Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「もうそう★こうかんにっき」 (Mousou Koukan Nikki) by Otome Shintou
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「私がグッジョブだ！」 (Watashi ga Gujjobu da!)
“I did a Good Job!”
This, gentleladies and gentlemen, is pure slice of life. Plot? Meh. Continuity? I guess, but who cares. Character development? Maybe later. We’re here to get our atmosphere on, and enjoy that casual, fluffy feeling that only cute characters faffing about in lightly amusing circumstances can give. This first episode was calming, almost healing, and I’m going to go over why – and why you should be watching it.
Let’s get one thing out of the way first – this show is not particularly original. Take the titular club’s buchou, Amatsuka Mao (Uchida Maaya). She’s a short, flat-chested loli tsundere who wears thigh-highs and gets jealous, embarrassed, and occasionally bites the main character…oh, and she looks a lot like Taiga to boot. The others don’t break many molds either, whether it’s the plain main character Shinomiya Kyouya (Shimono Hiro), the cool beauty/genius Sumeragi Shion (Mimori Suzuko), the buchou’s calm, thoughtful, and perfect imouto Amatsuka Megumi (Miyamoto Yume), or the reserved and always hungry (but never fat) Bernstein Kirara (Arakawa Chika). Okay, actually maybe Kirara might be a bit unique. How many shows have a character almost solely devoted to eating fried chicken and other kinds of meats? (No, not that kind.)
So, if you’re the type of person who demands that every show you watch must be somehow unique, you may as well stop reading right now. Don’t worry, I won’t be mad; to be honest, you’d be wasting your time anyway, because this show is just going to annoy you, and you’ll blast it unfairly. Why do I say unfairly? Because here’s the thing…original does not equal good. It’s nice, of course. I love blogging original shows in particular, because then everyone can be surprised along with me. Still, many people hold the mistaken belief that just because something has been done before, doing it again makes it crap, or at least not as good as before.
Instead, do you want to know what makes a show good? If it’s good. Strange but true. All that matters is whether it works and is enjoyable, and while whether it’s been done before can have some impact on this, it’s not the end all, be all attribute. Besides, when you’ve read, heard, or watched as many stories as I have, you learn to discount the whole thing, or turn into an irredeemable cynic. Pretty much everything under the sun has been done before, and GJ-bu is no exception. So, if it’s not original, the question remains – is it good?
This is a very good slice of life show, in my opinion (of course that’s my opinion…it’s not like I can speak to yours). That’s a loaded sentence, so let me explain – if you have learned to love slice of life, this is a great example of the genre. The atmosphere is light and fluffy, the jokes are funny and well-timed (and occasionally even hilarious), and the characters are simple, easy to like, and fun to watch. Just don’t come in expecting something it isn’t! It’s very much a stereotypical slice of life show, but it’s also a good one, for all the reasons that slice of life can be good.
Given the skit-centric focus on this show, I’m just going to list out a few specific things I enjoyed about this episode:
- The loli buchou might not be original, but I so do dearly love that type of character, and it worked great here. Plus, it’s great to hear Uchida Maaya back with her awuudorable “awuu~”s. I missed those so much!!
- Mao not liking the idea of kissing was really cute, but the punchline really got me when she reacted rather differently to the thought of a bridal carry. D’aaawww, she’ll come around eventually.
- Shion has a 100% winning average? Against world-class chess players? Reality, fuck yoooou! (Eh, it’s overrated anyway)
- I’m suddenly hungry for some reason. And you’re not helping, Kirara!
- I like how Kyouya wasn’t trying to be all cavalier about the spider or anything, and was as scared as the rest of them. Well, most of the rest of them. Megumi-chan is such an angel!
- “My Megumi-chan”? Die, bastard!
- Still not entirely sure if Kirara is dense or just weird. She’s the one character I’m curious about, though I like them all.
