Maou Yuusha
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2.5
Vividred Operation
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Mangirl!
Mangirl!
Studio: Dogakobo
Dir. Nobuaki Nakanishi
Wri. Masahiro Yokotani & Reiko Yoshida
SYNOPSIS
A team of girls with zero experience in manga editing are off and running toward their dream of creating the biggest manga magazine in Japan! They seem to do nothing but run into problems and failures… But still they’re working hard every day!
REVIEW
+ Characters are cute and well differentiated visually.
+ The show has a very colorful, glossy look to it. Everything kind of looks like candy, especially the characters’ hair.
+/- Music is unremarkable. At least it’s not inappropriate and distracting. Theme song is cute, but a little irritating and manic.
– Very clearly made on the cheap. Not a big need for action, so nothing to complain about there. Lots and lots of static frames.
– The central conflict of the show is simply running this magazine. Each episode has it’s own conflict that emerges and gets resolved within the three-minute runtime. Because of this conflicts are resolved almost as soon they arise, often with nothing more than a jump cut and a line of dialogue like: “Somehow we overcame this obstacle! Yay!” It really feels like this show wants to be a full-length half-hour program, but simply doesn’t have the time to explore its episodic conflicts in an interesting way.
– Aside from the two most prominent characters, performances aren’t all that varied or unique. Everyone has the same cute cadence to their voice, which doesn’t lend much to their characters. The show has barely enough time to showcase the individual characters’ idiosyncrasies, so you end up with impressions like “the crazy one,” “the serious one,” “the kinda dumb one,” and “the one who likes donuts.”
Overall it’s a pretty cute, mildly interesting (albeit probably inaccurate look) at the manga publishing world.
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2.5 donuts out of five.
SASAMI SAN @ Ganbaranai
Sasami-San@Ganbaranai
Studio: Shaft
Dir. Akiyuki Shinbou
Wri. Katsuhiko Takayama
Music by Yukari Hashimoto
SYNOPSIS
Sasami Tsukuyomi is a high school shut-in who often stays at home and is doted upon by her older brother, Kamiomi. However, due to unknowingly possessing a god’s power, Kamiomi’s habit of trying to appease Sasami often puts the world into chaos, while the three Yagami sisters try to put a stop to it.
REVIEW
+ Beautifully animated. Does a lot with it’s television-sized budget. Everything has a pleasant watercolor and pastel feel to it, especially Sasami’s bedroom and house. It seems the more unfamiliar the place to Sasami, the more hard-edged and vibrant everything becomes. Great work from the guys at Shaft.
+ Performances are quite good all around. Kana Asumi’s Sasami is delicate but jaded. Houchuu Otsuka’s Kamiomi brings a much-needed male to the all-female cast, and the uniqueness of his voice really stands out here. The Yagami sisters are all type casted into their roles, but each of their voice actors does a respectable job with the thankless, one-note work.
+ Music is very diverse and often quite charming. An episode featuring video games utilizes a bit of 8-bit flare in the soundtrack. Epic battles are underscored with appropriate swelling strings. Nothing feels out of place or distracting. Some horn-heavy battle music reminds me of the charm of mid-20th century film scores. Really good stuff overall.
+/- Thematically consistent although very, very messy narratively.
– The simple theme of Sasami growing up and learning to be a “normal” person achieves culmination through a series of off-the-wall story lines that don’t ever seem to be connected in any significant way. The series deals with everything from culturally enforced incest, troubled parental relationships, and jealousy among friends by way of multi-dimensional beings, ancient gods changing the physical world at their whim, time travel, MMORPGs, and myriad other devices. At any given time, the genre could be comedy, slice-of-life, romance, ecchi, supernatural, science fiction, fantasy, and even horror. All this said, the show ultimately doesn’t feel edgy or or experimental, just unfocused, uneven, and pretty damn exhausting.
I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t really like it either.
2.5 boob guns out of 5.
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Onigamiden
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Boku no Imotou ga Osaka Okan
Alternate Titles: My Sister is an Osaka Mama
Review: This anime was, I would claim, a key addition to the ever-growing collection of 3-minute anime. Running at 12 episodes it added something to that genre that a lot of it’s predecessors hadn’t successfully done before: some knowledge. The anime focuses around a brother and his quirky sister, due to family situations they have been separated most of their lives. He lived in the Kanto region of Japan while his sister lived in the Kansai region, specifically Osaka. Now that they are back together he is discovering the differences between them their distance has caused.
Production-wise this anime is nothing to speak of, in fact it’s extremely sub-par. It looks like a college animation student’s flash product at best with awkward jerky movements and basic shading and styling at best. But, since you’re only watching the show in little 3 minute episode chunks and it’s a comedy-culture based show I find it more forgivable. The art is simply the medium for the jokes, and the jokes don’t fall flat.
For anyone who knows anything about Japanese culture this show will really resonate. It’s a long standing joke and friendly feud between these two regions of Japan and this show illustrates the differences in a hilarious fashion. Each episode has an overarching theme such as “shopping” or “sports” then in this theme some antics happen that normally illustrate 2-3 cultural differences in funny ways. They are punctuated with a note that blatantly says the difference so it’s impossible to miss – for those of you taking notes. Then, the episode ends with a cute little song sung by the main girl character summing up the points of the episode.
Even if you’re not knowledgeable in Japanese culture the show is very light and funny and you could still enjoy it if you have an interest in Japanese culture. In fact, it may be enlightening for someone who is trying to get into Japanese culture as these differences are something rarely seen by Westerners and this show illustrates them perfectly in an actually amusing way. But, if you’re not, then this show will likely offer little and less to you.
In sum, the show is not a long time commitment and as an anime fan it’s worth knowing these fun cultural notes that are illustrated in an enlightening but funny manner.
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Boobalicious
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Booby Life
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Immoral Sisters 2
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Black Widow
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