“Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai” aka Haganai is a comedy anime series based upon a light novel series by Yomi Hirasaka. The title translates to “I Don’t Have Many Friends” and basically that’s what the show is about.

The series follows the antics of a bunch of socially challenged high school students. One of them is Hasegawa Kodaka, a transfer student with outlandish blond hair, who due to some stupid misadventure is considered a violent delinquent who assaulted a teacher and extorted a schoolbook from a classmate. In one of the first scenes Kodaka walks in on Mikazuki Yozora who’s just having a spirited conversation with Tomo, whom she introduces as her air friend (the friend version of an air guitar). Soon it becomes evident that Yozora is equally solitary. They talk about how neither of them knows how to make real friends which gives Yozora the idea to found a club in order to recruit friends.

Without delay Yozora forms the “Neighbors Club” dedicated to no other cause than to make friends. Despite the fairly insubstantial concept it proves to be quite easy to talk a teacher into moderating the club as long as you refer to the “word of god”, especially at a Catholic school. As Yozora pointed out so abtly, religion indeed is simple!
The first new member to join the club is Kashiwazaki Sena who is both fanciable and scholastically fruitful but just the same desperate to accede since she turns out to be surrounded only by male admirers but has no female friends.

This is how desperate you need to be if you want to join.

Judging from the first episode Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai promises to be entertaining and funny and has an interesting plot. Hopefully the following episodes will provide a larger proportion of comedic elements once the point of departure has been presented. If the show sticks closely to the manga adaption that shouldn’t be a problem. Also, I have nothing to complain about the animation. Time will tell if the series manages to be more than just a guilty pleasure.
So far it gets 4 out of 5 Kurisus.

Anime,