Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko / Final Impressions / First Impressions

Episode 11

「今年の夏はバスケと超能力と布団と天体観測と祭りと野球と女々たんと」 (Kotoshi no Natsu wa Basuke to Chōnōryoku to Futon to Tentai Kansoku to Matsuri to Yakyū to Meme-tan to)
“This Summer is about Basketball and Espers and Futons and Astronomical Observations and Festivals and Baseball and Meme and…”

 

Episode 12

「秒速0.00000000198センチメートル」 (Byōsoku 0.00000000198 Senchimētoru)
“0.00000000198 Centimeters Per Second”

11&12:
I was expecting a more extravagant two-episode finale, which would include the festival that was supposed to come after the baseball game, but it didn’t happen. Instead, what gave the appearance of “closure” that finales typically ensemble was a focus on Niwa, our romantically indecisive protagonist. While the obvious better choice would’ve been a return to Touwa Erio, I presume they stuck with the light novel adaptation faithfully, which would explain the lack of closure on everything else.

Niwa Makoto is suddenly given a backstory of a time when he played soccer, but due to failure, he realizes he has unconsciously accepted his inability to do great things and lets that become the motto of his life. The exception of such a thing is Erio, whom he could not give up on to help her come to reality, and although I see the significance behind that connection, you’d be hard pressed to see it emphasized in the show. This “problem” that Niwa has felt like an abrupt development tacked on to his blank slate of a persona simply so the whole plot can come together and work. On the other hand, it does fit his persona, the slightly depressing one we got to see in the first three episodes, but little done with it for the next seven. That’s not a problem, since most of the focus was shifted towards other characters, but it inevitably makes any new development with Niwa, especially one stringed with so many others, feel a little… *puts sunglasses on* …out of the left field. (YEAAAAAHHHHH)

It’s a bit more impressive to see the other characters bounce off metaphors of the concept of “not giving up” in their own unique ways, which eventually leads Niwa to pick up his balls and reach home base, and I don’t mean literally. Yashiro with her esper metaphor, which parallels the rocket metaphor Maekawa’s co-worker made, is a little clever, and it makes me wonder if people really can get esp powers in this Denpa world due to a glimpse of Yashiro’s possible power in episode 10. That would be interesting, but it is not realized this season, so it does not matter. Maekawa’s father having the same exact problems Niwa does seemed like a important thing, though still feeling like a cheap one, but Niwa makes no connection with him on that point. I like that he brings up the first arc with helping Erio fly, but the lesson that’s taught here is either improperly executed, or just too naive for my tastes.

“But my game console only has two controllers…”
Niwa, why so dense?

 

Epilogue

Final Thoughts:
The main problem with Denpa is the dissipating overarching goal after episode 3. It severely hurt this series in terms of keeping my interest, and only had its barely developed characters for the rest of the show. A common problem with adapting novels, really, in which I assume most of the meat of the plot occurs sometime later. Then when you get a writer who is trying to mimic Nisio Isin, who is a deviant in storytelling, it’s just hard to come out with something that even closely resembles a beginning, middle, and an end, especially when the writer is attempting to trash such rules to get that “super hip innovative storytelling” every light novel in Japan is trying so hard to do these days (may or may not apply to Denpa at this point).

So okay, Denpa had a lack of plot. Let’s interpret it in a way where that doesn’t matter. The characters were cute. That’s apparently a plus when you’re talking about anime, and I won’t lie, I did enjoy Erio and Maekawa’s antics a lot, which were essentially just them trying to be as cute/awesome as possible. There were some cleverly written dialogues, such as the hospital scene way back in episode 4, but it receded as the episodes wore on. And uh.. humor..? I guess? Yeah okay, what’s left isn’t that strong either. After episode 3, Denpa started to teach little life lessons here and there because if it didn’t do it otherwise, it would have become a harem comedy. Too bad those life lessons came out largely muddled under everything else.

I can’t say that the series is a disappointment, because the story is still unfinished, but I am pretty disappointed at the complete drop of Erio’s plot even within 12 episodes. I honestly would rather they had done an original ending to close up her “integration with society” issues, because this series desperately needed some substance. It’s a funny thing, because despite all the arcs that were supposed to have much more importance, all I can remember is Ryuushi’s damn failed romance. I swear her scenes consisted of at least 50% of Denpa, and she’s a freaking support character. That probably says a lot more about what’s wrong with this show.

