Review of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms
Rom-com anime live or die by their central gimmick, and Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious to My Charms starts off with a solid one. Mona Kawai is the queen of her high school—worshipped by everyone for her beauty and charm—until one guy, Medaka Kuroiwa, doesn’t react to her at all. Instead of ignoring it, Mona becomes obsessed with making him fall for her, which leads to a bunch of comedic situations. At first, this setup is genuinely entertaining. Watching Mona, who’s used to effortless admiration, struggle with rejection is funny, and Medaka’s deadpan reactions make for a great contrast. But as the episodes roll on, the samejoke keeps playing out with little variation. Medaka stays stoic, Mona keeps escalating her attempts, and the whole thing starts feeling like a loop.
The initial humor comes from Mona’s growing frustration—she genuinely doesn’t understand why Medaka isn’t falling for her. The exaggerated lengths she goes to in order to get his attention are amusing... for a while. But the issue is, the show doesn’t do much to evolve beyond this. It’s the same dynamic over and over:
Mona tries something ridiculous to seduce Medaka.
Medaka gives her a neutral, sometimes completely oblivious, response.
Mona flails around in frustration, claiming she doesn’t actually care.
Rinse and repeat.
It’s not that the concept itself is bad—it’s just stretched too thin. Something like Kaguya-sama: Love is War worked because the dynamic between Kaguya and Shirogane kept shifting, and there was actual character development. But here, Medaka barely reacts, and Mona keeps doing the same thing. It’s hard to stay engaged when you know exactly how each interaction is going to end.
Mona is an interesting character at first. Her over-the-top self-confidence is amusing because it gets shattered every time Medaka ignores her. But the problem is that she doesn’t grow much as a character. Her entire personality revolves around wanting to be admired, and after a while, it starts feeling more shallow than funny.
That’s not to say she’s entirely unlikable—there are moments where her more genuine side peeks through, and you can tell she’s developing real feelings for Medaka. But her narcissism is so exaggerated that it makes it hard to root for her at times. A little self-confidence is great, but Mona is so obsessed with her own charm that it becomes off-putting.
The first few episodes definitely lean into fan service—there are plenty of suggestive shots and moments meant to show off Mona’s "charms." But after the first three episodes, it gets toned down significantly. While some fans might appreciate this restraint, others might feel like the show starts to lose some of its appeal along with it.
Personally, I don’t think the fan service was necessary in the first place. The concept of the show is already funny enough on its own without needing to rely on those elements. But it does feel a little weird that it starts off strong with it, then backs off almost completely—almost like the series wasn’t sure what direction it wanted to take.
If the show gave Mona more depth, maybe by exploring why she craves attention so much, she could have been a more compelling character. But as it stands, she’s mostly just a one-note joke.
Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious to My Charms starts off with an entertaining concept, but it quickly becomes predictable. If you’re in the mood for a light rom-com with simple humor, it’s worth checking out. But if you’re looking for a romance anime with deeper character growth or a more varied plot, you might get bored fast. The show had potential, but it needed more variety in its comedy and character dynamics to really shine. Would I watch a second season? Probably not, unless they shake things up.