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Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku

Encourage Films/Ordet (streamed on Ustream)

Directed by Yutaka Yamamoto (Lucky Star, Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, Wake Up, Girls!)

Music by Kenichi Maeyamada (Theme song arrangement and lyrics for Dragon Crisis, Kuroko’s Basketball, Bodacious Space Pirates)

Review by Dustin Kramer

Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku follows the daily life of Hikage Miyakawa and her older sister Hinata. Hinata is an otaku who works at a doujin shop. Unfortunately for them, Hinata can’t help but spend all her money of manga, making their life together very difficult. Hikage doesn’t understand her sister’s impulses and gets frustrated easily.

The show constantly takes pot shots at itself regarding how little money the main characters have as though that is a reflection the show’s production budget. The show looks cheap but never ugly. It’s certainly not a series that lends itself to big action set pieces or other expensive elements. The jokes at the the show’s expense feel appropriate but somehow equally like a copout.

There is nothing here for anyone who isn’t a hardcore fan of Lucky Star or the slice-of-life genre.

I may have never seen a show with less to say. The dangers of media fanaticism are at the core of the narrative, but are never more that the driving force behind the flimsy trajectory of each 5-minute episode. Hinata’s irresponsible spending habits are nary more than a cute idiosyncrasy that the supporting characters (primarily her sister) have to deal with.

For a comedy, it isn’t very funny. As a light tragedy, it isn’t particularly relatable. As a piece of entertainment art, it isn’t very artistic or entertaining.

 [starrater]