The Girl-drama Shounen We Didn't Know We Needed
- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Shounen
- Airing Date : July 2019 - September 2019
- Producers : Lay-duce
Contains Spoilers
Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo. (O Maidens in Your Savage Season) Introduction and Story
Kazusa, Rika, Hitoha, Momoko, and Niina are the 5 members of their high school’s Literature Club. As the books they read become more and more sexual in nature, their natural adolescent curiosity begins to bud as well.
Rika, the 3rd-year club president is a reserved and proper intellectual who looks down on their peers’ lewd talk of sexual topics and will only accept such words from literary works. Hitoha, or Hongo-san, is an amateur writer trying to break into the professional circle by writing erotica, though the editor she managed to snag doesn’t seem impressed which leads to frustration and inspires her to go to extreme—and inappropriate—lengths for material or “inspiration”.
Kazusa is your average high school girl, interested in erotic topics but easily flustered; oh, and she’s in love with her—oblivious—childhood friend Izumi. Momoko is Kazusa’s best friend; she is gentle, caring, and wants nothing but for everyone to get along and enjoy their youth. Niina is the mysterious and beautiful blonde, blue-eyed girl with a troubled past who sends their teenage lives into chaos by answering the question “what do you want to do before you die?” with “sex”.
After this one little word is uttered, the five girls cannot get the thought of es-ee-eks out of their heads and so Hitoha chases after their school teacher, Kazusa decides to confess to her crush, Niina decides she wants Kazusa’s crush, the proper Rika discovers there is much to learn and love about boy-girl relationships, and Momoko realizes and confesses her true feelings. For an anime labeled as “Shounen”, O Maidens in Your Savage Season has a lot of drama, romance, and life lessons even some adults haven’t yet learned.
1. 99 Problems and 5 of Them Are Girls
Whether as teenagers or adults, women tend to overthink things. “Why did he/she say that”?, “Is it me?”, “What did I do?”, “What’s wrong with me?” and Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo. makes sure to convey that expertly. Whether insecure about their attractiveness, talent, or feelings, these girls go through what all women do at some point or another—and many times, throughout their entire life. Pretty much every issue a teenage girl could face is touched upon in this anime; from inappropriate relationships with adults to childhood crushes, to confused sexuality, betrayal, and even teenage pregnancy. Women young and old will relate to at least one of the girls in this show.
2. Boys Could Learn a Thing or Two
Much like the girls and their issues, the boys in Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo. also face typical teenage boy problems, especially involving girls. Izumi finds himself confused and torn between romantic love towards his childhood friend and lust towards the gorgeous Niina and Shun faces the insecurity and confusion of liking a girl who sends him mixed messages literally daily. Not to mention the adults involved with the girls; Mr. Yamagishi struggles to let Hitoha down gently while blocking her advances, while Niina’s acting teacher Saegusa battles his underlying pedophilic desires while she throws herself at him. The men all learn something, just as the girls do.
3. Great Writing, Pacing, and Gorgeous Art
Lay-duce did a fantastic job of pacing the wonderfully written story to fit it into 12 emotion-filled episodes that keep you at the edge of your seat, thinking “oh my gosh, I’ve thought/felt that before!” and most episodes leave you on an emotional cliffhanger before culminating in a moving and funny ending that ties it all up beautifully. The dream-like artwork and color palette also add to the already heartful ambiance of the series.
1. Too Much Romance
If you come to Maidens in Your Savage Season looking for a typical shounen story with ecchi and boy comedy, you’re in the wrong place. This anime is full of romance, drama, and a LOT of emotional girly moments. No panty shots, no beach episode, just lots of real situations with real consequences.
Final Thoughts
In closing, O Maidens in Your Savage Season is one of the best anime of the Summer 2019 season. We recommend people of either sex, sexual orientation, and age watch it, especially if you’ve ever had relationship issues, self-doubt, felt confused about your emotions, or had a friend trying to steal your guy (or girl!). (SO basically, everyone should watch it!) It is relatable, eye-opening, moving, beautiful, and generally funny too!
Did you enjoy Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo.? Would you recommend it? Did you have any self-discoveries while watching it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Tomo yo~!
Author: Lizzy Nyanko