- I enjoyed the nickname skit, and how Kyouya almost ended up with Umasou Shiro Gohan. Poking fun at how plain he is, I like it! Kyoro though, is actually pretty kawaii. Wait, why am I saying that about a guy’s name!?
In short, if you’re a fan of slice of life, I hope you give this one a watch. I won’t be blogging it from here on out (because blogging a pure slice of life/comedy would end up with a season full of bullet point lists), but I have a feeling that this will be one of the shows that, even when I fall behind on everything else, I’ll be caught up on. It may not be original, but it is enjoyable, and that’s far more important in my book.
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Unique is overrated. #GJbu is a funny, cute, & overall enjoyable show that any slice of life fan shouldn’t miss.
Random thoughts:
- I liked the OP a lot. Very slice of lifey, if that makes sense – it’s energetic without being too pop-ish, but also fairly laid back. I think a lot of that was because it sounded like it was sung by a bunch of normal high schoolers–which may not sound like a good thing, but it fits the mood well, and plus these particular high schoolers are pretty good singers.
- Yes, that’s an actual McDonalds. I didn’t even notice it until someone pointed it out! By the way, before anyone gets up in arms about product placement, let me interject with my opinion: who cares. It just makes the show more down-to-earth and realistic, right?
- As for the ED, I love dem chibis. Also, I think this song may be better, though that might be because, with fewer people singing, their voices don’t clash and it ends up sounding a lot cleaner. Either way, hng~!
- There are good things ahead, I guarantee it!
Full-length images: 02, 04, 32.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「I wish 〜ときめきの魔法〜」 (I wish ~Tokimeki no Mahou~) by 内田真礼, 宮本侑芽 (Uchida Maaya, Miyamoto Yume)
Preview
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“Instead, do you want to know what makes a show good? If it’s good.”
That’s pretty incisive critical writing you’ve got there. Way to go out on a limb.
I think Stilts is 5% drunk at this time. 😛
@ A
It was supposed to be ridiculous : ) Trying to decide whether something is good or not based on a single attribute (such as originality) is a fallacy – it’s only one of many, many, maaaaaany attributes that go into making something “good” (which is subjective anyway). You’ll only really understand whether the story in question is good (for you) when you factor in everything.
@ Croos
Technically true. I’m 15% drunk by default. The rest is just for fun, nyahaha!
Then you should state those instead of empty statements about how ineffable it is. You spent an entire paragraph setting up that strawman to throw yourself at. Maybe you could’ve talked about the show there instead.
Ahhh, but the effectiveness of a statement is frequently lessened when you explain it…which admittedly means I probably shouldn’t have replied to your comment, but meh, I’m a sucker for reader interaction.
But your perception of my statements as somehow ineffable is your own. Everything I say is “in my opinion (of course that’s my opinion…it’s not like I can speak to yours).” Oh, and keep in mind that there’s no specific word limit I must hit. Had I not talked about that – which I happen to think is important to explaining my enjoyment of the series, albeit slightly tangential, yes – then I just would have just written less.
“the effectiveness of a statement is frequently lessened when you explain it”
You cannot seriously believe this.
Mr ‘A’ – You didn’t explain your statement, so you must have felt it was adequate – therefore Stilts argument stands and proves his case.
Hearing Shimono Hiro’s voice on a more low-key, laid back character is just plain weird. I can’t get my head around it.
This first episode was enjoyable but everything about it just felt so… average. The jokes, the characters, the animation, all… average. Still, I’m sure that by the end of the season I’ll probably say that this show did a good job.
Why hello there, my sweet vanilla addiction of the season.
Original? No. Do I care? Nope. The atmosphere is fun, the humor is good, the characters are very cute and likeable, the male lead has a brain, and there’s a chance for laid-back harem comedy. I already want more.
I love how you added that “Meat” reference.
As soon as I finished the episode, I knew there was no way Stilts wouldn’t blog at least the first episode. So nice to see my powers of clairvoyance haven’t dulled over the years. On a serious note though (as serious as I can get anyways) I hope your schedule will permit you to continue blogging this. There’s something about it that I simply could not help but enjoy.
