Sueharu Maru, a.k.a. Haru, found a first love in Kachi, a budding novelist and one of the school’s top beauties. His childhood friend, Kuroha, is another popular girl in the school, and had even confessed to–and gotten turned down by–Haru earlier. But then Haru finds out that Kachi is already in a relationship with the famous young actor Abe, and now he wants nothing but to get revenge on the two for how they played with his heart. Kuroha, of course, wants to support Haru, and suggests that the best way to get revenge is to pretend to date her, but first loves are not quite that easy to forget, and to make matters worse, Haru has a run-in with Kachi’s boyfriend, who knows more about Haru than he would have liked…
Let’s get this out of the way first: if you want a story about teenagers being nice and reasonable, this definitely doesn’t seem to be that kind of story. Haru’s desires for revenge are petty and fueled by rampant teenage emotions, Kuroha is obviously trying to use the situation to her own advantage, and even Kachi does plenty of questionable things (and does not seem to be particularly pleased with how close Haru and Kuroha are, for some reason). It’s a mess of teenage drama and emotions, and while some might find that interesting, others might be turned away by that kind of drama. Beyond that, Doga Kobo is doing great animation work here, and Haru and Kuroha’s friendship is close and sweet in a way that makes one think this may very well be what it says on the tin: a romcom where the childhood friend won’t lose. The reveal at the end about Haru’s past may add some additional interesting elements to the mix, and overall I found this premiere interesting enough that I want to continue watching, even if I hope that the characters grow up a bit by the end of the series.
Osamake: Romcom Where The Childhood Friend Won’t Lose is streaming on Crunchyroll.