The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses

 The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses (好きな子がめがねを忘れた) is a 13 episode slice of life romance based on the manga of the same name by Fujichika Koume.  The anime originally aired during the Summer of 2023.

 

     Komura Kaede has a crush on the girl who sits next to him, the reserved, bespectacled Mie Ai.  Komura's desire to be closer to Mie is helped along by her frequent reliance on him during school.  Mie is unnaturally forgetful and dramatically myopic.  That is, even though she is incredibly near sighted she usually forgets her glasses and struggles significantly at school.  She is unwilling to cause trouble because of her own failings and suffers silently at the back of the class whenever she is without corrective measures.  This has lead her to rely on Komura frequently to help her with note taking and material review.  Her eyesight is so poor as to require her to place her face mere millimeters from a textbook or notebook, to the point of potentially being legally recognized as blind.  Komura, being both considerate and infatuated with Mie, does whatever he can to help her.

    As Komura grows closer to Mie, he begins to understand more of her struggles in life.  Along with her persistent, self induced, vision issues, she is also forgetful related to other general aspects of her life.  His initial infatuation with her grows stronger as he transitions into her protector.  Mie begins to rely more and more on the helpful seat mate.  As time goes on she becomes more friendly with him, her actions suggesting that she has some level of mutual feelings for him as well.  As he grows closer to Mie, they begin interacting with each other more and more outside of school.  Komura is unsure if these interactions are influenced more by her growing reliance on him for help in her daily life or a growing relationship that may or may not be more than friends.  Both of them are guarded with their emotions, so it is difficult for him to translate their interactions enough to give him the confidence to express his feelings for her.

    This was one of two anime released in the Summer cour produced by GoHands.  Prior to the season I was only passingly aware of the studio, but didn't understand any of their...complications.  The artwork in the first few minutes of the opening episode was disquieting.  GoHands is used as an example of relying on CG too much for the production.  They also use unusual camera angles and templated in-between shots, particularly in scenes showing urban environments.  Movement of objects, such as vehicles and background characters can be unnaturally timed and repetitive in a way that sticks out.  There is a lot of detail in the art though, and the character designs for the primary figures is a large focus of the animation.  Particularly in the close-ups of Mie's eyes, which take on a hypnotic galactic life of their own.  There is an ever present sprinkling of dust motes that meander of their own accord in every scene with in the school as well, for not particularly clear reasons.  Mie's hair reacts to her motions with greater influence that is naturally possible, sometimes with numerous strands acting of their own accord, unbound by the laws physics.  

    The core plot device of Mie forgetting her much needed glasses/contacts is a bit of a one trick pony that is beaten to death over the course of the series.  Her level of meekness is almost supernatural as well.  But, there is something enjoyable about the blossoming relationship between the two primary characters.  Much of the dialogue of the story is done through Komura's internal monologue and the main characters direct interactions with each other.  Secondary characters play very minimal roles, to the point where they usually don't even exist in shots.  There is a welcoming sweetness to the course of Mie's comfort with Komura, coupled with his growing confusion about what their relationship really means.  Does she see him as a potential love interest or is she treating him more like a family member with how relaxed she becomes around him over time?  This is what much of he struggles with quietly, while doing whatever he can to help; her out, hoping to move her heart in the right way.  In the end, the cute innocence of the characters relationship is what made this show enjoyable, the premise became stale almost immediately otherwise.

    The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll and is available in sub only.