ryan.conn - 2015-12-28 15:27:58

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (or Haganai in short) is a decent anime. If its brand of comedy appeals to you, you’ll end up having a fun time with it. If not, it’ll end up being a disappointingly empty experience for you.

First off, if you’re thinking of giving this one a go, you have to be ready to expect these:

• Ecchi content (well, duh)
• Vulgar Jokes
• Slapstick Comedy
• Lack of any meaningful character development
• A very bare-bones story

This anime follows the shenanigans of the members from the ‘Neighbors Club‘ that is composed of social outcasts – loners who can’t make friends due to one reason or the other. So they all get together to learn how to make friends and engage in activities that “popular people” (read regularpeople) probably do with their friends. The setting is basically an excuse to bring together a bunch of colorful characters based on different character archetypes and come up with gags based on their personalities. Follows a very Slice of Life-like episodic comedy routine that doesn’t vary in episode structure from one episode to another.

The ‘Neighbor Club‘ with its colorful members right there.

The characters themselves are one-dimensional but they’re characterized fairly well. I don’t quite think they’re as well realized and likable as some of the reviews on the internet make them out to be but they’re okay and serve their purpose well in entertaining you through most of its run-time. There’s the awkward MC who scares regular people away but is awfully popular with some really beautiful but equally socially awkward females, the headstrong tsundere female MC, the busty blonde who is dumb but still the most intelligent girl in her class, MC’s imouto who likes to role-play a character from an anime, the 10 year old church nun cum club advisor (uhh, yeah) and the perverted sex-obsessed genius scientist girl. Oh, and a trap. With a cast as colorful as this one assembled under one roof, their daily lives definitely do make for an entertaining ride. There’s no overarching story at play here apart from the MC’s relationship with his childhood friend – but that definitely isn’t the focus of the series since it is rarely mentioned.

She’s in the heat 24×7. No kidding. 

The comedy itself is fairly standard for your run-of-the-mill harem comedy series. I personally ended up laughing a few times during some of the episodes but, owing to the nature of ‘comedy’ as a genre, your mileage may definitely vary. If the comedy on display in this series doesn’t end up appealing to you in the first four episodes or so, you can safely drop it and move on to greener pastures since things stay more or less the same from then onwards with an odd character introduction or two.

This character. She’s pretty. ’nuff said.

Production values in general are above average. Art is good and you probably won’t notice moments of off-model art. It doesn’t possess any sequence of standout animation and, looking at the kind of anime it is, it doesn’t really need to. OST is fairly generic but fits the series and complements scenes well. The OP and the ED both deserve a special mention here – former is a very fitting track for the series due to the fact that it emphasizes the silly nature of the show very well while the latter is a catchy track that managed to stay long with me after I had finished the anime and I found myself humming it from time to time.

All in all, definitely worth a single watch if you’re looking for a fun show with a decent amount of ecchi moments thrown in. Just don’t go in expecting any depth and you’ll probably have fun with it.

brennon60 - 2015-07-30 15:58:43

Hagani follows a boy named Kodaka as he struggles as the new kid at school after he moves to a new town where he used to grow up with his sister. You watch as throughout this series he struggles to make friends and meet a lot of amazing people a long the way most people are scared of him. But he comes to find an amazing group of friends that come together to make the neighbors club. The members of this club are Kodaka, Yokora, Sena, Rika, Maria, and Yukimura who come together everyday to learn to make friends. Little did they know they were already making friends and memories together in there own close weird little group. You see throughout this series the struggle of all of these kids to make friends and there connection together and a love story all in the mix. This story takes you for a awesome ride with amazing characters and artwork to go a long with it you really get sucked in from the start and finish with a great story at the end.

bmann - 2015-06-28 00:18:25

a deconstruction of the harem genre maybe i dont know

xrippin - 2015-04-04 18:40:55

This is a great anime. It always makes you laugh more than you thought and then the story is surprisingly good. The reveal was not exactly what I expected but I liked it. haha. I like feel good anime like this. Always leaving you with a goofy grin.

leslie.casper - 2014-12-06 03:18:59

camylle.pfannerstill - 2014-08-08 11:28:02

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai was a quick, enjoyable story about friends who meet again 10 years later. Although there were times where the anime got a little annoying, as a few of the characters were almost "stupid" and the anime could have gone just as well without them. Besides that, the story was very enjoyable and full of cat fights. Just a nice, happy slice of life anime. 

