High Score Girl (series review)

Video games have gone a long way since they were first introduced by William Higinbotham in 1958. They went from their primal age to the Atari Age, to the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the 80s, to the console wars in the 90s, or the bit wars as some would call them, to the modern age of video games. Throughout its existence, video games managed to merge with culture in different ways, like how the NES and SNES became symbols of the 80s and 90s. Video games also managed to merge with literature in different forms throughout the years, from disastrous films like the Super Mario Bros. with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo and John-Claude Van Damme’s Street Fighter to the excellent Disney Classic Wrick It Ralph films and to Ernest Cline’s science fiction, video game themed novel ready player one.

In this review, I will look at the anime adaptation of Rensuke Oshikir's manga High Score Girl, a Netflix original anime that began on December 24th, 2018, for season 1 and April 9th, 2020, for season 2, with 3 OVAs on March 20th, 2019. The OVAs were not available on Netflix as of the date of writing this review.

The anime revolves around Haruo Yaguchi and Akira Ono and their love for video games that turns into a romantic relationship that struggles to break through some social barriers. This review will examine the characters, the themes, and what makes this anime special and decide if it’s a good watch.

Themes:

High Score Girl discusses several themes, with the first being the process of growing up. The anime sticks to its genre as a romantic coming-of-age anime, and it does it wonderfully, as we see Harou’s life and observe how he goes through the stages of life and becomes more mature as time goes by. Haruo’s character development represents how we all live our daily lives as we ascend from childhood to adulthood, and through him, we can experience all the joys and pains in life. From school life to friends, to the love of video games to adjust to the necessities of life, like finding a job and getting a driver’s license, confessing your love to your girlfriend, and finally becoming your own independent self. What is fascinating about Haruo is how real he feels, as the anime goes on, we can start to build an emotional connection with him because we understand how he feels and has experienced it ourselves. 

The anime also discusses social class, as we see the main character’s parents represent the two sides of society, Harou and his mom represent the average middle-class citizens who live their lives with relaxed rules and have the freedom to do as they please and Ono’s parents who represent the high-class society that lives by several strict codes and planed lives. This theme is expressed through both Haruo and Ono but focuses more on the latter, as we see Ono struggle with her teacher and parents’ strict rules and how she should uphold the image of the Akira family. This theme ties up nicely with the third theme, as the anime shows the value of one’s life and how he or she alone decides how to live it regardless of social class or family heritage.   

The final theme that the anime discusses is, of course, video games and their impact on our lives. This theme counter-argues the opinion that video games are harmful and promote violence and social isolation, as we see them getting people closer together and used as a way to make friends and, in the main characters’ case, have a relationship. The anime’s time frame is an important factor in this theme as it takes place in the 1990s, a time when video games were considered a menace to society. The counter-argument manages to fit the time frame of the 90s controversy as well as having long-lasting longevity.

With these themes, Hi Score Girl achieves brilliance in writing its characters and developing them as well as developing the story itself. 

An example of excellent storytelling:

From start to finish, High-score Girl is a romantic story and a wonderful one at that. It has elements from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, two young lovers from two different families on opposite sides of the social structure. Haruo is Romeo, Akira is Juliet, Miyao and Doi can be seen as Benvolio and Mercutio, and Makato, Akira’s sister, can be seen as the nurse, with changes, of course.

The way that the story evolves is beautiful and emotional as it is an example of how a romantic story should be, engaging and thrilling, wanting the two sides to confess their feelings and wanting a “they live happily ever after” ending. It can keep almost anyone who is watching invested in it. 

Ono herself is a well-written character, despite being silent from the start of the anime to its end, we understand her every emotion. From fear to determination and from sadness to happiness, her emotions are expressed nicely through the animation, through the story, and through her interactions with the other characters. She embodies the “show, don’t tell” style of character writing.  

The supporting cast is also fantastic, they show that they care about the protagonists and help them improve their relationship further. One interesting supporting cast is Koharu Hidaka, who plays a major role in the story as the third person in a love triangle between her, Akira, and Haruo. Her addition to the plot provides a thrilling suspension as she battles to win Haruo’s affection, and through this, we see her character develop further. 

The comedic element in the plot is well written, the jokes are funny, and they also help improve some of the events of the plot as well as help develop the characters without any interference. Even though they can be a bit more mature at times.

The anime is also a love letter to video games, as we see many video game references throughout the entire series, from classic arcade machines like Street Fighter 2 to classic home consoles like the Sega Saturn. The video game references also play a major part in the story, as they are used to further the plot as well as develop characters as we see video game characters like Guile and Zangief interact with Haruo and Akira.

Another example of how well the anime is is its use of one of its tools to progress the story. At the start of the series, a ring is introduced and is used to progress the romantic tension between the protagonists. While this might be a small tool and can be forgotten at times, the plot reminds us about it and keeps it relevant until the end, and the plot makes us guess the purpose of the ring as at the beginning, we see a reason for it, and by the end, we might reach another.

Finally, the 3d animation, while on the average side, still looks good. It shines the most in some cases where a huge amount of emotion is on screen or during an important moment in the plot.

Conclusion:

High Score Girl is a wonderful anime in almost every way. The story is fantastic, the themes are mature, the characters are lovable and well-written, and despite the animation being decent most of the time, it becomes great when it needs to be. The love and admiration for video games are shown from start to finish, with many references and interactions with the plot and characters. 

It is an example of a perfect romantic anime, and it’s suitable for everyone who is an anime lover, a video game lover, or someone who wants to watch a good series. I highly recommend it.