Eren the Southpaw
“Hard Work vs Genius”
Appreciation, recognition, and validation are important to human beings in some shape or form. Perhaps you are seeking it from a specific person, organization, higher entity, or even yourself, but you need it to press forward amid adversity. The sad thing is, it may never come from external sources, and you’ll just have to accept yourself sometimes. One could argue that self-acceptance is the crucial first step before any externalities matter, but there’s never a guarantee things will get better.
“Eren the Southpaw,” also known as “Hidarikiki no Eren,” is a 13-episode TV anime series that aired from the 8th of April until the 1st of July in spring 2026. It was produced by TV Tokyo, VAP, Dentsu, Magic Capsule, GAGA, NADA Holdings, and Marui Group and brought to life by Studio Production I.G. and Signal.MD; and the main staff behind it included Chino Takatoshi, Kikuchi Ruriko, Ooishi Junko, and Ootani Yuuichirou as producers. The series features drama, an adult cast, and visual art and targets the shounen demographic. Each episode runs 25 minutes and has earned a PG-13 rating for teenagers 13 years or older.
The anime is based on the web manga titled “Hidarikiki no Eren,” also known as “Eren the Left-Handed.” It ran for a total of 10 volumes from the 24th of March, 2016, until the 21st of September and has long since concluded. It is the work of author and artist Kappy, featuring the Slice of Life genre and being serialized in cakes. Another manga series titled “Hidarikiki no Eren,” or “Eren the Southpaw,” has been released as a remake of the original web manga. It began publication on the 7th of October, 2017, and is still ongoing, targeting the Shounen demographic. It is the work of the same author, artist Nifuni, and is being serialized in Shounen Jump+. The series has even been published digitally as an English simulpub via MANGA Plus.
The story is centered on the protagonist, Koichi Asakura, who works hard as a designer at an ad agency but never receives the recognition he deserves. Matters worsen when he is dropped from a project, leading him to visit a place from his school days, where he fatefully crosses paths with Eren Yamagishi, a well-known left-handed graffiti artist regarded as a genius in New York. Despite being in polar opposite circumstances, Eren, too, endures many struggles inherent to her path in life.
This tale is basically a homage to people who aren’t born geniuses with undeniable talent. Ordinary people try harder than most but fail to reach the level that “geniuses” effortlessly achieve, leaving them without the strength to carry on. It is an ambitious title that tries to bring forward something most series wouldn’t dare to, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Despite the synopsis portraying a workplace setup, it starts with a one-sided beatdown in an outlaw-like setting before turning to the artists in the office. Why? Because no mature drama is complete without teenage angst for some weird reason. Regardless, I cannot deny that there is a very human story being told here: the anguish of being a troubled “genius” who just wants to live an ordinary life, and of a normal person trying to create great works through sheer determination and will. It’s a reminder that it’s okay not to have the spotlight while also remaining in the shadows to direct the light toward others and their success.
You can give everything humanly possible to become a genius, even if you end up falling short. Just like in real life, there is no clear good and evil, meaning even the messages can become murky at times. Whenever a workplace conflict arises, things get dark and overwrought way too fast; all of a sudden, everyone flips and starts screaming, yelling, and crying as if this problem has tormented them their whole lives. I normally expect a formal workplace to be a tad more professional and controlled than that. Still, we have all heard about how hellish offices in Japan can get and how normalized overworking has become. Toxic work culture is a massive issue that needs more attention, but how likely is it to descend into a brutal beatdown?
The narrative is as non-linear as they come, because I still can’t place what the “present” was. It is a bunch of fragmented events held together with loose threads, like a patchwork, constantly jumping around to push the characters to the brink. Whenever there is a backstory to be shown or a memory that needs to be brought up, you will be hit with a time jump alongside a title card showing the year of occurrence; not that it means anything because I just got more confused. Sometimes they time-jump without any visual cue, too, and it takes a while even to realize something’s a flashback! So yeah, the narrative can feel very unorganized and aimless, making this complex story even harder to follow.
