This actually is a two-part series, in that what happens in the first half has almost no bearing on the second half.

Now, it doesn’t help that it started out as a dating sim game. “Photo Kano” (“Photo Girlfriend”) tells the story of Kazuya Maeda (Mr. Front and Center), who was given a digital camera from his father. All of a sudden, there is an uptick in his popularity and presence (neither of which he had before), as he learns to not only take good photos, but gets involved with a series of girls, each needing something else from him, both romantically and photographically.

From shows One to Six, we see Maeda run through his paces. There are two photo clubs on campus, but the first one, The Photography Club (the one he joins) is more interested in taking those flirty, ecchi-like snaps of the student’s body…..I mean, the student body. The second one, the Photo Club, is more serious about what they do, so the two clubs are always in conflict with approach and goals and results.

Maeda also learns that a lot of the ladies’ clubs are leery about anyone with a camera, as they feel it will end up as just more ecchi (and, to a degree, they are correct), so he has to work very hard to gain their confidence and not go after those salacious shots (which, for some odd reason, they are quite willing to give to him).

From Seven to Thirteen, we then concentrate on one lady for each of the episodes, as Maeda go through the paces with them, so they learn something about themselves and what it is they want to accomplish with the photos that he takes.

It’s just that I preferred the first half. You meet the goofy and perverted members of the Photography Club, who are drawn to look goofy. There is a girl on the staff, “Stealth”, whom you never see her eyes and takes potentially better ecchi shots than the two boys. She is called “Stealth” as she can fade away into the background and not be seen. The student body president, a very by-the-book person is caught being less than perfect and gets grilled for it. This is the simple romantic comedy that we have come to watch and enjoy (if you enjoy simple romantic comedies. If you want giant fighting robots, this ain’t it).

The second half got a bit too wistful and lovey-dovey for me (and had I known it was a dating game sooner, it would explain the second half perfectly) and our hero comes to understand the power of the camera and the magic that it can impart for others. It’s just that he goes on this shoot and takes these pictures, but there is no real emotionally connectivity. It comes off as a huge favor that he is giving, but it still lacks the final connection, despite the girls opening up to him, exposing their souls as much as their skin. There are lots and lots of flirty shots from normally prim and demure gals, so he is confused as we are confused.

This is a light, frothy series and even with some rather risqué shots during the photo shoots, the fan service is pretty much reined in. I am talking pure cheesecake. Even our shutterbug friend tries to avoid anything that could cause embarrassment or emotional consternation from the subject, as the lens travels up and down their bodies to find the best possible composition.

It’s not a bad series, but I wish it would have made up its mind as to what it wanted to be. If I want a better approach to a girl’s heart, there is “The World God Only Knows”. If I want scholastic silliness, that’s “School Rumble”. Should I want something a bit more serious, we have “Rumbling Hearts”. It just needed to be something more in one direction or another to be a bit different than just a standard trope.
On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork 6 (Standard anime approach)
Plot 6 (First half fine, second half weak)
Pacing 7 (Slows down in parts)
Effectiveness 7 (It does tell its story)
Conclusion 7 (It reaches a ‘coupler’, but doesn’t really end)
Fan Service 4 (A similar show would be “Gurren Lagaan”)

Overall 7 (It functions)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Who will be Miss Photogenic?