Golden Time (Crunchyroll) is an amusing offbeat romantic comedy involving a group of law students. (Technically in American terms they are undergraduates in a pre-law program.)

The story has a slightly old-fashioned feel with oddball characters in a fairly realistic setting and a decent but naive young man attracted to a strong-willed woman.

Banri Tada’s university career gets off to a bad start. He arrives late for the opening ceremony, then has trouble finding his way to the law school.


On the way he encounters Mitsuo Yanagisawa, who is also looking for the law school. The two of them hit it off and soon become good friends. (Banri calls him “Yana-san.”)

When they finally get to the law school building they encounter a strikingly beautiful young woman who greets Mitsuo with a large bouquet of roses.

…with which she proceeds to bitch-slap him.

This is Mitsuo’s childhood friend Kouko Kaga. She is rich and beautiful and used to getting what she wants. For years she has planned to marry Mitsuo and never bothered to ask what he wants. She has planned out their life together in meticulous detail.

They were both supposed to attend a much more prestigious university, but Mitsuo secretly enrolled in Banri’s university in order to get away from her.

But Kouko has not only tracked him down but has also enrolled in the same university and law program.

Mitsuo is determined to avoid Kouko even if that means hiding whenever she shows up.

Kouko decides to cultivate an acquaintance with Banri, hoping that he will tell her where Mitsuo is hiding. He is too loyal to do that but he doesn’t tell he to bug off either. She seems too intriguing and attractive–though obviously out of his league.

As we get to know Kouko a little better she seems a bit more sympathetic. Her main motive is loneliness. She has known Mitsuo since they were small children and he is her only real friend. She can’t imagine life without him and she can’t accept that he doesn’t feel the same way about her.

Banri has other interests. Like most new college students he is looking for a club to join and a number of people are seeking to recruit him.

Chinami Oka is a member of the Film Research Society and a part-time voice actress.

“Lynda” (real name Nana Hayashida) is member of the Japanese Festival Culture Research Society, and thus a rival to Chinami in their attempts to recruit Banri.

After being kidnapped by the depraved ladies of the Tea Ceremony Club, Takaya Satou vows to have nothing more to do with 3D girls. He is henceforth known as “2D-kun.”

In the third episode (during which Banri and Kouko are kidnapped by a religious cult) we learn a disturbing fact about Banri. Shortly after his high school graduation Banri was injured in an accident which destroyed his memories of his life up to that point. (He spent a year in rehab which means that he is a year older than Mitsuo and Kouko.)

This makes him similar to Kouko in that he has no friends outside of the university. At least, none that he remembers…