Ah, Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her is one of those “I had no idea you were a girl” romances. Hayato and Haruki were best friends, but he never realized that she was a girl before he had to move away. Somehow, they reunite several years later, and Haruki has more or less become the class idol. I’ll give the show credit for one thing: they didn’t drag out Hayato’s confusion for too long. It only takes him about half of the first episode to realize that his best friend is right next to him. But if I have to complain about something — and you know me, I love to nitpick — there isn’t much of a hook. I guess you could call this show cozy. The flip side of that coin, however, is that it’s sleep-inducing. Okay, besties are back together and hanging out again. So what? Why should I keep watching? I’m not sure if the first episode even tries to provide a reason. Haruki’s so popular that she’s lonely. As a result, Hayato promises to have lunch with her everyday. Okay…? He has innocent conversations with the girl who tends the school garden, and it kinda makes Haruki jealous…? Again, okaaaaay… not really much of a hook either. Last but not least, it seems as though Hayato’s mom is hospitalized. Sure, that’s a little heavy, but it’s also not typically a reason to watch a romance. Yeah, I dunno, this show is just WYSIWYG. So far, there’s nothing really compelling about it. There’s something charming about the fact that these kids can just fall back into their old friendship without any awkwardness. Kudos to them. But without any sort of friction — when you lack narrative tension — the show feels a bit hollow.

You could argue that shows like You and I Are Polar Opposites also lack narrative tension, but I would disagree. As soon as the main couple showed that their relationship could work,, the show immediately pivoted to other potential couples. It would also bring up topics that concern the average high school kid like how Azuma going with the flow all the time leads to people taking advantage of her or her getting into shallow and ultimately doomed relationships. Sure, we’ve only seen one episode of Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her, so it hasn’t had the chance to set up narrative or character arcs, but at least give me something to look forward to next week. I don’t have that right now.

Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky is a romance between Kakeru and Koharu. What’s differentiates it from other romances, however, is that Koharu is blind. Whenever there’s someone who is visually or aurally impaired in one of these stories, it feels like it’s always the girl. Am I strange for thinking that? But if you ask me to provide a few examples, I’d probably only be able to name three shows or movies (including this one) off the top of my head. Ah well, just my impression. Plus, I don’t want to dwell on this topic for too long, because I wasn’t a huge fan of A Silent Voice. That seems to be an unpopular opinion. The thing is, this show might fall into the same trap. After all, it’s so focused on Kakeru at the moment — focused on his feelings, his doubts, his self-loathing, so on and so forth. So far, it’s all about his interiority.

Kakeru is… a bit of a wet blanket. He attends a college party at his roommates insistence, but he complains the entire time. He sees people having fun and chooses to piss and moan about them. Yeah, I don’t enjoy these raucous social events either, but I can at least stand my ground and refuse to attend. Why go and be a complete sourpuss? Nevertheless, this party allows Kakeru to meet Koharu. Considering how they’ll obviously end up together, Kakeru should be thanking his lucky stars. But his attitude towards her is so strange. He acts like he’s never been around someone like her before, but he’s a college student. She’s not some kind of circus animal. There are people like her all around us, so how he is so confused? Is he that sheltered?

For instance, Kakeru’s surprised that Koharu can use messaging apps like LINE. Bro, c’mon. Granted, I’m a programmer; I literally have to worry about accessibility in the apps I work on. Even so, screen readers are nothing new. Speech-to-text is nothing new. But this isn’t the only example. He marvels at the fact that Koharu can operate a vending machine. She cheerfully replies that it’s because the one she’s using is her vending machine. So how does Kakeru react? He takes her words literally. “Durr, does your family own vending machines?” What? Are you sure you’re a college student? At another point in the episode, she tells him how she wants to shoot off fireworks one day with her friends. Again, Kakeru is confused: “How could you shoot fireworks in a world that’s completely dark?” Are we certain that Koharu is the only handicapped person in this show? Alright, that was a little mean of me, but this guy is exasperating. The point is, Kakeru seems baffled that a blind person can be so cheerful and happy, but he’s just projecting. He actually thinks to himself at one point, “There’s no way I could smile and tell someone I was raised by a single mother.” I’m not going to say my jaw dropped, but metaphorically it did!

One last example, which occurs during a class they share. Koharu drops her cane and has trouble finding it… ’cause y’know, she’s blind. Kakeru looks around for a second and hesitates to help her. Here’s the kicker: he knows he’s messed up for this, which doesn’t actually help his case. If anything, that makes it even worse! I get that Kakeru doesn’t think he’s cut out to be a student guide. That’s a tall ask, and if he can’t hack it, it’s good to have that sort of self-awareness. Don’t take on responsibilities that you know you can’t handle. But as soon as you see someone in trouble, you shouldn’t hesitate. If someone — anyone — falls down, would you just walk on by…? No, right? You would at least ask if they were alright or if they needed help. So why would you not help Koharu here? What’s different about this situation? I gotta admit I judge him for that. But fine, Kakeru has a lot of character development ahead of him. But like with A Silent Voice, it feels like the disability is being used as a prop. People like Koharu are just trying to live their best lives; they don’t exist for your own personal growth. Maybe this isn’t a fair assessment. Maybe the dynamic between these two will change for the better as the story unfolds. But the fact that the first episode is all about Kakeru’s inadequacies leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Maybe I’ll pick a slow day to do a recap of all the romance series this season. Something like Romance Roundup or whatever. Then I can pick another day for all the villainess shows, another day for all the isekai… “Everything else” would just be limited to shows that don’t fit neatly into any category. I dunno, just a thought.