In a more wellrespected medium Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle probably wouldnt have had to face as much backlash as it did back when it first aired. With the litany of repulsive goon slop out there its an understandable reaction to treat its 30minute premiere as a failed attempt at satirising contemporary otakuisms. Between the cheerful cast yelling nonsensical greetings to each other to the three heroines practically confessing their love to Saku to our heros bombastic breakin to cap off its hard to put into words how obnoxiously loud and stupidly thick the introduction really is. But frankly I think thats what makes it charming. 550https://images2.box.com/aa/5b/Pgs2D8Mho.png Episode one quite literally ends with our protagonist destroying his classmates bedroom window. The central problem Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle faces is the existence of its shitty peers. The sheer infamy of works like Oreimohttps://anilist.co/anime/8769/Oreimo/ or Haganaihttps://anilist.co/anime/10719/Haganai/ or Hennekohttps://anilist.co/anime/15225/HentaiPrincetheStonyCat/ or The Ryuos Work is Never Donehttps://anilist.co/anime/99507/TheRyuosWorkisNeverDone/ or Eromanga Senseihttps://anilist.co/anime/21685/EromangaSensei/ or Imoimohttps://anilist.co/anime/100382/MySisterMyWriter/ or Hensukihttps://anilist.co/anime/107961/HensukiAreyouwillingtofallinlovewithapervertaslongasshesacutie/ or Tsurekanohttps://anilist.co/anime/136934/MyStepmomsDaughterisMyEx/ or The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rottenhttps://anilist.co/anime/143338/TheAngelNextDoorSpoilsMeRotten/ or Kimizerohttps://anilist.co/anime/154459/OurDatingStoryTheExperiencedYouandTheInexperiencedMe/ or Roshiderehttps://anilist.co/anime/162804/AlyaSometimesHidesHerFeelingsinRussian/ or Kurakonhttps://anilist.co/anime/178462/ImGettingMarriedtoaGirlIHateinMyClass/ or Danjoruhttps://anilist.co/anime/153554/CanaBoyGirlFriendshipSurvive/ or Imouzahttps://anilist.co/anime/129195/MyFriendsLittleSisterHasItInforMe/ just to name a few inevitably prompts skepticism towards any work that shares the light novel romcom adaptation label. Yet it pays no attention. The show unashamedly employs character cliches in the genre both ironically and genuinely it draws on the popular guy = bad trope as a major narrative driving force just to break it wide open with the main casts deep sincerity and compassion and it embraces teenage naivete and the navalgazing selfimportant philosophies to contrast with Saku and friends sociable front. This postironic approach lets the show eat its cake and have it too. By ingeniously relying on paratext to setup a fake veneer it saves a lot of ink on exposition while also allows it to hide its true intentions: the seemingly stereotypical characters offer comfort in familiarity for the less adventurous afford the narrative space to jump right into action without having to establish chemistry and subvert audience expectations as each of the boys and girls masks slowly slip. All that is to say it doesnt take a genius to catch on to the mountain of contradictions Saku co. contend with and arrive at the conclusion that something is brewing under the surface even in early episodes. The most apparent departure from the conventional is that the show constantly and deliberately understates anything important that informs the casts personalities. With the story starting in the second year of high school the usual back story dump that plagues the genre is curiously missing and any effort to bring it up is immediately shot down. This lack of any significant mention of past events for a story that starts in media res creates gripping organic intrigue that lingers in the back of ones mind. 325https://images2.box.com/18/ed/W0Qc8nNNo.png 325https://images2.box.com/aa/ce/FPfGM8zSo.png The most prominent example is the paralepsis surrounding Sakus relationship with baseball which remains a mystery but the intention to return to this plot thread is clear. From top left to bottom right: Yua Hiiragi and Haru all commented on it. 325https://images2.box.com/36/a5/f8b6JCXzo.png 325https://images2.box.com/f1/68/iaOziM9Eo.png Indeed as the show gets to more serious themes/arcs it recontextualises the material before it and elevates the work as a whole. Whether it is from Nanases PTSD and the evergreen question of the line where the platonic ends and romantic starts or Asukas struggle with parental expectations and the anxieties of breaking out of your own bubble or Sakus fragile facade and his wrestle with the concept of Honne/Tatemae that envelops it all we come to appreciate the odd parts as genius: interactions feels performative at times because to a certain extent it is. The whole charade is a flamboyant act the whole group puts on in order to hide their insecurities and the brittle nature of their dynamic and Sakus foolish inyourface idealism and philosophical waxing was never Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottles central thesis. Rather the show goes out of its way to actively disprove such an unsustainable way of life. Its a baitandswitch. Kentas and Yuzukis arcs arent pointless exercises but an noble solution a central issue with all of fiction: that your message basically never reach those that arent already looking. Everything from episode 11 onwards is a great wakeup call to those that unironically enjoyed what was presented to them on the surface. Ultimately instead of aligning itself with the popular kid escapist fantasy the show flips the script to depict the common struggles of riajuus aka lets face it your average teenager that are often much more complex than contrived McGuffins or the tired love me love me not flounderings. The