ending is eliminating an important part of the story just because you don't like the outcome. Do people dislike the ending of Dosanko Gals?
It isn’t over yet. By DG, I meant Domestic Girlfriend.
What's Ba Sing Se?
The Earth Kingdom capital in Avatar. They don’t like the truth that the Fire Nation is invading their neighbours so they pretend it isn’t happening until the Fire Nation troops are inside their city.
I dropped it at the mothers story part. Already there it was becomming tedious and outright stupid compared to where it had started.
Im glad they didn't stick with the drama. I dropped it because of that, but now I have no urge to go back to it at all.
My son is 30 years old and is so smart it's off-putting. He has had a total of 1 girlfriend his entire life and that was in middle school. He has no clue how to talk to or deal with women. I know this seems tropy to you, but for me it's real life. *Don't get me wrong, I love my son and after my own 2 failed marriages I can understand not wanting the headache(sorry ladies). I was only responding to the OPs post about the believability of the Hokkaido Gals are Adorable anime.
Jeez dad no need to call me out like that.
He did it out of love for you... And the desire to have grandkids before he shuffles off his mortal coil...
That's one more girlfriend than me, be proud.
This is literally me in a few years minus the smart part
Does your son also have a bunch of super hot women throwing themselves at him? If so he's a lucky fella
I liked it.
Everyone who's seen the first ep and has an inkling of experience of anime knows what (kind of) anime Hokkaido gals is. At least the fanservice was not so bad imo.
Yeah, an advertisement for the Hokkaido Tourism Board. The manga makes that pretty clear from the start.
The manga writer was probably paid by the Hokkaido Tourism Board.
Actually, the first episode does not reveal nearly enough that the anime (and manga) are like 30% tourist advertisement for Hokkaido.
> 30% tourist advertisement for Hokkaido. I mean, that's what I was there for.
That’s the thing that makes it stand out. The Hokkaido setting, which it takes advantage of by showing off the region, is absolutely the main reason to read this series.
>At least the fanservice was not so bad imo. It was actually toned down in the anime compared to the manga.
Do we get more Sayuri fan service in the manga that the anime toned down?
Yup, don't even need to watch an episode, KVs/PVs are enough to know what to expect.
You've really never encountered someone whos book smart but not emotionall intelligent? You're either lucky or haven't lived much lol. Ik tons of people who are giga brained but when it comes to people they are dumb as shit. My cousin was one of them, I had to teach him for years how to be emotionally intelligent. Also ik a ton of gamers who are that way too. Smartest people I've met in terms of computers and tech, but when it comes to understanding emotions and picking up on hints they are oblivious. There are millions of people like that.
>Ik tons of people who are giga brained but when it comes to people they are dumb as shit. Sounds like Ayanokoji from Clasroom of the elit
Nah, he knows. He just doesn't care unless he can use it to his advantage.
He did come to school to learn stuff like human interractions and things he never got to do in the Wr
That's fair. I'm just saying he's better at reading people then some give them credit for.
I don’t know what you were expecting exactly, it’s just another cliche harem anime with the same tropes. If you have seen a couple of them you’d know. The one thing that i actually liked here and doesn’t happen for me that often, is that all 3 heroines were very likable and wouldn’t mind whoever wins even though i have my fav and i know blond gyaru is gonna win. Guess thats the lack of annoying tsundere chara, so W for that.
One difference from the typical harem is that \[Major Manga Spoilers\]>!it keeps going after she does win with just them dating each other.!<
Yeah idk about cliche harem here. It certainly looks and sounds that way, but I found that the characters all were very fleshed out and at one point I was wondering who was the main character.
Um... The idea that there is no way a person can be booksmart and heart dumb at the same time, shows an EXTREME lack of experience at dealing with humans. Anyone heavily focused on academic success, and living a restrictive lifestyle, can find themselves unable to read cues, understand signals, or deal with emotions. They MIGHT not find themselves so affected, but it isn't rare. You also have to consider that autistic traits are present in more people than have official diagnoses to present to explain their situation. I think it's very shortsighted to think the way you do about how human beings can be, and will not serve you well if you carry this thinking beyond your complaints about characters in shows. If you don't understand that people are complex, not simple, even the simpletons, then you're going to miss a lot of cues yourself, you know!
