eet 17-year-old Hikigaya Hachiman, an apathetic cynic with narcissistic, nihilistic tendencies. He has a defeatist’s view on life, a perpetual black-hole of a mindset that leaves him believing that any form of youthful joy is nothing short of a farce. This world view inspired an essay he wrote which mocked modern social relationships and as punishment, Hachiman’s teacher forces him to join the Volunteer Service Club, a club which lends a hand to any student needing support in achieving their goals. Alongside Yukinoshita Yukino, the only other club member, Hachiman finds himself having to involve himself in other people’s problems, a stage he spent his energy trying to avoid. As he and Yukino pull together to solve other students’ problems, will Hachiman’s cynicism prove to be detrimental, or will it prove to be a tool he can use to his advantage?

So first up, we Oregairu, a school life drama anime filled with teen angst and a protagonist who, due to a traumatic experience in the past regarding romance, is a total cynic. Sound familiar? Much like Masamune, Hachiman confessed his love to a girl he liked earlier in his life and that experience completely broke him. What now stands in place of the people who they used to be, are cynical high schoolers with varying degrees of narcissism, a key factor in their personalities. From a broader point of view, Masamune-kun no Revenge and Oregairu bear similarities in art and characters, the main characters of both anime don’t seem to get along too well in the beginning, a fact which paves the way for a more complex relationship later on. One more factor which brings the two series closer together is the presentation of a harem: the accumulation of romantic interests who by some or other means, get close to the protagonist.

eiya Kanie is an intelligent, narcissistic high schooler who has been asked out on a date to Amagi Brilliant Park by the beautiful Sento Isuzu. However, upon arriving at the amusement park, Kanie comes to the realisation that not only is it run-down, but his “date” with Isuzu is just a recruitment tour that she and Princess Latifa Fleuranza, the park’s owner, use to convince Kanie to take over as the manager of Amagi Brilliant Park. Sento and Princess Latifa are eager to recruit Kanie due to the ominous prospect of the park being closed down and the land redeveloped should they fail to meet a guest quota of 500 000 in the next three months. At first Kanie refuses, but upon learning that the park boasts employees who are Maple Landers; magical beings who feed off the energy created when people have fun, Kanie decides to take up the position of park manager and use his skills to return Amagi Brilliant Park to its former glory.

While the plot outline of Amagi Brilliant Park bears no similarities whatsoever to that of Masamune-kun no Revenge, our first and most obvious similarity is brought to us by the protagonists themselves: both Seiya Kanie and Makabe Masamune are intense narcissists, perhaps even more so than Narcissus himself. That main point brings both shows together, but the fact that both anime feature art and character designs that are quite similar pales in comparison to one basic observation any fan can make – Kanie and Makabe look alike. With black hair and lean builds, we highly doubt the surrounding characters of either show would even notice if Kanie and Makabe swapped places. So buy your tickets and spent your day at Amagi Brilliant Park!

asegawa Kodaka, upon finding out that he’ll be transferring to a new school, is determined to make a good impression and a few friends. Unfortunately, his dirty blonde hair and terrifying glare make it difficult to think he’s anything but a violent delinquent. After a month at St. Chronica’s Academy, Kodaka still finds himself all alone due to his unwarranted notoriety. However, his luck seems to change when he finds Mikazuki Yozora, another loner, talking to herself in an empty classroom. After realising that they’re both lonely high schoolers, Kodaka and Yozora decide to overcome their inability to make friends by creating a club dedicated to that cause: the Neighbours Club, for people who don’t have friends, by people who don’t have friends. Club activities include learning social skills and how to fit in, but with the series of eccentrics who join the club, such an undertaking could prove to be impossible for Kodaka as he gets to know his new circle the members of which he hopes he can one day call his friends.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, or Haganai for short, is a hilarious unboxing of the social phenomenon that is friendship. The characters are pretty much all weirdos who choose to meet up in order to be able to make friends, and that very set up proves to be the anime’s first similarity to Masamune-kun no Revenge: Kodaka finds himself surrounded by girls – a classic harem setting. Both Kodaka and Masamune suffer from some form of social trauma; Kodaka is unable to make friends due to his appearance and Masamune had his first ever attempt at conveying his emotions to the girl he liked completely obliterated. Both shows present their respective situations in a fairly light-hearted and humorous light, making for pleasant viewing where both are concerned. How about befriending this set of characters?

