Tag: Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! anime series cover art
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!

Series Overview

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! (Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! / 宇崎ちゃんは遊びたい!), sometimes called Uzaki-chan Wants to Play!, is a slice of life rom-com with a bit of ecchi thrown in. If you’re not into ecchi, then don’t worry, there isn’t much. And if you are looking for ecchi, this probably isn’t the series you’re looking for.

So, what’s Uzaki-chan all about? Basically, the series follows a college student by the name of Shinichi Sakurai who gets constantly pestered by Hana Uzaki, his underclassman. Uzaki always wants to hang out and she’s always teasing Sakurai. That’s it. That’s the entire show.

It’s basically a college version of Skilled Teaser Takagi-san. But, I would also say that Takagi-san is a much better series in every possible way. Additionally, if you’re familiar with the manga Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, it’s very similar to that as well.

What you might not expect is that this series, specifically Uzaki’s character, gets a lot of hate. Or, at least, it gets hate from a very vocal minority. I’ll go over why they don’t like the series and why their views are wrong later on. But for now, allow me to explain what I think is wrong with Uzaki-chan.

The biggest issue I see with this series is that it’s a comedy that relies on the same few jokes for its entire 12-episode run. By the time you’ve finished the first two episodes of the anime, you’ve seen every joke that the remaining 10 episodes are going to make.

Rather than focusing on small gags that could be varied, the series focuses more on situations that the characters find themselves in. But the problem with that is that these situations aren’t very varied.

Characters

Hana Uzaki has three defining character traits. First, she just wants to hang out. Second, she’s annoying. And third, she’s sugoi dekai (super huge). That sums up her entire character, which is one problem many people have with her. There’s not really any substance.

Shinichi Sakurai is a bit better. He’s just your average guy who doesn’t want to be bothered by other people. That might not sound interesting, but when you compare him to Uzaki you begin to appreciate his laid-back personality. Sakurai also likes cats and works at a coffee shop.

Uzaki and Sakurai from the anime series Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
Uzaki and Sakurai

While there are five supporting characters, only four of them matter at all. The first of these is Ami Asai, Sakurai’s coworker and daughter of the shop owner. Her father, Akihiko Asai, is another one of these recurring supporting characters. Both of them are very invested in watching Uzaki’s and Sakurai’s relationship from a (close) distance.

I have to say, I don’t like Ami and her father very much. This mainly comes down to my complaint about the series as a whole, which is that they’re always used to make the same jokes in every episode.

Itsuhito Sakaki is one of Sakurai’s friends and another supporting character who’s interested in the relationship between Uzaki and Sakurai. However, unlike Ami and her father, Sakaki is much more hands-on in how he interacts with the pair.

The final two supporting characters are Tsuki and Kiri Uzaki, Hana’s mother and younger brother respectively. Kiri is hardly a character, so I’m going to ignore him. Tsuki, on the other hand, is the best girl of the entire series. Her running gag is that she thinks Sakurai is into MILFs, and it works because it’s not overused.

Does Uzaki-chan Deserve the Hate?

Earlier I mentioned that this series, and Uzaki’s character, in particular, get a lot of hate from some people. But what is it that they hate about her? For some, it’s the simple fact that she’s annoying, which I can understand. However, she’s meant to be annoying, and overall, she’s not that bad.

However, the problem a lot of people seem to have with her, which I don’t agree with, is that they think this is a lolicon series because Uzaki is short and hyperactive. So, allow me to argue against that notion. And before anyone jumps to this conclusion, no, I don’t particularly like Uzaki, so that’s not why I’m defending her.

Uzaki is literally a college student. At the start of the series, she’s a freshman in college, but by the second or third episode, she’s a sophomore — not a child. She also turns 20 during the series, which is the legal drinking age in Japan — again, not a child.

Hana Uzaki from the anime series Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
Hana Uzaki

The closest I could see to people thinking Uzaki is a child is in shots like the one pictured above. When the shot cuts off anything below her shoulders, she looks like a young boy. However, as soon as the shot zooms out, it becomes clear that she’s not a child when you see the size of her chest.

She’s sugoi dekai.

Now, the other argument these people will make is that even if she doesn’t look like a loli, which she doesn’t, she acts like one. What does that even mean? Apparently, because she’s hyperactive, she’s a child in their minds.

While Uzaki generally is hyperactive, she’s not always hyperactive. We also see her when she’s depressed, stressed about school, and worried about her relationship with Sakurai. She’s also very aware of her feelings for Sakurai, which shows a level of maturity.

So no, I don’t think that Uzaki-chan deserves the hate the series gets.

Conclusion

Overall, I think Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! is a 6/10. It was enjoyable enough, but only barely above a 5 in my opinion. I think that as far as rom-com series go, there are much better options out there. Specifically, I would recommend Takagi-san in place of this series.

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