There are a lot of interesting romantic comedy series to choose from this season, each offering a different level of departure from reality. One show I’m enjoying is KimiZero, aka You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story. It’s the story of a sexually experienced gyaru who decides to date a socially awkward boy who’s still a virgin, and the pure love they manage to find together. Let’s check it out!
KimiZero: an Experienced Girl and a Virgin
When the gloomy Ryuto loses a bet with his friends, they order him to confess his love to his crush as punishment. The only problem is the girl Ryuto loves is Runa Shirakawa, a glamorous gyaru in his class, who’s way out of his league. Ryuto is terrified because of the time he confessed to a girl back in middle school and got his heart broken. To his surprise, Runa replies, “Okay, let’s start dating. I’m free right now, after all.”
Why is this anime season the Season of Dating Dangerously? Click here to read Joe’s take!
Ryuto walks her home, and she invites him up to her room. Although Runa has only known his name for a few minutes, she starts taking off her clothes, because that’s what all boys want from their girlfriends, right?
He’s shocked, and tells her he wants to take things more slowly with her. What commences is a super sweet romance between the (over-)experienced Runa and the inexperienced Ryuto, as she does things like buy matching cell phone cases for him to celebrate their one-week dating anniversary, and he learns to overcome his own internal self-doubts. And things promise to get even more interesting when the girl who broke Ryuto’s heart back in middle school transfers into his class…
KimiZero is based on a light novel series written by Makiko Nagaoka. The anime is created by studio ENGI who brought us Uzaki-chan and The Detective is Already Dead. They’re a relatively new studio, so let’s hope this anime can be a solid hit for them.
Is This the Beginning of “Pre-NTR”?
Reading hentai manga as part of my job is certainly interesting. One trend I’ve noticed a few times is stories like Selfish Boy, Gentle Girl in the Hey… Let’s Do It manga published by J-List sister company J18 Publishing. A boy and a girl are dating, but the girl has had sex before while the guy has not. This is frustrating for the guy in the story, even though the girl has done nothing wrong. Could this be the start of some kind of “pre-NTR” fetish?
Fetishes in hentai are all about finding some visual or situational hook for the viewer’s mind to focus on, and get a pleasant dopamine rush as a result. Often, there’s a sense of cognitive dissonance as two complex emotions are triggered at the same time, which can eventually become a source of pleasure itself.
Runa Might Not Be the Gyaru We’re Looking For
While I’m enjoying seeing the relationship between Runa and Ryuto play out, I can’t help but think that other fans might not fall in love with Runa the way they’ve embraced other gyaru characters in anime. While Marin Kitagawa from My Dress Up Darling, Yame Yukana from Hajimete no Gal and Galko from Oshiete! Galko-chan still have many active fans around the world, I’m not so sure Runa will find herself added to the pantheon of beloved gyaru goddesses. Is it because she’s had so much sex, despite the very appeal of gyarus being that they’re promiscuous? Anyway, I hope the story of KimiZero is good enough to change fans’ minds!
Thanks for reading this blog post about the KimiZero romantic comedy. Would you date a gyaru who had a ton more sexual experience than you? Tell us in the comments below!
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