@Spartan00113

Nah, from the very first episode, it is made clear that Ichikawa is far from being a threat to society. Most people are so used to being spoon-fed by Western works that they completely overlook basic storytelling principles like ‘show, don’t tell’. How can you explain scenes like the glass of water, the classroom presentation, or the bicycle without acknowledging that Ichikawa is actually a kind, considerate and attentive young boy? How?

@Ult.98

He starts off a weirdo but he's actually a real ass mf

@firefly5677

This series wouldn't be as good as it is if it didn't start like it does. The story isn't just about the romance between Ichikawa and Yamada, it's about Ichikawa learning to love and accept himself. Him realizing he isn't the incel chunibyo he convinced himself he was and his journey of self discovery is the big focus for the first season/first half of the manga

@shin-iti

I guess the misconception comes from the idea that Chunibyo culture in the west is not that much know, outside of anime, so ppl think that Chunibyo can be only otakus, but its way more spread, from military otakus, books otakus and, you guessed it, serial killer otakus, so most Japanese audience caught istantly he was just a chunibyo that didnt actually think all that he was fantacizing, but western audience were weirded out because took all that as if he was serius, and not just a façade for something else.

@alvarovargas7118

I will never understand, what is so repulsive about the first episode.

For me, it was clear, from the moment it is understood that he suffers from the eighth grade syndrome. That he is just a child who does not know how to convey his emotions or understand himself.
And that's it, if Ichikawa had real delusions of psychopathy and had really tried to hurt Yamada, maybe there he would understand. But just thinking about it?

Many children, especially those of us who have suffered from bullying or have simply been antisocial, have once thought of "this person should die". But there it remains, like an intrusive thought.

I am more afraid of ADULT people, who want a girl to die with suffering, because she killed a dog because of having mental problems. Ah, but since in this case there is a JUST CAUSE, there if people are not bad or are sick for thinking about it, they just want justice... of course

So to make it clear: WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF THESE THOUGHTS WHEN WE FEEL ANGRY OR RESENTENT, IT IS HYPOCRITE TO WANT TO SEE IT AS SOMETHING ALIEN TO THE REALITY OF THE HUMAN MIND

This is what I think and I am a woman by the way (the account belongs to my partner) ironically the mangaka is too.
And there are also many women who if we reason and realize that not everything is "violence against women"

@slvyc

The romance is this show >>> the romance in Love is war + every other romance anime that aired this year so far

@olgabutorina4156

i really like Ichikawa as MC. And Yamada too actually XD
I'm a girl and I am always search for a romance where male MC make some moves towards girl and not just girl making all the work. And while Yamada in this show was really aggressive from her side (which I also like), it really strikes me every time when Ichi breaks out of his shell or saying something from his heart. And the fact that he is a loner and introvert kinda makes it even more impactful. I almost cried at last episode when he thanked to Yamada for making his school life better. It is really rare to see male MC who says something from the bottom of his heart. 

I started to read manga long before the anime (1,5 year or maybe even more) and when I first saw his "murder intentions" I didn't even thought that it was bad or something. I thought "well, it may be 1) a manga with a true killer as MC who changes his ways because of some girl (which is interesting in it's own way), 2) a manga about a delusional guy who likes a girl but way too shy and afraid to admit his feelings"
All I afraid of was that this manga would be 1) a slice of life without any romance; 2) Ichi will actually try to kill Yamada 3) the romance won't be that interesting in the end of the day

But even though I wasn't turned of the manga because of it's beginning, I didn't read more than ~8-9 chapters or so, I just didn't believe that there will be an interesting romance. But something (maybe a spoiler?) took me back a little later and I tried to read more and I was glad I did)) This is now one of my most favorite romcom manga and I didn't really saw anything similar to it yet. Both MCs are great and I am happy that this manga got an anime and now it got a 2 season XD I am happy! Congratulations to us all!

@Rai98Chu

For me, Ichikawa being cringe at the start made his character growth much more beautiful. After catching up to the latest chapter, I now understand why manga readers loves the MC as much as they love the main girl. Which is amazingly rare, you know, to have an actually well-written and lovable loner as an MC. Most similar stories only uses the MC for self-insert purposes, and it's just the main love interest that carries the whole show. So BokuYaba is a breath of fresh air BECAUSE of the first episode. 

In any case, no one can deny that lots of people seemed to get the wrong idea and dropped the show before even finishing the first one or two episodes lol

@themaninmyprofileisachad6888

I swear i freeze up and sweat when i hear the words “boku no.” Please dont take me back 😦

@nytloc7108

Your analysis is very fair, but I guess the most blunt way I can put it is through the old saying that "actions speak louder than words." If I knew someone absolutely hated me, desired me dead, whatever awful things you can think of, but managed to keep that in check, and still treated me as they would any other human being, and I somehow knew this was their actual thoughts on me, I would consider them a good person. More than that, I would be impressed with their moral fortitude to deny these things. What makes Nanjou a worse person than Ichikawa are his actions, not his words. No amount of thought can equal a single bad action. Bad thoughts can inspire bad actions, and it's best that he breaks out of it, but I'd rather ten-thousand people impotently fantasize about my destruction than a single person poke me in the eye.

@yujin.desuuuu

maybe i should give this anime a chance

@samninjago8216

i love Ichikawa as a mc for the same reason u do hes interesting and also this is weird but were are so simular to the point where its creepy the only big difference is that 
he sucks under presser but i can waffle my way out of any thing and make lie in a instated

@samninjago8216

personaly i like the show at the start because i thought it be a fucking Takagi-san rip off and then this guy just say he want to murder too be honest i was kinda glad
because every charater in anime slice of life and rom-coms are JUST TOO NORMAL like most people are really fucking weird and thik of fucked up stuff because no one else can here them i just glad that the main charater has something weird about him and not just another cardboard cut out like most mc in anime like black hair and the back of 
the class looking out the Window

@candralegend4965

Nope the first eps isn't bad, it's decent and the ost in this eps is great also the last scene when he throw his bike to the river is good

@thextreme7619

I actually enjoyed the first episode immensely.  That was the reason I kept watching.  It never entered my mind that he was thinking about graping her dead body.  To this day, I find no reason to assume that he was ever intending to do such a thing.  And for those who did, I think maybe the problem lies with you, and not the anime.  Might want to put down the snuff animes for a while.  I did, half-expect the show to be a little darker than it actually turned out to be, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very light-hearted.

@dlove-vp1od

Bro is a true crime fanatic wants to be a writer and an artist if you watch it for more than 2 minutes you’ll realize he’s really a good person and all of that is just a wall he puts up to protect his feelings

@ahyesiamacarnerd1656

I mean he’s a kid after all. We all have stupid thoughts during that period.

@georgeimus6102

I actually love ur commentary and yes I love this anime

@alt-animefan3231

This is why I love anime, creators have the freedom to go all out and unlike the west they don't have a army of blue haircut freaks demanding everything change.

@justsomedudewithnoneck8329

Ngl I subbed to you just for defending Hachiman who in my opinion the best rom com anime protagonist and definitely top 5 for romance anime in general 🤷‍♂️💯