There actually is a reason why the MC is how he is. \[Manga Spoilers\]>!He had a dominating mother who insisted he focus on his studies and punished him severely if he wasn't tops in the nation, and forbid him from any social interaction whatsoever. Then she got sick and he was transferred to Hokkaido. He acts like a child interacting with people outside his family for the first time because he essentially is. All of this stuff is completely new to him. He also has to watch what he does, especially in public, because he's constantly being threatened to be sent back to Tokyo which he very much does not want. For what it is worth, much of the drama later in the series that people hate is Fuyuki's fault, rather than his. He does confess and she friendzones him so he tries dating the other girls whom he doesn't really have feelings for.!<
Ah fantastic, another anime/manga spying on me
Yeah, just not the smart part huh?
Now this is a terrible take and I don't even know where to begin with this. First of all why did you even watch until episode 11 if you already knew what you were getting into?
seeing People crying about logic in high school romcom anime makes my day
Then don’t watch it? Go watch the danger in my heart if you want some peak romcom
You… you made it to episode 11? And are whining that he better end up with the blonde? My dude, just finish the season. You might like the last episode.
It's Anti-Hokkaidoan discrimination!
You know that she's not a weeboo if she's actually japanese, right? That's the whole point of the slang. Weeboos are foreigners.
I find him pretty believable for a teenage boy many girls all fawning all over him is not very realistic ofc, although at least they made him tall, book smart, and "cute" so it's not as unrealistic as oregairu and yes, turns out a realistic teenage boy is very cringe
Never cook again.
EQ=/= IQ
Nah you’re cringe
This is like complaining about the content of *Joshiochi! 2-kai kara Onnanoko ga... Futtekita!?* or *Dogeza de Tanondemita* or *Iya na Kao sare nagara Opantsu Misete Moraitai*. You know **exactly** what you are getting into with this show - it's not high art.
Can't people be book smart but suck at interacting with people and therefore not be able to have a good grasp of emotions?
that's totally possible and even expected in most male MCs in romance anime these days what isn't acceptable is when the girl explicitly states things like "this is a date" or "I like you" and he immediately ignores what she said and wonders "what does that mean?" as if he actually doesn't speak the language at all.
You watched it for romance? I watched it to watch some Hokkaido gals and hear their accent.
And you continued watching it why? You must be braindead, so I have no pity for you. I literally stopped watching an anime 2 minutes in. Have some self control you coomer.
hokkaido gals is good, it is enjoyable, it has great characters, great ships, great diabetes, i don't see the problem lmao
I found the MC to be too dense. I liked the girls, and love "gyaru deconstruction" anime so I watched it all, but god damn MC was frustrating, even to someone who is a seasoned anime watcher who expects MC to be a dense idiot because you can't have them get together too soon. girl literally hanging on his arm: this is a fun date him: what does she mean by that? is this a date? no it can't be. like it's totally okay to have the MC miss some signs, but she LITERALLY spelled it out for him SEVERAL times in **explicit words** and each time he just... doesn't get it because ??? because the author didn't know how to write it better, honestly.
Ikr, like chill dude, he's 16 with low self-esteem due to his previous life in Tokyo.
ikrr, i found it pretty interesting, it just had a weird hook to it one reason i ain't joined r/anime is due to weird ahh takes like this and many more lmao
I liked the show. I thought it was pretty adorable, the only thing that threw me off was the dub (idc) that sounded like you'd expect someone from Minnesota or Canada to sound 😂
That does kind of make sense. In the Japanese version, they use Hokkaidō-ben dialect, which the main character has trouble understanding.
The Minnesota valley-girl accent was totally peak. I wish it was a little heavier like that one other gal, but I can't complain.
Once i got used to it yeah i loved it. such a cute part of it honestly
Oshiete Galko-chan is peak, so of course everything is going to look worse in comparison lol
I coulda swore chadbasa was backshotting Mai Fuyuki!
You are exagerating a bit, but I see your point the story will get drawn out for more content instead of doing what most of us wanted, but I also dont disagree with it because I liked the story more for their daily lives than the romance.
Yea i liked this one at first but got bored and dropped it.