Extremely unlikely alas, but I know what you mean. There’s certainly a compelling feeling to this show.
Ohandalso, am I the moe/slice of life writer now too? I thought I was just the ecchi guy! And the crazy writes-novel-length-Kyoukaisen-posts guy! My reputation is seriously getting away from me, lemme tell ya…
That’s a bit of a shame but completely understandable. And yes, definitely so. It’s come as a bit of a shock but many slice of life/romantic comedies are having that effect on me as of late. I still have no clue whether that be good or bad though.
Haha, I think the usage of titles merely serves to weigh you down as of late. You’ve definitely become quite the versatile presence here on RC though. I think that simply goes without saying.
The genius was actually right! A great way to eat ramen is right out of the package! 😀
ehhh… it didn’t really do anything for me, but damn are those character designs adorable.
This show was more enjoyable than I thought. Guess this will fill my Nichijou or Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou urge this season.
WHAT!??! HOW DARE THEY IGNORE THE GREAT, ACCLAIMED FAST FOOD CHAIN, WCDONALDS!!! IT’S THE MOST POPULAR RESTAURANT IN THE ANIME LAND!
That meat…*drools*
This WARM feeling!! Reminds me of Seitokai no Ichizon with less echi x harem jokes! The Kaichō-chans of both series is so similar!
This is like the spiritual sequel of SnI S1 (since S2 didn’t existed), and also, ladies and gentleman, the sleeper of the season. With Tamako Market going the mystical path, the SoL of the season is right here, with better interaction with characters that are lovable.
@Stilts. Oh my gosh, dude. You guys are hardly covering anything this season??!! There’s like 5 or 6 winter animes thrown into the snapshots section. What the fork will you guys be reviewing then???
Quite a lot. We’re just trying to intro more shows than we once did ^^
Stop posting the same exact comment in every post. The schedule will show you exactly what we’re covering on a weekly basis.
What I like about Slice of life is not the slice of life of a certain event of character but the random curiosity(not RC ok) and possibility of a everyday event to be reversed and be told upside down or inside up. Of course it has to be possible.
Example would be:
1.)Normal manners turned into something crazy yet it has a good point.
2.)Konata eating Chocolate Cornet her way.
@Stilts
“Shion has a 100% winning average? Against world-class chess players? Reality, fuck yoooou! (Eh, it’s overrated anyway)”
I think the joke was that she was just messing around with Kyouya ^^;
But I normally love the Wdonalds or Mc doogles….. 🙁
something about shimono’s voice here irked me so much.
did he use this kind of voice in any other show…?
Will this be the “dark horse” of winter anime 2013?
A show full of characters that can be described with one or 2 words huh. Well, you can call all of them ‘plain’ & that would still fit the bill. I’m probably watching too many shows this season. Maybe its because I’m knee-deep in fiscal reports. I gotta kill this boredom some kind of way.
Ctrl + F “Tyrant’s Eye”.
No results found.
/cry
Sniff..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRmEqKEH1Ro
feels like acchi kocchi 🙂
Interesting… I actually enjoyed this.
well give after seeing give slice of life good feel on it sure maybe it some checking.
orange – small tsun hot temper bit bratty with voice of rikka on it.
purple – own’d chess online games, smarts, bit hmm, & yet don’t know how to do cup noodle.
yellow cat hair – big eater nuff said.
pink – nice give friendly to all with leer sign could soon lead beware of nice ones.
& one guy oh my he so their chew toy give said their names 100 times.
oh my so watching it.
I honestly laughed, so I will continue to watch this even if it doesn’t have any direction.
Reminds me of the NichiBros.
I love the animes with dance endings~~
GJ bu best club anime where the creator of the anime didn’t develop the main character and other supporting heroine further. Nice supporting heroine ending song similar to Tokemeki Memorial ~Only Love~.