Credit where it’s due, there are moments when the narrative revisits prior dialogue or events, providing ample context to reframe the whole thing and help you fully understand it. These moments are executed with effort and purpose, and the show is more than capable of delivering a climactic, meaningful moment. These few brilliant executions have etched some moments into my memory, too, making the payoff feel particularly satisfying despite any mishaps.
Moving on to the characters, the show pushes them to their extremes, turning them into parodies of the personalities they portray. Either that or their skills are so extremely good that they might as well be supernatural powers! For example, Akari Kishi is a supermodel who knows the exact amounts of nutrients her body needs and can even predict the exact moment of her career peaking. I know that’s not some inhumane power, but it almost seems like it if she has clairvoyance or something. Surrounded by a group of everyday salarymen, she seems even more out of place! The character dynamics feel largely realistic, though, and I was reminded of a real-life colleague of mine for each one.
There’s the one who wants to climb the corporate ladder no matter the cost, with delusions of grandeur and a willingness to take credit for others’ work. At the same time, there’s one who keeps most of their thoughts to themselves, being far too agreeable on the outside and afraid to counter the louder voices in the space. So I particularly enjoyed their corporate dramatism, including Koichi’s descent into the worst kind of co-worker, which they presented in a thrilling, over-the-top way. He has an interesting relationship with Akari, but they don’t capitalize on it as much as they could. Weirdly enough, the titular Eren was the least compelling to me; maybe that’s because I couldn’t relate, but she has a few moments thanks to her dynamic with Koichi. As a character, she just stagnates and does random stuff for no good reason. Also, there are random supporting characters who exist just because and aren’t even fun to have on-screen, other than maybe to showcase an office archetype.
The art and animation department is pretty consistent and impressive; I mean, it would be weird if it weren’t, considering the themes of this show. The “art” shown within the show is realistically good or bad depending on how the audience is meant to perceive it. The subject is subjective so that the direction can be a bit flexible, but I can feel the effort and passion that went into it. The visuals are beautiful and mature overall, and I felt that a lot of thought went into all the major character designs. The majority of the backgrounds are offices, with an occasional outdoor scene, which looks grounded and practical. The series isn’t inherently animation-heavy, but the movement feels as intended, and it didn’t bother me much. I found the visual direction particularly fitting and appealing, especially as someone who works in corporate myself.
The sounds and music department are noticeably better than the rest, in my opinion. The opening theme is “FUNKIN’ BEAUTIFUL feat. ZORN” by ALI, which didn’t strike me at first outside of the weird visual presentation, but it grew on me over time thanks to its jazz tune. The ending theme is “New Walk” by Ima Mulasaki, which I quite liked for its chill tune alongside a look at Eren’s everyday life. The OSTs are just above average, but I could sense there was intent behind all of them. The real standout is the voice acting, though, which oozes passion and purpose, almost as if all the voice actors have lived these lives themselves and know exactly how to express them realistically.
Overall, “Eren the Southpaw” ends up in a strange place where it reflects its reality. It is the work of a group of people who work hard but are not geniuses, which makes the show’s raw feeling even more undeniable. It is uneven, messy, and unfocused, but definitely the work of normal human beings. The initial episodes can be a chore to get through, despite being set in a school, and they don’t even serve to establish the story or develop the core characters.
These unnecessary sequences only make the watch misleading or confusing, mixed with symbolism that’ll easily fly over most people’s heads. The middle episodes focus on the Agency itself, which I found to be the most engaging, and it’s a good thing Eren had almost nothing to do with these because I really didn’t care for her or her random flings. The final episodes are decent, but we are not given a satisfying ending, which annoyed me. I somewhat enjoyed the show thanks to being able to relate to many of the office situations and dynamics, but this definitely isn’t for everybody…
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