If you’re looking for a sweet anime that will make you simultaneously smile and want tear your hair off in frustration for the good part of 12 episodes, then you will be hard pressed to find a better candidate than The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten (Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken). Not that I am not complaining though. Its really cute and a total mood lifter.

Synopsis: Class recluse Amane Fujimiya finds his next door neighbor and schoolmate Shiina Mahiru crying in the rain and lends her his umbrella to keep her from getting sick. Unfortunately, his act of kindness makes him get a cold instead. Mahiru, who is known as the school’s angel, vows to return his kindness by feeding him good food and helping him clean his room. Soon, their secret friendship flourishes into something more.

I loved animation of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, especially the close ups. I could tell that the animators took great care with the artwork, especially for the artwork for Mahiru and consciously drew her as an angel incarnate with every frame.

Adding to this is the perfect voice casting for Amane, Mahiru and the rest of their extended squad which made their conversations really engaging for the viewers.

One would wonder how an entire 12-part anime made up of lengthy dialogues and confusion between Amane and Mahiru could be so interesting. Somehow, it is. And it all boils down to the “rules” that these two characters established at the beginning of the relationship that prevents then from acting on their growing feelings for each other. From the start, they agreed that they were going to be platonic so as not to rock the foundation of their friendship but in truth, they were already attracted to each other but just had their guards on.

This makes the hurdle so much more believable. Also, given the fact that they were both navigating the beginnings of a romantic relationship for the first time.

I loved that Mahiru was more in touch with her feelings and Amane. Being the naive and insecure guy that he was, he misunderstood all the obvious clues that Mahiru was dropping since the sixth episode because he felt that he was not worthy of her.

Props to Mahiru for proactively giving obvious hints about her feelings for Amane. She repeatedly said she didn’t mind being touched ONLY by Amane. She complimented him on his looks and personality and encouraged him to be confident. She was so touchy with him and did not hold back on showing her frustration when he just would not pick up on the signals. That poor couch pillow. It was squeezed and punched so much by Mahiru each time Amane failed to rise to the occasion. The way he was always shocked when Mahiru got too close was a hoot to watch every time.

Still, you would understand why Amane would be reserved and distrusting when it came to other people given his trauma. The fact that he’s still kind, reliable and honest, maybe not with his feelings for Mahiru, makes him a guy you could root for. I truly felt for him when he was trying to wrestle with his feelings not knowing that the object of his affection was feeling the same way.

But come on! They hold hands so naturally. They are so touchy feely with each other and they spend almost all of their time together at home. They sleep in each other’s beds. They use eah other’s utensils. They could almost pass for a married couple.

I loved Itsuki and Chitose, and their loyalty to Amane and later, Mahiru. I also liked that Konagawa was not added to make Amane and Mahiru’s relationship more complicated — he’s just another person who wants to offer genuine friendship to these two lonely people.

I liked that the friendships with these characters helped Amane and Mahiru heal over their past pains. They were also instrumental in making these two innocents realize what they were feeling all along. Its great to see friendships like these, especially since neither Amane or Mahiru were very sociable in the first place.

Anyways, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten is really something that will make your heart flutter. The downside — it will make your jaws stiffen from smiling too much. It progresses slowly and takes its time to develop the relationships of its main protagonists but it just helps you want the best ending for it, and that’s completely alright. Perfect for light viewing.