31-year-old former gymnast Uramichi Omota (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya, of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei fame) is the fitness host for a low-budget children’s TV show. He tries his best not to let the kids see how exhausted and overworked he is, but sometimes the mask slips and he murmurs something like, “Don’t give up on your dreams unless you want to end up like me in 20-odd years.” We can’t get enough of his lovingly detailed fake smiles and the truly impressive lengths he goes to in order to get back at his obnoxious co-workers who constantly tease him despite being a bit scared of him.

For example, his college kouhai Usahara gloats about being toasty warm in his rabbit costume during a frigid shooting day at the beach, so Uramichi sticks his cold hand between the gaps of the suit and purposefully swings just next to Usahara’s head during the watermelon splitting contest. Then, with a grin plastered on for the camera, he leans in and whispers, “Understand that you just escaped death.” We could watch this all day!

Since this anime is based on what was originally a Pixiv comic, we’re a little worried that it might focus too much on short gags instead of building up its characters and world. We want to know how Uramichi fell from grace as a gymnast and ended up with this public access kids’ show gig. We want to see his college life with the kouhais he bullies every day. We need more of Mamoru Miyano being a mature singer senpai who laughs at dirty jokes like a teenage boy! As it stands, Life Lessons with Uramichi-Oniisan is a fun little anime that reads like the front page of r/me_irl, but if it develops its world some more, it could be legendary. After all, knowing the characters better will make the gags hit even closer to home.