Ouran High School Host Club was the anime that introduced the audience to the classic tomboy trope – hiding the fact that the boy character is actually a girl. Several other shows took inspiration from Ouran, but not many managed to hit the mark in terms of accurately depicting a good tomboy character. Aoharu x Machinegun came out quietly in 2015, and its plot pretty much seems like an Ouran knockoff at first glance. Fortunately, there's more than meets the eye when it comes to the former.
Aoharu x Machinegun is a highly overlooked anime that offers an entertaining combo of several themes, including sports, comedy, action, and sometimes even romance. It's a shounen drama with a unique sports plot that will surely keep the audience hooked. Here's why binge-watching this show won't be a waste of time.
Accurate Representation of the Tomboy Persona:
Putting tomboys in shojo anime is a classic move, but their representation is highly gullible, especially in high-school rom-coms. Most tomboys suddenly get a girly makeover because of a boy who comes soaring into their lives. But student council president Hotaru Tachibana is far from being girlish. Tachibana is known for her strong sense of justice, and with her boy cut and male uniform, she is completely unidentifiable as a girl. She's not just dressed like a tomboy but has a strong, vivacious personality that recently only Tomo Aizawa and Anzu Hoshino were able to pull off.
There's nothing girly about Hotaru, and the only time the viewers even realize that she's a female is when another character in the show points it out. Other than that, whenever Hotaru Tachibana is in her game mode, she becomes vicious, almost like super Saiyan style. There are several layers to Hotaru Tachibana's character that get peeled off as the show progresses, only for the audience to find that she has a very complex personality. Fortunately, that works in the show's favor. Her character is actually what the tomboy persona should be all about, and Tachibana pulls that off expertly, making her one of the best anime tomboys.
Story About An Unconventional Survival Game
Most survival game stories in high school are either too extreme or about the same old climb-to-the-top trope. In Aoharu x Machinegun, Tachibana hilariously finds herself recruited for a bottom-tier airsoft team by none other than a school hottie who runs a host club. Masamune Matsuoka is confronted by Tachibana one day when she hears that a girl has been mistreated at the host club. The confrontation results in Masamune and Hotaru going face to face in an airsoft game which she obviously loses, and because of the property damage, she is forced to join his failing Toy Gun Gun team.
At first, it's nothing but a drag for her, but the rush and thrill of how serious these teams take the game awakens something in Hotaru. Later on, her character becomes fueled by the adrenaline of facing off against other players and pushing them out of the game. The way the characters appeal to the survival game is the show's highlight, and of course, the action sequences are enjoyable, considering it's about an airsoft game. Aoharu x Machinegun may not have Blue Lock or Demon Slayer level action, but it manages expectations in that department. The series isn't perfect, but it's everything a viewer who loves a good survival show with entertaining characters would want.