Review of My Love Story!!

Ore Monogatari is the ‘500 Days of Summer’ of Anime. ‘This is not a love story. This is a story about love.’ That is the tagline of 500 DoS. Starting out as a love story, Ore Monogatari tells the tales of various characters that appear and how love has an effect on their lives. All of this is seen through the eyes of Takeo Gouda, the Big Show with a kind heart. Strengths The biggest strength of Ore Monogatari!! is the interpersonal relationships between the various characters, particularly Takeo’s relationship with the side cast. After the first 3 episodes that revolve around Takeo meeting Rinko Yamato,his love interest, the series delves into primarily 2 episode stories that detail each side character’s problem and resolution. Each character wants love and, through their journey of finding romance, they develop into a better person after their story arc is complete, some more than others. These stories stem from Takeo’s best friend Makoto Sunakawa facing problems in his family to Takeo’s other classmates tackling their own romantic problems. Each character’s stories are what keep Ore Monogatari entertaining in its 24-episode span, including the one-off episodes centered on the goofball duo of Takeo and Rinko.

The animation and music is bright, colorful and upbeat. Words can’t describe how good the show looks and sounds. Studio Madhouse did an excellent job adapting this story.

Misstep
Possibly both the best and weakest part about Ore Monogatari!! is Takeo and Rinko. Takeo and Rinko are the least complex characters of the entire cast, and because of that, they are possibly the least interesting characters of their own show. After the initial three episodes, the primary roles for the two, aside from lighthearted, fluffy romance, is helping each side character in their story arcs. In other words, Takeo and Rinko play more of a supportive role. It is unfortunate that the side characters overshadow the main characters. However, it is never tiring to see Takeo and Rinko’s lighthearted romance portrayed on screen.

Overall
Ore Monogatari!! is SUPER vanilla, meant to warm the ice cold of hearts. Even though they are the least interesting characters compared to the side cast, Takeo and Rinko are good characters that serve as the audience’s identification figures. The show is lighthearted and straightforward with a touch of character complexities that have possibilities to be delved into further.