Anime Hajime Review: Aho-Girl

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Aho-Girl. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

The word “idiot” is subjective. Those things or people we deem as daft, dense, and asinine is our opinion. To use those terms, as a matter of fact, is childish. Stupid, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Or at least that’s true 99.9% of the time.

For Yoshiko Hanabatake (voiced by Aoi Yuki) idiot is the only correct way to describe her. There is no one alive outside who can comprehend what's going on in her mind. To make matters worse, what Yoshiko lacks in brain powers she more than makes up for in energy. Once she starts, there's nothing that can stop her. Aside from occasional shiny object.

For most people, five minutes with Yoshiko would be an endurance test. Akuru Akutsu (voiced by Tomakazu Sugita) has been putting up with her for years. As her childhood friend, Akuru's patience died long ago. 

Now in high school, Yoshiko’s classmates do not know the whirlwind coming their way. There are some who will try to stand their ground. Yet there is no one who can face the embodiment of idiocy.

Series Positives

I had a lot of fun with Aho-Girl. This show was a blast the whole way through.

This was a series I had been interested in. It was one of the top anime to catch my personal interest for the 2017 summer season. Not because I knew the source material. It was due to this series’ title. “Aho” means stupid or idiot in Japanese. Given this was also a slice-of-life comedy, I hoped to get some enjoyment out of it.

What I got exceeded my expectations. I may not have read the manga beforehand, but I plan to pick it up now. This series was hilarious.

Aho-Girl delivered on its namesake. This show was beyond silly and went all the way with it. Think Nichijou style of humor. In fact, this series reminded me of Nichijou. The major difference between the two was the overall tone.

Nichijou was over the top and ran at one hundred and ten percent. It was loud, energetic, and bombastic. Aho-Girl was the same, except more toned down. Now before you get any ideas in your head, please note what I said.

I compared Aho-Girl to the insanity that was Nichijou. There aren’t many that can reach that benchmark. So, when I say Aho-Girl was the more subdued, keep this in mind. Nichijou turned its dial up to eleven. Aho-Girl sat at a comfortable nine.

This show did alright for itself.

The Characters

What a fantastic collection of characters we had here. Everyone added something to this series. Along with that, no one acted the same.

Depending on who was on screen was what dictated the outcome of a scene. Meaning everyone had a distinct personality which separated them from the people around them.

If there was one thing everyone did share, it was a certain degree of idiocy. Though some showed it more than others and no one more than Yoshiko, it was there. Believe it or not, this is what kept the series in check.

Think about it. What if Yoshiko was the only character denser than a rock? What if most of the cast managed to maintain a level head? What if everyone was always reacting to Yoshiko’s actions and screw-ups? Wouldn’t that be boring as hell, as well as make Yoshiko insufferable rather than charming? That’d be lame if that were the case.

With everyone going off the rails here and there, this show managed to retain its energy. Though Yoshiko was the biggest idiot, she wasn’t always the only idiot.

I could detail each cast member, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll do that for the major characters. For some of the more memorable secondary’s, I’m still going to mention them in brief.

Yoshie Hanabatake (voiced by Yoko Hikasa) was Yoshiko’s mother. At first, it seemed she was distraught with how much of an imbecile her daughter was becoming. It turned out, she had a plan for it. If Yoshiko ended up marrying Akuru, Yoshie’s retirement would be set. Anyone Yoshie deemed as a threat to that got on her bad and violent side.

Akane Eimura (voiced by Mao Ichimichi) was the leader of the gal girl clique. Though on par with of Yoshiko in terms of academics, Akane could interact with people. Yet her indifference to studying made Akane susceptible to Yoshiko’s influence. Plus, Akane couldn’t stand Akuru’s antagonist nature and was quick to engage in fruitless arguments.

Ruri Akutsu (voiced by Sayaka Senbongi) was Akuru’s little sister. She was a hard worker and mirrored her brother’s obsession with studying. Too bad no matter how much effort she put in, her academic abilities were the same as Yoshiko’s. Ruri’s greatest fear is one day turning into as big a moron as Yoshiko. Something, to Ruri’s dismay, most people had accepted as an inevitability.

With a solid support structure, there would’ve been little need for anything else. Yet this was only the tip of the iceberg.

The main cast was something quite special on their own.

Fuki Iincho (voiced by Sumire Uesaka) served as Disciplinary Committee President. Her serious, no-nonsense attitude made her a strict enforcer of school rules. Unfortunately, she was not prepared for someone like Yoshiko. Unable to handle the stupidity, Fuki had trouble maintaining her composure. A dilemma made worse when Akuru offered a few nice words.

Due to perceiving Akuru as her ideal man, Fuki developed an obsessive crush on him. Her fixation turned to straight out stalker mentality. Something everyone could see clear as day, even if Fuki believed she had kept a secret. In addition, Fuki's beauty and interest in Akuru didn't go unnoticed by Yoshie. Of the potential threats to her plans, Yoshie saw Fuki as the biggest nuisance. Interactions between the two women were never civil.

The fall from grace Fuki experienced would be tragic in most other shows. Except, she had no idea it even took place. Making it all the funnier. In her mind, she remained the epitome of lawfulness and morality. Unbeknownst to her, most of her attempts to get closer to Akuru were serious crimes and offenses. A list which includes breaking and entering, voyeurism, and the aforementioned stalking. 

