Get in Early on This New Romance Anime

[00:00] Most of the time, I talk about shows

[00:02] after they've finished airing. I prefer

[00:05] to do analysis like I do in my longer

[00:07] videos once I have the full picture of

[00:09] where the season is going. But today,

[00:12] I'm making an exception in a big way.

[00:15] You and I are polar opposites was a show

[00:17] I had on my radar for a while before the

[00:20] first episode aired this last weekend.

[00:22] It looked like a fun little romance with

[00:25] a vibrant style, but in just one

[00:27] episode, it has already proved it is

[00:30] worth much closer attention than some

[00:32] run-of-the-mill high school romance

[00:33] anime. Let me briefly tell you why. You

[00:37] can immediately tell that this project

[00:39] is a labor of love. It's not just that

[00:42] the show looks great or that the voice

[00:44] acting is awesome or that the story is

[00:47] compelling. There's another level to it

[00:50] all, a commitment to cranking the dial

[00:52] to 10 on every bit the show throws at

[00:54] you in its 24-minute runtime. The peaks

[00:57] and the valleys are as high and as low

[01:00] as you can imagine without making

[01:01] everything feel disjointed. There's

[01:04] always a fear that the pilot episode

[01:06] will be a higher level of animation than

[01:08] the following season, but this is more

[01:11] exceptional direction than just the

[01:13] visuals, which would be much more

[01:14] surprising to see Degrade moving

[01:16] forward. What really made this pilot

[01:19] special though is how much it broke from

[01:21] my expectations. On the surface, this is

[01:24] a very straightforward story. Miu is

[01:26] loud and popular. Yusuke is quiet and a

[01:30] lone wolf. And the two of them grow

[01:32] closer together for 12 episodes before

[01:35] finally confessing their love to each

[01:36] other in the end. I was thrilled to see

[01:39] that I was entirely wrong. Immediately,

[01:42] we get a real reason that Miyu likes

[01:44] Yusuke. She is boisterous and liked, but

[01:48] she's also a pushover. She's anxious

[01:51] about people liking her. She admires

[01:53] that Yusuke doesn't care what people

[01:55] think of him. That's a simple idea, but

[01:58] it gives so much more weight to their

[02:00] romance than you sometimes get in more

[02:02] surface level anime. And at the end of

[02:04] the episode, we get a peak behind

[02:06] Yusuke's curtain, too, and why he likes

[02:09] Miyu's personality. Opposites attract is

[02:12] always a winning formula, but this show

[02:15] makes it cute and relatable in a way

[02:17] that feels fresh. I'm burying the lead

[02:20] here, though. The huge standout in this

[02:22] pilot is that we get a confession. This

[02:25] is what really got my attention because

[02:27] it entirely changes the shape of the

[02:30] show. This won't be a slow burn where

[02:33] Miyu finds her voice. She is able to

[02:36] speak up right here and right now. And

[02:38] now what lies ahead is much more

[02:41] obscure. That's exciting and has way

[02:44] more avenues to go off of that aren't

[02:46] buried in cliches. My mind immediately

[02:49] went to Hory Mia, which is one of my

[02:52] favorite romances due to how quickly the

[02:54] couple gets together. A beginning like

[02:56] this allows for more open communication

[02:59] between our main couple and also way

[03:02] more space for the side characters to

[03:04] have their own lives and stories.

[03:06] Starting like this is surprising and

[03:09] full of interesting possibilities. You

[03:11] and I are polar opposites impressed me

[03:14] more than any romance pilot I can

[03:16] remember. It's hard to make something

[03:18] wonderfully goofy that can also

[03:20] downshift to serious at a moment's

[03:22] notice. Granted, it's only been one

[03:25] episode, but it looks great, sounds

[03:27] great, and nailed the emotional beats.

[03:30] If that doesn't get you excited for the

[03:32] next 11 episodes, I don't know what

[03:34] will. Have you watched the pilot? If so,

[03:38] what did you think? I can't wait to hear

[03:40] your thoughts below. And if you like

[03:42] romance anime and want more analysis,

[03:45] including of this show, liking and

[03:47] subscribing helps a ton and will keep

[03:49] you in the loop, as does hitting the

[03:51] hype button on the mobile app. I'm Slam

[03:54] Anime, and I'll see you next time.