Review of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms

7/10 +Atypical protagonist with comeuppance character arc; fun chemistry between leads -Poor production values: stiff animation and character models; bland sound work -Sexualizes female characters in distasteful way -Overall setting and supporting cast lacks meaningful substance Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms feels like comfort food. Beautiful, popular girl falls in love with timid, awkward boy. The show even takes a bold risk with Mona being an extremely unlikeable snob. Comeuppance stories prove hard to pull off, but Mona’s hilarious personality carries the show and her crazy antics (as well as her positive change arc) are endearing to watch. The problem? Extremely poor production values, slow pacing, andthe cliche high school antics do nothing to elevate the material. Mona’s charisma alone isn’t enough to distract from the show’s distasteful sexualization of women, taking precedence over deeper character work. The paper-thin supporting cast exists solely to cause conflict, nothing more, nothing less. Cliches are fine, but here they are bland as can be.

On the surface, Medaka Kuroiwa looks appetizing, but the final product tastes like a stale potato chip.