Sayaka Sumino (voiced by Sayaka Harada) was an absolute sweetheart. Of the cast, she was the most even-keeled. Too bad for her, that was to her disadvantage. Since she was so caring and so trusting, the role of straight man fell to her. Given who she was up against, this would not be an enviable position. Yet where most would go insane trying to make sense of the madness, Sayaka took it in stride.

When everyone was at their worst, Sayaka was the only one who could bring people to their senses. Often through a combination of begging and exuberant frustration. She was also able to avoid the wrath of some of the more vindictive characters. For a show this crazy, it needed a strong mediator. Something Sayaka did well.

That said, Sayaka did have a limit. Given the force of nature that was Yoshiko, Sayaka could only endure so much. It was at these moments where she broke was when Sayaka was at her funniest. Also, Yoshiko wasn't the only one to test Sayaka’s patience. Others managed to do this too.

Now, at last, we arrive at our final two. With the combined efforts of this cast, they helped make Aho-Girl as fun as it was. Yet our main leads were more than plenty. Everything and everyone else was extra. Welcomed and endearing, but extra nonetheless.

Akuru was a massive stick in the mud. In other shows, I would label this as annoying. Here it was a necessity. He was the counterbalance to the craziness that was Yoshiko. Unlike any other character, Akuru was the only one who knew how to counteract her. That usually meant resorting to violence, but what worked, worked.

There was no doubt how much of a jerk Akuru could be. Not just to Yoshiko, but to everyone. He thought himself superior and cared little for the opinion of others. All this served to do was give himself a false sense of security.

It wasn’t hard to get under Akuru’s skin. Despite being familiar with Yoshiko’s antics, he would sometimes be caught off guard. That and there were some who could make him reflect on his actions. Particularly his sister Ruri.

Yet my favorite thing about Akuru was what he refused to say. There’s not a person on this Earth who could tolerate Yoshiko for as long as Akuru has if they didn’t care. It didn’t matter how many excuses he thought up. If Akuru wanted to be rid of Yoshiko he would’ve done it. These two were best friends. Regardless of what Akuru might claim.

So now, I suppose it’s time we talk about Yoshiko. Yes, she was my favorite character. Yes, she was a ton of fun and very entertaining. But no, I don’t have much to say about her. The main reason being, I can't-do her justice. She is a spectacle to behold. I’m trying to think of anyone else who was as dense as her.

Yoshiko was, in every meaning of the word, an idiot. She had no sense of her surroundings. Big words confused her. Tact and sensibility were foreign concepts. If something didn’t have her interest, it might as well not have existed. Her solution to every problem was the shortest route. It didn’t matter if that route wasn’t the most efficient, convenient, or well thought out.

Yoshiko's attention span did not exist. If someone gave her a task to do, it would be their fault when something went wrong. She was not the kind of person you trust with anything.

I understand if you think this would get annoying. Yet this is where the show’s greatest strength came in. It’s why every other character was so good.

Imagine punching a wall of solid steel as hard as you can. You’re going to break something and it won’t be the wall. The power of your punch is Yoshiko. To prevent hurting yourself, you need to put as much cushion between you and the wall. Do that enough times and you’re not going to feel anything no matter how hard you hit. That cushioning is the rest of Aho-Girl. This show was able to go as hard as it wanted because there was plenty to take the impact.

And can you believe, each episode was only fifteen minutes?

Series Negatives

This is one of those awkward positions where I was having too much fun with a show. So much so I neglected to keep a constant critical eye. I could give the generic, this-series-isn’t-for-everyone line. I don’t like doing that since it’s such a huge cop-out. Nevermind it being true.

Thinking back on what I saw, there are a few things I can say. Though these things are the equivalent of spilling a few drops of water on a black shirt. You may not even notice them.

For starters, I’ve never seen a comedy land every single joke. I’ve seen comedies that have come close. That’s where Aho-Girl is.

This was a fast-paced series. If you’ve ever tried to run a mile at top speed, you know that’s easier said than done. If you don’t pace yourself, you’re going to collapse. Unless you’re an experienced track star, you might overextend yourself more than you intend to. This didn’t often happen in Aho-Girl. When it did, it was just a setup that didn’t work. Not a huge deal since the next one was probably going to be fine.

Something else. This series did mistake quirks for personality. For example, Yoshiko liked bananas. Let me rephrase that. She was obsessed with bananas. She had trouble with basic addition. But she could tell you where a banana came from. When it was picked. As well all the other minute details no one else would be bothered to care about.

This was a thing that was a thing. Though funny, it was easy to see what was going on. This series could’ve replaced bananas with anything.

And that’s the best I can do. I can’t even use the this-series-was-too-short angel. Fifteen minutes a pop was about the right amount. Anything more would’ve been too much. To be fair, I would like to see more of this show. I would welcome a second season. 

As a reviewer, it’s a little embarrassing when a series leaves me at loss for words when it comes to what’s wrong. As a viewer, though, that means I just watched a pretty damn good show.

Final Thoughts

Do you think I’m going to recommend this? I think I’m going to recommend this.

This was flat-out great. Outstanding characters. Funny as hell. On top of being a quick watch. You tell me where the downside is. I feel it safe to say this was one of the best anime I’ve seen from 2017 thus far. It's certainly one of the better short form anime I’ve seen. Hell, this is a strong competitor for all slice-of-life comedies.

I did not expect to like this one as much as I did. Aho-Girl is worth a look.

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