Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches

Episode 3

Yamada may not be a typical “boring nice guy” anime hero, but he does have one important quality that should connect him to anyone who's ever been a teenage boy: he loves microwaves. The ability to get hot food without any effort or cooking skill possesses a magical allure when you're a lazy, inept high school kid. So it doesn't surprise me at all that he's willing to move heaven and earth to get a microwave for his club room.

Of course, there's a little more to this episode than a story of love between man and kitchen appliance. Now that the supernatural studies club actually has some members, Ito manages to talk Yamada and Miyamura into getting a budget from the student council. The slightly creepy president agrees, but only if they can find out why Shiraishi's not planning to go to college and get her to change her mind about that. A fresh round of body-switching antics helps the guys learn more about Shiraishi, but it's ultimately up to Yamada to get the club's honor student to think about her future.

This episode hinges on the chemistry between Yamada and Shiraishi, so it's a good thing they work well as a pair. There's nothing terribly complicated going on between the two of them; they're just a couple of kids looking for a good reason to come to school every day. No matter how different their personalities may be, that sense of not quite fitting in gives them some believable common ground to stand on. Anime has a bad habit of trying to dump extra gimmicks and melodrama into even the smallest romantic subplot, so it's nice to see a show that's willing to keep it simple. Two likable, well-written characters are really all you need.

The admittedly bizarre student council system may roll in out of nowhere, but it does give the story a clear direction to follow for the time being. The president can give the main characters assignments, and they can misuse their body-switching power to humorous effect while trying to complete each job. I'm not thrilled by the prospect of yet another high school club that helps students solve their problems, but it does at least give the series some much-needed structure. The rivalry between Miyamura and Odagiri also adds some welcome conflict, but it's not introduced with much finesse. Odagiri eventually became one of my favorite characters in the original manga, but she and Ushio come across as nasty and one-dimensional here. Hopefully the show will take the time to give the two of them more depth in future episodes.

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches continues to be a funny show, and I absolutely love how terrible Miyamura and Yamada are at pretending to be girls. It's especially amusing in contrast to Ito and Shiraishi's low-key approach to walking around in the guys' bodies. Shiraishi's diabolical plan to leave Yamada in her body after she catches a cold also makes for a good scene. There's a strong comedic dynamic within the supernatural studies club, and that helps keep the show entertaining as it starts to pursue a larger plot.

While the art style is a good fit for the series, some of the visuals in this episode are obnoxiously heavy-handed. It rains and rains all episode long until Yamada and Shiraishi agree to aim for college together. As soon as Shiraishi smiles, the sun comes out and there's a freaking rainbow over the whole damn town. Come on, really? Is a tiny pinch of subtlety too much to ask for?

Even if some of the details are still rough, Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches is doing a decent job of keeping everything rolling along. It's not perfect at any one thing, but it's competent at just about everything. Put that all together and you've got a fun little series.

Rating: B

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.