Engaged to the Unidentified / Mikakunin de Shinkoukei

Review By: John Fragglepuss Evans

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Arranged Marriage Slice of Life

First Aired: Winter 2014, 12 episodes + 2 OVA episodes

Summary: Kobeni Yonomori is a high school girl who lives with her mother and older sister Benio. On her sixteenth birthday, Kobeni is told that, due to an arrangement by her late grandfather, she is engaged to a boy named Hakuya Mitsumine. It is at this point in time that Hakuya, along with his little sister Mashiro, come to live with Kobeni.

It is interesting that there is not a lot of interaction between Kobeni and Hakuya, even though they are engaged for an arranged marriage. Hakuya hardly ever speaks or does anything spectacular, which I think is supposed to be what is so charming about him. I did not find it particularly charming, instead I found it bland and stale. The story is more focused on their families, and while the story is unique on the surface, once you get through a few episodes you realize it is the standard romance story that has been made dozens of times. The story progresses at a slow pace and the characters were not interesting enough to make up for the slow progression. I will say this, I am sure there are people out there that will really enjoy this anime. While I was watching it I thought of a few individuals that appreciate this style of series, and they have since told me that I was crazy for not liking it. To each their own I guess.

You might enjoy this if: Slice of Life/Romance anime is your cup of tea. If you like Ranma ½, you might like this, being that they are both based on an arranged marriage and living in the same house with your fiancé and their family…The kids in Engaged to the Unidentified are not big into martial arts though.

You might not like it if: You have watched a lot of anime. Even though this is an anime based on an arranged marriage, there is a lot of predictability surrounding most of the characters and the storyline.

Note to the Viewer: Do not expect to get a lot out of Hakuya.

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