Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai. was one of the many harem and ecchi centered anime titles from the recently concluded summer anime season. While those two genres are usually not ones that I would gravitate to, past anime viewings have taught me that there's a chance to discover storytelling gold buried among the various fan service images that I would be subjected to.
I'm just not sure if that storytelling gold could be found in Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai..
Kaga Ryosuke is a pervert and proud to be one, claiming that his lustful views is actually his way of appreciating the beauty in girls. One day, Ryosuke finds a girl standing outside of his home, drenched by the rain. He invites the girl to dry off inside, but gets a huge surprise when she sticks a broken sword in his chest. The girl is Lisara Restall and is a shinigami from Grimworld who traveled to Earth in order to look for a special specimen, a human who possesses a lot of spirit energy and are destined to be become famous or possess exceptional talent. In order to use her powers in the Earth realm, Lisara uses the broken sword Gram to create a provisional contract with Ryosuke in order to use his life energy, however small the amount. Much to her surprise, Ryosuke is actually able to produce large amounts of energy when he is aroused, giving her more power to use in their battles. Soon, the two face challenges as others from Grimworld attempt to find the special specimen before Lisara does or are trying to undermine the Restall clan's influence in the Grimworld.
Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai. actually kicked off to a great start for me. I felt that the first episode was able to properly establish the characters and their unusual story together. I also thought that the more serious elements of the story was properly balanced with great humor, without taking itself too seriously. They were even able to make Ryosuke's status as a pervert to be acceptable to viewers, revealing that he's really just more vocal about his appreciation of the female form. He might ogle at boobs or even attempt to grab them, but he's actually more gentlemanly than his peers. And at least he's honest, even if it's to a fault. Lisara's mission was established as something that was profoundly important to her world and her offer to save Ryosuke's dwindling life in exchange for his help lends the series a more serious tone.
I couldn't help but hope, of course, and even thought that I would like it more than I did Hagure Yuusha no Estetica. Unfortunately, the storytelling for Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai. wasn't able to maintain the momentum of that first episode. I'm not saying that it all went downhill after the first episode, especially when the series focuses on the established relationships of the different characters. But the occasional brilliant moments of Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai. tends to be overshadowed by tired anime cliches and gratuitous fan service scenes. The storytelling itself is unevenly paced, with its great start, rather boring middle and the eventual rushed ending that attempted to quickly tie up the various loose ends in the series.
So, no, I can't quite give Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai. the must-watch label.
Unless you like to constantly see girls lose their clothes in parallel to their loss in power when fighting.
Ho-hum viewing with this one.Labels: Action, Adaptation, Anime, Boku-H, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Romance, Supernatural, TV
