Common Name: Konbini Kareshi
Alternative Names: Convenience Store Boyfriends
Score: 3/10, 2/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Romance, Drama, School Life, Kill It With Fire
Summary: Though the memory itself is faded and brief, the sharing of a story with one of his day care playmates has become one of the most foundation moments for the young Mishima Haruki, inspiring him to join and excel in his school's swim team as well as draw his attentions toward a girl who might just be that same playmate. Pestered ceaselessly by his best friend Honda Towa, Haruki is eventually pushed to at least become friends with this girl, Mashiki Mikaru, until he can finally sort out his feelings. In the meantime, Towa is struggling with the same yearning that plagues Haruki, his eyes set on the Class President, Mihashi Mami, who seems uninterested in his half-assed personality. This is the story of love conveniently blossoming thanks to a few chance encounters at the local convenient store.
Review: Stories based in reality usually have some amount of intrinsic worth, telling tales that anyone and everyone can relate to since the human experience isn't as varied as we might like to think. However, not every person's life is identical; obviously. We all have our own stories, histories, and perspectives to offer that might fascinate or engage our fellows--hence the long history of storytelling. It is also obvious, however, that some stories are better than others. Well, to cut straight to the point, Konbini Kareshi, is easily one of the worst anime I have seen to date.
The fact that I'm not going on some page-long, ego-inflated monologue about my perceptions
of narrative quality should be indication enough of how little I care about this show.
To be perfectly clear, I never expected this show to be really be anything special. It was never going to wow me with its visuals, enthrall me with its dramatic storytelling, or come anywhere near my heartstrings. With a name that translates to "Convenience Store Boyfriend," let's just say I went into this because I was in the mood for a stupid, sappy romance story. Even with the bar set as low as I'm ever willing to go though, Konbini Kareshi practically threw itself at the bar, brained itself, and was immediately taken to the hospital leaving everyone to wonder what the fuck just happened. Put simply, this is the most boring garbage I have ever seen in my life. The characters are as detailed and complex as their designs. The plot both predictable and drags on far longer than it has any right. Worse yet, the whole story isn't even there, as noted by the number of characters seen in the show's opening that are seen and heard a couple times, at best, and are never seen of again.
Out of the twelve people featured in the opening, only four actually matter. Actually, I'm pretty sure some of these couples never even meet in the show, so they might as well be extras. Granted, with how much better the extras look in comparison to the actual main cast, I think I'd rather watch a show about the extras.
Christ, how does a show fuck up this bad?!
Now, I'm well aware I criticized Tsurezure Children for having a similar issue, but at least that show was a half-way decent comedy. This...this is just unacceptable. To its credit though, at least it never reached a point of being offensive, since I couldn't bring myself to care enough to get offended. So at least there's that. Truth be told, there were a few moments in this show that amused me, yet they had the distinct feeling of being funny in spite of the show rather than because of it. There's just nothing to really latch onto with this show because there just isn't anything to like. While Haruki might be a good guy that likes swimming, that simple description is legitimately all that defines him. He's nice to his friends. He's good at swimming. Aside from that, he's just a blank slate that the show even admits isn't fully formed yet since he seems to possess no concept or interest in romantic relationships or emotions until he "discovers" them at the end of the show.
Unfortunately, the rest of the cast isn't much better. Mashiki, Haruki's love interest, basically suffers from chronic plot sickness. Towa, who is the deepest character this show has to offer, basically undergoes a character change where he just stops being a self-centered, whiny prick who denies other people's happiness for the sake of his own ego. Lastly, Mihashi Mami, Towa's love interest, basically just follows in step behind the guy who only knows her as "Class Prez," playing the part of an actual tsundere the whole while. I honestly cannot express how much I dislike this show. While it may, technically, be realistic in that people do meet and form relationships like this, it fails to do the one thing all shows are meant to do--ENGAGE ME.
Through sheer force of will, I made it through this show that nearly put me to sleep more times than I care to count. I finished this mess in spite of its horrendous art, animation, and music. I hung on 'til the end just so I could revel in the suffering of these non-existent characters. Would I recommend you do the same? HELL. TO. THE. FUCK. NO.