Busu ni Hanataba wo.

One of the sweetest and most tender romances of the season. If you rush me, it'll end up being the best. It's an anime that takes appearances very seriously. In other anime, they tell you one of the protagonists is ugly, and when they show you the design, well, it's sculpted by angels. Here, when they show you the protagonist's design, if you don't have any context, you might even mistake her for an NPC. That's where the magic of the anime lies. Since the protagonist doesn't have a pretty design, they have to work hard to make her charismatic. Which they achieved, and Saori Hayamiis responsible for most of the work. The protagonist is very solid in her role. She knows how to play her main role but also knows how to step aside when secondary stories need to be told. She's a very useful character for the story because she knows how to tell stories, but she can also be a support for others to tell theirs. She brings comedy, she brings romance, she brings a bit of drama, and she's the backbone of the series. Without her, this anime couldn't be told simply by replacing her with another girl. The protagonist has complexes, but she doesn't give in to them and always tries to be a better version of herself. She has an enormous kindness that she tries to share with all her classmates. For this reason, she's a protagonist you don't have to have on screen all the time for to work. Her development can be done in a short amount of time, so you can use the extra time to develop other characters or couples. The male protagonist, at first, may not be convincing. He seems like the typical cliché of the protagonist with a savior complex who eventually fulfills a fantasy. Surprisingly, this wasn't the case. What we get is an ordinary teenager who is quite naive, awkward, and doesn't know how to communicate properly. With these characteristics, a balance is created between the protagonists. They complement each other, and it's easy to see. This makes each of their insecurities more intense, making the fact that a confession lasts until the end make narrative sense. It's a bit of a stretch, but not too heavy-handed, because the story has many resources beyond the main romance. This is where the supporting characters come in. They're so good that they're capable of carrying the spotlight for a couple of episodes. As I mentioned, the main character doesn't need much space to develop. So, the anime takes the liberty of having two other couples who develop to a greater or lesser extent. The supporting couple of Uguisudani and Gotanda is a couple that emerges very naturally. While the main couple is one whose personalities complement each other, the supporting characters are relatable because they can be themselves when they're together. They can take off their masks, speak naturally, and enjoy things they wouldn't in public. Their solo scenes are very beautiful because they're two people who are very direct with each other, letting it be known that there's something between them, but maybe it's not the right time to express it. The series manages to establish a good school environment. When you see these kids, you really see them for what they are: teenagers. These aren't adult speeches from 16-year-old characters. They're dumb, they're clumsy, they have complexes, and regardless of their appearance, they have self-esteem issues. Everyone carries their own problems, but the beautiful thing is seeing how, despite them, they can face them in order to be with the person they love.

I really enjoyed this anime. I looked forward to each episode every week. The characters were cute and the situation was relatable because I grew up the ugly girl at my school. And that was part of the appeal of the series, much like Kimi ni Todoke where it becomes a slice of life fantasy in many ways. The story also had a good sense of humor which is part of what made it enjoyable. I wouldn't mind watching more of it but the ending also was a good wrap up if we never see more too which is always a plus with the sliceof life genre especially. If you enjoy anime where the weird kid gets to learn something about self-esteem while falling in love then you'll likely enjoy this anime. If characters with low self-esteem frustrate you, you might want to try another anime.

I honestly started this show thinking it was going to be just 6/10. The animation looks cheap — very plain, almost like a mid-budget romcom — and the early plot felt wildly unrealistic. Episodes 1–9 were mostly “meh”: the idea that a cute, sweet guy would suddenly fall in love with a plainly drawn, socially awkward, unpopular girl felt like pure wish fulfilment. Then the last three episodes happened… and my rating jumped to about 9/10. Why my view changed: 1) At first I was annoyed by how idealised the romance felt. But as the show went on, it became clear that Tabata (the heroine) knows she’s unattractive.The story never tries to pretend otherwise or secretly glam her up. The art stays consistent — she’s genuinely plainer and slightly chubbier than everyone else, unlike so many anime where “ugly” just means thicker eyebrows or glasses. Her internal monologue about feeling inferior felt sympathetic – the show didn’t sugarcoat the social experience of being “less attractive”, and that’s something anime rarely does well. 2) I ended up loving Uguisudani. She’s trying so hard to get the boy’s attention, her confession near the end was touching, and her evolving dynamic with Tabata was great — rivals at first, but it slowly softens into something like respect and reluctant friendship. She can’t bring herself to truly hate Tabata. 3) The male MC is still a bit plot-conveniently sweet and forgiving, but he’s written kindly enough that I could buy it by the end. It felt less like “perfect boy falls for ugly girl” and more like “sweet guy sees something genuine and sticks with it.” Episodes 1–9 feel like a 6/10: cheap production, slow, and kind of unbelievable. But episodes 10–12 are a solid 9/10: emotional, sincere, and surprisingly well-executed. Mathematically that’s around 6.8/10, but because the ending recontextualises a lot and leaves such a warm, human impression, I’d personally round it up to 7 or even 7.5/10.

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