Asobi Asobase

During recess, Olivia, a foreign transfer student who doesn't know English, plays a game of "look-the-other-way" with Hanako Honda, a loud-mouthed airhead. Their rowdy behavior spurs the ire of Kasumi Nomura, a deadpan loner constantly teased by her older sister for her tendency to lose games. Not willing to compete, Kasumi declines Olivia's offer to join the fun, but eventually gets involved anyway and dispenses her own brand of mischief. Soon, a strange friendship blossoms between the peculiar trio, and they decide to form the "Pastime Club," where they are free to resume their daily hijinks.

Whether it be failing to learn English, trying desperately to become popular, or getting caught by teachers at the wrong time, school life will never be boring when the girls of Asobi Asobase are up to their hilarious antics.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Honda, Hanako Main

Kino, Hina Japanese

Olivia Main

Nagae, Rika Japanese

Nomura, Kasumi Main

Kohara, Konomi Japanese

Maeda Supporting

Okiayu, Ryoutarou Japanese

Aozora, Tsugumi Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Fujiwara Supporting

Uchida, Shuu Japanese

Rizzler Baby Supporting

Iwata, Mitsuo Japanese

Oka, Ruu Supporting

Kanazawa, Mai Japanese

Olivia's Brother Supporting

Morikawa, Toshiyuki Japanese

Higuchi, Chisato Supporting

Maekawa, Ryouko Japanese

Tanaka, Shou Producer

Iizuka, Aya Producer

Higa, Yuuji Producer

Ogata, Mitsuhiro Producer

Reviews

Oct 12, 2025

kloklo99

Recommended

Genuinaly the only piece of media that has actually made me die laughing and almost piss myself, like usually when you watch a "funny" movie you still sort of need to force yourself to laugh; not this one. This is hands-down the funniest show I’ve seen in my life. I kid you not I was shitting myself and finding it hard to breathe every episode. I was just cackling in utter silence because my mouth couldn’t produce anything audible because of the lack of air that I was inhaling. It was just absolutely fucking hilarious. The opening is a cute little video of the three ... best friends and delicate music when the ending is just the complete opposite, it’s the little things like that that contribute to the immaculate and cruelly underrated comedy that is Asobi Asobase. The way the animators weren’t afraid to make the art style change every second so that the faces could look just so so funny and turning this slice-of-life into the best humour imaginable is genius. I still think Saiki K is better because it has more episodes and all and the quality is better but this is in second place for the best comedy by a thread!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jul 24, 2025

cronaaa

Mixed Feelings

I came across Asobi Asobase through TikTok, where it was recommended as a slice-of-life comedy anime. I was curious and gave it a try since I usually enjoy shows that are light and funny. After finishing it, I’d say it’s… okay. Not great, not terrible—just somewhere in between.

Honestly, I didn’t find it that funny. The humor felt a bit forced, and most of the jokes relied too much on exaggerated facial expressions and over-the-top reactions. At first, it was amusing, but it quickly felt repetitive. Instead of laughing, I often found myself just watching in silence, waiting for something to land. Another reason it didn’t ... fully click with me is the lack of a clear plot. I thought there would be some kind of story or at least some meaningful character growth, but it felt like a series of skits without much direction. Still, I understand that’s the style they were going for.

That said, I did enjoy some episodes. There were a few moments that caught me off guard and made me smile or laugh a little. The animation was expressive, the energy of the characters was fun, and the overall vibe wasn’t bad—it just didn’t match my sense of humor.

I’m giving it a 5/10 not because it was terrible, but because it had potential and had parts I liked. It wasn’t funny for me, but I can see why others enjoy it. I’d say Asobi Asobase is a decent comedy anime—it’s just not the kind of humor I personally enjoy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Aug 27, 2024

sinirlelestirmen

Not Recommended

I found asobi asobase in the list of the best comedies and it caught my attention and...

Comedy: of course we all know that comedy is a subjective concept, but the humor of this anime is very weak in my opinion, why is it? The humor of this anime basically consists of showing an event with exaggerated characters loudly and with strange facial movements, and it is not clever or unintelligent, as if it does not have any source material It's devoid of jokes. and yes that's why it makes all this absurdity boring and annoying for me

Characters:Olivia is one of the main trio. She claims ... that her English is good and her Japanese is bad because her family is foreign. Although this is good at the beginning, it becomes annoying as she repeats this joke over and over again.
Kasumi fulfills the series' need for a shy, quiet, sometimes scary girl.
Hanako is the best character to watch in the series.

Pictures and Animations:Here is the part where the series screwed up. Yes, this element is not very important in series whose main focus is comedy, but since the producer of this series, Studio Lerche, probably spent almost all of its budget on Assassination Classroom and COTE, we have pictures and animations that are much below average compared to 2018.

Overall:If you like this type of comedy, it's an anime that you can watch. If you don't, you should stay away from it.
But I recommend you give priority to better works, even if they are in the same style.
Watch only one episode because it's the same at the end as it is at the beginning. If you like it, start it. If you don't like it, don't start it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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