The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten First Impressions

As someone who actively checks /r/anime, I have seen key visuals of this anime and thought the style looked gorgeous. I then found out today that this anime is made by not just the same studio that made Ro-Kyu-Bu!, but also the same character designer (not to be confused with the original character designer) as Ro-Kyu-Bu! As someone who loves this anime for its art style, I had to check The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, even though it’s a romance anime. I’ll still watch romance anime if at least one of the members in the couple is extremely cute, has a design I love, or has a great personality or trait. In the case of Mahiru Shiina, she’s one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen in anime. She just might be the waifu of the Winter 2023 anime season.

From what I watched in the first episode, this feels like a normal high school romance anime focused on romance. There is some comedy, but it’s secondary to the romance. Compare this to Aharen-san, which is more comedy-focused. I really liked Mahiru as a character. So far, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten is the best Project No.9 anime based on its MAL score, and I’m happy to know that this studio is continuously getting better each year since 2021.

I’d like to compare this anime to another anime I’m watching this season called Onimai. Both these anime have a female character wanting a male character to improve himself (or in the case of Onimai, a male character who got turned into a cute girl). The self-improvement aspect of Onimai feels more evident, whereas the angel next door spoils the main male character rotten. The central character in The Angel Next Door is an average high school boy, while the central character in Onimai is a NEET otaku who got turned into a cute girl. The Angel Next Door is a romance anime, while Onimai is a comedy ecchi CGDCT anime. While The Angel Next Door has prettier art, Onimai has more dynamic animation. The Angel Next Door is a much cleaner anime. Both anime appear to have different target audiences. The Angel Next Door is for romance fans, while Onimai is for people who, deep inside, wish they were cute anime girls. Both anime are cute but in different ways. The Angel Next Door is cute in a lovey-dovey way, whereas Onimai is cute in an “I want to make them wear cute outfits!” way.

So far, 2023 is a year that my otaku level is increasing significantly. I’m watching more anime because that’s all I want to do. I’m playing more video games. It’s almost as if I’m putting my tasks and my New Years Goals for 2023 aside. Even The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten had a scene where the main male character’s apartment is cleaned, which reminds me to clean my apartment. It’s nowhere near a mess like that guy’s apartment, but clearly, cleaning needs to be done.