humanity it presents is perhaps ordinary but a muchneeded breath of fresh air in the landscape. Sadly theres just no room for charitable readings. Context is King and in an environment as toxic as this any perceived misstep is a deathblow to whatever crumbs of confidence is left. The unfortunate reality is that through guilty by association the many brave choices Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle made can also be readily and reasonably dismissed as mere authorial blunders/laziness. The natural interpretation of Sakus genuine internal conflict of living out the ideal and reconciling selfimage with societal expectations is but your typical chuunibyou bull his harem acting like the whateverderes you care to mention only reinforces this exegesis and the admittedly absurd ending in episode one might as well be the titanium bolt on this stainless steel coffin. This is not to blame the scripts problems all onto the extrinsic however. Arakawa Naruhisahttps://anilist.co/staff/109439 is a veteran of the industry and should have known better to adapt the novels into something more fitting for the weekly TV format. To this end its hard not to get into suggesting easy improvements: 1. Drop the descriptive slurries delivered by Sakus internal monologue. While the prose is a standout in the original novels visuals and voice acting could have done the brunt of the work with the change in medium. The omnipresence of Sakus thoughts important and trivial is a symptom of failing to kill your darlings and diminishes the impact of moments where his thoughts do have significant bearing to the story. 2. Play the first four episodes at once to soften the shock from the gamble that is Kentas arc. The first volume mirrors the structure of the show as a whole itself being a postironic baitandswitch that compliments its central message of not judging others by first impression well which works well as a single volume but falls short when split into a story in 4 parts. 3. Cut the unadulterated fan service scenes that only serve to muddle the waters. 325https://images2.box.com/88/3b/InjRP490o.png 325https://images2.box.com/9d/56/zWlZnLfIo.png The most offensive is probably this basketball scene the author explicitly said he was fine if it was left outhttps://x.com/hiromuyume/status/1985733531046428975?s=20 but obviously that crossed some executives perverse bottom line. But where parts of the weak script set it back Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle makes up for by doing visual storytelling well via great character acting and purposeful cinematography. At risk of committing the sin of the blue curtain this washed out almost artificial blue tinthttps://images2.box.com/19/74/8kC8W19wo.png that the cast constantly basks underhttps://images2.box.com/cb/b6/3Qooq0owo.png works as great visual metaphor for their unnatural relationship and symbolises an underlying sense of melancholy. More explicitly important scenes are emphasised to get the point across succinctly without dragging down pacing or making things agonisingly obvious: focusing in on Asukas eyes lighting uphttps://images2.box.com/95/bd/QER3ke1Fo.png during the flashback in episode one Nanase flinching at Sakus playful feint chophttps://images2.box.com/d0/0f/dhnMbQlHo.png in episode five or Sakus suspicious eyeshttps://images2.box.com/5d/fb/amFSZzS9o.png in episode six for example comes to mind. And even more so the ED paints a vivid picture of Sakus younger self that echoes his talk with Kenta in episode two a big red flashing warning sign asking the audience to look beyond a purely textual reading of the story. https://youtu.be/ca7nIyte3I?si=4Ab60XtlgP4nhCN Creditless ED Its a slight shame that the production values arent consistently great and there isnt an impressive flair one can point towards. Although both the OP and ED are audiovisual treats production masterclasses like Makeinehttps://anilist.co/manga/135276/TooManyLosingHeroines/ and My DressUp Darlinghttps://anilist.co/anime/132405/MyDressUpDarling/ have shown the ceiling of whats possible for the genre and Studio Feel is simply no match. Facial features go offmodel on occasionhttps://images2.box.com/b5/5a/kPxLRhA9o.png movements are decent overall but are sometimes stiff in the usual way that seasonal anime almost necessitates the football scenes come to mind continuity rarely but do sometimes break in between cuts and the occasional shot could use with a little more thought. 550https://images2.box.com/dd/2e/abgA9LWCo.png Exhibit A on the last point: a nod to deco27s Monitoring in episode one is cute but doesnt work inuniverse. Theres no peep hole on Kentas door Alas he who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster and Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle clearly didnt take enough care that much is said in earlier parts of this review. But Im praising with faint damn here those who are quick to judge are missing out on a story thats more introspective and intricate than it is on the surface. It ambitiously utilises its contradictory nature for characterisation and narrative realisation crafting a story that captures the adolescent beauty/chaos in its very essence. And looking at recent seasonal charts I feel the effort alone should be commended if all else fails. And dont just take my word for it Waseda Uni professors are telling their students to read at least till the third volume for class prephttps://x.com/tomoint/status/1975385158833610798?s=20 when other series like Oregairuhttps://anilist.co/manga/70171/MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpected/ and Makeinehttps://anilist.co/manga/135276/TooManyLosingHeroines/ only require one. So you better believe it.