Because of these annoying and almost useless characters as well as no amazing sound that really stands out, the overall rating slightly lacked. Neverless Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai was very enjoyable.

abdullah.parker - 2014-05-24 17:02:38

Making friends is something everyone wants to do at some point. Some people make them easily, while others struggle. Regardless of your ability, few people would turn down the opportunity to make a friend.

Haganai is a show about a group of people who simply just want to make friends. So to go along with that, they make a fake club that's sole purple is finding friends. However... That plan largely fails.

The characters somehow manage to be the last refuge and the biggest disaster of the show at the exact same time. It’s rare for that to be the case First and foremost is our main character Kadoka. Everyone in the school has an illogical fear of him due to his harsh voice and two toned hair. Everyone other than the girls who join the club the start. Literally none of them even hesitate to talk to him, despite the fact that the entire school seems to hate him. Assuming he steals, beats up, or even rapes other students.

The other main characters are Yozora, the obvious childhood friend that Kadoka has forgotten about, and Sena, the busty, beautiful, rich, arrogant, crybaby. These characters are the only ones that actually matter as the rest are so shallow it’s pointless to talk about them for any length of time.

Take Rika for example. Known as the perverted scientist because… Well she is, and that’s all she is. She has no past to speak of, she has no emotions other than being in a state of extreme and constant arousal, the entire time she is on screen she is being perverted and that is all she does. Maria is no better, the loli character who of course takes to calling Kadoka her big brother while constantly insulting all the other girls in the club using her favorite insult, “poop”. The others all fall in with this pattern.

Yozora and Sena on the other hand are actually fleshed out characters that have at least some depth to them. However, most of Yozora’s motivations and emotions aren’t really elaborated upon until the finale. These two are hard to talk about singularly because most of their screen time is spent arguing and competing with each other on anything under the sun.

The only thing they seem to have in common besides good looks is their obvious crush on our main character. Sena is arrogant and rude on the outside, but is actually very sweet. That sounds like a typical tsundere but she doesn’t really have many tsundere qualities. Whenever she’s with Yozora and her ego is shattered she often runs away crying. She, of course, has no real friends so she doesn’t know how to make any. It’s hinted but never elaborated upon, that her ego and rudeness is a shield of some kind to protect herself as she is a crybaby.

Yozora on the other hand… No matter how hard I try Yozora is a character that easily infuriates me. She’s never nice, she’s always insulting everyone, she manipulates Sena and Maria, the list goes on and on. While some of these instances were comical and could be laughed off the simple amount of times she did them, and their intensity was ridiculous. In the first or second episode she slams the door on Sena’s face then when they finally talk she insults her by saying something along the lines of, “[Sena] just a worthless piece of meat that will have to sell her body for money if she ever plans to support herself.”

Some of the things she said simply felt like they were going too far to be funny. Especially since Yozora herself claims to not be a bully. The only thing that saves Yozora from me outright hating her is her few moments of being cute and the finale when her past and motivations are explored. These rare moments are genuinely adorable, probably made even more so by her complete bitchiness outside of these few moments. If Yozora wasn’t so harsh and maybe calmed down a little, she would have been much better off. Hell, she probably would have even won out over Sena as my best girl, but that is not the case.

Despite my comments I actually did enjoy this show quite a bit. The comedy that wasn’t focused on Yozora being a bitch was genuinely funny. These moments shined in the first few episodes when Kadoka, Sena, and Yozora were playing video games and dating sims in an attempt to become more sociable. When the other characters were introduced that chemistry was ruined and disappeared (although Sena was always playing a game any time she was in the clubroom, it was just never the focus of the show anymore). The other characters, while being completely one-dimensional, were funny. Again though, that’s all they were. Shallow comic relief. While they accomplished their job, I feel they could have been even funnier if the characters had been fleshed out more.

