Following its delay from the spring season, the third season of the anime adaptation of the Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru light novels (also abbreviated as Oregairu) comes as one of the heavyweights in the summer season, but Why is it so expected?
If given a quick glance, Oregairu offers a fairly routine premise. Focused on a young and isolated high school student named Hachiman, this series opens with him cynically breaking the social dynamics of the peers around him, until his teacher forces him to join the Volunteer Club. There, in conjunction with the equally cynical Yukino and the optimistic Yui, he will work to resolve students' personal conflicts using their almost nihilistic understanding of human psychology. Combining psychological drama, romance, and a great deal of comedy, Hachiman's adventure will snap him out of his cynical demeanor, as he learns to express genuine vulnerability, and the joy and terror of having to worry about others.
First of all, Hachiman's own journey through the first two seasons of Oregairu has turned out to be one of the most complex and rewarding character developments in the industry. Nothing about Hachiman's initial cynicism feels artificial or unreal in any way and, in fact, his understanding of human motivation is quite sharp from the start. However, as his journey continues, he begins to add new understandings to his initially defensive worldview, as he develops genuine friendships and discovers that there are people who can appreciate his brutal honesty.
Hachiman is not the only Oregairu character to be adorned with its complexity and depth. The series includes the support of a colorful and understanding cast of characters, whose personal strengths and weaknesses demonstrate that the author is clearly fascinated by human nature and possesses great empathy for others. Oregairu's characters don't do things for stupid reasons or star in forced dramatic scenes. Their conflicts are based on entrenched disagreements and insecurities with clear reasoning and understandable motives.
The fact that Oregairu's characters are so richly shaped leads directly to the next strong point in the series: his analyzes of the psychology of high school students and of human nature in general. Although Hachiman is sometimes unnecessarily cynical, he also tends to offer genuine opinions. As Oregairu expands beyond his initial altitudes, he begins to offer more and more "genuine truths." This is how this series can secure a place among classic psychological dramas like Neon Genesis Evangelion or Monogatari.
Of course, a series focused entirely on human psychology research might feel quite empty, but luckily this series also contains an excellent sense of humor and a rather quirky chemistry among its cast of characters. Both the black cynicism in the opening episodes of Oregairu and the genuine bonds of friendship between the characters are heightened through constant comedy, while the disputes between Hachiman and Yukino easily grab the best moments of the series.
But even if Hachiman and Yukino develop such great chemistry, Yui remains the heart of the group, caring for their friends even in the darkest moments. As a result, Oregairu is able to construct a love triangle where no person is automatically left out, and where the viewer genuinely wants no one to lose. All of Oregairu's main characters end up taking care of each other in some way, making it easy for the audience to grow fond of them.
Paired with a sublime storyline, Oregairu was also blessed with excellent design and art direction. While its first season is downright “passable,” the series underwent a change in studio and production team for the second season, with talented Kei Oikawa in charge of directing. As a result, the second season was blessed with consistent and evocative cinematography and a host of intimate moments, carefully made by the voice actors. And with Oikawa and his talented team back in Season 3, expectations are skyrocketing.
Finally, one of the things fans are most excited about is, in fact, that this is the final season. The light novels have already concluded and there is only enough material left for one more season, which means that we are really before the end of Oregairu. Instead of being like the other series that decide not to continue covering the original material, Oregairu decided to end with a firm step, through a third season that, in fact, will present a conclusion to the Hachiman story.
Original writing: Crunchyroll
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