Kiss Him Not Me Review | 3 Words: Random, Ridiculous and Hilarious
Hi guys and welcome to my place! 😀
I feel so proud today! For the first time ever I was able to get an Anime in the random generator and watch it in a week!!! To be fair, I just binge watched the all thing in one day so don’t expect this to happen often xD Moreover, for the first time I was the one getting all the printscreens and making all the Gifs! No search on Google whatsoever (ok, I used to get the characters images of the boys, completely forgot about that when whatching the Anime xD)! Probably the definition and quality is just not as good, but hey it was my first time so eventually I will get better and deliver images with more quality! 😀
For the ones who forgot, today I’m going to review Kiss Him, Not me! This is a small 12 episodes Slice of Life show and it’s a reverse harem kind of thing, although there is not really that much evidence of sexual references or fanservice, in the end of the day I just see a group of friends where everyone seems to be in love for the main character. (Look at me, all professional giving you a small premise before starting the story, thank you #moe404 for your so insightfull and well written post! Not going to use all of the ideas, but there were just some crazy excellent tips in there!)
The story:
The story is about a girl who doesn’t believe a princess should be with a prince. In reality a prince should be with a prince and the princess’ place is in the back stage looking at them with creepy eyes and salivating because of all the joy that brings. So, basically our main character is an otaku who ships every guy she sees and is way too into boy love. I mean, I don’t mind! I also look at cute Anime boys pics with creepy eyes while salivating at the same time, so from the bat I related with her!
The story starts with one normal day of Kae Serimuna, she is a really cute fat girl who basically passes all day looking to her male friends trying to find any kind of gesture between them that implies romance. Although not the preetiest girl, she does come around with the handsome boys from school and everyone likes her, in a friendship kind of way, but for her that’s more than enough. She doesn’t want romance, she wants too see boys touching each other in every kind of ways. Yes… She is a perv!
That’s her favorite hobby, but then you have her second favorite hobby which is watching Anime (Of course). However, the worst happens, her favourite male character from all time dies. She gets so sad that she doesn’t live the room for a quite lot number of days, not even to eat. One week passes by and his older brother barges into her room and forces her to leave the room and start going to school again. She gets out from bed goes to the toilet and when she looks at the mirror the most unexpected thing happened, she just lost all her fat and she is now a completely different person, physically. Even her hair changed colour because of being oily due to not being washed in a week. Something that I don’t really get it is why did she stopped using glasses after this happened… I mean all the others seem to be reasonable, in an Anime kind of way, but getting thinner being one thing that helps your eyes sight is something completely new to me.
But well, continuing… She goes back to school and the handsome boys that she was always shipping couldn’t believe she changed so much and since she is so pretty right now the 4 of them instantly get interested into her. Ok, shallow and they seem only to like her because of her appearance… I know, but I will get there in a bit 🙂 So yeah, all of them now want to have a date with her and they decide all to go to the movies together, yes the five of them because you know, no one wants the other guy making moves towards her. She decides to accept but the truth is, although preetier she is the same person and continues to be an otaku inside. She asks for advice to her best friend (and some clothes since nothing fits her now) and her best friend says that the ultmost thing is, she can’t show her otaku side. They go to the movies, which let me tell you, it’s hilarious and at the end of the day she is just exhausted because of all the pretending during the day. But the worst happens, in a nearby store starts a sale for a special merch of her favourite Anime, that kind of merch that flies in a course of minutes. She tries to behave herself, but when she hears that there is only one item left she can’t take it anymore. To the surprise of everyone she runs towards the store and comes out with nothing less that a body pillow of her favorite character. There she explains she is an Otaku and she can’t pretend anymore. The guys don’t really care and even though not understanding 100% they accept her.
From here you will have many random events and let me tell you, they are all just so hilarious! I really found myself cracking up a lot throughout all these episodes, but again, since they are always all together it seems more like a group of friends than a reverse harem. But, before I wrap this up, let me just introduce you the last character of this group. One of those random events happen in the christmas’ eve where every guy wants to go eat cake with her, because that’s what you do in Japan. However, she can’t, an Anime fair is going to happen and she just needs to go! They decide to all go together to this event to help her buy all the manga she wants and still have time to pass the Christmas together. Well, the list is not that hard to memorize, just go to all the benchs of the circles that draw Boys Love fanfiction and buy everything!
However, here she meets a cosplayer that is dressed as the Grey Buttler (Yes, you some Anime references throughout the Anime of course) who is really a gentleman towards her. The thing is, this cosplayer is in reality a girl and not a boy, moreover, she attends the same school as the other as a freshman. Nishima joins the group and yes she is also in love with Kae. She has some advantages versus the others though, she is also an otaku! Moreover, she makes part of one of the favourite fanfiction circles that draw Shion stories, her favorite Anime character.
Now, the last event I want to address it’s the valentine’s day, whys is that? Well, remember when I told you that they seemed only interested in her because of her looks in the beginning, this is the turning point and it’s important to talk about it! Well, it’s simple, there is a contest from the developers of Kae’s favourite show and she needs to participate of course! She only needs to submit some of her cholocolates. To do that she ends up with a lot of wasted attempted fails and I mean you can’t just let chocolate go to waste right? So she eats it all in one night, the other day she Is back to her fat self.
