While watching Crunchyroll’s new anime You and I Are Polar Opposites, I had to pause multiple times from secondhand embarrassment for the two main characters. They are so adorable and so self-conscious that you want to root for them even as you’re cringing. Miyu Suzuki is a very popular girl in her school. She is bubbly and talkative and has a great group of friends around her. She really enjoys asking what her seat mate Yusuke Tani thinks about what she and her friends are talking about. He will then say something that shows he either doesn’t care or doesn’t know, and she laughs. Her friends think she is teasing him but actually she is in love with him. She respects that he is so quiet and doesn’t have her worries about fitting in; his blunt responses are part of what she likes about him and it also is the only way she can think of as a way to talk to him.
We are mainly in Suzuki’s head for the show, and she is fun to watch as she gets excited and then worried, then back to excited, like only a teenage girl can. I was a bit distracted by her four sharp teeth that are supposed to resemble the Pokémon Golbat for comedic effect, but that was a minor point. Throughout the first episode we see her having trouble saying no. She needs to study but a friend mentions going out to eat and she, not wanting to disappoint, says, with her usual enthusiasm, that she will go out with them. It is the kind of insecurity that everyone can relate to, being a teenager or remembering being a teenager. It is also clear, even in this episode, if she said she needed to study her friends would understand and not hold it against her at all. In fact I could see some of them asking if she wanted help. Then, of course, her worries about Tani liking her are very front and center.
Luckily for her, Tani returns her feelings completely. He loves that she talks to him even if he doesn’t know how to respond, but that she makes the effort. He finds her exuberant personality exciting, even if he doesn’t show it. But he has a hard time acting on it since he doesn’t think she likes him. Even when he starts to think he has a shot, he still is reluctant because he doesn’t want to drag down her popularity by being with him. Both fear social stigma but in very different ways, that actually wouldn’t be a problem with her friends but is still a completely understandable fear for teenagers.
I was thinking about tropes a lot watching this, and how they are not in and of themselves bad but how they are used. The opposites attract/school romance is a popular trope in anime but this one has two big differences that I liked early on. First, there is no big ‘will they or won’t they.’ These two admit their feelings very early on, so we are now seeing how this works for them. They both have image issues that make it hard for them to express themselves, and have lots of self-doubt that they will ruin what they have.
The second is how their differences actually do make them compatible, and not just as a comedic plot device. When they watch a movie together, she doesn’t remember the characters and location names and Tani fills in the gaps for her. To the point that he asks if she even watched the film. She scolds him, and then talks about all these little moments and some of the deeper meaning she sees in it. He pauses, revealing he missed all that, and rethinks the film and gets a better understanding of the film they just watched, and likes it more. I loved how it showed how their differences helped each of them appreciate something more.
They both get embarrassed, constantly thinking they are screwing up this relationship to great effect. Suzuki’s reaction to Tani’s phone showing how to talk to a girl actually thrills her, as she says it means he is thinking about her. His confused look after hearing that is priceless. Suzuki’s female friends Azuma and Nishi provide great sarcastic commentary about Suzuki’s antics, and also help her out. Her male friend Yamada is equally ridiculous, and I can never tell what he will do or say, but so far it has been very funny.
I love a good romantic anime, and this has everything I would want. The couple is adorable and funny with some realistic internal issues that make sense for them to be facing. They’re making things just different enough to make it interesting, with enjoyable side characters adding great commentary and humor. These two are still in the early stages of their relationship and are still learning more about each other. There is a lot of material to mine from these two, and I cannot wait to see how their relationship progresses and all the cringy and funny moments that come from it.
You and I Are Polar Opposites airs Sunday on Crunchyroll.
