***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Ore Monogatari. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Do not judge Takeo Goda (voiced by Takuya Eguchi) on appearances. If you were to do, you would only see an intimidating specimen of a man. You would miss the kind and friendly person he is.
Takeo has had zero luck with ladies. Thanks in part to his towering presence. Though unfortunate, it doesn't stop him from smiling. If given the chance, people soon recognize him as the gentle giant he his. Such as his best friend, Makoto Sunakawa (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki).
One day while on the subway, Takeo saves a girl from an obnoxious creep. After the rescue, Takeo's heart skips a beat when the beautiful young lady thanks him.
Takeo is later visited by the girl who introduces herself as Rinko Yamato (voiced by Megumi Han). In the wake of such bravery, she has fallen head over heels for Takeo. In a joyous union, the two begin a fairy tale romance.
Takeo and Rinko have since become inseparable. There is no one who can deny how much they love each other.
Series Positives
I had the biggest grin on my face during this series. Ore Monogatari is one of the best romance anime I have seen.
There is only one word that can describe this show, "adorable".
The Characters
Ore Monogatari's characters were brilliant. I'd be here all day if I were to list them all. Though tempting, I’ll only focus on the main three.
Rinko was a sweetheart. If there had to be a single reason why this show was so cute, it would be her. Her lovability reached unimaginable levels. Almost to a nauseating degree. However, she counter-balanced this with a tangible toughness.
Rinko’s tenacity made her an equal when compared to Takeo's brute strength. She wouldn't give up and was the first to help anyone. Even if it meant coming to the aid of someone who had feelings for her man.
What caused everyone else to tremble in fear of Takeo, Rinko adored. The quickest way to hurt her was to bad mouth her boyfriend. Especially if someone never took the time to get to know him.
Next, we have Makoto. He was a huge surprise. In any other series, he would have been the protagonist. That or some kind of suave ass hat. I’m not going to lie, for the first few episodes, I thought he would go down the latter path. Thank goodness I was wrong.
Makoto and Takeo were closer than brothers. They were there for each other. Like Rinko, Makoto despised anyone who talked ill of his friend. In fact, he turned down every girl who made fun of Takeo.
So what of the big guy himself?
Takeo was a teddy bear. There was no one who understood how lucky he was to have a girl like Rinko and a friend like Makoto better than him. He could not have been more grateful.
But what made Takeo great was his awareness. He knew his limitations. He didn't always understand a problem. But he knew when there was one. He was a guy trying to do right for the people he cared about.
Takeo was a refreshing change to the endless barrage of clueless other male protagonists.
Takeo and Rinko’s Relationship
Takeo and Rinko relationship had many of the things I have slammed other series for doing. They never fought. There were super lovey-dovey. They never had a conflict that put their relationship to the test. So then why is this in the positive section?
Takeo and Rinko did something that counters all that nonsense. It was something other anime couples have the hardest time understanding. These two talked to each other.
They let the other know what they were thinking, what they were doing, and why they were doing what they were doing. They didn't let misunderstandings fester. If a problem arose, they dealt with it.
It’s amazing how other romance anime can’t seem to do this when Ore Monogatari mastered it.
Series Negatives
There was one thing that Ore Monogatari could have done better. Seeing how long this show was, there was no excuse for it not being here.
We got to see Takeo and Makoto's backstories. We learned who they were as kids and why they were the way they were. It was a great insight and it led to some moving scenes between the two friends. So then why did we never see Rinko’s?
Rinko was an amazing character. But why was she like that? Had she always been that way? What was she like when she was younger? Was she tough, was she mean, was she bullied, was she popular? I want to know these answers and there were plenty of episodes that could have gone into this.
The few episodes that sort of touched on this were fun. They also did a fantastic job of building Takeo and Rinko’s relationship. But there needed to be more.
Let me back up a little. We got one line of dialogue about Rinko's past and it did nothing except make the problem worse. What got said was kind of a big deal. As in it was something that needed a follow-up.
This was only a problem because of how well-done Takeo and Makoto's backstories were. Rinko should have gotten the same treatment.
Final Thoughts
Big smiles and claps of joy. This pretty much sums up my time with Ore Monogatari.
This was a show recommended to me. Now I’m recommending it to you. Let’s get as many people as possible to watch this series.
It was funny. It was charming. It will make you feel good. Though I was more than satisfied by the end, I was sad to see it go.
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