Anime 3 Episode Rule – Summer 2020: Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out!

This one’s something of a new experience for me; seeing a manga I’m already familiar with getting an anime adaptation. I’m probably past the point now where I can pretend I’m some kind of newcomer to the aniblogging world and I might just have to accept that I don’t actually have a clue what I’m talking about most of the time. Now I’ve said it I can never go back…

But I had an anime to talk about right.

Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out! are the adventures of an extrovert and her adopted introvert. A slice of life comedy comedy following Shinichi Sakurai, a third year college student who is content to live life at his own pace, working hard but not especially involving himself with anyone else. During his second year, he was reunited with his underclassman from high school; Hana Uzaki as she started at his College.

After observing him for an entire year Hana comes to the conclusion that Sakurai has become a loner and a creep and decides it will not stand, thus at the beginning of the next year she essentially adopts him. Using her bubbly personality and quirky outlook on life to make his more interesting/a living hell. Depending on who you ask.

Also, she’s tiny and has giant boobs. It’s not really important to her character. Except it’s kind of vital to her character. It’s that kind of anime.

I feel a spiritual kinship with Sakurai; we’re both tall, imposing figures, content in our introversion and anti-social ways. Except, I never had an especially loud shadow following me around everywhere and teasing me at every opportunity. And that’s essentially what this series is. Hana following Sakurai around, be it at college, at work or at home and causing awkward, painful or socially embarrassing situations for him.

Not intentionally mind you. Y’see, Hana Uzaki is what I like to call a dumbass. Her attitude is to run forward in life, both arms stretched forward, eyes tightly shut. Laughing all the way. Which is an admirable way to live your life, the problem is, she oftentimes puts herself into situations while being oblivious to the outcomes for both herself and for Sakurai.

Which is the charm of it, they’re both idiots in different ways, her in the more traditional sense, while he is in a more socially awkward/unpractised regard. And along with the audience on this ride are Sakurai’s employer at a chilled out cafe and his daughter/Sakurai’s co-worker, both of which seem fully aware of what’s really going here and “help” by placing the pair in situations where they can observe them without actually getting in the way.

They’re meddling without helping essentially.

It’s cute though. There are some Ecchi elements in there, but this isn’t really a romance. Not yet anyway. Believe me, it’ll get there eventually. But as I mentioned, both characters are stupid. And so neither of them probably realises that they might like one another. Which is fine, it’s nice to see a slice of life anime with two friends being friends, bickering and tricking one another all the while.

Verdict: It’s cute and goofy enough, let’s keep it up

This is some good brainless comfort anime for me. In the same vein as The Helpful Fox Senko-San or Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. Except nowhere near as good. It could get there though, you never know. It’s weird and off the wall enough to scratch those same itches, but I think the relate-ability of the overworked, overtired salary (Wo)man protagonists spoke to me on a deeper level than this one is going to manage.

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far though. I think this will be a nice one to catch up to every couple of weeks between night shifts at the old grindstone.

One more thing, what’s with that cat? It looks incredibly concerned about literally everything that’s happening. Puss needs to grab some chill.