Review of My First Girlfriend is a Gal

Is Hajimete no Gal a masterpiece? The answer is no. Is it as bad as a lot of people think? The answer is again no. After watching it I found it peculiar that so many people have such a low opinion of this series. I can understand the frustration to a certain degree but the bashing received by the series is a bit overkill. I get it. It is not original, deep, with an interesting universe or complex characters but does that make it not enjoyable? I personally disagree. I found the entire series very enjoyable. Think of it as a funny break from otherseries. You don’t need to be heavily invested you just need to chill and laugh at the slapstick humor.
The story is not particularly strong but so what. It’s about a high school kid trying to get laid. I mean who has not been in a similar position? It’s awkward, frustrating and ultimately funny. The struggle, at times is hilarious. And to a certain degree it develops into an actual love story given that emotions develop and lust becomes love. Yes I get the fact that most of are used to seeing awesome characters getting involved in extremely weird situations with the opposite sex but in my opinion this series is a bit more realistic. Yes it is filled with weird, out of this world, situations but it is also filled with situations that are more realistic, primarily the interaction of hormonal teenagers with no real knowledge of romantic relationships.
As for the art one can only say that the creator is actually responsible for some hentai (at least that’s what I heard). Based on that I think one can imagine what the show is all about in regards to art. It is a fan service paradise. Panty and boob shots are the bread and butter for this series. Overall it fits quite nicely given that the main character is a hormonal teenager and it gives rise to several sexually fueled situation.
Sound is Ok I guess. There is nothing too bad or too exciting. It is just average.
Characters were also ok. Given time these characters could have developed into something exceptional (except the possible child molester). Unfortunately there was not much time so their development is skin deep but the basis for them is pretty good. It clearly explores the angst of teenagers in very different ways and though it is plagued with clichés it also tries to differ from other archetypes projecting the mess that is often linked with teenagers.
As I have said already the series is not the re-invention of the wheel but it is very enjoyable. I laughed in several occasions and when it came to an end I felt that I had a good time and that I did not waste my time. Of course there better series out there but in no way is this one as bad as it is portrayed to be.
I recommend it if you just want to kill a couple of hours with a very light and funny series that does try to be something more than it actually is.