Review of AHO-GIRL
Hey folks, this will be a review for Aho Girl. This show was fun. Pure and simple its a fun show. It doesn't try to be anything, and yet encompasses many things which we find enjoyable from other shows. The story revolves around Yoshiko who is the stupid girl. She is an idiot without equal. Her childhood friend and neighbor Akuru is an intelligent guy without any friends. Together they live their lives with Yoshiko doing stupid things and Akuru trying to reign her in. The art was pretty good and the soundtrack was catchy. The characters are pretty fun. As mentioned above Yoshiko is the idiot.Akuru is the straight man. Sayaka is the other "primary" character, and her role is the innocent girl who bridges the gap between all the characters. The other characters are fun, like the Yoshiko's mother who tries to keep other girls away from Akuru. Or the discipline committee president who is turns into a stalker. However they most of the show is Yoshiko and Akuru.
Overall I enjoyed this anime a lot. I think it knew what show it was and knew what it could do. The characters all intermingle really well, Yoshiko is a caustic character and without the other characters to cut in it might have become tedious to watch. The 11 minutes also allowed for enough of the show to progress without feeling overwhelming. The comedy also has different angles. It isn't like other shows with a caustic character where its a one trick pony. Yes the theme is around a stupid girl doing stupid things but you see if from several viewpoints. It's not a gem, it's not a classic, it's a fun break.
TLDR: If you like stupid humor this is pretty good. Its a short too, only 11 minutes an episode. Give it a try.
*I wasn't going to review it as its a short and obviously a comedy show, but a review twists things into issues that are not really issues. If your not interested me breaking down some things then you should stop here.*
First of all not everyone will like the show, its completely a comedy show revolving around stupidity. Not once does it try to be serious or thought provoking. It has the typical joker and straight man setup. The show almost feels like a spoof, but its not. It walks the line between really well. For example there are a lot of panty shots in this show. However its not fan service. I mean someone somewhere might have gotten into it, but I don't think its meant to be that. At the start of the show Akuru says something to the degree of "who would be attracted to you" and its true, Yoshiko is not a sexual character. They do have sexualized characters in Yoshie and Iinchou but neither have more than eluded to sexual themes.
The relationship between our straight man and joker is abusive in the most obvious sense. Yoshiko does stupid thing and gets punched. However this is pretty typical. The three stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and the Groucho brothers are all famous for physical humor. That's to name a few, there are many many more examples. In this anime the worst that happens is a punch to the face and a shot with her on the floor with the white eyes. Anime does stuff like this all the time to literally add a punch line to the comedy. I'm not exactly sure why this is so terrible we need to clam up and act like what we are watching is something terrible that needs to be censored. A good equivalent to their relationship is the pairing of Sousuke and Kaname from Full Metal Panic.
Now some more character specific things. Akuru is not a self insert character. In fact he is almost the equivalent of a side character. He studies, and is smart. He has other personality points but none of them make you want to be in his shoes. On the other hand he has enough personality that he isn't just an empty vessel. He is what Yoshiko has made of him. He explodes because who wouldn't. The nicest guy on earth would not be able to deal with what Yoshiko puts him through. Why should he change? The other character cliche's are again a homage of sorts. Why reinvent the wheel when the show doesn't try to be anything other than a stupid comedy? Akuru doesn't have a sister complex. Loving your family member is different than wanting to screw them.
Again the show has its flaws but don't pass up a show you might like because someone wants to make mountains out of mole hills. It's easy to be taken in by well written reviews. However try and experience things for yourself.