Well, here is when the characters start to understand they really are in love with her despite her looks. (Although they do everything they can so she can get fit again.) Their plan was hilarious! If she does some kind of exercise she is rewarded with the boys doing all sort of things that imply romance, hugs, giving food, so on, being the ultimate award, a kiss! I’m not going to lie, I laughed a lot with this episode and of course she gets thinner in no time! Guys, if you don’t feel like doing exercise it’s because you are not using the best motivation!
So in conclusion, this Anime is 2 R’s and 1 H, Random, Ridiculous and Hilarious! I haven’t seen an Anime that made me laugh so much! The random events are just great that go from friendships almost ending because they don’t agree who is the bottom and the top in a shipment, from all giving their respect to the Shion’s shrine which Kae has in her bedroom, to go make a huge trip to pay the respects of the person who a character from an Anime was inspired by and then proceed to end up in a haunted island.
In all honesty, if you don’t mind the shippings and a little bit of boy’s love (not really that deep to be honest) this is one of the freaking most amusing Anime stories I ever watched in some time! From the beginning to the end you never know what is going to happen next, that’s why it ends up being so funny.
The characters:
Kae Serinuma:
I adore her. Her personality is just great, even with the perverted otaku side. She is very kind and friendly. She does have some more serious talks throughout the Anime, because you know, even in comedy it’s important to make the characters grow and get deeper.
Even when she is fat, which normally is used to talk about lack of confidence, body issues and so on, she is confident and she is who she is, unapologetic. She is a strong main character and I think they were able to create a character that many of us will relate.
About all the people who are in love with her, well, yes they fall in some stereotypes, that’s way Kae coments sometimes she feels she’s inside an otome game. A thing that I liked is that they did had some episodes where they focused more in each character so you could see another side of them as while getting more deeper into their characteristics.
Nozomu Nanashima:
The more hot headed guy and rebellious. He is Yuusuke’s best friend which is the main shipment for Kae when it comes to 3D boys. He is the one that seems to be more into Kae’s looks rather her personality. However, when time passes by you are able to see him with her sister and well, see a way more kind and likeable Nanashima. He is my favorite, not going to lie >.< He does resemble a lot my boyfriend to honest. Hot headed, easy to explode and aging about something, but at the same time a really kind and goofy guy.
Yuusuke Igarashi:
The other side of the shipment. This one is more the serious type, more intelligent and more mysterious in a sort of way. He is the one that transmits being cool whenever he passes. He is the first guy that comes out and says he loves Kae despiting her aspect. I also love him and I think he is a really good character.
Hayato Shinomiya:
The younger, smaller and less manlier of the group. This one is the cute of the pack which scares easily and sees himself being protected by Kae all the time. He does grow up as a character and he’s able to face his fears when his heart is in the right place. Although always fussing with Nanashima at the beginning they end up to being more similar than they though 😛
Asuma Mutsumi:
The kindest one and the one who takes the longest to even realize that he loves Kae. (Just a side note, this one also loses his glasses in the water and after that never uses glasses in the Anime. Everyone! It seems that almost drowning also helps our eyes sight!!!!) Basically is the one that always want to everyone to be happy and in accordance with each other. Because of this, he let goes a lot of things to others so the other does not get upset. Although physically I’m more like with Shinomiya I do realte a lot to this way of being and therefore this is the character that I understood the better. However he also grows up during the show and starts realizing that there are things that you just can’t give it away.
Shima Nishima:
You know the stereotype of the guy that is just perfect? He’s rich, he seems to be talented in everything and even more he’s the most popular guy at school? Yeah? Well, in this Anime this stereotype is this girl! And to be honest she is Kae’s soulmate, she is the one saying that and everything. She is the one of the group who is also an otaku at Kae’s level and therefore they share this part together. Fangirling over Anime, shipping men and just creepying when they see guys showing any gesture of kindess to each other 😛 Of course I’m not going to say who is the one that Kae ends up to choose, but for me, from day one, she is the one that for me who would perfectly fit Kae. I can even magine they both at bed watching Anime, shipping guys and bleeding from their noses.
In conclusion all characters are good from the beginning and they all received character evolution in some way during the Anime. This way there is no problem at all with the characterization. The only thing I would like would be that Kae’s best friend would have more screen time, I mean they are best friends and she basically almost disappears after episode 1.
Animation/Audio:
I liked the animation and it’s nice to see that each of the main characters has a different design. The guys all have different heights for example. It’s nice to see that they just didn’t go with a design they liked and thought hot and made all of them replicas of that. They did noticed what each character represented and made their design accordingly. The main character when she is thin is just gorgeous, when she is fat is resembled in a more a funny design, however she is really cute! Basically that kind of characters that you just want to squeeze their cheeks.
The voices are also well made which is really important when you are doing a comedy show. I did used the dub version to make the gifs and printscreens and let me tell you the Anime is not even 10% as funny because of the voice over. This one I highly recommend you to watch the Japanese version.