I mildly enjoyed Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko. Blogging it was a pain in the ass, because like most people, I only watched it for certain characters, the moe, and the clever dialogue, where your mileage for all may vary. Not for character development, not for story, because I knew those were dead ends from episode 5, but I can’t keep talking about how differently cute and what sort of seduction methods were psychologically in action to cause heart-attacks from Erio every week, right? Even so, the critique still stands. This is a painfully mediocre series that goes nowhere, and unless you hold cuteness in your anime characters at a fetishistic level, I wouldn’t recommend this series to anyone. Unless you know, you’re more lenient than me, then go ahead, try it out, just don’t let episodes 1-3 fool you. Someone should just cut out all of Erio and Maekawa’s scenes and put it as one whole clip, and pass it around on the internet as “Denpa Onna batched”.

 

36 Comments

  2. I’ve heard that these episodes weren’t really the finale and that there was a 13th episode. When the Earthquake struck in Japan they had to push the 13th episode onto the DVDs. Whatever the case may be it wasn’t a satisfying ending and should of used last week to display the 11th episode and kept this week 12 and 13.

    Silentcid
    Reply

  3. sadly the last few eps degraded into a typical harem for me.
    unless they manage to make a good finale on ep 13, il rate this around 7/10 since it was still entertaining earlier.

    amado
    Reply

    1. I am a harem lover so i have no problem wit that. XD

      But what it really lacked a “plot” like KIIRAGI said. Or a reinforcement on the plot i would say. The main plot of these series was supposed to be whether supernatural stuff like psychic abilities or aliens exist. I was hoping something like they do and then Erio goes back to school and the main character has to find ways to keep it secret. Just think of how much potential that would have been.

      Like everyone else, although the character developments were interesting; everything else felt rather too pale. If they had the right focus on the main plot and then inserted character developments in the middle then i would have loved it.

      It feels like Sora no Otoshimono to me. Even though a lot of people like Sora no Otoshimono, i can’t help to hate how slow it develops the main plot (specially the manga). It takes like forever with its gags in between ti get back to the main conflict.

      banzemanga
      Reply

      1. I like SnO. it was pretty clear that it would be mostly gags and fanservice with some hidden plot that was slowly getting more clear to the story.
        here, denpa onna had a interesting plot but was pretty much close to thrown out in favor of a harem near the ending. at least SnO didnt exactly ignore the deeper plot of their show.

        amado
        Reply

      2. Probably this has to do with preference but because Sora no Otoshimono’s plot has greater potential than Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko’s; i would love them to work on the plot more than fiddling around with the gags. It feels like waiting forever to see what happens next while watching interesting commercials. One series which also had a lot of potential on the plot which was never dissolved with the never ending gags was School Rumble. The misunderstandings was never cleared and the ending was lame.

        banzemanga
        Reply

  5. I agree with the decline in.. well.. plot after ep 3 when it fairly quickly devolved into a weird harem show.
    But.. I wasn’t raging after every conversation (like most harem shows) and it still managed to be entertaining the whole way through, albeit confusing as-well.

    Maybe the eventual SHAFTED episode 13 will patch things up *maybe*.. But thanks for the coverage Kii, I can’t imagine this was the easiest show to decipher and write about but your reviews always made me giggle appropriately, and fit the.. uhm.. “sporadic” nature of the show.

    Pepper
    Reply

    1. I agree… Lately everyone wants every series to be Madoka or Hanasaku Iroha. Some series just aren’t made that way. I liken this series to more like a slice of life series with some unusual plot developments mixed in. I liked the series and absalutely loved the way the characters were drawn. Some of the best I have ever seen. Erio in particular but also Meme and Ryukko (sp).

      I could be wrong but I don’t think this series ever thought of itself as a 1 cour series. In other words I think the makers all along just followed the novel with the expectation that there might be more seasons. So not addressing Erio’s problem or the astronaut girl and if they are really involved with aliens was not rushed to explain in this season. I know for alot of folks that bothered them. But I don’t mind waiting for future seasons and see where the series goes.

      Karmafan
      Reply

  7. there’s 1 more episode left so this is a pre-ending so to speak
    i am sure they will wrap this up in 13 somehow, though i doubt it will be a satisfactory one.

    still, it was a series which had promise and was entertaining =]

    sto
    Reply

  9. Kiiragi, I completely agree with you – Erio and Maekawa’s antics have been the only reasons for me to watch this show as well. Erio was super-cute and drawn very well, although imo she lost some appeal after ep 3. Maekawa was pretty cool, I liked her voice and her random cosplay-outfits were funny to watch. Further adolescence points go to the OP song (and to a lesser degree to the ED song as well) which I found extremely catchy. Ryuushi on the other hand was a real eyesore and a nuisance. As far as I am concerned “Denpa onna batched” has far better chances of commercial success than “Denpa onna complete”!

    jreding
    Reply

  10. I didn’t mind about the “dissipating overarching goal after episode 3”. I mean, I don’t know anything about the novels, so to me this show was like a slice-of-life comedy, I didn’t expect to see a deep plot, character development or anything.

