Play It Cool, Guys – episodes 1-3

I actually quite like the Play it Cool, Guys manga. I haven’t reviewed it on this site because it’s not easy to talk about. Nothing much happens after all. But I always find it relaxing and amusing. For some reason, that one image where the guy doesn’t realize it’s a bendy straw and drinks with it upside down always gets to me. It’s not in the anime yet but this is the manga panel:

I can’t explain why I like it so much, I just do!

Anywho, when I saw that they were making an anime out of Play it Cool, Guys, and a short program at that, I knew I had to review it right away. Because let’s face it, who else is going to?

Seriously though, Play it Cool, Guys is a calm little funny slice of life about 4 adorable dorks. And you know how much I love dorks. I know that because it is technically a pretty boy anime, it’s probably going to alienate part of my readership but if you aren’t bothered by it, then these are soothing little 11-minute episodes that are great for a giggle and a bit of relaxation.

Crunchyroll released the three first episodes all at once. I’m not sure why but it works out pretty well as it gives me just enough material for a post. If they switch to single episodes from now on, expect mini-posts.

This isn’t a big-budget series or anything. The art is cute but the backgrounds are minimal and the animation is a little sluggish. But you know, the entire show has such a nice laid-back vibe that it sort of goes with it. It would be a little odd to have some super edgy high-speed animation.

The three first episodes (just like the manga chapters) introduce us to the first three of the four central guys in question. First up Hayate. A handsome college student who happens to be rather forgetful. And whenever he screws up something because of his forgetfulness, he gets really embarrassed. Except, his reaction to embarrassment is to act really calm and subdued which looks very cool to others. A bit like Komi except not as extreme.

Next up we have Shun who is still in high school and a basketball star at his school. He’s more scatterbrained than forgetful. For example, he regularly forgets to plug his earphones into his phone and just blasts his music on the bus while wondering why the sound is so distant. He deals with his screw-ups by pretending it was on purpose and is convinced he’s fooling everyone…he’s not…

Finally, we have Mima-san who is a 27-year-old office worker. He’s kind and pretty good at his job but he’s extremely distracted. He regularly forgets whether he’s wearing his glasses or not and isn’t too aware of his surroundings. But he’s a likable guy so all his coworkers and friends have always covered for him and now he’s kind of spoiled. He kind of realizes how much of a goof he is but there are never any consequences.

Oh, and all three of them seem to really like small animals.

The show is really just an ultimate slice of life. The guys go about their daily business and do little dorky slightly embarrassing things we all tend to do. Like waving at the wrong person or getting really excited about buying something just to realize at the cash that you forgot your wallet. Having read three volumes of the manga, I can tell you, it stays that way. Chill and easygoing with nothing much happening but somehow charming.

If it sounds like something you would like, why not give it a try. The episodes are only 11 minutes after all.