Can this even be called a first reaction? I mean, it’s not like I’ve been reviewing the Kubo-san wa Mob wo Yurusanai (Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible) manga for VIZ Media for the past year, right? Well… I suppose I can pretend that I haven’t read five volumes of the manga so you can act surprised when I recommend it for viewing.
Oops. Did I just give away the TL;DR in the opening paragraph? Just ignore that, okay?
Let’s Go!
First Episode Synopsis
Shiraishi is invisible… well… not technically but he does have a problem where nobody will notice him. He usually has to shout to get his teacher’s attention, or practically bump into someone to let them know he’s there. It has its benefits, I suppose but there is one person in his class that notices him every single time… a girl named Kubo.
Kubo loves to tease Shiraishi. She talks him into standing on his chair during class to see if anyone would notice. She even raises her hand to answer a question in class only to defer it to Shiraishi just to see what it would be like for him to actually answer something for once. After school, Shiraishi goes to buy a game he’s been waiting to come out; however, on the way, he notices someone handing out free tissues and got so enamored with trying to get them to give him a pack, he forgot to buy the game!
Kubo, on the other hand, despite loving to tease him, has an obvious crush on Shiraishi. She tries a couple of times and finally succeeds to get his PINE (lol LINE) information. She texts him and asks if they want to hang out sometime. Shiraishi is unsure how to respond but finally does so by saying Sure! This is where our first episode ends.
Worth Watching?
YES – Having read the manga, I already knew what to expect going in. So far, the anime is doing a great job of adapting the source material. Shiraishi and Kubo sound exactly as I envisioned them sounding! In addition, all of the cuteness and humor are there and nothing seems too over-the-top. One of my biggest worries was that they would blow the humor out of proportion but they kept the dial turned up just enough to where it was not enjoying but rather enjoyable.
This is just a slice-of-life romantic comedy that… um… SLIGHT spoilers… get more cute than funny later on but it does so in a tremendous way. If you’re looking for a good, wholesome rom-com to watch this season, this one gets a big thumbs up from me.
BUT… I do need to be a bit objective here. If I were looking at this first episode from an anime-watcher-only perspective, I do think it falls a little short in the hook department. Nothing really major or spectacular happens in the first episode. Sure… you do get an introduction to the characters and their personalities, you get the gist of the plot with Shiraishi being invisible, and he does end up in a few situations that accentuate that but, had I not known what was to come, I would say that the show has a bit of a slower pace and that might turn some people off.
That’s why I’m going to tell you to err on the side of caution because if you’re someone who likes a faster-paced show or more over-the-top humor, this might be a pass for you but if you’re patient and just enjoy a wholesome love story with some light comedy sprinkled in, the first episode is going to be an indication of what you can expect from the rest of the season. Still, I feel it’s a good story and you should stick with it a little bit longer.
