An Emphatic no to 'Mr Love: Queen's Choice'

EVOLxLOVE, or Mr. Love: Queen's Choice, is an anime that I needed no encouragement in dropping after a single episode. During the runtime of the episode, whether it was produced by MAPPA or not, it was becoming more and more obvious that it was simply not for me. Which is surprising when the individual elements are all things that I would ordinarily be drawn to. A television executive that is trying her best to make sure that her company stays afloat, combined with a world where there are people with superpowers living in secret. This is the kind of show that I would ordinarily watch, because it speaks to my love of superhuman tropes, and my education in media.

What really stops me from watching more than one episode is the fact that the execution of the idea is lackluster at best. This is a wish fulfillment show, and there is nothing wrong with that, in fact I myself like such narratives when they are done well. What is difficult with this kind of story is that one has to be invested in what wish is being fulfilled, and if it can be obtained in a manner that is organic with some trial and error sprinkled in so that we as the audience would be able to relate to the character.

I was invested in the goal, however within the first episode itself due to the coincidences that occur and the people that the lead character meets, it was becoming clear that she was simply an avatar to be taken along on the ride, as opposed to being a character in her own right. When I looked into it and saw that it was based on a visual novel, things became very, very clear. There are certain things that would occur in a visual that you would take for granted so that you would be able to get the narrative kickstarted, however this is not something that would be wise in a long form episodic narrative, because we covered at least half a seasons worth of drama in the first episode alone.

The entire episode is littered with possible improbabilities, where things occurring in a certain sequence could happen, however the odds of such events occurring are so rare that it may as well be impossible. In a short sense, coincidences. None of the people she meets are meetings that are earned, it is the age old, bumping into someone, or reaching for the same thing. So much of it was introduced in the first episode that I rolled my eyes so hard my room shifted in its foundation. A show built on coincidence is a show with no substance, and as a result of that I replaced it with Rent a Girlfriend in the same evening.

In fact, watch Rent a Girlfriend, it is humorous, relatable, and surprisingly wholesome. It also has a contender for most despicable character that could be in the same league as the redhead princess in The Rising of the Shield Hero. I highly recommend it, and I find myself waiting for a new episode every week. I cannot wait to finish it and talk about it in more detail at the end of the summer anime season.

Back to the show at hand, even though I only watched one episode, it was so contrived throughout with pretty faces and about as much personality as wet cardboard that finishing the episode alone was a struggle. Tamayomi has one of the worst animated episodes of the year, however that was, at least, fascinating in how bad it was. This show has such a lack of personality, I can only call it antiseptic.