First Love: Thoughts on Ore Monogatari!!

Ore Monogatari!! (My Love Story!!)

(Anime 2015)

Directed By: Morio Asaka

We are almost near the end of 2015, and I decided to binge watch another popular anime series of this year, Ore Monogatari!!. Ore Monogatari!! is about the love story between first-year high school students, Takeo Gōda, and Rinko Yamato.

I would have finished watching this anime in like a day, but it took me three days since my sister wanted to watch it too. It ended up turning into a sister bonding session. One day she asked me what I was watching, and I told her, “Ore Monogatari!!.” Now, my sister doesn’t watch shoujo romantic comedy anime. The only things we watched together were the popular action/adventure ones such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Digimon, Inuyasha, and Attack on Titan. So watching Ore Monogatari!! is an out of a blue, completely from left field in the realm of anime.

These two are first-timers when it comes to playing the game of love. Each episode consists of Takeo and Rinko learning more about each other and building a strong and loving relationship together. If I could describe their relationship in three words, I would pick adorable, cheesy, and innocent. These two characters have such bright and kind personalities, which makes them an awesome duo to be around. As a couple, they do these sweet, but cheesy gestures to each other. If I did that with my boyfriend (which I don’t have one yet), I would cringe in embarrassment. It’s cute, but those are things that I wouldn’t be able to do in public (maybe if we were alone). Takeo and Rinko are each other’s first love, so they do not have any prior experience when it comes to relationships. Yet their naivety when it comes to love makes them a cute couple. They go at their own pace and make sure that they understand each other; hence why they have such a strong and loving relationship.

What makes Ore Monogatari!! a great anime is that it looks passed physical looks and focuses on a person’s personality and soul. Takeo isn’t a good-looking guy, and from the first impression, people mistake him for a gangster. However, he isn’t like that at all. In fact, he puts others before himself and acts as a hero. Takeo is genuinely a nice guy, and that’s what makes him so loveable.

Also, in every episode, Takeo would say “好きだ (suki da)” whenever he thinks or sees Rinko. I think I could make a game out of this. Every time he says, “好きだ (suki da),” you have to take a shot. I would probably be pretty drunk if I did that because he says it all the time, but it is so cute, though.

My favorite character in this series is Makoto Sunakawa (Suna), Takeo’s best friend. He is studious, reserved, and level-headed. It is due to Suna’s help that Takeo and Rinko were able to confess their feelings and get together. Also, Suna is a great friend because he rejected the confessions of every girl that was mean to his best friend, Takeo. Takeo and Suna’s friendship reminds me of Corey and Shawn from Boy Meets World. Takeo and Suna know what’s real friendship.

My favorite scene in Ore Monogatari!! is when Takeo practices kissing with Suna. Takeo basically puts saran wrap on Suna’s face, and Suna looks terrified. I feel bad for him (not really).

Ore Monogatari!! is an excellent anime for first-time shoujo viewers such as my sister. Initially, I was just going to watch the first episode with her, but the first episode made her laugh so much that she was instantly hooked. Even though she thought the anime was a bit too cheesy, I would consider it her guilty pleasure. 😉

5/5