Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her Premiere Handles Gender With Surprising Care
The premiere suggests a rom-com that sidesteps genre pitfalls while engaging with gender performance, even if the show itself fails to stand out.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime Feminist.
Anime Feminist reviews the first episode of Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her, finding it a mediocre rom-com that nonetheless avoids sexist cliches and handles gender identity with unexpected thoughtfulness. The show's protagonist accepts his childhood friend's gender without shock, and the female lead's performance of femininity is framed as camouflage. The reviewer notes the show is forgettable but worth discussing for its gender themes.
Based on an ongoing light novel series, Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her premiered with an episode that Anime Feminist calls "mediocre" but noteworthy for its handling of gender. The show's female lead, Haruki, tells her childhood friend she is "in camouflage," performing femininity to fit in at school. The reviewer notes that the episode can easily be read as a trans narrative, though that is not the source material's intent. The show avoids fan service and sexual embarrassment comedy, a departure from typical school rom-coms.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime Feminist Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her – Episode 1