The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses (2023)

SLIGHT SPOILERS: I go into some detail here so if you want to go in blind, then do not read. Quite liked this one. Komura is very, shall we say, kawaii from his nervousness and raging crush on Mie. He wants what's best for her, always trying to help, and keeping his expectations from rising too high so that his feelings aren't hurt from potential rejection. He is always second-guessing himself, wondering if he acted the right way whenever he interacts with Mei. He reminds me of myself during early high school when I had a raging crush, nervous whenever she was near, and always worried if I did something wrong. Mei, just gotta say, is also quite adorable. Whenever she gets super close to Komura, she acts as if it is normal because it is normal for her. It's a pretty funny gag at times whenever she has to stare very closely at her books, Komura, etc. She also feels a sense of responsibility and awareness of how her poor vision affects others. She feels like she can be a drag to people whenever she forgets her glasses, making her feel helpless and that she can't do things ever on her own. I mostly like the scenes where there is a progression of Komura and Mei's relationship and how the dynamic is developed. Komura always wanting to help Mei is reciprocated by Mei wanting to pay him back for all his kindness. I also find her developed desire of wanting to see Komura's face quite interesting. She says it is calming and makes her feel more at ease, and it is quite funny whenever Komura is bright red at each face-looking session. And I find it fitting ending the season with the selfie Mei took with Komura, with her glasses of course. There were some things that I didn't find helped with the show. To start, there are episodes mostly in the middle that feel like filler where I feel Mei and Komura's relationship makes no progress and only exists as entertaining and comedic scenes. It's just scenes of random misunderstandings, awkward situations, and overly prolonged dialogue that don't serve a real purpose. Secondly, there are scenes in which some really stupid stuff happens to the point where I am frustrated with the characters. Komura constantly makes mountains out of molehills that have extremely simple solutions. And he makes very odd decisions, such as when he comes across the confession scene. Rather than turn back or hide behind the wall he just popped out of, he runs across to the tree on the other side. Why? probably just to have the scene where he pulls Mie into his arms. Cute, but what happened before to get us here is quite stupid. Lastly, the standard anime moans, grunts, and non-word human noises are quite excessive in this one, especially from Mei. It's like every visual that is shown of Mei has her making some continuous sound, and it becomes quite annoying. Why does Anime feel the need to have a sound for any time a character is on screen that doesn't talk in the moment? You don't have to do that you know. But alas, I still liked it and probably will buy the Manga at some point to see where the story goes. Update: I am reading the Manga and liking it a lot.