Chio's School Road

 

Chio’s School Road (2018)

I’ll be honest — I do not have much experience with the anime world outside of Studio Ghibli! I chose to watch a few episodes of Chio’s School Road (based on the manga of the same name) because it appeared on a number of top and/or most underrated anime series lists…

The premise of the anime is pretty simple: Chio, an avid gamer, walks to school and encounters different kinds of obstacles and characters every day. Sometimes she tries to translate her gaming skills into unique ways of making sure she arrives at school on time (lots of parkour!) One of Chio’s biggest obstacles is her self-esteem — much of her inner dialogue is negative self-talk and anxious thoughts.

At 12 episodes, this series is fast and pretty silly. What I admired most was that the story is told from a teenage girl’s perspective, since much of the plot and character traits might typically be attributed to the interests of teenage boys. There is a peculiar sexual element to the anime, but I interpreted it as mostly innocent teenage curiosity around bodies and sexuality. I think this series would be a fun and unique choice for teens who, like myself, are not familiar with much anime and may be overwhelmed by the massive amount of shows/movies to choose from.

Currently available on Hulu (dubbed and subbed), among many other places online.

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