The Fall Anime 2025 Preview Guide - Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota

Kashiwada and Oota are classmates at a junior high school. Kashiwada is a girl who never shows emotions on her face. Oota is always thinking of pranks to surprise Kashiwada, but he always fails. They appear to be opposite types of people, but they genuinely care for each other.

Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota is based on the manga series by Fuyu Azuma. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.

Wow, this show is so…nothing. Pairing two characters that are at such opposite extremes of each other can definitely be fun, and it's a story setup that has been done hundreds of times throughout the past couple of decades. I can definitely enjoy those shows on some level as long as the comedic timing hits or brings just one creative element to the table. Otherwise, you risk having a show that drags out the same joke over and over again without much opportunity for creativity. Unfortunately, the latter is precisely what this show does.

Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota only really has one joke, which is in the title. You have a girl who's not that good at expressing herself, and you have a boy who is too loud and expressive to fault. The two are curious about each other but express themselves in extremely different ways. I do like the fact that Kashiwada isn't an emotionless brick; she does express herself, just in very subtle ways that the rest of the cast can't pick up on. That's kind of fun in its own way, and she's actually quite forward when you just ask her direct questions, like how she basically confessed to Oota in this first episode. However, I don't like anything about Oota as a character because I think the show went too far in the opposite direction with him. He's loud, abrasive, annoying, and his actions really do border on the line of bullying when you sit down and think about it. He's basically invading Kashiwada's personal space, constantly throwing things in her face, and if it wasn't for the fact that she likes him, then I feel like this would be a very different type of show.

So I'm just watching a really misguided boy bully his obvious crush, which isn't an interesting premise, and it's made even less interesting by the presentation. Was I the only one who thought that all of the background characters looked deranged in some ways? Something about the way many of the characters have their eyes drawn makes them feel unsettled, and once again, we have another show that is so aggressively washed out that everyone looks like ghosts. The music was the only thing that made me laugh during this premiere, thanks to its aggressively cartoonish quality. Call me simple, but once you bring the bongos out, I can't help but chuckle. Outside of that, though, I don't think there's really much here that warrants a twenty-minute episode runtime. Maybe if this were a short series, it would be easier to digest and form, but in its current form, I feel like a lot more needs to be done to keep me engaged.

OK, on the one hand I feel like this episode was a bit funnier than last week. On the other hand, I still feel like the show isn't really addressing a lot of the behavioral issues that are just inherently problematic with its premise. I'm talking about the fact that our male lead Oota is still kind of a bully to Kashiwada throughout most of the episode. This episode is just a little bit better because he's at least taking more direct accountability for his actions and showing more openly that he does actually care about her even if he'll deny it. That is better but I still don't really like the idea of them as a couple nor do I think I like him that much as a main character.

I was disappointed by the skit that happened in the middle of the episode revolving around Kashiwada's fan. She does have a good point to Ooda that he does constantly harass her, but that doesn't end up going anywhere when it turns out the only reason why she's so uptight is because she is Kashiwada's fan, not because she had a legitimate point. Not a big fan of that trope because it's arguably just replacing one form of harassment with another. I know I'm probably reading too much into it, but considering the fact that most of these jokes still aren't funny, I'm not given a lot else to work with here.

I think the part of the episode that got me to react the most was probably the beginning revolving around the swim lessons. I liked the cut away between how everybody else was seeing Kashiwada and how she was actually swimming or I guess in some cases, drowning. That was probably the best use of the cutaway reaction gags the show really wants to lean on. If we could get more exaggerated situations like that, then I think I could find a lot more humor in the set up of this premise. However, I think that worked because we actually went to a slightly different setting than just the classroom. Maybe if we got these characters outside of school, there would be a lot more to play around with. But for now, even at its best, things are just sort of OK. This premise doesn't excite me and it doesn't feel like the show is doing a lot of exciting things with it.

Okay, I honestly find this kind of hilarious: The name of the show is Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota. The title of its premiere is “Those Who Are Completely Inexpressive and Those Who Are Super Expressive.” The synopsis for this premiere on Crunchyroll reads, “Kashiwada is inexpressive and Oota is very expressive.” For an incredibly low-stakes YA romantic comedy that lives and dies on the back of the most obvious joke in the world, this show sure does seem worried that we still might not get the shtick. So, in case anyone is still lost, allow me to break it down for you. See, Kashiwada is a girl who most would probably describe as “inexpressive.” Oota, on the other hand, is the kind of fellow that you could easily apply the “expressive” descriptor to, as a general summation of his personality. The two are opposites. Opposites…who are attracted to one another. Do you understand, now?

If there is any fatal flaw to this cartoon's whole setup, it is the fact that it is very literally a one-joke premise, and the joke isn't exactly a fresh one. We can file this under the long list of anime rom-coms that almost certainly would have worked better as short-form nuggets of slice-of-life content, rather than full half-hour episodes. Regardless of the specific gag that's being set up—Oota tries to spook Kashiwada with a spider; Oota tries to prank Kashiwada with a gross drink; Oota tries to beat Kashiwada at Old Maid - the punchline is always going to be the same thing: Kashiwada has a reaction to a somewhat outlandish situation that is less pronounced than the average person's would be. There might even be a little on-screen narration bubble that points out the emotion Kashiwada is feeling, even if her face and voice do not reveal it. There, you have officially experienced almost everything that Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota has to offer.

