I’m not nor have ever been a Japanese high school girl, so I can’t judge how true to life Oshiete! Galko-Chan really is, but at the very least it feels much more real than most other “cute girls doing cute things” series. Few other series have period pain as a plot point after all, or care enough about big boobs outside the standard jokes to talk about how hard it is to buy bras that fit. Even fewer feature a gyaru protagonist like Galko-chan and don’t portray her as a slut or a bitch. In fact, Galko is at heart a rather kind and motherly girl, always helping out her classmates. Her greatest sin is arguably staying up too late to finish an anime series and therefore coming to class late. Which gets the rest of the class thinking she’s been out all night sleeping around, a misunderstanding that crops up several times. Note however that the series itself never implies Galko is like this and always explains why she’s e.g. wearing a men’s shirt (having broad shoulders means those are more comfortable).
Each episode is only eight minutes long but packs a lot in these minutes. It’s all pretty standard slice of life stuff, mainly Galko and her friends Otako (the nerdy one), and Ojou (rich girl) hanging around the class room talking to each other. More often than not it’s Otako bringing up some bodily topic, as she seems obsessed with Galko’s figure. Not to mention that she likes to tease her, knowing how sensitive she can be about her body. She’s obnoxious to Galko in a way only close friends can be, but it’s much more natural than in other anime. Less groping, more embarassing somebody with the supposed size of her nipples, as well as more bonding over having to deal with period pain and whether to use pads or tampons.
Another thing that makes Galko-chan stand out is the range of body types on display. Galko herself is big breasted and curvey, but there’s also Nikuko, the even bigger breasted but somewhat fatter girl on the left most, who despite her shape is rather athletic and has the nickname “Sonic Meat” for her speed. Otako, with the towel, meanwhile is the flattest and smallest of the girls, but not that much shoter than e.g. Ojo, behind her or he class rep at the right most. Most of these girls only have bit parts of course, but it’s still good to see so many non-standard character designs in one show. Oshiete! Galko-Chan is available on Crunchyroll and will only cost you an hour and a half to watch through, so why not try it?
Another short anime that exceeded my expectations was Nijiro Days, which had twentyfour episodes of fifteen minutes each to tell its story. Another high school slice of life / romance story, what sets it apart is that it is a straight romance story for once told from the boy’s perspective without it being a harem comedy. It revolves around a group of four friends, one of whom is dumped on Christmas day, and gets offered a tissue by “Santa” when he’s sitting feeling sorry for himself. It leaves such an impression on him he recognises her when she turns up at his school after break and he spents the series trying to become her boyfriend. Spoiler: he succeeds, but not without struggle. What I like is that all the angst that your average shoujo romance heroine suffers is here heaped upon this poor soul, while his friends are much more accomplished even as they struggle with their own love lives. The short runtime of each episode keeps things snappy, while still leaving room to flesh out the various characters. It’s available on Funimation.
This was day three of the Twelve Days of Anime. Next: Shonen Maid.
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