Alternate Titles: Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara
Light Novel Adaptation by Hoods Entertainment
Simulcast on Crunchyroll

Premise

A boy with a curse can see flags above people heads. He uses his genre awareness to smash those flags so that they don’t get too close to him and draw a death flag. He is introduced to a girl with no flags and a girl with seemingly limitless flags.

Lifesong’s Verdict: Genre Aware Comedy

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this. I was hoping it would be a new NouCome, but it isn’t that. What is it exactly? After the first episode I’m not really sure. Our protagonist lives in “The Quest Dorm” which makes me think that this show will be some combination of RPG and Dating sim parody. This first episode? It introduces us to the cast and runs us through a slew of amusing gags for the genre aware and well… little else. As someone who enjoys dating sims, RPGs and games that mix the two I found myself amused by this episode. There is absolutely no subtlety to this anime, but I think that might actually work in its favor. I enjoyed this episode, but I’ve honestly no idea what to expect next. Maybe they will form a party and go into dungeons? Maybe it will devolve into a silly harem with a protagonist who wants to hide away from it? Maybe both?

What I can tell you about this first episode is that I like the cast. The protagonist is boring, but most of the episode isn’t even from his perspective. The story is introduced from the flag-less heroines perspective and that is something I hope will continue. I appreciate the way she recognizes that the protagonist is looking above other characters heads and calls him out for it. No beating around the bush, no subtlety either, but as I mentioned before I think that is a plus for this series. The second character we are introduced to is the girl with flags that just pop back up no matter how often they are broken. Her personality would be off the wall cliche if not for the flags, but they did enough to make her a likeable and amusing addition to the cast. The ending sequence leads me to believe that we haven’t even met half the cast yet so I’m curious to see how character dynamics will play out once we do. I’ve no idea how long I will stick with this anime, but for now I’m pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t awful.

Marlin’s Verdict: Flag Tripped

I think I came into this show with totally the wrong expectations. I was assuming it’d be some generic romantic comedy, or something VN-centric to explain that name. Instead what we got was actually a pretty smart play on the trope of “flags” in media. The idea that a guy talking about his proposal puts him in harms way has a kind of meta explanation as to why that always happens in fiction. The entire world seems to take joy at prodding visual novel tropes, like the slew of conversations Sota has as soon as he steps into the classroom. The Quest Dorm is also a great nod to the random places that VNs usually take the player. I also like that the heroines are not just blank stereotypes, but seem to have personalities beyond the rich girls they appear to be. Sota’s response to his power is kinda hilarious in its stoicism. It kind of reminds me of Keima in that he breaks the flags not because he wants to, but because he feels obligated. Color me impressed, by the time this show was done my mood towards it took a 180. I can’t wait to see where they take the concept further.