Story: 6/10 Fine

It had a slightly interesting premise in that it made me think it might be funny like Shimoneta… but it turned out stupid and bland. Basically, Ao hates men and doesn’t want anything to do with them (and I don’t even know exactly why, other than her father is annoying and he’s a man. 😛 ) But then, surprise! Her classmate Kijima confesses his love! Ok, so now it’s just a typical school love rom-com. Actually, it’s worse than that. Typical can sometimes be good. But this is average stuff, plot-wise. However, since there is so much good humor (good, but not hilarious like Shimoneta), I think I can call the story just above average.

Art: 5/10

It’s a low-budget production, so maybe I should give it some mercy, but I still consider Ao-chan’s artwork and animation mediocre at best. It might have been 7/10 good if it had aired in 2010 or ’11, but this is 2019. I expect interesting art and lots of detail, or if not that then a creative style or a lot of good action sequences. I expect it especially from studios that are growing in fame like Silver Link. But, alas. The art-style and character designs are boring. There’s little creativity in animation. The colors are weirdly subdued for a comedy school romance. Backgrounds are lacking in any detail or sense of aesthetics. Everything in this anime just looks cheap.

Sound: 7/10

Weirdly enough, the sound was quite enjoyable in Ao-chan Can’t Study. The instrumental OST, despite only having a handful of tracks, is engaging and fun. The ED wasn’t decent enough, and the OP, “Wondeful Wonder” by Edoga-Sullivan is highly entertaining. The voice acting was pretty good, though I didn’t recognize any of the seiyuu off the top of my head.

Characters: 5/10

Ao and her father are both annoying as all get out. Ao is hateful to men, and I know she’s just a young teen, but that’s still not justified. Ao’s father is portrayed by anime as really funny… but he he’s not? I might be losing my sense of humor, because I barely even smile at his goofy and somewhat lewd antics. In some ways, he was gross– not because of his erotic writing career– but because he butts his head into his daughter’s social life too much.

As for the other characters, they’re so bland they’re not even worth talking about. I guess I should say some of them are sometimes funny, but it’s mostly the situations that make things funny. Or at least that’s what I thought until about midway through the second episode. By then, I started getting used to and amused by the dynamic between Ao and Nijima. By episode 3, I even thought Ao and her dad were becoming more funny and stupid than annoying. I guess my sense of humor has returned! But unfortunately, being funny isn’t enough to change the fact these characters are pretty run-of-the mill in concept and development.

Enjoyment: 6/10 Fine

I have to admit, sometimes Ao-chan Can’t Study is amusing. It’s made me crack a smile, but it has yet to earn a single laugh from me. I usually enjoy mild sexual humor. I mean, I did enjoy it, but just not that much when compared to shows with better art and characters like Shimoneta. Episode 3 was the best yet, with plenty of smiles and one laugh out loud!! Well, now it’s a matter of honor– I must finish watching this show to end to reclaim my sense of humor!

Overall Score: 5.8 Between Average and Fine

Before episode 3 aired, I had decided to drop Ao-chan. But the third episode did exactly what a third episode should and convinced me to keep watching. Still, so far, I only recommend this anime if you’re absolutely desperate for mild sexual humor. There are much better anime series out there this season for you to spend your time on, and there are much better sexual comedies, for that matter. Jya, ne!