Review of Ao-chan Can't Study!

Sometimes its great to switch your brain off and simply watch the pretty colours on your screen. Ao-chan can’t study is a bit like that. It has no depth, no intellectual capital to draw you in, no sotry depth, it is not a show to think about, but just watch and be entertained. And it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that. The series provides all the typical hallmarks of a show designed to appeal to the young male - bikini’s, people in various states of undress, awkward inappropriate touches and a blossoming love overlaid with sexual tension. Just the thing for filling in acouple of free hours.

This series had me wondering what kept me watching and not switching off as I have done with some series (Conception I’m looking at you). Simply put – its like any junk food craving – you don’t have to like all types of junk food and know it is bad for you, yet you still crave it. The craving desired by the caudate nucleus and satisfied through bursts of serotonin and dopamine due to the erotic visual stimuli is something I know I need from time to time. A break if you will from the often serious nature of reality.

But I digress. The main protagonist Ao Horie is a girl conflicted. She is conflicted about her sexual desire which she been repressed due to the overt sexual nature displayed by her father. And conflicted by her desire to explore her repressed sexuality. Ao has a very immature approach to love and sex and despite purportedly being well read on the subject thanks to her father, lacks the proper emotional capital and maturity to explore said emotions.

The love interest, Takumi Kijima, is about as 2D and wooden as you can get. He has no real personality, no background, no story and no development. He decides he loves Ao, and pursues her relentlessly, despite there being no chemistry between the two, no initial give and take to spark a connection. The relationship seemed very forced between the two, but despite that there will still moments of humor and I did want to stick around to see what happens. I think it also helped the episodes were only around 10 minutes in length – a typical junk food snacking time.

So ultimately while I may disagree with the way in which Ao was portrayed (I thought it was unnecessary for her studies to suffer) and tough to watch Ao’s dreams slowly shift from focus and success to fulfilling carnal desire, it was entertaining. I enjoyed (albeit while cringing) the interactions between the two main characters and wanted to stick around to see if they started at third base or first. I thought the artwork for Ao was cute too – and that helped immensely.

So would I recommend this? Well while this is a middle of the road anime, it is not without entertainment value. As long as you don’t expect more from it than what it offers, Ao can’t study is not a complete waste of two hours.