I actually was thinking about doing a video game centric post but then I realized I haven’t posted an anime review or post in a long time. I decided to review Midori Days or Midori no Hibi.
This anime follows a high school boy by the name of Seiji Sawamura. Seiji has a reputation for being the toughest kid at his high school. He lacks book smarts, but makes up for it in his fighting skills. Seiji is both feared and adored as he finishes off his opponents with what is nicknamed the “devil’s right hand.” Usually when he gets into fights with people, it’s mainly to protect those too weak to defend themselves. He clears out all the resident bullies in school and around town. While guys idolize him for being the cool tough guy, his reputation for wiping the floor clean with anyone who tries to challenge him does nothing for his love life.
It’s an understatement to say that girls are terrified of him. Every attempt he makes to ask a girl out or to talk to them usually ends up in rejection. Girls are nervously making excuses to get away from him or they run the other way. Seiji laments to himself one night that if his track record with girls continues on its current path then he will spend the rest of his life with just himself and his right hand.
Here’s where the situation becomes a literal case of “be careful what you wish for.” The next morning Seiji wakes up to find a girl in his bed, but not in a way he would have liked. Where his right hand should have been, a cute girl by the name of Midori is somehow attached to his right hand. While Seiji is rightfully freaking out about having a tiny girl replacing his right hand, Midori is ecstatic to be with Seiji. Chaos, hilarity, and misunderstandings abound in this strange but endearing anime.
The anime is based on the shonen manga of the same name by Kazurou Inoue. I never got around to reading the manga, but I became interested in the anime after catching an episode on television while vacationing and visiting family in the Philippines a while ago. The premise is certainly strange as well as watching a teen boy walk around with a girl for a hand, which can also seem like a hand puppet too. The anime is definitely targeted for a male demographic with the joke of a guy with just his right hand being mentioned on more than one occasion. There’s also a good amount of breast shots as well. It may seem like this anime and maybe even the manga might not appeal to a female audience, but I found something to like about this anime.
The comedy in the anime is a riot. Watching how Seiji tries to deal with his new predicament and having a miniature girl declare her love for him practically every day is enough to have you in stitches. There is one episode in the anime where Seiji imagines a worse case scenario of him being single for the rest of his life. You see Seiji get rejected by girl after girl as he ages from a young teenager to a wrinkly old man. It’s hard to describe the scene without seeing the episode yourself, but this particular scene is one of my favorite comic moments in the anime. You feel really bad for Seiji when all he wants is somebody to love and for that girl to return his love.
There are heartwarming moments in the anime to go along with the comedy. You watch Seiji and Midori bond over time with one another. Maybe how they get to know each other isn’t the most ideal of circumstances, but Seiji finds a girl who isn’t running away from him when they are in the same room together. Midori who is actually quite shy in real life finds herself becoming confident and assertive around Seiji. All the inhibitions she would have felt had they met under normal circumstances aren’t there anymore when she remains Seiji’s right hand for the duration of the anime.
It’s funny how before finding himself in a strange predicament, Seiji is moaning about the travesty that is his love life. Enter a cute girl who genuinely loves and adores him (even if she ends up as his living hand puppet), Seiji is absolutely clueless about how Midori truly feels. I guess if you look at it from his perspective being the guy who is always getting rejected by girls must have severely damaged his self-esteem. To hear a girl truly likes him and to be on the receiving end of it is impossible for him to comprehend. That or a cruel joke is being played on him. It takes him a while to realize Midori is very serious about her feelings. Seiji even finds another girl named Ayase who is able to view Seiji in a different light after rescuing her from a gang of thugs. A love triangle does occur with Seiji, Midori, and Ayase. Even then, Seiji is a little dense when Ayase “tricks” him into going on a date with her. Only Midori figures out Ayase has feelings for Seiji too.
The series does explain how it may have been possible for Midori to become Seiji’s right hand, but I’m avoiding spoilers in case there are people who aren’t familiar with this anime or the manga series. Towards the end of the series the anime does take a turn for the serious and I would say the ending is almost bittersweet. However, hope and happiness does find these two in the final episode.
If you can overlook the weird premise of the story you will find yourself enjoying the comedy and the romance in this anime. This is a series that doesn’t take itself too seriously but once the laughter dies down you will find yourself deeply moved and maybe tearing up a bit as you reach the last few episodes of the anime.
Reviewer Rating: 8/10
simpleek 
This seems like it might be worth a watch. I laughed just reading your post. It also seems very cute. Is there much fanservice?
Considering this is a shonen anime/manga series there is some fanservice, but not a lot to be too grating. The most fanservice you get are boob shots and maybe one or two accidental groping but that’s it really. I hate animes that have too much of the gratuitous fanservice. I’d say it’s very minimal and it focuses more on the story.
I actually skipped over this one because of the weird premise. I thought it was going to go down one of those creepy roads, but I’m glad to see it didn’t do that. Great post~
I know. When you see how the anime is presented, it’s easy to assume it will be one of those creepy, perverted type of series. It really isn’t. Definitely check it out.
This is one anime I was always curious about watching but never got around to. I’ve heard people say it’s a good series because it doesn’t go as far as it could have (in terms of crude jokes and fanservice) and is surprisingly sweet.
It really is a sweet anime. Seiji is a likable character and you find yourself rooting for Seiji and Midori to end up together. They are opposites in many ways, but they balance each other out as you watch them interact with one another.
I really don’t care for shonen animes/mangas where its only real purpose is to provide lots of fanservice and no real substance. The look of the anime and the story itself is very deceiving at first glance, but it proves to be a gem worth watching.
Oh wow! I remember laughing so much about the premise of this anime when I read about it in a magazine! I would have tried it out if it weren’t for the fact that my mind kept telling me that there probably would be nothing worthwhile in it. Well, looks like I’m going to have to add another anime to my ‘To Watch’ list. If your post was that fun to read, the anime must be the same!
The anime is definitely fun. You’ll be laughing and feeling moved by the romance (despite the awkwardness of their situation) at the same time. I probably wouldn’t have watched it myself if I didn’t happen to catch one episode after flipping through the channels one day.