My Love Story!! is a 24 episode anime that’s based on the manga. The anime, is as you’d expect, a romantic comedy. It follows Gouda Takeo, who had just graduated from junior high. However, you won’t be able to tell since he’s huge, muscular and looks like a delinquent. However, he’s a good guy at heart, but he just does not have any luck with romance. He’s best friends with Sunakawa Makoto, who is pretty much his opposite. Makoto is handsome and attractive, and he’s the reason why Takeo is so unlucky. Any girl that Takeo has feelings for, the girl falls for Makoto instead.
You can’t fathom at first why Takeo and Makoto are best friends, since they are so different. Takeo ends up being a bit more open in his personality, while Makoto is more reserved and indifferent. We find out that they are friends since childhood since they live close to each other and their mothers are good friends. Anyway, one day on the train, Takeo saves a girl, Yamato Rinko. Rinko is small and shy, and she appreciates Takeo’s help. As thanks, Rinko bakes for Takeo.
This is where the comedy sets in. Takeo is adamant that like every single previous time, Rinko doesn’t actually like him and had set her sights on Makoto instead. Takeo, being the selfless guy that he is, devotes himself to setting up Makoto and Rinko together. He acts as the middleman, giving the two opportunities. Every time that Rinko asks Takeo something, Takeo will justify that as Rinko using him to get closer to Makoto. While at first you may not be sure whether Rinko likes Takeo or not, we soon get more solid evidence that is the case.
Spoiler alert from here on out, but given that this is a 24 episode season, it cannot fill up all that time with just Takeo and Rinko’s misunderstandings. In fact, it actually takes no time at all before things are clarified and they’re officially a couple. This is where the anime really starts, and it is just so cute watching them together. Both Takeo and Rinko are pure-hearted and filled with innocence, while Takeo is more on the naïve and denser side, it adds so much to his charm.
While the comedy and gags aren’t too frequent, they can still hit you pretty hard. The events like to pluck on the viewer’s heartstrings. Takeo is such a good person, always willing to help out (although it helps that he’s so big, intimidating and absurdly strong). The lengths that he is willing to go just to help a stranger means that you never view him in a negative or jealous light, he deserves all the happiness that he is currently experiencing. That, and the facial expressions of his reactions are hilarious.
The anime is pretty much a slice-of-life story at the end of the day, as it goes over Takeo and Rinko’s relationship. Their progress is slow, because both are inexperienced, and Takeo is quite modest. Despite that, it has an innocent charm to it, and you can’t help but cheer them on when things go well, smile when they show how much they care about each other, and stand by their solidarity as they face obstacles.
Interspersed with all the romance are Takeo’s other positive traits. We learn about how Takeo upholds justice, and never hesitating to help out others, even when he doesn’t get the thanks he deserves. It’s awesome to see how his good nature has earned him the respect and loyalty of many of his friends. It’s heartwarming to watch how much Makoto understands Takeo and despite his cool appearance, he helps Takeo time and time again, even without him asking. Seeing Takeo’s interactions with his family is also a highlight. All in all, the anime is so wholesome that you really can’t hold anything against it.
Takeo’s also initially introduced as being misunderstood, and thanks to his appearance and straightforward personality, is unlucky with the girls. This turns around as the season goes on, to the point where there are several other characters that fall for him. Usually, when this happens to the protagonist and bordering on a harem route, you tend to be put off. However, Takeo is so likable due to his no nonsense and genuine personality, that you don’t mind it and even feel sad that Takeo has to hurt both himself and others when he cannot please everyone.
Surprisingly, there are enough developments to keep the pacing up during the whole season. It all feels natural, and towards the end, it changes the focus slightly to Sunakawa. This is a pretty good decision since it felt like Sunakawa was a major supporting character all this time, but not enough involved him. He’s always there helping Takeo navigate around his relationship, and we see just how much he was contribution that you can’t help but feel he deserves some happiness of his own.
The season finishes up with a drama that’s typical of the romance genre. Takeo has to face off against a rival of his own, but it can feel contrived. Sure, we understand that Takeo may have issues with his own self esteem (even though he’s a great and genuine guy all around) but to actually feel threatened about Rinko’s feelings for him is a bit too much. Surely, he should have understood by now how strong his and Rinko’s relationship is, especially when they have been through so much together. Thankfully, this doesn’t take up too much time before it is resolved.
Overall, My Love Story!! is a surprise hit with the genuine protagonist, Takeo, and his wholesome romance with Rinko. The pair complements each other really well, and what makes this anime so wonderful is how they’re selflessly supported by their friends. Sunakawa is surprisingly deep and caring. The obstacles that the characters had to encounter and overcome felt natural, even if there were some stupid boneheaded moments. This all adds to the charm of the anime, and the ending really reinforced the idealistic (in a good way) nature of an unlikely yet sweet romance.
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