If it hasn’t been that obvious, I love gals! If there’s an anime about a gal with a heart of gold, I will more than likely plop my butt down and watch it. From My Dress-Up Darling to Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!, watching these stylish, often blonde-haired women of Japan brings me lots of joy. (I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve also been to gal-themed bars in Tokyo!) And the more kindhearted gals in an anime, the better.

So it should come as no surprise that I watched this past Spring’s Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!?, the latest series from TMS Entertainment (Detective Conan, Lupin the Third). Based on the manga by Norishiro-chan, the story follows the friendship between two gals and their male classmate. And considering that it’s in the rom-com category, one can obviously guess that many matters of the heart will come into play between the three characters. The worst part: both of the gals are so good that rooting for one of them to succeed is next-to-impossible!

The story starts off with Takuya Seo (Sho Komura), the otaku in the title. He loves a series called GlitterMon, a magical girl anime geared towards girls. When Kei Amane (Konomi Inagaki) discovers Seo’s love for the series, her fandom slowly starts to be revealed. Along with her bestie Kotoko Ijichi (Yu Serizawa), the three of them slowly build upon a friendship that Seo often feels lucky to be a part of. But the more they hang, the more new feelings start to build up between the three of them.

Just like many gal-based anime, Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? pairs up a beauty with a more reserved guy. Sometimes, it’s a guy with an odd hobby; other times, the guy is just super shy. For Seo, he’s a mixture of both. When he finds himself talking with either Kei or Kotoko, he often wonders why two beautiful women would want to associate with him, much less be in the same vicinity of him. However, as he gets close to both gals, the answer to why they’re around Seo becomes more obvious: they just enjoy talking and hanging out with him.

Having a shared interest helps, as Kei and Seo bond over GlitterMon. From talking about favorite episodes to cosplaying as their favorite characters at a school festival, the two of them find a bounty of ways to keep the conversation going and segue into talks about their own personal lives. As for Kotoko, while she isn’t so much into anime as the two of them, she takes the time to learn about their interests from an outsider looking in. And when she does, she never comments snidely about their hobbies; she legitimately takes an interest in the things her friends enjoy.

This friendship extends outside of the classroom, as Seo, Kei, and Kotoko hang out at each other’s homes, hit a karaoke spot, and take day trips to the beach with Kotoko’s totally extroverted family. All of it is captured with some good humor and delightful banter between the three main characters. (It also helps that the show is gorgeous, showing just how good TMS Entertainment can craft a rom-com that isn’t about renting girlfriends!) And as time goes on, and Seo gets to know Kei and Kotoko, he sees that both girls are just as beautiful on the inside as they are outside.

Of course, this doesn’t stop a certain trope that I am getting tired of: the constant pondering of why a hot gal is hanging out with an Average Joe. Even after they go out and have a late-night movie slumber party, Seo can’t get it in his thick skull that Kei and Kotoko truly like being around him. Worse, the dude can’t take a hint when it comes to girls who fall in love with him. There’s an episode where Kei has to do a photo shoot, and asks Seo to help. The way she acts around him, with both wearing wedding garb, makes it so obvious that Kei is smitten by him. And yet, Seo can’t read the most obvious cues that she gives off!

Yet despite this frustrating aspect of Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!?, it still has a lot of great things to offer both in story and character development. The chemistry between the voice actors is very enjoyable, with Komura, Inagaki, and Serizawa working off each other both playfully and heartily. While the soundtrack isn’t anything too special, one can’t help but think that opener “Hide and Seek” by I-dle is a fantastic K-POP banger with one of the coolest opening animation sequences from the Spring 2026 season.

As a gal connoisseur, I can’t help but recommend Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? But even if those aren’t your type of women, there’s plenty of fun and heartwarming moments this series offers. Although the anime scene has been eating really well this year when it comes to solid rom-coms — be it with invisible folk, devil girls, or even a gay guy with a crush — I’m certain that any viewer will find room to spare to consume it. Consider Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? a hearty midnight snack, one that’s easily digestible and tastes pretty, pretty good.

Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? can be viewed on Crunchyroll, and has been licensed by Crunchyroll. Episodes 1-12 were observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.