Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms Episode 1 review: Same old fan service repackaging served with generic rom-com
The premiere of Medaka Kuroiwa's anime adaptation breathes life into an all-too-familiar rom-com cliche that may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms Episode 1 review: Director Yoshiaki Okumura brings alive the 2025 anime adaptation of Ran Kuze's rom-com manga at studio SynergySP. What more can you say about a character when they literally have their name announcing their cute factor to the world? Mona Kawai (voiced by Yu Serizawa) is the cutest girl in school who's got everyone wrapped around her finger. Enter Medaka Kuroiwa (voiced by Ryota Iwasaki), a stoic transfer student, who remains unfazed by her irresistible charms. The girl can no longer think straight and is consumed by her need to solidify her reign as the uncontested queen bee.
Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms Review
From the get-go, Medaka Kuroiwa's anime adaptation bombards you with plenty of stereotypes about generic romantic-comedy projects prevailing within the industry. Mona Kawai is the popular queen bee, winning hearts left and right. The life-shaking, unforeseen implications of a new transfer student not fawning over her consume her, unlike the reception of the rest of the world. A potential love triangle is also alluded to if that wasn't enough.
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Medaka Kuroiwa is presented as an average-looking male lead compared to Mona's visual appeal. On top of that, the first episode doesn't do him much favour by sprinkling him with little to no personality, either. Despite the anime's frustrating fixation with physicality, she gets swept off her feet by him. Following his introduction into her world, Mona is charmed even more by his indifference towards her than the perennial stream of love girls and boys alike have showered her with forever. By hook or by crook, she is determined to win the boy over—even if it calls for resorting to extreme measures that border on near-X-rated interventions.
Numerous banterous back-and-forth interactions between the leading characters establish a fair sense of what the show will be about in the first episode itself. Medaka Kuroiwa Episode 1 holds nothing back to the point that even the big reveal relating to Medaka's reasons for being "impervious" to Mona's charms is outed in the final moments. Although it's evidently pulled off right then and there to keep the audiences captivated with the ostensibly fast-paced chaos unfolding on their screens, the climax alone may identify as a red flag, pushing away a significant horde of viewers tuned in for consequential profundity.
The offputting and lightweight reveal is immeasurably insubstantial, proving that the anime has no intentions of building depth while parading stock characters with nothing more than a one-dimensional visage to offer. As a result, the plot twist falls apart as an ostentatious attempt at a charmless comedy play.
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Even for those looking for a lighthearted, feel-good storyline, the first episode seemingly admits it has no novelty. Rife with fan service moments defined by lewd camera angles, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms Episode 1 is dragged down by the most cliche setback of unimaginative stereotypes taking the wheel. Even though it's as clear as water that the show is powered by self-awareness about its over-the-top employment of fan service, the comical impact of failed seduction falls flat.
Is there hope for Medaka Kuroiwa anime adaptation?
Nonetheless, the premiere somehow leaves a trickling of hope by dissociating Mona's character from being fuelled by typical impudent arrogance about her endearing qualities. In surprising ways, her characterisation steers past her narcissistic visage as a queen bee, offering a glimpse into what her heart genuinely wants despite how vain she has become (even if it may not be recognised by many). However, that is in no way enough to breathe vivacious individuality into the storyline. On the visual side of the conversation, the screen often finds life through cutesy colours and visual camera play reflecting Mona's antics, which will presumably guide the episodes ahead.
Medaka Kuroiwa Episode 1 starts streaming on Crunchyroll on January 6, 2025.
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