OP Sequence

OP: 「お後がよろしくって…よ!」 (Oato ga Yoroshikutte…Yo!) by Goku-Rakujokai
Watch the OP!: Streaming ▼

「普段問答/ふく違い/叫び指南」 (Fudan Mondou/Fuku Chigai/Sakebi Shinan)
“Normal Dialogue/Different Clothes/Shouting Instructions”

Did you like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s coverage of random topics? Is Seitokai no Ichizon’s ‘skit in a room’ format in good taste for you? Are you alright with ‘cute girls talking about random stuff’ as a guilty pleasure? Finally, are you ecstatic when meta-humor is used? If so, welcome to the show that’s about Rakugo, but not really.

After some experience with other productions with J.C. Staff this season, I came into this a bit wary. It seemed like the lowly publicized type of comedy that was meant to be brushed under the rug. Granted, it has staff credentials, such as the director who did Another and Ika Musume (Mizushima Tsutomu), the author who penned and inked the Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei manga (Kumeta Kouji), as well as voice actors from Yumekui Merry (Sakura Ayane), Haganai (Yamamoto Nozomi), and Yuruyuri (Goto Saori), but even then, I was still hesitant.

By the end of the episode, my brain was fried (in a good way) from all the metahumor. The opening was just like that of Seitokai no Ichizon’s own–both are self-depreciating–but it’s been so long and underused that it’s still a fairly fresh way to open.

However, just like its predecessor, the premise is a risky road that labels it as a hit-or-miss sort of show. When Seitokai came out, Divine expressed his doubts with episode one, whilst I immediately thought “this is a keeper.” The ‘antics-in-one-room’ format just doesn’t work for everyone. I considered writing a more in-depth post like I did for Nobuna, but after many attempts, I feel that the best way to decide is to note the following:

  • Like I’ve said above, if you enjoy random discussions about random things in an enclosed dialogue-heavy setting, this is for you. If not…get out quickly. The show likes to use meta-humor, Japanese culture, and language puns to a high degree. Although they may be presented in a fairly rapid-fire fashion, if you are not able to get a chuckle out of say, the placement of the last stroke in 犬 or the implications of what direction you’re facing the sea when you yell “You idiot!”, this may not be the show for you.
  • If you’re looking for any original characters, you aren’t going to find any here. The group of five basically consists of five core character templates: the curious cutie, the serious megane, the quiet introvert, the reactive idiot, and of course the responsible straight. If you enjoy the chemistry between these archetypes, then give it a shot. Otherwise, look elsewhere for groundbreaking comedy troops.

Although I encourage people to see this show if they enjoy random and dialogue-heavy quirk comedy, for everyone else, if you’re feeling curious and are not completely turned off by the above: give it a shot. Since the format allows one to stop at any time without missing any development, there isn’t any pressure plot-wise to complete, meaning the three-episode rule doesn’t apply here–the format the show will take has fully matured by the end of this episode. One episode should suffice for you to judge whether or not to add this to your watchlist.

Full-length images: 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 37.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「ニッポン笑顔百景」 (Nippon Egao Hyakkei) by Momoiro Clover Z
Watch the ED!: Streaming ▼

Preview

47 Comments

    1. I have to say yes. Just look at how many shows we have this season that just about a cast of girls doing stuff or just talking. I miss the days of amazing anime shows that actually HAD A STORY!!!

      Allen Walker
      1. lol. Glad you’re covering it though, I know comedies are a bit hard to blog but it’s great to get your perspective on this show. Haters gonna hate.

        It’s a bit hard to follow with so much cultural references, but I really feel that’s great in it’s own right. It give me a bit of insight of Japanese culture and it doesn’t hurt to have cute girls.

        I think almost no one had any expectations for this show so it’s nice to see it get coverage so thanks Zanibas.

  1. In a season with not that many good pure comedies, I’d say this is worth watching. It’s show where one can relax and not think about drama and whatnots. For me, this is more interesting than the other JCStaff show this season :p.

    x
  2. “The group of five basically consists of five core character templates: the curious cutie, the serious megane, the quiet introvert, the reactive idiot, and of course the responsible straight.”

    Not exactly. The episode didn’t do as good a job of showing off everyone’s personality as you’d expect. Gankyou has a fairly major sadistic streak and Kukuri isn’t so much quiet and introverted as dark and gloomy. And Tetora is just kind of there

    Hylarn
  3. This was a show that I had no virtually expectations for, and I walked away pleasantly surprised, it’s humor isn’t for everyone, as it caters to a very specific audience. Because of this, it’s wrong to call it “generic” since you don’t see a show like it every season. Definitely on my to watch list.

    imperfectblue
  4. I’ve tried watching it, but the only somewhat funny thing was the inu-kanji skit; the rest of the show somehow was utterly strange and is indeed not meant for western viewers.

    J-Luke
  5. This show is DEFINITELY not generic, but you probably have to be Japanese to understand most of what was said here. I had no idea what on earth they were going on about when they talked about shouting ‘you idiot’ in different directions. Were they referencing the different countries they were facing?

    Still .. even saying that there was a fair amount of good stuff that caused me to chuckle.

    Scruffy
    1. This Kouji Kometa’s trademark style of Satire and Meta Humor.

