First Impression: Watari-Kun’s ****** is About to Collapse

Naoto Watari is a dude who has had a lot put on his plate the last couple of years…and due to the actions of a former childhood friend, he doesn’t have a lot of garden fresh produce. After the death of their parents, Naoto and his little sister Suzushiro (Suzu for short) had been passed around the family before ending up in Tokyo with their aunt. Naoto is a caring big brother, sacrificing his social life at school to take care of Suzu. However, things get turned on their head when Satsuki Tachibana, a girl from Naoto’s past, transfers into his school. Satsuki and Naoto were childhood friends six years ago until, for some mysterious reason, she destroyed their family garden in front of him and Suzu, and disappeared without a trace. Typically, you cook the potatoes before mashing them, but sometimes you may need to skip a step or two. Now Satsuki is back and seemingly wants to make amends for what she did and is willing to do anything for the chance…much to the chagrin of his classmate Yukari Ishihara, who clearly has feelings for Naoto. How will Naoto deal with the reappearance of his former friend on the scene? Will he be able to forgive her? And what the heck happened that day when Satsuki went crazy on the prodigious produce? CUE THE SHENANAGINS!

In the absence of Rentaro and his 100 girlfriends this season, we now have Watari and his two (at present) love interests. I guess we needed something to tide us over until that third season. Watari-Kun’s ****** is About to Collapse takes a lot of tropes of the harem genre off the shelf…almost too many to be considered anything unique or special. In fact, I was trying to pinpoint where I’ve seen this setup before—the doting older brother taking care of the young sibling while staying at a aunt’s house, surrounded by cute girls who all seemingly have a crush on him, including the new transfer student who the protagonist once knew in childhood. Eventually, it dawned on me that this is very similar to 2011’s A Bridge to the Starry Skies—a bog-standard yet well-executed harem anime. This show even has a falling-down first episode kiss like that show did! That being said, I’m not in a hurry to write off the whole show: There are no weird gimmicks or twists like those found in recent genre offerings. We don’t have a stupid main character who shells out thousands of yen for a girl he will never have, nor do we have a deity deciding to screw with the lives of a hundred girls so that they fall in love with the same guy. This feels like a grounded show that’s not trying to recreate the wheel. Additionally, the mystery of why Satsuki suddenly went crazy in the garden is intriguing. This first episode did enough to warrant coming back for a second and possibly a third episode to see if any more clues are dropped.

From a production standpoint, Staple Entertainment has given us a rather…plain-looking show. I mean, it’s not poorly animated, but it won’t leave a lasting impression. The OP, “Yuurei ni Naritai (I Want to Be A Ghost)” by Yuika is…okay…but the animation that accompanies it is unsettling in so many ways. The ending sequence, set over Pedro’s “Ai Ai Ai Ai AI” is a bit better, but for some reason, the Crunchyroll stream cuts off before the song ends. I’m not sure what’s going on at Crunchyroll, but they’ve been slipping on several levels.

So, where does that leave us with Watari-Kun’s ****** is About to Collapse? I’m intrigued enough to follow this one for a few more episodes. While this has the makings of a carbon copy harem romp, there’s something here that I can’t quite put my finger on, which makes me want to see how this show plays out. If you’re looking for a show that breaks down the harem genre or offers a profound commentary on how love is fleeting but true love is eternal, then go elsewhere. Watari-Kun’s ****** is About to Collapse is an off-the-shelf, trope-filled anime with no initial ambitions of being anything beyond that. Stick around if you’re a fan of harems, but if the mystery of Satsuki and Naoto’s past doesn’t interest you after the first episode, you can let this one go without a guilty conscience.

Watari-Kun’s ****** is About to Collapse is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.

Josh
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