Winter 2023 Anime: The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten

Synopsis

After catching a cold by giving his only umbrella to a girl sitting in the rain, Amane Fujimiya only expects her to eventually return it. However, Mahiru Shiina, the “Angel” of Amane’s school and his neighbor, instead gives him a lot more than that. 

The only word Mahiru finds in her mouth to describe the chaos is “unsightly”. But despite her unsympathetic description, Mahiru proceeds to help the hopeless Amane. Is there anything that the Angel can not do? (Source: BStation). 

Comments

Dany Muhammad (The Indonesian Anime Times)

For a romance anime, I was surprised to see how The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten handles its romantic scene. The romantic tension is very minimal. There are romance anime cliches, like the “dining together” scene or the “helping the girl with bruised feet” scene (The last one usually happened during the firework festival). But here, those cliches are executed with very little romantic tension. In fact, the anime treats those scenes in the same way as a normal everyday scene. It feels weird, almost like a bad execution. However, I think that’s intentional. It conveys what the author wants to tell: Mahiru and Amane just don’t fall in love immediately. What you think is romantic, is just a normal occurrence for them.

So yeah, this isn’t the romance anime that kicked off with big hatsukoi (first love) energy like Tonikaku Kawaii. This anime is closer to Tada Never Falls in Love or Tsukigakirei, where the romantic feeling slowly grows as the two main leads interact more. Moreover,  the lack of romantic tension actually makes the payoff stronger. We can see this at the very end of the second episode. After spending the first two episodes without any romantic progress, both Mahiru and Amane suddenly realize that maybe, just maybe, there is something between them. That moment feels earned, and definitely won’t feel as good if the romantic tension is already there since the beginning.

Overall, this is a romance anime that ask the viewers to be patient. The character design is cute but the art and the background music are a bit bland. However, the blandness may be a blessing in disguise because it neutralizes any romantic tension. Or maybe the blandness is intentional? Either way, I recommend watching the first two episodes before deciding whether to put this anime on your watchlist. The anime may starts slow, but when it punches, it strikes right into your heart.

Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times