We Never Learn: BOKUBEN

ぼくたちは勉強ができない (Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai)

7.0(1)

OtakuDen

7.3(247,840)

MAL Score

Ranked #3331

Popularity #549

Comedy
Romance
Harem
School

Episodes: 13
Duration: 23 min per ep
Aired: Apr 7, 2019 to Jun 30, 2019
Status: Finished Airing

Synopsis

Nariyuki Yuiga is a cash-strapped third-year high schooler determined to earn a prestigious scholarship that would pay his full college tuition. His effort pays off when the headmaster grants him the coveted nomination—on one strict condition: Yuiga must become a tutor for the school’s top students, helping each of them overcome the one subject they’re worst at.

His new students include Rizu Ogata, a math prodigy aiming for the humanities; Fumino Furuhashi, a literature standout who wants to pursue science; and his athletic childhood friend Uruka Takemoto, who struggles with academics outside of sports. As Yuiga tries to guide them toward their goals, the tutoring sessions turn into a steady stream of awkward misunderstandings and romantic complications, especially when their ambitions clash with their natural strengths.

Otaku Consensus

We Never Learn: BOKUBEN lands as a polished, low-friction shounen harem whose strongest asset is cast chemistry: director Yoshiaki Iwasaki and series composer Gou Zappa favor brisk gag timing, bright character acting, and character-specific comic payoffs over heavy romantic escalation. Critical and fan reception centers on the fun of its waifu-war ensemble, with the most common complaint being that the fanservice can feel bland or, in a few mistaken-identity gags, cross into uncomfortable territory.

Why You Should Watch

Watch BOKUBEN if you want the academic romantic tension of The Quintessential Quintuplets filtered through Nisekoi’s lighter, gag-first harem machinery, without heavy melodrama or winner-take-all urgency. Its pleasure is rhythmic: short misunderstandings, deadpan reactions, poolside Uruka energy, Fumino’s straight-man finesse, Rizu’s kuudere bluntness, and adult/maid-flavored chaos around Mafuyu and Asumi. The 13-episode format makes it easy comfort viewing, but it is not empty calories; the comedy often turns on characters being gifted in one area and emotionally clumsy in another, giving the jokes a coming-of-age aftertaste. If you enjoy arguing best-girl rankings with friends and prefer romance that teases, stalls, and resets with bright shounen polish, this is built for that exact ritual.

Key Characters

F
Fumino Furuhashi(VA: Haruka Shiraishi)
Fumino is the cast’s elegant straight woman, the kind of heroine fans latch onto for her mix of soft-spoken charm, sharp reactions, and surprisingly elastic comic timing.
R
Rizu Ogata(VA: Miyu Tomita)
Rizu brings the kuudere appeal: blunt, compact, and socially overmatched in ways that turn small misunderstandings into some of the show’s cleanest deadpan comedy.
U
Uruka Takemoto(VA: Sayumi Suzushiro)
Uruka is the sporty tomboy lane of the harem, with the AniList swimming and tanned-skin tags reflecting how strongly her athletic identity defines her fan appeal.
M
Mafuyu Kirisu(VA: Lynn)
Mafuyu gives BOKUBEN its teacher-archetype charge, pairing an intimidating classroom presence with domestic and emotional vulnerabilities that became a major talking point among fans.

What Makes It Stand Out

1
Arvo Animation and Silver co-produced the first 13-episode season, giving the adaptation a clean, bright TV-comedy look rather than a lavish action-oriented style. Masakatsu Sasaki’s character designs keep the cast instantly readable during fast reaction cuts and slapstick beats.
2
The show’s AniList tag profile is unusually explicit about its appeal: Female Harem at 91%, Slapstick at 88%, School at 87%, plus high Teacher and Swimming tags. That data maps closely onto how viewers discuss the series: archetype-driven comedy first, romantic endgame speculation second.
3
Director Yoshiaki Iwasaki and series composer Gou Zappa structure the season around rapid comic vignettes and rotating heroine focus rather than a dense serialized romance. This pacing is why the anime is often described as easy to watch even by critics who find it narratively safe.
4
Masato Nakayama’s music supports the show’s quick tonal pivots, with web reception specifically noting that the soundtrack complements both laugh-out-loud scenes and softer heartfelt beats. The score rarely demands attention, but it helps the adaptation stay buoyant.
5
The adaptation leans into the social ritual of waifu wars: reviews repeatedly frame the fun as watching the cast’s chemistry and debating who deserves to win. That competitive fandom energy is part of BOKUBEN’s identity, not just a byproduct of the genre.

Fun Facts & Trivia

Fun fact 1: The anime is based on Taishi Tsutsui’s original work, with Gou Zappa handling series composition for the TV adaptation and Yoshiaki Iwasaki directing the Spring 2019 season.
Fun fact 2: Despite a moderate MAL score of 7.26, the series is highly visible: it sits at MAL popularity rank #549 with 247,840 votes, while AniList lists it at 71/100 with 2,240 favourites.
Fun fact 3: The first season aired from April 7 to June 30, 2019 and finished at 13 episodes, making it a compact seasonal adaptation rather than a long-running school romance.
Fun fact 4: Aiko Matsuyama is credited for color design and Hiroki Matsumoto for art direction, two production roles that matter here because the series relies on bright classroom spaces, readable gag staging, and quick emotional resets.
Fun fact 5: Critical discussion around the show is notably split on fanservice: one review sample calls it mostly bland but inoffensive, while also singling out a mistaken-identity sequence as the point where the comedy becomes creepy.