On paper, this is just another nerd x gyaru love story. It shouldn’t be anything special, and it arguably isn’t. But as I’ve said elsewhere, I’ve read and enjoyed the manga series mostly because 1) the gyaru makes silly faces and 2) the couple gets together in the first episode. And thank god for that. It turns out you don’t have to read over a hundred chapters before two people officially date. Nor do you have to abruptly end the story when it happens either. I get the appeal of the former, I do. People like to see a relationship slowly develop from the word “hello.” But boy, does the latter piss me off. But I digress. We’re talking about You and I Are Polar Opposites, which is low stakes, fluffy fun. It’s cotton candy. I enjoy it once in a while, but it’s not something I indulge in every day, every week, or even every month. For this cold winter season, however, I’ll let this bright, saccharinely sweet series take over.

The premise is simple: Suzuki, a girl who often likes to go with the flow — who is a bit of a people pleaser — falls for Tani, a boy who is blunt and straightforward with everyone around him. The key, however, is to avoid being an asshole. That might sound easy, but this is actually the part that everyone screws up. Too many people assume that being blunt and straightforward means you have to offer up your “honest” opinion every single time in every single situation. The worst part is when they do it unprompted. Like bro, I didn’t even ask. But I’m getting a bit off-topic. Ideally, a relationship helps both participants (or however many) become better people. For Suzuki, she needs to be more true to herself and speak her mind whenever the situation calls for it. Don’t worry so much about what others think. She basically has to be bold right off the bat lest she lose her chance to date the guy she likes. As for Tani, it wouldn’t hurt for him to open up a little and approach others with a little more warmth and care. Having read the manga, however, I feel like most of the character development is found in the supporting cast.

Still, the best part about Tani being blunt and straightforward is that Suzuki doesn’t have to overthink. So many times, romances will fall into a holding pattern, because the characters keep shooting themselves in the foot. “Wait, did she say that because she likes me? No way! That’s impossible! I’m going to make the safest interpretation as possible in order to protect myself, because I’m a wimp!” I’m reading a series right now where the male lead keeps lying to himself by thinking that his love interest only sees of him as a friend. But Tani says exactly what he means, right? So when he accepts Suzuki’s invitation to grab a burger, he isn’t just going with the flow of the conversation, right? In fact, he lets his action speak louder than his words by holding her hand unprompted. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a nice change of pace from the usual “will they, won’t they” song and dance.

Up until now, the most they’ve ever done is sit next to each other and make small talk. Well, she makes the small talk, and he just responds. But it’s obvious that Tani studies Suzuki just as much as she studies him. He might have called holding her hand a temptation, but he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t think it was appropriate to do so. You only make that bet if you know they like you. The next day, when it’s clear that Suzuki is bothered by Yamada’s question, Tani tells her to forget about their little moment. He’s wrong here about her feelings, but he clearly notices how nervous and out-of-sorts she’s been acting all day. I’m only pointing this out because no extraneous narrator was needed. In a lot of other romcom series — even the best ones — some disembodied voice would’ve chimed in by now to explain everyone’s thought process. And sure, you still get the usual internal monologue. Also, this series has a lot of floating text to explain minor details. But neither of those things bother me as much as the dreaded narrator.

So far, I think the adaptation is pretty solid. I was a little apprehensive going in, but Lapin Track did also adapt Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary, another series I enjoyed. Maybe I should’ve given the studio a benefit of the doubt. If I have to nitpick anything, I think some of the background music is a little weak. Nothing egregious, though.

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Stray thoughts & observations:

• I love how colorful the adaptation is in general, but geez, I didn’t realize the ribbon on their uniform was neon green. That’s certainly a choice.
• A proper adaptation doesn’t just stick to the source material like glue, so it’s nice to see that the first panel of the manga doesn’t actually rear its head until nearly three minutes into the episode.
• I typically skip OPs, but shh, I kinda like tofubeats. The OP itself… is nice to look at. Some interesting usage of actual objects.
• You would think her crush is obvious to everyone around her, since she’s been staring a hole in him ever since she got to class. Our girl even chokes on her food later when his name is brought up. But her besties aren’t quite as observant as, say, Muko and Miko from Dandadan.
• These fictional brands are so subtle. The best is still WcDonalds.
• Eh, some would argue everything we do is for our own sake.
• Too bad Tani lets go of her hand when other people might see them. So y’know, he isn’t that blunt and straightforward. He’s still a high school boy at the end of the day.
• I wouldn’t be able to sleep like this. I can’t possibly sleep without the covers over me at all times. Not even in the summer. That’s why I prefer to live where it doesn’t get too hot. I might have grown up in southern California, but I’m over the heat.
• I also can’t sleep without the white noise of a fan. I love the idea of vacations, but in practice, I’m always sleep-deprived.
• These are the most easygoing Asian parents ever. My mom wouldn’t even let me skip school when I was sick. Speaking of illnesses, I almost feel like leaving food out like this is unsafe. Covering it up doesn’t change the fact that bacteria is already multiplying in the food. But maybe I’m a bit paranoid about that. People eat their lukewarm packed lunches all the time without issues.
• One of the series’ greatest mystery: who the fuck is Gapacho?
• I just like this shot. It isn’t in the manga, so the adaptation is really making these pivotal moments come to life.
• Nothing wrong with reusing a scene from earlier if it looks nice.
• The nerd x gyaru pairing is overused at this point, but at least Tani doesn’t spill his spaghetti like so many of his counterparts. The senpai from Nagotoro is one of the worst examples of this archetype. I know anime likes to exaggerate, but why do these boys freak out so much about everything?
• I rewatched the episode later with the dub, but I’m not sold on it yet. It better captures Suzuki’s gremlin energy, but her English VA might have overdone it a bit. I dunno, maybe it’ll grow on me.