      The shouting to the sea skit was basically a subtle middle finger to some countries Japan is having disputes with.

      GIVE US BACK OUR LAND = Arrow points towards Russia. This about the decades old Kuril Islands conflict. Basically Russia and Japan are arguing about the islands that Russia took in the last few breaths of WWII. Tensions only rose again after Russia shut out negotiation attempts and reinforced missile defences in the occupied islands in 2011.

      GIVE US BACK OUR PEOPLE = Arrow points towards North Korea. This about the various North Korean kidnapping incidents.

      GIVE US BACK OUR TECHNOLOGY = Arrow points towards South Korea. Japan and SK has been in some sort of technological standoff and competition. Some badmouthing a image destruction have been going on in both sides for awhile now.

      GIVE US BACK OUR SUBMARINE RESOURCES = Arrow points towards China. The 2012 dispute between Japan and China for the Senkaku Islands and their country’s respective territorial waters. Said area of water is under Japanese jurisdiction according to the UN, but due to the high possibility of submarine resources being found there, China refuses to back down on claims and is taking an aggressive stand.

      GIVE US BACK OUR MONEY = Arrow points towards Tokyo. Self explanatory really. But also, take note of the White House silhouette. Interpret that as you will.

      Crazyguy
  6. Well, in my opinions, you should, at least, pay attention to world news, especially those related to Japan, and knowledge about Japan’s cultural to understand this show’s comedy.

    black_cat1
  7. I tried telling people in IRC about the joke but the pun just dies. Translating it into english just nearly kills the pun(Not joking). I guess this anime wasn’t meant for people who doesn’t understand Japanese language and text. I salut [gg] for doing the best they can to bring the humor out for english translation.

    I agree with Zanibas. If you guys don’t get what those jokes are then pass this series.
    If you guys didn’t get the “nyanya(meow,meow) joke and nana(七,7)” presented by this girl.
    Then drop it.
    ———————

    If you guy’s don’t know that kanji or some chinese words was formed from shapes and if you play with them they can be actually be funny. Show Spoiler ▼

    .
    http://puu.sh/HfsO
    http://puu.sh/H92O
    http://puu.sh/H8JM
    http://puu.sh/H8G5
    ____________________

  8. Zanibas… I know covering a show like this must be difficult, so I have nothing but praise for trying. That said, I think it’d be a great idea to talk about some of the puns, since vale (as awesome as he is) can’t possibly do it justice without covering the screen with translation notes.

    On another note, I think it’d be a great idea to learn Japanese then rewatch this to get all the jokes. It is lost in translation, after all.

    1. Hence why this is a one-off. I don’t think I’m cut out to do the type of reviews that go through a joke-by-joke basis. The show is a good watch, but a tough thing to blog as you say. It conflicts with my schedule anyways :S.

      Zanibas
  9. Instant pass on this. If you’ve seen one show with nothing but cute girls doing stuff and talking you’ve seen practically 60% of the anime for the last 6 years. There’s like over 6 shows alone THIS SEASON that’s all about cute girls doing stuff and talking too each other NO THANKS don’t need another.

    Allen Walker
  10. easily best comedy this season
    if… you understand the japanese culture
    but this show is really not everyone
    at least I say thank you for bring this on randomc
    and DAT ED song! Hyadain never dissapoint me

  11. I had no expectations for this show, but I was pleasantly surprised because it actually made me laugh. It may be a bit hit or miss at times, but I generally got most of the (political) jokes in the show and I liked how it took the piss out of itself, animation, bad exposition and fanservice for the ratings, among other things. Time will tell if this is a show that will either pick up steam with rapid-fire jokes, or lose it and starts getting boring. Well, I’ll watch it just in case. Definitely not a show for everyone though.

    The OP is fun too, and the ED is addicting as hell!

    Dvalinn
  12. I for one enjoyed this series. I didn’t have particularly huge expectation and I got what I wanted from this show. Also if you are familiar with this author, you pretty much know what to expect.

    Vince
  13. “The opening was just like that of Seitokai no Ichizon’s own–both are self-depreciating”

    Self depreciating? They cause themselves to gradually lose value over time? 😛 (deprecating is the word you wanted there)

    I’ve always liked this kind of show so even the unoriginal characters (let’s face it, they’re all basically walking tropes) won’t stop me from watching it. Just hope a fansub group comes along that’s willing to truly put in the effort a show like this needs. Hint: translation notes so people can understand the puns are a major plus.

    Beckett
  14. It was interesting to watch however, when it came to political satire I just couldn’t laugh at it…

    When they were shouting out “GIVE US…”, it was literally a fuck you to countries that is having disputes with.

    I don’t know, maybe because my background is Korean and we have a tight tension between Japan so yeah…

    Kanade
  15. It reminds me more of Lucky Star than Seitokai.

    Out of the four points you mentioned, I’m game with two and half, but I guess these sort of shows will never have a cast properly gender balanced. Oh well. Still, this episode was really funny.

    Anca
  16. Well there is one thing I REALLY like in comedy and that’s when characters break the fourth wall, and they did just that to my enjoyment. I am sold, no matter what anyone says I’m gonna go through this entire series.

    gwarshness

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