Watching 'Ao-Chan Can't Study'

Ao-Chan Can’t Study is a spring 2019 anime that is based off of the manga by Ren Kawahara. The anime is produced by Silver link Studios (Dusk Maiden of Amnesia), and is directed by Keisuke Inoue. The series composition is done by Michiko Yokote, who also wrote some of the scripts for the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Naruto, Bleach, and Ranma ½. The show is made up of twelve episodes, each of which is twelve minutes long. As such this is a show that you can be done watching in the space of two and a half hours.

Narrative

The basic premise of the show is quite humorous. The titular character Ao, wants to move away from her father and go to a good university as a result of the bullying she received following a class report she wrote on her father, who is an erotic author. This show takes place in the time of her life when she is preparing to take the entrance exams to go to university. The episodes are short, and each one focuses on a single theme that is related to Ao and her classmate Kijima. These themes revolve around love, relationships and sex. These short episodes manage to get some great laughs out, and not only is there a significant amount of humor, there is a very visible character arc in the two central characters of the narrative, which makes it incredibly fulfilling by the time the final episode ends.

Character

While the two leads in the show are fantastic, and manage to get a lot of humor out of each episode, I would have to say the best character in the show is most likely Ao’s father, Hanasaki Horie. They use the character quite sparingly, and this is a benefit to the show, as it would be easy for this kind of character to get annoying really fast. His interactions between the rest of the cast is hilarious, particularly with Ao, and his editor Soichiro Yabe. I contend some of the best laughs I have had in this show have come from within the Horie household, the two main ways are the way he changes the pitch of his voice from squeaky to deep, and the visual humor he is subject to. Despite the fact that Ao, and Hanasaki may not see eye to eye, there are moments in the show when he is portrayed as a wonderful father that truly loves his daughter and notices her, and the same goes for the editor who Horie looks up to as a mentor. The rest of the cast is perfectly serviceable, with Kijima being an incredibly wholesome character.

Visuals/ Music

The visuals are quite standard when it comes to anime, it is not displeasing to look at, however if you were to put it next to most other anime that might have come out last season alone, it would not be able to distinguish itself from the crowd. In addition there is a lot of fanservice in the show, and a lot of sexual references. That being said the animators squeeze as much humor from each scene as they could, in order to make for some of the best, humorous, reaction shots. This is one of the instances where I have to bring up the stellar editing in the show. The reaction shots in themselves are not incredibly imaginative, in fact if you watch a lot of anime it is very possible that you have seen them used in other anime, however it is the timing of the reaction shots that really makes them hillarious, and so a lot of credit has to be given to the editor here. When considering the music the highlight was the opening ‘Wonderful Wonder’ by Edoga-Sullivan.

In Closing

Ao-Chan Can’t Study has a lot of fanservice, and a simple, easy to follow narrative. The real strengths of the show come down to the characters, humor, and the ending to the show. While it can be quite sexual at times, it has many moments of wholesome entertainment intertwined with it as well. As such, this is a show that I recommend if you are on the hunt for watching a harmless rom/com anime. It is available to watch on Crunchyroll.