Spring 21 hasnt exactly been kind towards Slice of Life aficionados. 100https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827410321525964800/828802151677427762/unknown.png My favorite SoL series all season was technically a carryover from last Spring the Kaguyasama: Love is War OVAhttps://anilist.co/activity/225380457 only needed 20 minutes to bring me more enjoyment than any other airing seasonal. Aside from the sleeperhit Super Cubhttps://anilist.co/review/12016 weve been pretty short on unadulterated vanilla wholesomeness. An agegap LN adaptation with an obnoxiously long title seemed like the furthest thing from my lofty wishes. This pretty petty pessimistic mindset loomed over me as I went into this series. It has certainly given viewers other than myself reasons to give pause and get mad thanks to material that can be seen as upsetting. But in spite of this series controversies I did find myself rather impressed at the refreshing way its taboo themes were addressed. After being surprised I shaved and wrote a spoilerfree review. Lets jump into Higehiro. Feel free to skip ahead to my TlDr if youd like to go in blind. He gets cucked by a coworker. He drinks. He stumbles home drunk. He meets an attractive girl. https://imagesext2.discordapp.net/external/3gqRvgT1IoRUDROepAqirOXUo4kMsfJdJJqQJUfmiQ/https/i.ur.com/kTOaGTM.mp4 Seems standard so far but things are about to take a rather unexpected turn. The girl goes by Sayu. Shes 17 and comes to our middleaged main character with a strange proposition: give her a place to lodge for the night and shell let him have his way with her. The recentlyrejected Yoshida inebriated and in his feelings refuses this strangers offer of sex. But much to Sayus disbelief he allows her to crash at his place regardless. Higehiro is focused on exploring the circumstances preceding and resulting from this change to Yoshidas and Sayus living arrangements. Now this inciting incident could leave you feeling any number of different ways from abject horror to mere indifference. In any case we should properly look into the context behind this scenario in order to understand what Higehiros deal is. Wait thats illegal. 100https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827410321525964800/846406622594465812/unknown.png A middleaged bachelor living with an underage stranger is bound to set off all kinds of alarms. Whats already a dicey situation to take in for Western viewers is compounded by local context according to statutory laws in Japan harboring a minor is a criminal offence regardless of consenthttps://www..com/watch?v=jDwtfXUGiZ4. The series script is very much aware of how Yoshidas actions could be perceived by audiences and addresses this mistake several times within the show. Heck the LN author Shimesabahttps://anilist.co/staff/127558/Shimesaba took to Twitter with a disclaimer for the reallife implications involved in Higehirohttps://animesweet.com/anime/theauthorofhigehirocallednottoimitatethenudesofthenovels/. When even the author himself is denouncing our main character for committing a literal crime the warning sign is undeniably clear. What Yoshida does in this situation is dumb theres no two ways about it. Higehiro fans and haters alike are on the same page here Yoshida makes a terrible mistake. In his situation the right thing any sensible adult would have done was to call Child Services and let the relevant agencies handle this dilemma. But heres my question to those who share that line of thinking: Would anyone be invested in that story? Is there any merit to the tale of some drunk dude calling the cops on a minor? Point is Higehiros narrative wouldnt be fixed through the removal of this controversial decision if anything this weird inciting incident is exactly what the story needs in order to communicate its desired message. It can be counterproductive to talk about a show with this How It Should Have Endedhttps://www..com/user/HISHEdotcom mentality even if that story demands a lot from our suspension of disbelief. The question we should be answering isnt whether or not Yoshida is in the right for taking in a homeless minor hes not but what Higehiro tells us as a result of this dodgy writing choice. So lets address just that. Higehiro offers earnest answers to its questionable start. 100https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20210427/1619493841.11181.35591.png The emotional juggernaut of the franchise Sayu emerges from her flaws and trauma as the series progresses. Yoshida isnt the first person she had come to for that sexual transaction but hes the one to help Sayu break out of that vicious cycle. He makes up for his criminal goof by turning out to be one of the more sensible protagonists Ive watched recently. Hes perceptive of others actions and acts in their selfinterest with a selfdeprecating edge that comes with being a bachelor nearing their thirties. Unlike the bad agegap show this seasonhttps://anilist.co/anime/114840/KoitoYobuniwaKimochiWarui/ Higehiro ensures that the older MC never sees Sayu as a romantic prospect. The result is a father/daughter dynamic similar to something youd find in Usagi Drophttps://anilist.co/anime/10162/UsagiDrop/. Yoshida acts as a kindhearted guardian over Sayu as she learns to cope with the circumstances that first drove her to Yoshidas doorstep. Thats not to say that Higehiro plays its agegap relationship completely safe either. Awkwardness and mild sexual tension between the two is interspersed throughout the show which I actually find to be quite diegetic. Watching the characters acknowledge their growing intimacy makes this bond feel human plausible and quite unlike anything Ive ever seen before. This overall niceness isnt limited to our wannabe dad MC but carries forwards to most of the ensemble cast as well. Airi Gotou Asami Yuuki and Yuzuha Mishima all have their respective moments to motivate Sayu as she grows out of her destructive habits. Our cast lends strength to a stranger in need with a degree of openness and optimism that is really refreshing to watch weekly. The pep talks motivating Sayu to confront her deepest fears and embrace life rarely fails to warm my heart. Seeing this broken individual break free from her harmful vices was a rather cathartic experience amidst the issues weve brought up so far and the problems were about to tackle. Despite Higehiros best efforts it sometimes feels like the series isnt making the best out of its own situation. 