Harem shows are trash. They're garbage, junk food for the mind that doesn't have any meaning in their narratives. They are a genre that hasn't evolved in any meaningful ways since the 90s and does not intend to change because they still are met with a fair degree of success. Despite filling the market every season, very few of them are any good.
...Wait a second, very few? As in, more than none?
STORY: 6/10
Yes, it's true, Oreshura isn't bad. It isn't great, but it's not bad. It proves that even if it's just going to be a harem show, at the bare minimum an interesting premise is required. So what is this story about?
Well, meet young Kidou Eita, a high schooler who has no time for romance because he's too busy studying to become a doctor in the future. Simple enough. Enter Natsukawa Masuzu, a new student who every boy in school desperately wants to date. Unfortunately for them, Mazusu doesn't care for romance in the slightest. So what's a girl to do? Well, find the other person who doesn't care about romance and blackmail him into pretending to be your boyfriend, of course!
Then, as your troll is wont to do, Masuzu decides to open up a club where she can humiliate foolish girls who wish to advance their romantic endeavors and things just sort of spiral from there. What follows is a one-cour series where they focus on the 4 girls, each one getting 2-3 episodes of introduction while sticking around for the rest of the series after they're brought in before they wrap it up with the last few episodes.
What surprises me with Oreshura is that, while it is based on a light novel series, the anime gives pretty much everything you'd want. It ends at a good jumping off point and each of the girls (with the slight exception of Hime) are given enough screentime to feel like they're important. The ending I feel was very strong because where it stops, the series doesn't really need to continue from there.
Premise: 1.5/2
Pacing: 1.5/2
Immersion: 1/2
Setting: 1/2
Theme: 0.5/1
Complexity: 0.5/1
ART: 7/10
Okay, chalk this up to personal preference, but this show looks really cozy. When it comes to a feel-good atmosphere the soft lines and muted pastels that make up Oreshura's art get me. It's all fairly standard for high school fare, but there are bits of the basic visual design that are appreciated, not the least of which being a decent array of casual outfits for every character that are distinctive.
Personality is where the art shines, in that there are a lot of little touches to bring it to every major character. I didn't even notice it while originally watching, but it's true. Masuzu is a big fan of Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, so she strikes goofy poses frequently (oftentimes complete with a shift in the coloration to better match Jojo). Chiwa is energetic but also has a back injury so while she is more free than other characters she doesn't seem to move in ways that would agitate her wound. Hime is a shy Chuuni and thus is less active than the others, but sometimes will be doing something on her own weird thing in the background. Ai wears her heart on her sleeve and moves in more grand, exaggerated motions than the others frequently.
The most common touch are the sketches that are shown whenever the "Burning Fighting Fighter" sequences are referenced that amplify the stupidity that it's meant to have, as well as the silly transitions between scenes that come in the form of wipes that feature one of the four girls in chibi form.
That aside, it's a slice-of-life high school harem show. There's no reason why it would need to have great animation and even if it did, very rarely does a show that takes place in a totally mundane world have an excuse to go all-out with the budget. But the animators did their jobs competently and there are quite a few moments where it is shockingly fluid. Again, usually Ai's scenes.
General Presence: 2/2
Visual Design: 1/2
Backgrounds: 1/2
Animation: 1.5/2
Attention to Detail: 1/1
Visual Effects: 0.5/1
SOUND: 7/10
I'll be honest here: the main reason why I decided to watch this show was specifically in the voice cast, in particular Tamura and Kayano, both of whom do not disappoint. Were it not for the performances, this series would likely not be nearly as engaging as it was. They bring a good air to each character that's fitting and not a single person has issues with their comedic timing.
The music is overall decent but not highly memorable. I'd probably recognize some of the tracks were I to overhear them but anything other than the OP (which is catchy but not great) and the ED (which is an amazingly good solo by Tamura), they aren't the kind of things that I could hum from memory.
Voice Acting: 4/4
Music: 2/4
Sound Effects: 1/2
CHARACTERS: 7/10
I'll be honest here: if all harems had casts like this, I would not take issue with any harem show. Is it a great cast? No, probably not. Is it a likable cast? Oh, you bet. The show gets pretty much everything about the harem show right. All of the four girls get a good balance of screentime (except maybe Hime), fun and quirky personalities that make you root for them, and most importantly they all have scenes with the lead that give them some legit romantic chemistry. Increasingly important: Eita has more to him than a standard harem lead. He's got a reason to have the "dense" trait that is not overtly stated but anyone could realize that adds some depth to his character, and his interactions with the girls are more proactive than you'd expect. He has plenty of amusing lines and reactions that make him feel more than a stock character you'd normally get from a show like this, especially when out of all the characters he's usually the one whose flaws are used for jokes.
Too often shows jump right into the harem without explaining why people like the main character, but Oreshura manages to convince me that, yes, there are good reasons for this harem forming. The most interesting story is that it happens differently for each girl, which reinforces the idea that they aren't just haremettes but instead actual characters.
Special mention goes to Masuzu. While it's no mystery that she'll end up eventually succumbing to the genre and falling in love, it's never outright stated when it happened - or even if it happened at all. She's very adept at putting on an act, and depending on how much complexity you want to see within her, it's entirely possible she remains an embittered asexual through the entire series and any signs of affection are meant to muddy the waters both to Eita and to the audience. Granted it might be stated more explicitly in the light novels, but I really like that bit of complexity.
Presence: 1.5/2
Personality: 1.5/2
Complexity: 1/2
Memorability: 1.5/2
Development: 0.5/1
Pathos: 1/1
FINAL JUDGMENT : 7/10
Once you learn to accept that harem isn't a high art you really can start appreciating it for what it is. It's junk food, yes, but who doesn't eat some junk food every now and again? Harem shows are not inherently bad and when it comes to it, Oreshura is probably one of the better ones you'll find. The interesting bit is that it doesn't need anything more than the one season, it feels complete enough as it is since it ends at a point where I personally think the series would get much less interesting. And the producers know that one season was enough because it hasn't gotten a sequel or even an OVA and I doubt that'll happen any time soon.
Is it really amazing? No. In fact, if I were more cynical I'd probably write it off as a stock harem full of stock characters. I dunno what it is, but I was willing to let myself be sucked in and see some legitimate depth even if that wasn't the author's intent. Eita is free to be poked fun at, and has his own character traits that make him just as quirky as the harem (though in a less obvious way) so he's more than just a platform to place oneself into. It's sort of the feel of it. It feels genuine. Like a story that was made because someone wanted to tell it, not sell it.
If someone adds a harem into a series just because that's popular then it will no doubt fall flat but Oreshura feels like someone wanted to make a harem series foremost and not solely because it's a popular genre. I'd say that if you don't like harem shows you won't like Oreshura but if you give it a shot with an open mind you might be pleasantly surprised.
Pros:
+Fun cast of characters
+Great voice acting across the board
Cons:
-Animation and music nothing spectacular
-There won't be much to those who can't stand harem
-Some of the more interesting characterization is left up to the viewer's interpretation
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