Kiss Him, Not Me Anime Review

Watashi ga Motete Dousunda(kiss him, not me) Review

I’ll start this review by saying that the manga for kiss him, not me is way better than the anime. It actually gives you a complete story and doesn’t just leave on a cliff-hanger like the manga does.

Adapted from the manga of the same name, the series is about a fujoshi named Serinuma Kae. For those who are not familiar with the term, it basically designates individuals who has a fascination about boys’ love (BL, yaoi, etc). Kae is a bit of an extreme example as her character is not only into BL but also fascinates about fictional characters like an otaku. The first few episodes establish her as an avid fangirl of a TV show that she watches. Furthermore, she ships about her classmates in awkward fantasies. So on the surface, you can pretty much say that she’s a girl that may have a hard time making real friends. Oh, and she is chubby too. That is, she does certainly lose a lot of weight and mysteriously ditches her glasses, after the death of one of her favorite anime characters. Life changes and now, Kae is a bombshell who attracts attention at the school like never before.

First Thoughts

As a female who watches plenty of anime, at first I really loved this anime. It was hilarious, light-hearted and very cute.

The first 5 episodes I was laughing so hard… however, after a while you notice the story isn’t really going anywhere and unfortunately that was definitely reinforced with the end of the season. It felt like the main character hadn’t really grown throughout the anime, which is also good if you think about it in the way that she “stayed true to herself”. But I found myself wanting to see her grow more as a character.

The characters in kiss him, not me have good development and all have moments in the spotlight but really it’s just another harem anime. I still found it very enjoyable and light-hearted to watch, quite a few times I found myself laughing or giggling out loud.

Watching Watashi ga Motete Dousunda (kiss him, not me!) reminds me of feeling like a kid again. Kind of like a kid walking right into a candy store, the show felt pretty silly at first and even hysterical. Whether it’s because the series is a parody of making fun of BL or the comedy, this turned out to be a pretty sweet ride.

However, I don’t love the voice that Kae has while chubby. Kae literally has a “fat voice,” a wheezy, old-ladyish voice that makes her sound awful. It’s mean, it’s not funny. In reality, your voice won’t change like that with weight loss and it was almost as if the creators were trying to make the chubbier version of her unlikeable. As if you have to be super thin to be beautiful. Not!

Related: Am I Ugly? Princess Jellyfish Review

In the manga, she flip-flops back and forth between chubby and slender, and the boys learn to like her for what she is rather than the weight she’s at, apparently. But that’s in the manga, not in episode one. That’s another reason that I prefer the manga over the anime.

Characters to Choose From

Now, let’s talk about the characters. Kae is someone who any otaku girl can relate to, whether they’re a fujoshi like her or not; that, along with the funny moments involving her, make her an interesting protagonist. Each of the boys in her reverse harem has their own quirks, too, and without exception, each of them gets their time to shine.

1. Mutsumi Asuma

Personally, I think he was the most obvious choice for Kae because he saw beyond her looks and loved/respected her for who she really was. He was the only one who noticed her when she was fat. Mutsumi is my favorite out of all of them, he’s very kind, it’s obvious he cares about Kae whether in a platonic or romantic way, and the episodes focused on him were my favorites.

2. Igarashi Yuusuke

He was the only one who understood why he liked Kae. That was character development! He and Nishina had some moments together and I was hoping the two would end up together. In the manga after-story, Nishina and he do work together closely that hints at a relationship.

3. Nanashima Nozomu

He showed the maximum character development. The episode with his sister was adorable and showed us his kinder/gentler side. Made him 10x more attractive to me and I’m sure, to many other fangirls as well. He’s also ready to defend/fight for Kae’s honor. When Kae originally gained all her weight back, he was the first on my punch list though. Luckily, he did change throughout the series, but he was still kind of a butthead. Definitely had some growing up to do still. He was my 3rd choice for Kae.

4. Shinomiya Hayato

Shinomiya is cute, adorable and easily lovable. He was the least suited as Kae’s partner, but we all fell in love with him nonetheless. He was the underdog, but I also couldn’t forget how much he disliked her at the beginning due to her weight and him and Nana were the top dogs for almost forcing her to lose all the weight after she gained it back.

5. Nishina Shima

She was a pleasant surprise, and it was nice to see how none of the boys poked fun at her for being a girl (and competing for the affections of a girl). They all accepted her as another competitor, which I think was wonderful for the LGBTQ+ cause. As a yuri fan, I’d like to rejoice, but honestly, I never saw the relationship between her and Kae as anything more than platonic; however, she was still an amusing character nonetheless. As they claimed, they were soulmates and I believe it.

Final Thoughts for Kiss Him Not Me

Watashi ga Motete Dousunda(kiss him not me) is the type of show that is definitely not suitable for everyone. It’s hard to recommend to everyone because what it looks on paper. There were a lot of funny moments that at least made me smile, and it was interesting to see the characters’ development. Plus, with Kae being an otaku and all, there are a few Easter eggs from other anime scattered around, especially from Attack on Titan, so that was interesting to see! Who knows? You may ship one of the boys with Kae, but you may ship the boys with each other even more!