erinuma Kae is a second year high school student and avid fujoshi who has made quite the habit of secretly shipping her classmates, Igarashi and Nanashima. After the death of her favourite anime character, Kae becomes stressed to the point of rapid weight-loss. Now that she has become attractive to her classmates, her underclassman Shinomiya, and her upperclassman Mutsumi, how will her fujoshi mind process all of these new developments?

At first, one can see several significant differences between Watashi ga Motete Dousunda and Masamune-kun no Revenge, such as the differences between the protagonists; however, the shows are brought together by a fairly simple and fairly familiar trait: the harem. Watashi ga Motete Dousunda features a “reverse harem”, a theme that isn’t seen very often which features the centring a female lead in crosshair of the attention of several males in their lives. Both shows feature a protagonist who is considered attractive according to society’s beauty standards after losing a considerable amount of weight, almost like in both anime, the protagonists’ social standings are inversely proportional to the size of their bellies. A comedic approach to a very real social stance in modern society.

chijou Raku, a high school first year is the seemingly unlikely heir to an intimidating yakuza family. Ten years ago, he made a promise with a childhood friend, but he can’t quite remember who. All he has to remind him of the promise is a pendant with a lock, which can only be unlocked with the key that his friend took with her when it was time to go. Now grown up, Raku hopes to be completely uninvolved in the activities of his yakuza family and spend his high school days alongside his crush, Onodera Kosaki. However, Raku’s hopes are crushed when the American Bee Hive gang impose on his family’s turf and he is faced with an unsavoury ultimatum: he could either watch as both groups destroy each other or pretend to be in a romantic relationship with the Bee Hive’s chief daughter, Kirisaki Chitoge in order to diffuse the tension between the two factions. To make things worse, Raku and Chitoge fall in hate at first sight – no two people could be any less compatible, but for the sake of keeping the peace, the two have to keep pretending as more girls start showing up around Raku and the mystery surrounding his childhood promise becomes ever so relevant.

Ah, childhood. The stage in our lives which, for the most part, is a patchwork of blurry memories, but is perhaps the most important. The protagonists of both Masamune-kun no Revenge and Nisekoi both have childhood memories which have defined how they think and live. The female leads in both shows just happen to be rich girls with personalities that, put very lightly, are a bit of an acquired taste for both protagonists. Chitoge is violent and rambunctious while Adagaki is the verbal equivalent. Taking a step back from the characters themselves, we also notice that both shows feature the ever so prominent plot device: the harem.

Kidou Eita is a studious high school student with a goal: he hopes to earn a scholarship so he can study to become a doctor. After being abandoned by his parents, the notion of romance seems like nothing more than a distraction to him. Unfortunately, Eita’s plans to avoid all contact with the concept of romance fall to the wayside when Natsukawa Masuzu, a silver-haired, blue-eyed transfer student, confesses her love for him. Seeing through the confession, Eita brings Masuzu to admit that she, like him, sees love as a hindrance and only confessed to him because having a boyfriend would discourage any advances from other people. Eita refuses because his classmates would be jealous and would make his school life troublesome; however, Masuzu blackmails him using his journal, threatening to publish its contents to the internet should he refuse to be her pretend boyfriend. With no alternative, Eita agrees to Masuzu’s terms, unprepared to cope with the difficulties of his new “relationship”.

The journey of a self-proclaimed cynic, OreShura follows Eita into his new relationship with Masuzu, a sharp-tongued beauty who is a cynic herself. Much like how Masamune’s relationship with Adagaki Aki comes about as a result of a troubling past, Eita’s past is what created and grew his scepticism surrounding love, and it also happens to be the reason why he cannot crawl out of the compromising situation with Natsukawa Masuzu. Much like Masamune, Eita is unconcerned with anything that does not have direct influence on his goal. As such, both protagonists seem completely ignorant of the feelings of the young women around them.