Anime: Boys Be...

The anime begins by mentioning the vastness of space and time, endless stars, the meaning of life, it hypes you up for something that rivals Legend of the Galactic Heroes in scope, and then… it becomes a generic romantic school comedy where nothing ever happens. Thanks for nothing, you piece of shit.

Whatever the show pretends to have as a plot is no more than done to death hentai premises where a bunch of teenage boys are objectifying women, before conveniently bumping onto said women who immediately get interested in them, and silly adventures begin.

And by adventures I mean endless cock teasing where you are constantly made to wonder do they like each other, will they kiss, will she hit him for being a peeping tom? To its defense, everybody eventually kisses some girl for a couple of times.

To its offense, the plot is basically episodic so no matter what progress seems to be achieved in one episode is immediately rendered meaningless by the next one, and the boys keep jumping from one girl to another, essentially sleeping around without ever showing us anything besides kissing. Their love is so meaningful.

And I have to question the intelligence of these girls. They seem to be oblivious to everything that is going on around them. Half the time they have derpy faces and they are spacing out as if their brains stop working. No wonder they don’t even see how they are being sexually manipulated.

The show as a whole was promoted as a well-made romance when it first came out, which is why it was recommended to me. Which is a lie, since just like any other romance in anime, it’s only about sexual frustration and awkwardness to speak with members of the opposite sex, before ending when an actual relationship is about to begin.

In reality, this anime is not about meaningful romance. It’s aimed at virgin teenagers who want to escape reality and be in a simulation where women are stupid and love you for no particular reason. Proof of which is the promotional art, which only shows the girls and never the boys, since you are supposed to self insert instead of considering men as actual characters.

The lamest part is that the anime in general is very low budget, so it’s not even doing a good job as escapism fantasy. The characters are often off-model, have derpy faces, and the animators went as far as using live action footage in the opening and during the intermissions, in a cheap attempt to save budget and enhance realism. Yeah man, show an actual half naked woman in suggestive poses; this will totally enhance the illusion of you watching a plausible animated romance.

It is far from the first time anime try to save money with live action footage, but this does not excuse the lazy way it is used. Kare Kano used it in a way that was more about artistic expression and psychology. It was enhancing the romance and the characterization, instead of simply covering up animation weaknesses and objectifying the female body.

Boys Be is a throwaway show, made for virgin teenagers with very low expectations who have no idea what romance is and who for some reason cannot watch any other harem anime. I do not recommended it, it’s bad.

Boys Be is, all in all, a slightly above average anime. It isn't exciting, it isn't deep, but somehow it still feels right.

Story
... I have a bit of a hard time coming up with the right ranking in this area. Do I dock it for having a relatively dull plot, without any episodes that really blew me away, or do I give it points for succeeding in what it was aiming to do, namely giving a realistic portrayal of the process of growing up?

Ultimately, I have to give it a balanced grade, good but far from outstanding. It failed to really take over my imagination, and I never found myself dying to know what happened next. The pacing was a little too slow, something I usually have a big problem with. By the end I was definitely getting a bit bored with the show; if it had been any longer than 13 episodes there would have been a real problem.

However, despite all that, I honestly believed that the show "worked." I could really believe that everything that happened to all the characters was real and genuine (OK, maybe not the last episode), and things didn't ever feel forced. Since that was what they were going for, I choose to give it good marks despite being subpar in the usual areas that I judge a show by for its Story grade. Also, the fact that it takes a departure from the typical "shojo" genre and tells the story from the male point of view was a decision that I enjoyed and that made things more interesting.

Character
None of the characters in Boys Be really blew me away with their originality or flair and none were all that memorable. However, the level of detail and realism were excellent.

I could honestly believe the that the actions taken by pretty much everyone were genuine; somehow everything just felt real, which is why I give it a good character rating even when none of them truly stand out as being really great characters.

Animation
To be honest, I didn't really like the style used here all that much. At points, there just wasn't enough detail, and there was something unidentifiable about the look in general that for some reason wasn't to my tatse. Not bad, but nothing special either.

Sound
I liked the OP; it wasn't awesome but it was decent. The ED was nothing special but it wasn't bad. The voice acting was solid; they all felt "right" with their characters and they all did a good job.

Value
The pacing was just too slow in this case for me to be all that eager to pop it back in again. This was the one area where it really sags in my grading department.

Enjoyment
It was actually a rather fun ride for me. It may have been a bit too slow, and there may not have been enough interesting things going on for my tastes, but that's OK. It still worked, and somehow I was able to appreciate that despite it really not the type of show that I usually like.

Ultimately, I give Boys Be a "decent" grade. As far as I'm concerned, there are a good number of better "relationship"-type animes out there. That said, if you like a show that takes a realistic look at the growing process, that doesn't overreach itself by trying to do everything, and that really does do a great job of accomplishing its (limited) goals, then you'll probably like Boys Be. Everyone else should probably save this series until after the better ones have already been used up.

Boys Be is not your typical anime high school series. There are no androids, no enormous DD cup 14 year old girls, no little girls squealing "Onii-chaaaaan!" every episode. Boys Be is a slice of life.

Summary: The series does not focus on any single character. There are three boys and three girls as primary characters, and the series tends toward a bit of round-robin focus. One episode may focus on Kyoichi, one on Nitta, one on Makoto, and so on.

The central story arc involves Kanzaki Kyoichi and his childhood friend, Nitta Chiharu, slowly growing from friends to that twilight zone between friends and lovers. While this relationship's twists and turns aren't explored in depth in every episode, it is the most central theme. The series covers the course of their second year of high school, beginning and ending in a shower of sakura. It isn't a coming-of-age story or a struggle against anything - Boys Be is simply a dramatic narrative of their lives and loves.