100https://64.media.tumblr.com/718af558dc2c88d3ef6786e4d5e1d582/df3feb1deaecd39aa8/s1280x1920/5ac7683852e66df5ebd2d48d8def0556064c0942.gifv One big caveat actually comes with one of the series strengths: Yoshidas maturity. He doesnt really undergo a character arc in this story mostly acting as a mentor alongside Sayu. What would have been two ends of an agegap ends up feeling like half of a missed opportunity as Yoshidas perspective rarely takes the spotlight from Sayus growth. Im unsure if this is an issue present in the source material or a concession made in order to wrap up the adaptation within a single cour. In any case this stagnation in character development results in certain stretches of the narrative meandering around similar story beats especially towards the latter half of Higehiro. The script feels somewhat lost at times resorting to Mishima delivering streamofconsciousness rants to our other characters in order to motivate them in vague inconsequential directions. Id respect Mishimas efforts to get the plot going if her obtuse rants didnt make up some of the more obnoxious portions of the show. Speaking of annoying Higehiro does a pretty poor job with its villains. I refer to them as such since the show refrains from adding nuance or dimensions to their portrayals. Perhaps giving some depth to the figures in Sayus haunting past would further incriminate Yoshidas actions in the audiences eyes but its difficult to take scenes seriously when these goons appear. Probably the biggest issue to take with Higehiro is with its depiction of mature scenes and disturbing themes. Making sure that Yoshida never sexualizes Sayu is key to making sure Higehiro gets to share its intended message. While Yoshida himself doesnt sexualize Sayu the show does that to its own female protagonist. Some of it feels right within the context of the story but other instances scream fan service. Certain explicit shots come out from absolutely nowhere and disrupt the momentum of otherwise serious scenes. The haphazard direction is largely to blame for these missteps. The directorhttps://anilist.co/staff/217931/ManabuKamikita and plenty of staff are newbies and that inexperience is evident in some distasteful mishaps. There were a couple of moments here executed so poorly that they wound up looking more perverted than other trashy shows airing this season. Production across the board is largely unremarkable. TlDr: 100https://cdn.epicstream.com/assets/uploads/ckeditor/images/1621373584Higehiro20Sayu20End20Up20Yoshida201.jpg Higehiro is a story packed with controversies. There are elements within the series which can spark outrage but I feel that this series does an adequate job with what its been given. Looking past the nasty implications behind Higehiros agegap premise reveals an earnest drama brimming with optimism. The healing process that results from Yoshidas initial criminal mistake is the shows strongest selling point and one of the most heartwarming developments found in anime this season. Unfortunately Higehiro does become hampered by inconsistency in areas of writing and direction. Still I recommend this watch to those who can handle sensitive content the hope Higehiro instills in its brightest moments could very well trump its upsetting flaws. 5/10 STRAY RAMBLINGS SPOILERS: We all knew this was coming so lets compare Koikimos and Higehiros male protagonists sidebyside. Personally I dont mind the lawful implications of a characters actions so much as well their character. As someone consuming figures in fiction I want to understand their motivations and relate to their struggles the intent is what matters. Yoshida is a selfless individual who rarely acts in his selfinterest when it comes to Sayu. You could say hes a criminal but at least hes not a creep. On the contrary the core of Ryoushttps://anilist.co/character/141688/RyouAmakusa character is that hes a serial womanizer who wants to attain a power fantasy with a girl still in high school. The only agegap in Koikimo is exploited primarily for comedic purposes as the entire show is built around this perverted character flaw. Youre free to dislike either show but people who call out Higehiro for its share of controversies should be prepared to acknowledge that those problems are as bad if not exacerbated in Koikimo. A third of Episode 6 was really bad. Not a fan of Yaguchi being a ostensibly horny mfer. Im not trying to sympathise with the rapist here but its hard to see him as anything other than a stock SAO villain when he pulls a perverted facehttps://animecorner.me/wpcontent/uploads/2021/05/Screenshot20210511013256.jpg youd expect to see in Sentouin Hakenshimasuhttps://anilist.co/activity/241620675 Even weirder is the idea that Sayu just shrugs the whole incident off the very next day. Were still not done talking about Higehiros dumber scenes. Episode 10 was a mostly functional look into Sayus past. Nothing super unexpected here but I think the direction held its own during Yukos death. That is until the show drops the ball in bizarre fashion. They cut to a nude scene of Sayu in the middle of the flashback and its really the most pointless thing. According to people whove read the source she was masturbating but the anime just cuts to her ahem wet hand for a few seconds and moves on. Completely unnecessary. Mishima really knows how to make a complete fool of herself every episode. Her dumbassery deserves an award. Speaking of awards: BEST GIRL: Asami. Smart and encouraging shes a ray of sunshine all round. Possibly the only infallible character in the entire show. Gotou would have taken the top spot had she not tried to bluff her feelings around Yoshida like a coy cougar. 100https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827410321525964800/836228697249546240/HigehiroEpisode4screenshots2.png 50https://media.tenor.com/images/2d056a107c455762554ad454d7e8ad99/tenor.gif And with that we conclude our breakdown of this pairings strange encounter. I only hope that our meeting here has yielded good impressions. If you happen to like my verbose rants feel free to check out my other reviewshttps://anilist.co/user/An1meDweeb/reviews for seasons past and present. I also frequently post writeups under my list updates so definitely take a peek if youd like to see me mald over anime as they hit the airwaves. Peace