A romantic comedy anime usually portrays many flowery scenes and heartfelt moments that can make every girl’s heart flutter like butterflies, even leaving logic out of the door. But what happens if this particular anime meets more of the eye than other rom-com anime?
Skip and Loafer is a slice-of-life romantic comedy anime that focuses on Mitsumi Iwakura, a country girl by heart who moves far away to Tokyo to attend high school. She wishes to be a good influence and make the world a better place. Her easygoing and positive-minded attitude made her a well-developed person when she realized that it was not helping her at all after she stumbled on her first day in high school.
The anime mainly showcases Mitsumi’s feelings about attending her school days, followed by her new best friend Sousuke Shima. This popular, golden retriever student seems nice to everyone but has a nasty past that he kept for years. This makes him a bit closed off to people who force open his boundaries, which he finds Mitsumi very endearing when her personality doesn’t bother him at all in the first place.
Mitsumi also befriends the insecure yet attractive girl, Egashira Mika, and the unapproachable, natural beauty Yuzuki Murashige as well. While maintaining friendships back in her town is easy, it’s not the same for the city as people around Mitsumi change rapidly and have a hard time deciphering their emotions.
Nevertheless, it shows your typical slice-of-life anime with a hint of romantic comedy elements, Skip and Loafer also showcase several realistic issues of our daily lives that are currently happening nowadays. These are some points that concern the anime which happens in real life:
Pretty Privilege
We all know that having pretty privilege can often get you something that you yearn for with less effort. Pretty privileges can happen anywhere and everywhere; scoring jobs, earning a reputable position, having a popular image, gaining lots of friends or connections, attracting more attention and many more to be spoken about. One example of having a pretty privilege is when Shima is known for his charming looks and friendly personality which makes him gain lots of friends and have an easy school life.
Next, we have Egashira who views being pretty can get you a spot everywhere. She paved her way slowly to reach the “natural beauty” position by glowing up, changing her looks and trying hard on fashion to secure her reputation. However, even for Murashige, living as a beautiful girl for her whole life could also get her into disappointments and troubles like fake friendships and boy drama surrounding her school days. This caused her to be closed off and pushed people away to not poke her comfort bubble. Finally, we have our female protagonist also suffering from this privilege as she has to work harder in everything and often gets ignored by her classmates due to her eccentric behavior.
Platonic Relationships
The anime also effectively displays platonic relationships through the interactions of its characters, particularly Mitsumi and her classmates. The series highlights the importance of friendship, centering on times of encouragement, compassion, and shared experiences without any sort of romantic ideals. Mitsumi’s sincere efforts to connect with those around her reveal the complex process of creating bonds based on trust and intimacy, highlighting how these platonic interactions boost personal growth and the entire high school journey. This emphasis on friendship presents a unique analysis of connection that is both joyful and significant.
This explains why high school stories are fragile and raw to the audience, illustrating fresh emotions of the characters and relatable feelings once and for all. Skip and Loafer’s mangaka, Misaki Takamatsu also mentioned in an interview that she wanted people to understand that everyone comes from different places and has different personalities which makes them special (her characters). On top of that, the series explores the complexities of young relationships, where not every connection has to evolve into romance, emphasizing the value of friendship as a foundation for emotional growth.
Genuine Friendships
Alas, genuine friendships are what makes us keep holding onto our lives, whether we have been apart for years or started being friends for a month. Not all genuine friendships start perfectly, like Mitsumi and Egashira’s friendship when they first befriended each other because of Egashira’s ulterior motive to get closer to Shima through Mitsumi. However after some communication between the two resolved their issue, they started being close and even invited Murashige into their circle of friendship along with Makoto Kurume, an overthinker and shy girl.
Not only that, the genuine friendship between Shima and Mitsumi deepens their bond as they navigate the ups and downs of high school life together. Their first encounter also started in a good way built on trust, open communication, and mutual support, allowing them to share their vulnerabilities and aspirations. They often share opinions and views, allowing them to have different perspectives which makes them more understanding towards each other. Their personality also complements each other, with Mitsumi’s high-spirited ambition and Shima’s calm demeanor clashing together creating a fun dynamic duo. This friendship builds a safe space where they can express themselves freely, ultimately bringing them closer and improving their experiences in a new environment.
Sources: Film School Dropouts, CBR, Highonfilms
Graciella Aurelia Tjan
IG: @graciellaaurl
Email: graciellaaurelia07@gmail.com
