Not Recommended
Disclaimer: I don't hate Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie. I just don't think it's a good anime overall. What's up with their eyes? No, but seriously, this is one of the weirdest eye designs I have ever seen in anime. It actually looks good from some angles, but most of the time it's rather creepy. The blonde girl literally has dead fish eyes. And it looks horrible. Since I see people that seem to be saying that the ratings of this show are low from a lot of watchers because "the expectations were too high", " everyone thought this will be Dress-Up Darling 2", and "yall just watchmainstream media & shounen": sorry to break it to you, but that isn't the case! (at least for me). I went into this with no expectations, and Dress-Up Darling wasn't the best show in existence anyway; yet, Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie was just not that good. Just like Tonikaku Kawaii. And my most watched/read genre is romance, so this low rating is not because I get bored without an interesting plot, cool fights, a lot of action, or anything that is not usually associated with romantic comedies. Basically, you don't need to find excuses as to why not everyone enjoys it.
CHARACTERS
Contrary to whom most seem to consider to be the worst character in the series (Izumi), I'd say that it's actually Shikimori herself. She is obsessive, very jealous, and possessive. She doesn't have any hobbies and sticks to Izumi like glue, and doesn't seem very pleased with the fact that he has friends. Even worse than that, her whole identity is basically just trying to be seen as a cute girl while also "protecting" Izumi. That's all she cares about, aside from winning in every game/competition. Well, honestly, it's not like Izumi is much better. I get it, he's unlucky, but for being a main character, he sure doesn't have a lot of focus put on him. Rather, it's like he is there just for Shikimori (and 2 other girls haha, didn't know this was a harem) to have someone to be cute & a mommy for. He doesn't have any presence, like, at all; I almost forgot he was the other main character while writing this. He just exists to be the kind, cute prince that captures the hearts of lonely girls just by being kind to them. But, I mean, he's trying to overcome his unluckiness and do sweet things for his girlfriend and friends. At least he's trying. And his culinary dishes are said to be delicious.
(On a side note, Izumi's unluckiness is not even that bad. His worst unlucky moments were him jumping in the bushes to avoid being run over by a bicycle and drowning, though the last one is pretty bad. The rest were just random, almost harmless inconveniences, with him losing his wallet or tripping; so, no, he didn't deal with it well or anything, since there wasn't really much to deal in the first place. The only thing I remember was him trying to be prepared for anything that could go wrong on a date, which I mean was cute, but not that smart? Since he knows he often loses his stuff no matter what he does, why doesn't he let someone else keep them when he's going out? Like, giving his wallet to Shikimori would have resolved the problem.)
As for the side characters, they surprisingly have more character development than the leads (who have, like, almost 0 growth). Two of them, to be more specific; they have a whole episode dedicated to each of them, and it was quite nice to see. Though, the extra characters that were used in one of the episodes were just pure mockery. But all in all, the side characters are better than the main ones, that's how bad this show is.
STORY/ CHARACTERS' RELATIONSHIPS
Just in case you were wondering… I haven't mentioned anything about the story because there is literally no story. It is a slice of life romcom with school setting; and instead of going for a boring, generic plot, the mangaka (since I suppose the "story" is the same in the manga) chose to not have one at all. Which is not a problem at all, don't get me wrong; however, it means that in order to make the anime/manga enjoyable, it is a must for the characters to have amazing chemistry (among other things). And sadly, this is not the case at all. The main focus of the show, Shikimori and Izumi's romantic relationship, is very awkward and unrealistic. They are supposed to have been together for one year already, yet act like they have only known each other for 4 months at best. It's like they don't even really know each other's personalities that well. It's just... very weird, you know. They don't seem to be comfortable with each other at all, and it bothers me. It feels like they are both looking at an idolized version of their partner, only seeing what's at the surface: a soft unlucky guy that needs to be protected and a cool, beautiful, perfect girlfriend. Well, the point is that their chemistry it's rather weak, and nowhere near good enough to make me want to watch more of it. Though, a 12-14 years old person may find it cute and enjoyable, I guess, its demographic is shoujo after all.
The friendship of the rest of the characters feels off sometimes as well, but overall it's passable. The trio of girls (Shikimori, Nekozaki and the other one) seem rather awkward with each other for being friends for more than a year. Again, it's like they have only known each other for like 4 months.
ART STYLE/ANIMATION
When it comes to art style and animation, well... The animation is as good as it can get, and the style itself is pretty nice, though generic. Very charming color palette, well suited for the genre, atmosphere, and demographic. But like I said, weird eyes. Oh, and while I did say the animation was good, it had some slip ups here and there.
~~CONCLUSION/ENJOYMENT~~
Well, having said all that, here's the catch: it's not a horrible anime. As far as entertainment goes, it is actually passable. In short, I didn't hate watching Shikimori trying to look cute for a date, Izumi having to spend his time at a school event in the library, Nekozaki laughing or smiling most of the time, and Inu's laid back attitude. I mean, if I did, I wouldn't have completed the anime. What I'm getting at is that it is not that bad of a show, either. At least when it comes to the enjoyment.
The best thing about KS? Its OP! Hands down one of the best this year. The ED was pretty enjoyable as well.