Regarding the music, the outro is not that good, or at least I didn’t like it that much. The intro may seem a little generic, but it’s fun and uplifting and after some episodes I ended up singing along. Mobile readers can hear it here!
In conclusion this is a great Anime! Even if you are not that into slice of life Animes I recommend you to watch this! The things happening are just random and hilarious. I found myself cracking a lot of times thoughout the Anime, so you can see this is the kind of comedy that peaks my funny bone! 😛 It’s not really that deep, you don’t have a great plot full of different lines which all wrap up in an epic ending. No, this one is to have fun and not think that much about it! 😀 I really loved it and I can’t wait to get into the future where I can’t remember almost anything I’ve seen to rewatch it again. In a different note I would love to have a second season for this!
I give Kiss Him, Not Me 4,5 Boys Shipping Out of 5 Nose Bleeds
The next Anime I’ll be watching Fune Wo Amu.
And that’s it for today! I hope you had fun reading this review and moreover that you go and watch the Anime, because if you still didn’t watch it you are missing out! For the ones who have watched it, what do you think of it? Tell me in the comments! And more importantly… Are you team 5×7 or 7×5?
Also!! Everyone! I know that my reviews have gotten bigger and bigger, it’s not really that consciounsly to be honest, I just feel more confortable writing than in the beginning and I end up writing more because I want to give you a more insightful review about the Anime. Tell me in the comments if you like it like this or if you prefer shorter posts please! Your feedback helps me a LOT! 😀
See You Soon! 😀
This show looks great! I’m putting it towards the top of my watch list as I do love a good comedy! Great review btw!
Well if you do then you will love this anime eheh xD thank you!!!
glad that my post could help you write, and thanks for the pingback of my link you have put in your post. ^^
You are welcome! It was a great post to read!
You liked it more than I did. But I have to say the fanfic battle was one of my favorite episodes of just about any SoL.
To be honest normally most comedy animes are not able to make me laugh that much, this one was able to crack me up a lot of times so I enjoyed it a lot because of that! Of course though I don’t think it has the best plot or the deepest of stories, I mean horan high-school was able to have both for example xP but if you go with the Anime only because of the comedy I just loved most of the jokes and randomness xD
I thought it was funny and the premise was great my problems with it personally were more how it handled body image and consent which was a shame. without those two little things, I would have loved it
I understand what you are saying about body image… However I do think that body issues was not their main target, they did addressed it some times where Nishima comments directly that the guys only like her because of the looks, however when she ends up getting bigger again the guys end up finding that they love her despite her looks.
Regarding the consent, well I didn’t see any kind of problem with that, at least compared to others Animes I’ve seen. In what kind of sense makes you say that! Probably I disregarded something important withou realizing!
I actually wrote a review of this if I remeber – the body issue thing was that the narrative itself seemed so inclined to make a huge deal out of it. I mean Why does her voice actress change??? Cmon..
The consent thing was one scene with blonde bro guy. I really liked him and he gets a cold and all the sudden is rapey? I’m not saying this doesn’t happen a lot in anime – it does. But that doesn’t mean I like it! This said, it didn’t ruin the show for me, I just wish it wasn’t included, it didn’t seem to serve any real purpose in the storyline.
I can understand you and yes, you are right! However I do think that her voice changes just to make the character funnier… I understand what you are trying to say and probably there were some people offended by it because if you don’t look at it in a comedy perspective it will seem degrating for fat people… However, I used to be fat when I was a kid and I had sooooo many body issues because of that, but I just saw it as a comedy stunt and not really trying to go for the bigger people.
Regarding the scene with the blond guy, completely agree with you and I think that the Anime could be way better if that didn’t happen, however I do think that scene is to portray him as a bad guy so when you see him being cute to his sister and doing the Anime dancing you feel your heart melt more… But, yes, completely agree with you, they could have used other kind of event.
I don’t disagree but this is a really interesting debate. We should elaborate sometime!
Well, I’m always up to do collaborations 🙂
I started to watch kiss him, not me but sort of put it on hold and never got back to it. I should probably get back to it. I can relate to her. Like really relate. ? Also, the boys are cute. I hope you will like Fune wo Amu, it’s one of my favorite anime. Maybe a little bit slow but very charming.
Ahahah I can imagine Lina watching pics of cute anime boys and having nose bleeds ahahah I’ve only watched like a minute or two and it seems that I’m going to like it a lot… At least I was impressed with the animation a lot xD
Oh yeah, there’s a nosebleed every day. ? ? The animation is amazing. That alone is making Fune worth watching I think. But overall, the atmosphere in it is something special.
*has a lake nearby*
*thinks about it*
Nah, I love my glasses.
I thought the series (at least the manga version) felt a bit too much like a self-insertion story, but I do like how the author included a girl as part of the harem.
Looool I also prefer seeing myself with glasses that without xD and you can always use contact lenses, no need to have a near death experience xp
Didn’t feel that in the Anime but maybe you are right! Xp I liked that sexual orientation was completely disregarded in the story, meaning that you have the girl as part of the harem and then you have asuma and his brother who both seem to be bisexual but there is not really a huge deal about it