THE ANGEL NEXT DOOR SPOILS ME ROTTEN — FIRST IMPRESSSIONS – IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT I'M NOT POPULAR!

Howdy sailors! Welcome to this week’s first review. Looking at the list that I’ve written about and I’ll be talking about in the following days, it’s interesting to see that more than action or fighting series, we have slice-of-life, a lot of isekai obviously but still chill isekais where the main characters just want to vibe, romance series, comedy series, idol series. Maybe because we just wrapped up a season with Chainsaw Man, Mob Psycho 100, or Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury among others? Whatever’s the reason, I’m not complaining!

Today, we have another light novel+manga combination from Saeki-san, Hanekoto, and Wan Shibata. The adaptation is handled by project No.9. Looks like I haven’t paid attention to this studio because the name didn’t ring a bell, but Anilist says I’ve actually seen a handful of series from the studio! HigeHiro, Cute Executive Officer, Bottom-Tier Tomozaki kun, and Love After World Domination are all series that were handled with care and I came to like them more after each episode. The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten doesn’t take risks or offer interesting designs, but is still visually gets the job done.

Did I know this series beforehand? Nope, first time hearing it.

What is it about? If there’s one rule that Amane religiously adheres to, it’s minding his own business. One day walking back home from school, he notices a girl wearing the uniform of his school sitting alone on a swing. He walks past her, but upon another look, she’s none other than the school’s “Angel”, Miharu Shiina. Given the heavy rain and Miharu’s somber look, Amane gives his umbrella to his classmate.

The next day, Mahiru is waiting for Amane’s return by the door with the umbrella, where they finally realize that they are next-door neighbors. Mahiru is insistent on nursing Amane back to health, he clearly caught a cold because he had helped her. This incident serves as the first step for these two who belong to different circles in the classroom to become closer.

What to look out for? It’s safe to go in.

What do I think? *tired whale noises*

Okay okay. I was optimistic about this series at first because I thought it betrayed my expectations in a good way, only to prove me right once again. When you look at the title and the promotional poster, you’d think the angel is Mahiru, right? Because she’s blonde, petite, a whole cutie. When the episode began and we saw Amane helping Mahiru, I thought, wait! Maybe the angel spoiling their neighbor rotten is actually Amane! How cool that would be, right? Kind of like Toradora. Right??

I’m even willing to let continuously cooking and cleaning for someone else just because they’ve lent you their umbrella once, slide. I love romance, and I’m willing to let many things pass by my filter. All I needed to hold onto in this series was a sign of wit, a small glimmer that this won’t be just another young woman mothering a young man just because he can’t bother, and that’s his character. There are hints that both of these kids’ family situations are complicated. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be living alone anyway.

We’ll be hearing this a lot from this guy, I guess.

But… Why go down that path when you could maybe, not make Not Caring Amane’s character and maybe portray him as a struggling teenage boy? Who at least attempts to try to keep things together but fails? Let me tell you, I’m an adult in my 30s living alone and I still struggle to keep up with housework by myself. It’s so hard and tiring! It takes up so much of my time. Why not explore that?

I wanted to say the same goes for Mahiru as well, but it felt a bit too early to comment on her. I feel like part of the reason why Mahiru tries so hard to take care of Amane is not that she “can’t stand” it but it’s her way to ward off the loneliness and she has no other means to keep the brief encounter they had going, thus the only crack she can seep in through is Amane’s lack of giving fuks about his place/life. Honestly, this is a very optimistic way of reading The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten and I’m not sure how the rest will hold up.

If you’re better than me at not sweating the details, or what you’re looking for is exactly this kind of wish fulfillment, then I think this series is a perfect fit for you! Because although the plot points I mentioned above didn’t work for me, I’d say visually, the quality is above average and pretty satisfying. Their designs and voice acting reflect the characters’ ages. I don’t see any reason for not giving it a chance.

Will I continue watching? I’m thinking of giving the second episode a go, but I don’t see myself sticking to it unless something really interesting happens or if I don’t read an interesting review that might urge me to give it a second chance.

What were your thoughts on The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten? Are you as fed up as me about house work? Cry with me in the comments and see you tomorrow with another first impression!