On paper, there's nothing terribly unique about The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses (henceforth CTG) that sets it apart from the bajillions of other ecchi harem anime. It may be set in a café, but it's still one guy and several girls breasting boobily. In many ways, CTG is very contrived. And I love it for that.

CTG does more than embrace the tropes of its genre—it pulls them in close and tells them how much it loves them, and then eats a delicious, candlelit dinner with them where they can discuss their bright and beautiful future together. It demonstrates how much it loves them by using them over. And over. And over. And over. It uses them so often, in fact (and in many cases, absurdly), that you can't help but feel aware of it and laugh. Even now, I'm unsure how ironic or not this series was in its repeated use of all these hokey clichés. Intentional or not, it's aggressively corny and hilarious. Or at least, I think aggressively corny is hilarious. This is where the series might lose some viewers. If you're not amused by an unrelenting onslaught of ecchi harem clichés, ironic, intentional, or not, this might make this aspect of CTG boring for you. And I say “this aspect” not only because there's a lot of great intentional comedy writing in CTG as well, but also because it may shock you to hear that despite its apparent love of clichés, CTG also breaks the conventions of ecchi harems in several ways.

In a genre that so commonly relies on asking, “Will they or won't they?” CTG makes no secret that they will—they all will. Instead, this anime hinges on the more brave and exciting question, “In what ridiculous manner will they?” This anime is not afraid to be explosive and over-the-top at every opportunity. I hope you'll leave this review wanting to watch the series if you haven't already, so I want to spoil as little as possible for you. Without giving any details, all I'll say is that results can range anywhere from garden-variety slapstick to what would be, in a more serious anime, a rock-solid foundation for a massive medical malpractice lawsuit.

Furthermore, the protagonist, Hayato, should be studied in a lab. Rather than a dense, average Joe in high school, he's a business owner and technically a Tokyo U student (he's put his classes on hold while he tries to get Familia up and running). Moreover, he's fully aware that he's surrounded by a gaggle of hot girls who are lusting after him. Not just because he has functioning brain cells but also because the girls are never shy about letting him know. The first episode of the second season has a scene where the girls get on the same page and say they all love Hayato. And refreshingly, because they all consider themselves a family, they're all okay with that! Do they make efforts to put themselves ahead in the race to Hayato's heart? Sure. But there's no malice between them. Even the jealousy is limited and often played for laughs. But of course, none of this matters to Hayato because he's not interested in actively pursuing romance while trying to get Familia off the ground.

Speaking of, the girls are easily one of the best aspects of CTG. Each of them feels unique, and not just because they're each ticking the boxes for certain character archetypes. A lot of care and attention is given to ensure they each have their own distinct personal narratives. Season 1 spends a lot of time laying the groundwork for some great payoffs in season 2, which leaves us with great moments and a strong cast of endearing, lovable girls.

On the topic of stories, being a review for specifically season 2, it's worth mentioning the new overarching story of the season—the nearby rival café that, hilariously, is called Family. Well, I say “overarching,” but for the most part, this storyline wraps up within a few episodes. Could they have milked a few more episodes for rival café hijinks? Probably. But at the same time, that time is instead largely progressing the individual girls' storylines. So, while I think there was more gold that could've potentially been mined through Family, I'm also not exactly upset that we didn't get more if it would've come at the cost of those other character arcs. That said, the lasting effect of this arc is that we get some fun new characters out of it—the Family girls. None of them are quite as interesting as the Familia girls, and we've yet to see any efforts to make them feel more dimensional, but they do at least provide some fun moments.

In case my point still hasn't gotten across, I'll say it plainly: I think CTG is a massive sleeper hit. Funny both ironically and unironically, it's somehow found a way to be a perfectly balanced blend of unoriginality and freshness. And while CTG season 2 may not quite be in the running for my anime of the year at the moment (although it is my choice for best anime of the season Summer 2024), it's easily my current frontrunner for best overlooked and underwatched anime of 2024.