Overall Haganai is an average show. I did enjoy it quite a bit, but this is far from a must see anime or something I would recommend.

dooley.donnell - 2014-03-29 15:41:03

oh look, a school life anime that isn't shit

wiza.lauryn - 2013-10-27 20:25:19

For many people, the harem genre is very bland with its intense amounts of fan-service that will scream into your eyes until you can't ever get an erection.

However this anime is quite the exception with its comedy that will get you laughing until you fall flat onto the floor.

Story:

The story to this series isn't very special because the whole entire series seems to halt in place until the very last episodes until you see a bit of progress into the story. Many of the episodes consist of just the club doing a thing one episode and another the next, making it have a very non-consistent story due to the low 7 score.

Animation

The animation to the series is nothing special, but still isn't anything to complain about as it is good quality animation just nothing to get over-excited about.

Sound

The opening and ending to this anime isn't anything special as the opening feels like a jazzy k pop song followed by a ending which is average. But one particular song that i did enjoy was at the very last episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUDEnpZJm4U

Character

The characters of this show consist of the many average type characters you would find in your average harem. Nothing really special, but i found a little bit of a liking to a few characters such as the main protagonist and his sister.

Enjoyment

Although having many low scores for character and story i found myself really laughing and enjoying myself in this series. Even though the flaws of this series is noticeable, you can't help, but get addicted to this series as it will make you laugh...A LOT.

Overall

This series is something you should definitely watch.

brooklyn00 - 2013-07-28 15:56:18

Introduction

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, or Haganai as it is known (for some reason), is a light-hearted comedy harem with the occasional serious or emotional moment, although these seem to be more common in the second season.

Story

The story follows the transfer student Kodaka Hasegawa, who has recently moved to St. Chronica's Academy and hasn't been able to make any friends. This is due mostly to the fact that he has inherited blonde hair from his English mother, making him viewed as a delinquent by his classmates who actively try to avoid him. It also doesn't help that everything he does seems to fan the flames. By mistake he walks in on his classmate, Yozora Mikazuki, talking to herself, who then explains that she has an imaginary friend because she hasn't got any real friends. Yozora soon decides to form a club, the neighbors club, for other people who don't have any friends, which rapidly picks up the rest of the characters. The most notable of these is Sena Kashiwazaki, who completes the trio of main characters, as she is the first new member of the club and gets a lot of character development later on.

Personally I think that the story for Haganai was rather intriguing and, as with any good love triangle, keeps you guessing all the way through. Also the comedy was abundant and fresh, so it never stops making you laugh. I did feel, however, that the conversation topic of love/girlfriends is always quickly changed before Kodaka can respond, which can get frustrating, but in a way, is necessary.

Animation

Due to the type of anime this is, there were only a few moments that required some serious animation, and these moments were handled very well. Although it may not be a visual masterpiece, it doesn't fail to deliver in this section at all. The animation for Haganai was done by AIC Build, and they seem to have put a lot of effort in, as there were no moments that I remember where I felt there was any bad animation, and if you like attention to detail, you won't be disapointed.

Sound

In regards to character voices, I can't say much due to the fact that I watched it in sub, and I haven't looked at the dub (if there is one). The only thing I can say about the voices is that Yozora and Kodaka seem to have 2 voice actors each, and that both intros and both ending songs are sung by one of Yozora's. But when it comes to music, this anime (firs season specifically) is great. The opening and ending songs are some of my favourites and I never felt like I wanted to skip the opening, but that's just me.

Character

While some of the supporting characters do fall into typical archetypes, the main 2 girls, Yozora and Sena, get a fair amount of development and they both become more and more interesting as the show progresses. They also get into a LOT of arguments and seem to hate each other. I found this quite ironic, as both joined a club to make friends and found an enemy. Most of the friction between these two stems from them both trying to outshine each other, which usually ends either hilariously or leaves you feeling really guilty that you laughed. I think that the interactions between the two are what keeps the anime as interesting as it is.

Enjoyment

I found this anime really enjoyable as it ticks a lot of boxes, in terms of what I look for in an anime, mainly that the characters need to be interesting, I need to be able to connect to at least one of them, the story has to stay interesting, and I have to keep wanting to watch more. Haganai meets all these criteria and offers a lot more. From the enjoyably frustrating misunderstandings to the awkward emotional web in the club room, I loved every minute and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of show.