Fircoal

I love CGDCT. It's one of my favorite genres and provides a fun, happy viewing experience. Whether it be one that does a lot to make the characters stand out and relate their personal struggles while also keeping it fun, or whether it be one that diverts away from more developmental aspects just to have fun I find the genre to be rewarding to watch. There are even some CGDCT that do very little outside of the bare minimum that are still fun to watch due to the joy that I get from watching cute friends being friendly with each other. I state this for areason. Sometimes in reviews you get people who don't like the genre coming in and trashing a show that was never made to appeal to their interests. That isn't the case here. I really enjoy CGDCT, and even a bad one can have moments worth watching. Or so I thought. Because Ramen Daisuki is completely lacking in anything that makes it worth watching. It's terrible from top to bottom. To the point that now whenever I watch a lackluster CGDCT I think to myself: "Well at least it's not as bad as Ramen Daisuki." In my eyes the life blood of a CGDCT show is the characters and their interactions. And here we run into the first major problem of Ramen Daisuki. The chararacters are all extremely one-note. The main girl likes ramen, and that's all there is to her character. Yuu loves the main girl who likes ramen, and that's all there is to her character. Then there's the tsundere, and the bookworm, and.. that's it. There's nothing more to any of these characters. They never act outside of their formula. They never get development. They never even get notable moments with each other. Ramen Daisuki isn't the only CGDCT to have one-note characters. And while I Don't like those one-note characters usually most CGDCT are able to recover with the execution of the character interactions. Sure the genki girl and reserved quiet girl pair may be cliche at this point but it works. It's always nice to see someone will a friend out of their shell with pure love and support. Usually there's an element of fun and folly that are present in their interactions, which makes them fun to watch even if there isn't anything that breaks the mold, or develops the characters. But Ramen Daisuki can't even manage to do that right. The characters go together like ramen and chocolate: they don't. While most CGDCT focus on fun or heartwarming interactions Ramen Daisuki doesn't do either of those. Rather it decides to let ramen be the fore focus. The only thing that they talk about is ramen. And sure I get the show is about ramen but that doens't mean it should be the only thing that the characters talk about, or experience. Life is not made up of just ramen no matter how much one of the characters may like it. Even their ramen based interactions are lackluster. The stalker girl basically tries to case after the main character over and over again and is constantly rebuked only to be "let in" when the main character has to correct her about some stupid thing she said about ramen. While it's not the only show that has a push and pull between its main characters, usually there are large signs that the more reserved character is either a tsundere, or shy. They want that love, whether they know it or not and slowly warm up to the other party. This isn't true in Ramen Daisuki. The only time Ramen lover shows any sort of like towards the stalker is when she makes her ramen. The only characters also have just as lackluster and uninteresting interactions. It's hard to imagine any of them being friends due to the deficent of friendship bonding that appears in the show. While character interactions are a huge thing in CGDCT, there is the other option which is winning via worldbuilding and atmosphere. Of which there is none. The only world that exists here is the next ramen shop that they need to get to. Even on a foodie level this show fails. Sure the ramen looks good but when you spend 12 episodes doing nothing but showing uninteresting flat characters eating ramen it's bound to fall flat. There's no variation, it's only ramen. Most food shows are able to cover an array of food and really bring out the food porn fo the yummy food they're eating, but ramen daisuki is only focusing on ramen ever. And while they try to spice it up with all sorts of different types when these different types necessitate long spheals explaining what they are, it quickly devolves into uninteresting territory. I'm not sure who thought lectures would be funner to watch than characters interacting with each other but whoever did needs to be questioned. The OST is also awful. They repeat the same songs over and over again when they already weren't that good to begin with. On their own they're already lackluster ut when they appear for the thousandth time it's noticeably annoying, which is obviously not what a show should be going for. The songs are very simple and are lacking in flavor. So it makes it worse to hear it every single time. There's nothing to this show. The characters are flat and uninteresting. It's as if ramen is the only thing that exists in this world, and on top of that the interactions are straight up bad. With bad characters, interactions, and world this show has nothing to offer unless you really want to see ramen. And then you have to put up with the rest just to get that. I'd say save it and go to a nearby store and by some ramen. It'll be much tastier and you won't have to deal with this failure of a show.

Wotakunai

Why should you watch Ramen Daisuki Koizumi San? The story is Fair (6). There's nothing fancy about the story. It's about a girl obsessed with ramen being stalked by her classmate who is obsessed with her. And a ton of useful? facts about ramen, its history, and how to enjoy them best. Art is Very Good (8). I say very well but not in the character department but in how they animate ramen in the story. Each ramen dish is distinct from one another from the color and texture of the soup and noodles to the side dishes that go along with them. Sound is Very Good(8). It is due to how it induces the feeling that you are in whatever restaurant Koizumi and here classmates dine for a bowl or two of ramen. Additionally, the sound they make while and after finishing a bowl of ramen is hunger-inducing. Moreover, the parts wherein things get a bit emotional, have a very nice melody in them that I love to listen to. Characters are Good (7). I like the cold and nonchalant character of Koizumi, she was made to really stand out in the story as she is the main character who devours those bowls after bowls of ramen. The other characters are just fairly there to decorate and make Koizumi stand out in the show. They are very straightforward. I enjoyed watching all 12 episodes of Ramen Daisuki Koizumi san, and I always look for anything ramen like to eat while or after watching each episode. So please take this as a warning if you decide to binge-watch this anime. In connection to the statement above, I believe that it has done its purpose well which is to make us crave, learn and love one of the dishes Japan is popular for; Ramen! 7 bowls of shoyo ramen out 10.