Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「Soul Flag」 by Shimono Hiro
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「アフリカの痴漢」 (Afurika no Chikan)
“Africa Pervert / Africa Donut Shop / Africa Eyeglasses / Africa Mixer”
Africa no Salaryman is the story of three salarymen (and occasionally, two high school girls) who are animals from Africa. Why? I don’t know. Don’t ask questions, this isn’t that kind of show. It’s a comedy, which swiftly brings us to the real question: Is it funny?
Fortunately, it is! I was impressed by the pacing in particular, because it was fast without being Teekyuu frenetic incomprehensible nonsense. That kept the jokes flowing fast, and they were mostly funny. I lay a lot of this at Shimono Hiro’s feet, who was absolutely hilarious as Toucan. Toucan is boorish, selfish, and chaotic as heck, but he also gets the short end of the stick in the “Africa Mixer” sketch, which helps reinstate some balance to the world. But Lizard (Tsuda Kenjirou) was good as well, he was a good comedic foil without being dull himself.
In contrast, Lion (Ootsuka Akio) isn’t much to write home about yet, but it’s fine. Maybe he’s the heart of the show, and Toucan/Lizard are the comedy. Shishimura (Kitamura Eri) and Gorimi (Ogura Yui) didn’t do as much for me, even though both seiyuu are excellent comedic talents—especially Kitamura Eri. I’d watch this show for her + Shimono Hiro being silly alone, no problem.
As for the animation, I actually didn’t mind (and even kinda liked) the switching between CGI and hand drawn. Yes, all hand drawn would have been prettier, but the CGI doesn’t actually harm the jokes, at least for this anime-only viewer. I’m sure manga readers will have more to say, but that ain’t me. I’m just glad the animation studio managed to harvest the strengths of both CGI and hand-drawn animation, instead of stubbornly sticking with one and losing the life of the thing.
I doubt I’ll be blogging this—pure comedies like this are notoriously hard to blog, as there’s not much to say each week—but I will be watching it. Let’s enjoy some time in the urban jungle savannah together.
Random thoughts:
- Best joke: Toucan tailgating compacts in his Lexun XD He’s the worst!
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ED Sequence
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ED: 「ホワイトカラーエレジー」 (White-Collar Elegy) by Ootsuka Akio
Preview
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Omake
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Who ever would have thought that autotomy could be funny? Unfortunately that’s the only bit I found funny so I think this is a miss for me.
This is a good “I’ll watch it if it’s raining” type of show
(pay special attention to that fact that I didn’t specify where it’s raining).
Aparently, the lizard losing his tail is going to be a running bit judging
by the omake.
Oh well, some stupid light humor is fun once in a while.
…those female characters at the mixer are a straight up homage to characters from Netflix’s Aggretsuko.
Just like Shinchou Yuusha and Hataage, I’ve found another anime this season where the comedy doesn’t amuse me at all…
Aggretsuko shoutout. Niiiiiice.