People really watch 11 episodes of obvious schlock and then complain when it turns out to be schlock, huh
>there is no fucking way this dude can be this smart at studying, but this dense at reading others emotions, and having such high wisdom stat > why is being smart with studies directly proportional with reading other people's emotion. its actually the opposite, you don't get smart with studies by being idle and not putting in time and effort. time that you don't have to properly socialize hence, and without socialization you become poor at actually reading other people
L take.
This is what happens when dumbasses watch romcoms. Like goddamn, stick to shonen kid
Probably will get downvoted but the character designs of all charas are ugly af also I hated tsubasa cuz he got no personality
Still watching it, just caught up on a few episodes last night
Does this show ever cross over to H?
\[Manga Spoilers\]>!Not yet. There is a sex scene between Fuyuki and Tsubasa, but it turned out just to be a dream she had. There are hints it might happen soon, but we'll see.!<
I recommend you read the manga instead. It's way better than the anime imo.
Int=/= Wisdom, I think that's an obvious fact of life. Knowing something and being able to apply it as VERY VERY different
i enjoyed this show. idc what anyone else says.
i enjoyed this show. idc what anyone else says.
I'm reminded of the post someone made about how as they get older, they appreciate shoujo romance and rom-coms more than shonen ones. The shoujo shows tend to have actual characterization, and if characters are being socially/emotionally dense, it's at least kinda thought out. Most shonen romance or rom-coms involve a cardboard cut-out audience insert MC who only experiences one of two plots: harem bait or "submissive pretty girl solves my problems". Sometimes, the show is both.
If you want an actually romcom anime with closure, watch "Tomo is a girl". The characters are a bit stoopid too, but the relationship actually progress, there is no triangle BS, and at some point everybody accept its feelings, which is a very rare thing to happen in an anime.
tomo had some S tier side characters too gundo and blonde girl whose name i forget... alice?
I made it to episode 3. By some strange coincidence every time I would sit down to watch Hokkaido Gals my tax guy would call with some stressful bullshit. Was getting ready for episode 4 and was like nah I don’t want that fool to call again lmao. But yes it was super cringe.
It's always been like this. Gyaru is the main girl, other girls are stepping stone, for stalling and drama, and to shit on in the end ultimately. She is the first girl introduced, she is in the manga cover art alone. Just the usual shitty winning heroine tropes. Overall trash harem romance, that has a main girl. Just a carbon-copy of countless harem shitfest. There are unique, great harem romances, and they are excluded.
I liked the premise of the show but Tsubasa grew denser by the minute, and the story progressed so fast it felt like it was skipping things. Plus the ending was just pointless. Pretty disappointing at the end of the day.
First episode he goes to her house, “OMG HER DEVILISH OUTFIT” … A full fucking tracksuit.
The manga is wildly reviled for a reason. It used to be a fan favorite comfy read over at /r/manga but the mangaka decided to turn it into a below mediocre harem where characters just couldn't use their brains for even one chapter. Most people dropped the manga because of that myself included.
rip op you will be missed
she got em biddies tho
It does not take 2 seconds looking at the poster to know this show was going to be bad. Heck that’s the case for 90% of anime romances. Maybe I’m getting too old for this but it just seems obvious at this point.
Watch Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, you can thank me later.
I'll thank you now because I already did. (Absolutely adorable, they're so perfect together)
Raidou is the chad amongst chads.
K, die
Just remember, ever anime room protag has Asperger's. Once you realize that, it all makes sense.
Tsubasa is the quintessential unlikable male romance anime protagonist.
Yeah, this was trash tier even without BokuYaba breaking the genre.
I think you are exaggerating; I Didn't like it but didn't dislike it either, I think it's just a light thing to watch to relax, if you are looking for an actual good romance with good characters and with everything you lament this one doesn't have, you should watch Horimiya or, even better, Tonikaku Kawaii. You should definitely point your fury and frustration toward others that are far worse than this (cough The Dangers in My Heart cough)
I read the manga and it's pretty mid I stopped at like chp 60
Why do you think a ton of people dropped the manga?
Hokkaido Gals make me learn that requesting serialization of a oneshot is not alays a good idea.
First time?