Seven months ago, I shared my first impressions of You and I Are Polar Opposites. I was only six episodes in, but it was already one of my favorite romance anime. The series recently came to an end, and I thought now would be a great time to share my deeper thoughts. There will be lots of spoilers as I discuss what has easily became my favorite romance anime.
I watch a lot of romance anime, but very few actually stand out to me. Most of them feature ecchi, a harem, a convoluted will they won’t they situation, or a protagonist that’s obviously meant to be a self insert. Many of the popular ones rely on dumb humor and absurd romantic situations. Polar Opposites is the opposite. It’s 25 episodes of sweet, wholesome, and emotional moments.
By the end of the first episode, Suzuki and Tani have already gotten together. Suzuki is bubbly and very outgoing while Tani tends to keep to himself and his studies. The confession is already out there, and the rest of the show focuses on their relationship throughout their high school years. But just because they’re already together, doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on. The show doesn’t need absurdity or confessions that take years to keep us invested in their lives.
There’s no random bullshit between Tani and Suzuki like there would have been in another show. They genuinely love each other and they’re trying to make things work coming from opposite sides of the spectrum. They both try to deal with their own struggles while trying to balance love and school. There’s even a scene near the end where Suzuki suggests taking a break because she’s afraid that she’s holding Tani back.
Their relationship is wholesome, realistic, and just good in general. Yet they aren’t even my favorite characters. That’s one of the reasons why I love Polar Opposites so much. It’s not one guy that gets to choose between five girls. It’s not one popular couple and a bunch of filler side characters. The entire cast is interesting and important. There’s basically three couples and an additional three supporting characters by the end of the show, and they’re all great.
We meet Nishi in the fifth episode. She’s shy and very anxious around people. She’s adorable and she was my favorite character throughout the first season. She grows so much throughout the show, and she eventually gets with Yamada, who helps break her out of her shell. Yamada is a goofball and not incredibly bright. But he’s kind, fun, and the most sociable member of the group.
Then you have Taira and Azuma, who are introduced in episodes three. The rest of the cast are awesome, but these two are the glue. Taira lacks confidence, overthinks everything, and basically views himself as inferior. At the start, he questions the social hierarchy when Tani gets with Suzuki, and he tries to distance himself from love and friendships. But the friends he makes help him achieve more character development than anyone.
At first, he’s a cynical downer who can’t even smile until the end of the first season. But by the end of the show, he genuinely cries about high school being over because of how much fun he had. Most of his growth comes from his interactions with his best friend, Azuma. She’s cool, smart, and has a ton of dating experience. She has many of her own problems, but her and Taira are able to just fix each other.
The first season was fantastic. It was silly, cute, and incredibly wholesome. I found myself smiling and giggling throughout every episode. The second season was just as wholesome, but there was so much more emotion. Taira and Azuma come to terms with their feelings, Tani and Suzuki worry about the future, and Nishi learns to be more independent. We even learn some intense truths about supporting characters like Honda.
Everything the show has built culminates at the end with the most beautiful scene I have ever experienced out of a romance or slice of life anime. It’s a scene with no dialogue, that perfectly highlights how a group who barely knew each other had life-changing experiences throughout high school. Everything from the characters and story, to the soundtrack and voice acting worked together flawlessly.
Many of the most successful romance anime rely on some ridiculous concepts. Some want you to laugh at absurdly dumb humor or fall in love with a love square that takes years to develop. Others expect you to insert yourself into the story like what you see in nearly every power fantasy. That wasn’t me, I never went “man, I wish that were me.” Instead, I went “man, high school sure was great,” and then I would reminisce.
Polar Opposites is such a fun show that’s incredibly grounded and realistic. I’ve seen lots of people talking about the show, saying it’s not realistic for high schoolers to be saying or doing these things. But that’s exactly what high school was like. I have countless memories of hanging out in the halls between class, doing random bullshit before and after school, and having weird conversations that would make adult me cringe.
It’s so refreshing to see an anime take such a realistic approach while also making the characters loveable and making the story and humor fun. Polar Opposites is such an amazing romance anime because it mixes real people, real emotions, and genuine humor into a good love story. You need to watch it if you haven’t already.
10/10