I craved randomness and laughter after covering action all season. What I got was a piece of meat. Lots of it. 

——

What can I say about Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, aka Haganai? Well, for one, it was funny as hell, and a much needed repose from all the action I’ve been watching and covering in the fall season. Even when certain aspects and jokes dragged out, I didn’t mind simply because it was different for me. Hearing Yozora (Inoue Marina) tease Sena (Itou Kanae) every chance she gets never gets boring, although I am certain that everyone else thinks the former is a little too cruel with the “niku” thing. Perhaps the best part, in my opinion, is Rika (Fukuen Misato) harassing our male protagonist, Kodaka (Kimura Ryohei). I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of how she gets aroused. And to round out the crew, we got two kids in Maria (Iguchi Yuka) and Kobato (Hanazawa Kana) and the gender-confused maid in Yukimura (Yamamoto Nozomi). 

What really impressed me in Haganai is its artwork. I was so enchanted by how pretty the characters were designed and how the color schemes were used that despite initial hesitations about having to endure the plot of making a club in order to make friends, I stuck with it simply for the animation. And then more girls were introduced, officially making this a harem feel; fortunately, the series left out the over-the-top romance aspect, making this much more tolerable. Of course, there were plenty of service shots but all that could be forgiven as long as Niku gets teased, and the dark energy in Kobato forces her fight Maria and the church. (Ku-ku-ku~)

I will say that while it lacks a solid story, it does wrap up quite well. I do wish that Kodaka and Yozora would revisit their past but I won’t complain. Much. (Grr, too many bikini episodes!) For all the irony in the title and the club name, it does sound like the main characters were indeed friends, even if they refuse to outright acknowledge it. Through the usual ups and downs of this genre, I found Haganai to be enjoyable to say the very least. It didn’t really have that much of a wow factor besides visuals and voices, but it was reliable for thoughtless and random viewing. I feel like there is enough for a second season or a short OVA, but I won’t beg for too much. Maybe except for some delicious Meat. 

Overall GO Rating: 3.5/5