ANIME REVIEW | Genuine Love Discovered Within a "Pseudo Harem"
On the surface, Pseudo Harem doesn’t seem like the most engaging romantic comedies of the season. But with the snap of its fingers, it somehow transformed itself into one of my most anticipated shows of the Summer 2024 season. Just how did this series — based on a manga that ended three years ago and is just now getting this adaptation — manage to accomplish that? To seek that answer, you have to look no further than Pseudo Harem’s leading duo.
Our story begins with Rin Nakamura (Saori Hayami), who is eager to join herr school’s drama club. She runs into Eiji Kitahama (Nobuhiko Okamoto), who works behind-the-scenes on the drama club’s productions. Eiji yearns to be popular with the ladies, which gives Rin a wild idea. With her acting skills, Rin transforms from one archetype to another to bring joy to Eiji’s daily life. From the troublemaking imp girl and tsundere to even the little sister, Rin crafts these characters to the delight of her theater friend.
At first, Pseudo Harem seems content to be a series of short vignettes between Rin interacting with Eiji as these different versions of herself. In some cases, the scenarios wind up being very entertaining. However, in the first three episodes of the show, there’s a lack of substance that keeps the show from being engaging. In some ways, it’s a lot like eating a tub of ice cream: it’s filling and tasty, but it doesn’t exactly whet the appetite.
Thankfully, in its fourth episode, Pseudo Harem begins to take its true shape. Eiji is falling hard for Rin, and vice versa. And it takes a rainy day and a visit to Eiji’s house for things to start falling into place between these two. Okay, it helps that Rin is caught by Rin wearing a matching shirt sporting the most hilarious dog picture you can imagine! At that moment, something is starting to blossom in Eiji and Rin’s hearts.
Where it blooms is in a trip to Kyoto. The sightseeing, attending a performance of “not” West Side Story, and sharing a tatami-laid hotel allow Rin and Eiji to grow their relationship in beautifully paced way. At that moment, it becomes clear that their hearts belong to one another. Although nothing is confessed between the two, there’s a wordless connection that occurs when they lock eyes, bringing forth one of the sweetest moments of the season!
And it doesn’t stop there. In fact, Pseudo Harem follows these lovebirds to even past Eiji’s time in high school. With him being a year older than Rin, we see what Eiji starts to learn in college while Rin keeps building her actings skills in high school. But even then, they find ways to see each other a few times a week and continue to build on the relationship they’re creating. Honestly, it’s really refreshing to see an anime rom-com actually do this!
Of course, the personas that Rin creates to entertain Eiji and better her acting skills never go away completely. They pop up here and there to tease the guy, on top of allow her to find ways to say how she truly feels behind a mask. Thankfully, the show makes sure to show that Eiji loves the real Rin, and not just one of her characters. Granted, they still have loads of fun with these different characters of Rin, especially in the “Much Ado About Nothing” segments that cap off almost every episode.
It all comes together because of how well the two main voice actors work with one another. Hayami truly shows what she’s capable of as Rin, diving into a plethora of personalities perfectly that demonstrate her range as a seiyuu. Okamoto is a wonderful love interest as Eiji, coming off more as a wisecrack and a sweetheart here than whenever he has to play another Bakugo-like role. When these two actors are collaborating together, it’s clear that they’re having an absolute blast behind the microphone as these two characters.
As for its animation, it’s cute enough. Nomad (Koikimo, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki) brings a lot of personality to Rin’s facial expressions when she switches between personas. They even do a good job with making Eiji look as delightfully silly when playing alongside Rin. Alas, most of the animation is choppy and lacking the same amount of brightness as the emotional aspect of the anime.
Composer Takeshi Watanabe (The Duke of Death and His Maid, To Love-Ru) takes a more simpler approach to the soundtrack, but it works to its favor. The songs match well with the mood and emotions the series brings forth in every scene, thanks in part to their lighthearted tones. Opening theme “Blouse” by Gohobi is a sweet love song that delivers the exact feelings of both Eiji and Rin. Speaking of Rin, Saori Hayami ends each episode with “Ad-lib”, a hip song that embraces these different personality types she brings to her beloved.
Honestly, Pseudo Harem really took me by surprise. It started out as an okay anime about friends entertaining one another, but it evolved into one of the best rom-coms of the Summer 2024 season. What grows between Rin and Eiji is light-years better and believable than anything that occurs between a certain Russian girl and her classmate. Take my advice: see what Pseudo Harem has to offer, and you’ll more than likely give its conclusion the standing ovation it absolutely deserves!
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Pseudo Harem can be viewed on Crunchyroll, and has been licensed by Crunchyroll. Episodes 1-12 were observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.