    André
    Reply

  11. Pretty much echo all your views on this show, Kiiragi. I loved what you did – Erio’s plot development and everything about Maekawa. But given that the former was pretty much tossed out the window after three episodes, the rest of the show was pretty thin gruel. And to build the ending around a wafer-thin add-on about Makkie’s past and offer no attempt at closure was a real disappointment.

    Guardian Enzo
    Reply

  12. Kiiragi :It’s a funny thing, because despite all the arcs that were supposed to have much more importance, all I can remember is Ryuushi’s damn failed romance.
    Ryuuko : It’s Ryuuko.

    Just thought i help her say it.

    lkaze
    Reply

  13. This show was definitely a strange bird- but that;s sort of a given, with Shaft at the helm.

    I haven’t read the manga, but it somewhat strikes me in a way similar to Bakemonogatari- except more aimless.

    Perhaps it’s just the limited timeframe that haunts all 1-cour anime, but Denpa Onna brought up a couple of interesting plot points- but then just abandoned them in favour of slice-of-life type antics amongst the characters. This is especially true with the whole mystery behind Erio and Meme’s family background, and Yashiro’s possible powers.

    Like many others, the main appeal to this show for me was the quirky characters (along with a knockout art style that just makes them look drop-dead gorgeous at all times).

    Best viewed with no expectations- because it will invariably trip them up.

    Stranger
    Reply

  14. At least this isn’t the end. The “plot” and explanations will probably come in a second season, and I’ll stick around just for that. But they could’ve at least added some sort of plot or cliffhanger that alludes to a plot. Maybe it will come in episode 13. To all those people making this out to be a slice-of-life, it isn’t. And Makoto, try to be a little less dense. >_> But the one redeeming thing is the art. -ooh they’re sparkling-

    Kevin
    Reply

  15. For some reason I just assumed that Ryuuko would eventually snap about the name thing. Much like how you just expect the silent character to get a line right before the series finale. Shame we didn’t get that far.

    I don’t regret watching this (…I think), and I definitely don’t hate it, but I can’t recommend it. The first four episodes might make a nice, short manga.

    Athos
    Reply

  17. this show had a bit too much *TURN’S quickly, looks over shoulder (zoom in extreme closeup) “Te-heh!!” with sparkly shoujo-esq effects* going on. and yet i made it this far….WHY???
    “although i haven’t clicked on any of the last 3 episodes, yet they’ve been downloaded.. WHY??????? this is a semi-DEEP question i need to ask my self……..maybe the draw in was simply hearing that HELMET girl squeal like a pig in that way she does soooo often???

    BROOKLYN otaku
    Reply

  18. To me, this show was about possibly rehabilitating Erio, but I always though deep down they would introduce something that made it look like aliens exist/supernatural events can actually occur in that universe. While the show pulled away from that reality early on (which I think was intentional to get the viewers away from that line of thinking), I think you are overlooking the 2 weird instances that happened with the spacesuit girl.

    One being that she was able to get Niwa wet with a shit load of water that she possibly couldn’t have thrown with her helmet (which he noticed), and second, the gust of wind that seem to push a pop up ball in to a crazy home run. In both scenes, they made it seem like the spacesuit girl was somehow related to those events (there is possibly the third one with Ryuuko and the free throw but that’s a stretch). Seems like they were pulling us back to the plot that there maybe some alien influence in some of the characters after all…(think back to episode about Meme and Erio’s father) Alas, we don’t have enough episodes to find out.

    The story it self is not finished so hard to judge it at this point. However, as an anime adaption, I would agree it has been poorly executed, but it could just be because of the source material (have not read the light novels so not sure). I still enjoy’d the beautifully drawn scenes and the humor.

    Kami
    Reply

  21. I have not reason the Light Novels yet (planning to when I go to Japan this year) so that may be the reason why I wasn’t so disappointed in the plot. I found it very interesting and yes, it did move away from the main plot but I think it was needed to focus on all characters instead of just focusing on Erio.

    My overall thought for this anime was, every single character is lovable and interesting 😀 I really REALLY want to read the light novels now cause I want to know more about Elliot, know what will happen at the festival and maybe they might focus on Ryuushi and that blonde dude a bit more (I don’t know why but I want them to be together)

    Corn
    Reply

  23. This show went nowhere and for some reason I watched all of it. Moe should not be underestimated. 6/10 for sparkly effects, Moemoe and of course, cute characters.

    Ah yes, her name is Ryuko damn it!!!

    Lectro Volpi
    Reply

  26. SOOO MUCH POTENTIAL UNTAPPED. Espers, aliens, sparkling people, missing fathers, mysterious loli’s, cosplaying multi beito’s. And they did nothing with it. Zan nen.

    outcast
    Reply

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