Animation: The animation is easily the weakest point of this series. The girls, for the most part, aren't amazing beauties, and the boys range from homely to middling handsome. The animation is usually smooth, but the artwork just seems a bit dry and lifeless. While this series doesn't call for bright active colors and hyperactivity, it did need a bit more life and spark to it.

Sound: The OP/ED were very good. The voice actors all did a good job of getting their characters across. No sounds or music during the actual series actually stood out for me, neither good nor bad.

Story: The story was excellent, if a bit cliche. How many animes have the boy and girl, childhood friends, discovering romance...well, so does this one. However, this one is a bit more involved, and that makes all the difference. The substories make sense as well. The entire series is well written and directed, though the final episode seems a bit out of place.

Character: This is where Boys Be truly shines. The characters are all lifelike in that they have motivations, desires, imperfections, and reactions. They react in ways that make sense and they learn over the course of the series. There aren't any radical personality changes, no one really "comes of age" or becomes drastically more mature over the course of a single year - just like real life. It's a step or two forward, and watching them do that is where the enjoyment and beauty of the series comes from.

Value: Was this series worth the time to watch, is what I consider this - and the answer is a resounding yes. My only complaint is that 13 episodes seems too short to illustrate an entire year, but then, 24-26 episodes may have been too long.

Enjoyment: An entirely enjoyable series. The final episode especially, while jarring in story terms, is a most satisactory ending. True resolution is lacking, but that's not what this series is all about - life doesn't have true neat resolutions. Would I watch it again? Maybe in a year or two. Boys Be is a feel-good anime in that truest sense of the word.

Boys Be resembles that one love story that every guy wants to see. Not the one where the delicious shoujo has her geeky revelation of love to some mysterious, uninteresting bishounen who doesn't get any development for the first 10 episodes or so. No; Boys Be actually focus on the shounen's thrill of searching for a bishoujo, with his mind and soul cooperating to discover a meaning to his relationship. Impressive at first though, this anime successfully grasps a guy's feelings early on, but fails to maintain that idea with various filler episodes and attempts to create drama.

Somewhat average...

Kanzaki Kyouichi seems gentle and naive. His looks don't make him anything special, besides his secretly strong-willed personality. And there goes Nitta Chiharu, the childhood friend he wonders about all the time...

I like the fact that they take a new edge, as to base the story from a guy's point of view - more ecchi-like humor and realistic attitudes from guys eminate from this overused plot. The story surrounds specifically three guys, who experience life and love everyday. There is no intense action, nor is there much of a plot. Still, the story is adequate. My only complaint is an open ending, as even all the way into the credits I found myself anxious to see what happened next. Don't watch Boys Be if you can't deal with an ending where you have to assume what happens afterward.

The animation style is strange. The very last character introduced happened to be the most attractive of all the female characters. Boys Be makes it fairly clear to distinguish the better looking girls from the ugly ones. I found myself leaning towards certain girls, just as I could tell which guys would be more handsome or ugly. Still, the body proportions often look out of line, as well as the sketchy outlines that bring a "choppiness" effect when characters move quickly or abruptly.

However, the characters are pretty damn good. Boys Be gets its attention from the three guys, being the most rounded characters in the story. The girls come and go, as if they were trials to conquer. Actually, it isn't until the last few episodes that the permanent female characters are established. Quite a bit of anime that I've seen tends to have at least one main character female; at first it seems like Chiharu, but it makes sense that there really is none in Boys Be.

The music is somewhat bland. Sad to say, I couldn't find anything interesting about Boys Be's music. I like a few of the background songs, but nothing in particular was worth the download. As for the voice acting, it was fair. Kyouichi's voice actor, Suzumura Kenichi, also Rakushun from Juuni Kokki lives up to par with his experience. He has a very nasal sound, but it isn't exasperating at all - it is very masculine and more emotional than the average dull, boring vocally seiyuu that sneaks into the various roles of men in anime.

If romance isn't your taste - let this one be...

Just remember that Boys Be is best directed to guys who want to see a love story. With some crudeness, girls may find this unappealing with no "cute guys" or "cheesy humor." I, being a guy, relished the mentalities of the guys and their ways with the women. Newbies to anime may find this a little too weak for their tastes, as it lacks the drama and feeling that one might find in love stories like Onegai Teacher, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, and/or Saikano.

I, for one, don't intend to watch it again. I got my fill of the shounen perspective, and don't really need to see another story like this anytime soon. However, if a friend wants to borrow it, I'd save it for that purpose. Love the characters, hate the outcomes.

I love this anime; its the first anime that i have ever downloaded. :) I just love the story since its close to real life; the good thing about this anime is that its plain and simple....no magic, powers, robots and those fantasy stuff. I also have the entire soundtrack of Boys Be...and I love the instrumentals. :) Well I'm basically a mushy-type of guy thats why I love this kind of anime. :)

Boys be is the typical anime which is based on the average life of guys in highschool. What are they dealing with, who do they like, what kind of tricks are they using to get the girl of their dreams?

The animation is okay, the sound is nothing mentionable either, although both the OP and END songs are pretty nice and enjoyable.

The episodes aren't from one point of view; there are 3 boys, friends of each other, and the episodes shift during the progress of the series from one boy to the other, showing their progress in life, in school - and of course, in love.
Character development is done well, and you'll see both the characters as their relationships change during the series, which is a good thing.

Very well done anime, good characters, nice looking girls ;) and some funny lines amongst the serious talk. Looks kind of Shoujo, but from the point of view of boys, which is pretty original to me since usually these kind of anime are from the point of view of the girls.
If you like that kind of anime, then you'll certainly like this.