We often think we know how a romantic story will go. Boy meets girl, girl gets shy and bashful around boy. There’s the often unrequited love aspect to the scenario. Often not, we see the same love story played out across several different shows. Yet, this one is special. Not only does it subvert your very expectations on what can make a damned good romance, but it does so by making the male characters of its show the blush maidens! While trying to grasp the concept of loving a drag king or loving the person they are out of drag, How I Attended An All-Guy’s Mixer is one of the funniest and most original romance anime in a longtime! Frankly speaking, I can’t express just how happy I am to have an anime that takes just a slightly different approach to the tried and true romance set. Yet it’s not only the romance that makes this anime something special.

An Anime For Those Beyond High School Love Stories.

We know how it feels to watch anime in your mid-to-late twenties. One high school sweetheart or school-based romance after another. It sets a mood that you once had, maybe several years prior. Yet, maybe it’s not a form of romance that you could relate with. That’s where How I Attended An All-Guy’s Mixer comes in. Set in a more college focused setting with working young adults trying to find time for love. It can be a setting that most young adults can relate back to more recently and it’s a refreshing take! Anime has a way of making it feel out of touch at times with its youthful portrayal of characters in love. Not here though! We finally have hard-working, relatable adults here! If only I had my life as together around their age though.

Self reflections aside, the show does a great job with getting you settled into the shows triple focused relationship setting. The show follows the awkward first meeting of three men, Tokiwa, Asagi, and Hagi, and their female counterparts, Suo, Fuji, and Kohaku, as they navigate the complexities of their female dates, Drag King persona’s. The dynamic that the men face when confronting their complex feelings for their female counterparts is entertaining and refreshing. As the typical portrayal of romance has long been the standard focus. This fresh take on taking what we’d consider an untypical romance situation is what makes this show fell so fresh. Especially in our busy world as young, working adults.

Yet this refreshing take can best be applied to those of us long without high school memories of romance. To a time where we are navigating university life or that of a 9-5 job. I firmly believe that we need more stories such as these! Yet as we watch the shows characters blossom and grow in their affections, there’s this pull towards familiarity as they relate back to hobbies or interests that we all can find ourselves settled into. Be that anime, conventions, camping or mixed intentions. The love that is portrayed here is generally quite enjoyable and more grounded in realism than the typical, “Boy Meets Girl.”

Animation that delights and sounds just as impressive!

As with all shows, the story is only just one aspect of a show. The studio behind the adaption, Ashi Productions, has done a tremendous job in making the characters feel life-like and presenting the adapted media in a rather lovely sense. Each characters personality is wonderfully brought to life by their expressive animations and it really lends credence to them feeling much more grounded as relatable characters. Yet, their personification through animation is only further elevated by the Japanese casts dutiful work with providing with dialogues and true character to these 2D characters. There is also an English Dub available for the show as well, if Japanese happens to not be your cup of tea!

With Season one having wrapped and with some of the men and ladies having come to terms about their attractions, I can only hope that we are afforded a chance to see a season 2 sometime soon! How I Attended and All-Guys Mixer is available exclusively on Hi-Dive!

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