And yet…I don't know why, but I just couldn't bring myself to be mad at this one. Perhaps it's the vibrant art and appealing character designs. Maybe it's because the main pair's dynamic gives me the faintest hint of those sweet, sweet Teasing Master Takagi-san vibes that I've been jonesing for like a strung-out junkie. Or, maybe, I liked Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota because the show makes it clear that Kashiwada does have a charming and likeable personality underneath her gimmick. I think the moment that sold me was when the girl trembled with imperceptible belly-laughs after getting back at Oota for his misbegotten soda prank. She's a real kid who shares legitimate (albeit very muted) chemistry with her co-star, and that goes a very long way in my book. I don't think Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota is going to blow anyone's mind this season, but it's cute, it's colorful, and it will pass the time just fine. That's enough for a show like this, I think.

Breezy rom-com anime are the kinds of shows where the second episode is often just as important as the first when it comes to hooking the audience. Sure, the premiere is where you establish the premise and convince viewers that you've got a main couple worth rooting for, but Episode 2 is where you prove that you've got a formula that can actually sustain several consecutive weeks of shenanigans. I've seen plenty of comedies that impressed me with the first outing, only for me to realize a week later that the show was already running out of gas. Fortunately, I don't think that will be the case with Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota.

In fact, I actually enjoyed this episode a lot more than the first, which is a rarity no matter what genre we're talking about. I think the series really benefitted from getting the most obvious jokes about Kashiwada's inexpressiveness out of the way up front. There's still plenty of that shtick to be found here, but we also get to branch out and meet new characters that bring their own brand of weirdness to the proceedings. I enjoy Tabuchi as the new rival of sorts for Oota, as she is a competitive and outwardly intimidating girl who is secretly a Kashiwada superfan. A strong supporting cast is a must for shows like these, especially when one of the characters is intentionally lacking in expressiveness and personality.

Plus, when Kashiwasa gives her the line about not wanting a fan, but a friend, it's genuinely charming and adorable. All too often, I find these inhumanely stoic archetypes to be legitimately flat and boring, so I think the anime deserves kudos for managing to walk the balance of playing up Kashiwada's quirks while still giving us a likeable character. This, in turn, is what makes our male lead's affection for her believable, which then leads to that most important element to any romance story: Chemistry.

Chemistry is what makes this second episode of Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota work even better than the first. I thought the premiere was cute enough, even if it wasn't swinging for the fences, and it didn't leave me bored, but my appreciation of it was purely academic. I recognized that it was a decent, breezy cartoon, and that was all. This time, though, I felt it: That little twinge of excitement that hits when you start to actively thing, “Man, I sure hope these crazy kids can tell each other how they really feel!” With that, Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota has officially earned my attention.

I will try to be fair to Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota. I will be fair even though I had a headache when I started the episode, and Oota's hollering intensified it. I will try to be fair despite the fact that an overstuffed day of premieres means I don't have time to go lie down in a dark room and wait for the Tylenol to kick in.

But “fair” doesn't mean “nice,” which is good, because I have no intention whatsoever of being nice. By now, you may be tired of hearing that this show had one joke. Well, that's too bad because I'm tired of sitting through that one joke, so here goes: Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota has one joke. Oota tries to prank Kashiwada to elicit a facial expression from her, and it backfires. It's not very funny; in fact, it's actually pretty mean-spirited, considering how many people in real life get bullied for having a flat affect.

But it's totally okay, you see, because Oota is so expressive, Kashiwada can read him like a book, so he can never quite get one over on her. And also she's in love with him, and surely his attention to her is because he's in love with her too; he just doesn't understand that feeling yet. Except, Oota isn't really expressive so much as loud. So very, very, very loud. Have I mentioned I have a headache? I mean, I'd find him obnoxious either way, but “expressive” means “shows a range of emotions,” whereas his one emotion seems to be “yelling.”

I'll give the episode credit for precisely one thing: it looks quite nice. I mean, the direction is pedestrian and the color palette is oddly muted, but in an age where half the anime coming out have either glow or fuzzy filters put over them to hide poor compositing, Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota clears the bar with sharp, clean linework and precise coloring, when you're suffering from photosensitivity threatening to turn into a migraine, that goes a long way.

This is just a poor man's Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, lilac-haired female protagonist and all. Go watch that one instead – it's actually cute, and has a whole variety of jokes.

If I've learned one thing from repetitive sitcom romance anime, it's that second episodes are for rounding out the ensemble. First episode? That's for introducing the main characters, the bare bones of their personalities, their dynamic, and maybe the Greek choir of friends that comment on everything they do. Introducing a new ensemble member in the second episode means at least one new kind of joke, two new relationship dynamics, and if we're lucky, a bit less repetition.

True to the formula, episode two of Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota introduces a third main character: Tabuchi, the class rep. Like all class reps, she's buttoned up and stiff. When she calls out Oota's bullying of Kashiwada, it's ostensibly to defend Kashiwada's feelings, but in truth she's just as obsessed with Kashiwada as Oota is and worries she'll stop coming to school. There's some actual potential to Tabuchi's relationship with Kashiwada – she initially described herself as a “fan” and watched Kashiwada from afar, like an onlooker watching an animal at a zoo. She projected her own perception of events onto Kashiwada's feelings, claiming that she can understand Kashiwada better when really, she's guessing just as much as anybody.

Eventually, Kashiwada confronts Tabuchi and says she doesn't want a fan, she wants a friend. It was an unusually perceptive depiction of how people often treat others who are regarded as strange; as an observer and a defender, but keeping their distance in a way that's ultimately dehumanizing. Tabuchi resolves to act as a friend to Kashiwada instead of a fan, but it's rarely so easy to make that kind of connection. Perhaps the series will make hay of this; however, it's likely too heavy a subject for a lighthearted show like this.

Otherwise, it's more of the same. Oota plans on doing something mean to Kashiwada, but Kashiwada ends up getting one over on him. If the first episode charmed you, then it's safe to continue; otherwise, the series is an easy skip.