A RomCom Similar to a Broken Firework I admit Im a bit late to the review party for this series. But I like doing my duediligence and so I read the lightnovel and manga in its entirety for what is currently finishedas the manga is still releasing. I am no SaintReviewer or anything but here is my fully honest review in a nutshell TLDR Im Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class is a dumpster fire wrapped in a romcom bow. While it starts with a mildly intriguing premise it quickly devolves into a hareminfested slog with characters as shallow as a kiddie pool. If youre here for a coherent enemiestolovers story grab a helmetthis anime will whiplash you between forced progress and regression so hard youll forget which trope youre even watching. And now that you have the TLDR for those of you who want to know why I said what I said here is the full explanation for you to cover yourselves in: Ill start off on a good note for this series on what it has done good: the setup. Its really difficult to mess up the rivalstolovers theme so this series got it pretty on the head. Saito and Akane two topgrade students at their high school. Both with super creepy forceful grandparents that want to resolve their unfulfilled youth with their own grandchildren for some god forsaken reason. But the difference of personalities from Saitos average cupnoodle basementcamping teenage boy mindsets and mannerisms fighting against Akanes average pinterest perfectionist mannerisms gives some bits and moments of comedy. Had me giggling in my chair a little bit I cannot lie. But heres the catch The shows premise is still just as stable as a Jenga tower in an earthquake. In anime its been normalized to have those few unexplainable creepy characters. In this case itd be the grandparents with their magical surveillance magic and forced cohabitation. Its not like this premise is new but its still like if Big Brother met Nisekoi had a baby and the child ended up having less charm and the same levels of ethical violations. Now again the premise isnt new. It gets sold a lot in multiple anime series as this teehee look at how quirky this is but its still essentially watching two minors get falconpunched into a sandbox while their elders cackle from lawn chairs. As for character development at first glance it does seem like there is development but if you look into it further and rewatch or reread it a couple of times its just a repeating train loop of I hate you and I tolerate you. Like a metronome set to its highest speed before the stick gets sent to space. One episode they bond over this or that the next? That bonding session never even existed. This type of bickering gives that sort of old niche romance that every other romance has because its just a safe niche. Its as if the writers forgot they are writing a romance and just keep hitting the restart button every 20ish minutes. I have no problem with a good written tsundere but Akanes tsundere is like that singleply toilet paper you find in those really bad public toilets. It just rips apart instantly no matter what you do. Her VA absolutely deserves an award for absolutely nailing the shrillness and the motivation behind the character isnt all that bada dream of being able to look after her sisters medical issuesbut they are buried under layers and layers of cliched bickering. While Saito is just a cardboard cutout of a protagonist. His backstory? Abandoned by parents traumatized by inheritance threats the whole UHaul inventory. Its tossed in like confetti but never really explored. Side characters? Classic harem scenario where any female within a 100 kilometer radius just wants to literally jump into Saitos arms. Including Akanes younger sister his OWN COUSIN and Akanes bestfriend Himari. Who mind you is a complete walking red flag. The shows insistence on cramming in harem troped turns what couldve been a normal quirky romcom into a cringe fest of consent violations and emotional whiplash. Now in my first review for In/Spectre I talked a lot about pacing and storyline. And honestly its the same argument here. Saying its the Chef Ramsay of inconsistency is too generous because In/Spectre deserves that title but whoever is the second best known chef thats who takes this one. Early episodes juggle the forced cohabitation and mild tension pretty decently but about halfway the plot derails into a harem hellscape. The ring arc yes there is a ring arc briefly and I mean BRIEFLY teases any form of mutual emotional depth before just nosediving into more filler episodes and repeated jokes. The voice actors were stellar though. Props to them. Amazing effort. Pretty much absolutely zero complaints here. Same with visuals/art styling. Clean for the most part. Average levels for the average performing romcom. Avoiding complex animations doing whatever possible to keep that budget incheck. Overall Id compare this anime to a fastfood burger. Its greasy unsatisfying vaguely regrettable but you enjoy it in the very moment you eat it because you havent had anything else yet. If youre a diehard romcom fan with a high tolerance for nonsense give it a go youll most likely enjoy it. But for anyone that doesnt really mess with this typa stuff too often heres my advice: Save your time. Rewatch Toradora or Horimiya or watch any other romcom that is even a tiny bit better. Those animes respect their characters and their audiences.