Otaku Digest: Bikini Doll Girl
I have far too much fun making up the titles for the many weeks of Otaku Digest! Is it just me, or has the summer season this year been much shorter than others? Or is it just that the anime all round this season has been sub-par at best? Either way, we are forced to look at more of the anime shorts that were released this season that usually crop up while we play catch-up on a few of the series that were worth sticking to.
Considering there were not many this season, realistically it could be made into a what-to-avoid-list and, believe me, that is coming at the end of the year! Alas, for now we dive into the shallow end of the anime season and have a peep at some of the anime shorts released this season. Please note shorts are treated the same as normal anime in that we only look at first episodes. This week we have Million Doll, Bikini Warriors and Wakaba Girl, I am dreading this week already!
Bikini Warriors
First up is the ecchi, parody, action, fantasy and comedy anime Bikini Warriors that originally aired on July 8. For anyone who finds this anime slightly familiar 
it is because, before it was an anime, it was a series of figures. We are brought to an RPG style world where magic and swords are the norm, and we meet a team of four brave women Paladin, Fighter, Mage and Dark Elf who band together in order to protect the world from utter destruction. Before they can pursue their objectives, however, they must barter with the villagers and go up against many monsters while also being unbelievably scantily dressed in bikinis.
Really? The name really does give this entire short away; anime have a serious thing for scantily clad ladies who can kick some serious butt, which I have no issue with, but why do we have to have them in bikinis? Was it truly necessary? Now obviously this stems from the original figures but, still, was it really necessary or just done for the fan service? I am usually always prepared for fan service and all that that entails, which includes gravity defying bosoms, but this truly took the biscuit with it. The entire first episode is them trying on and posing in bikinis as it is supposed to be armour. First off, the animators in this anime really wanted those bosoms to jiggle and it brings back the whole issue I have with the over-use of fan service. Fan service is either used well or used badly and this anime just uses it; there is no story, just fan service. This is my biggest pet peeve and it’s something that is created only to promote the fan service aspect, leaving the anime with no actual story.
Will I Continue To Watch? No, just no.
Million Doll
Next this week we have the music anime Million Doll released on July 7. Continuing the ongoing trend of music and idol related anime released this season, idols have become such a phenomenon that this anime centres on idol adoring Suko, but Suko isn’t just any adoring idol fan; she also has a special power. She has the ability to make any idol have instant popularity. How, you ask? Just by simply writing about them on her blog. One day, as she accompanies her sister although unwillingly to the supermarket, she happens upon a live performance of the idol group Itrio who are Fukuoka. From that one encounter, Suko dedicated her time into making this group into a massive success. She faces many challenges along the way, including an otaku blogger named Ryu who supports an underground idol called Mariko. Will she make Itrio stars or will they fall into the idol abyss?
Idols, idols, idols everywhere. How many anime is that now just this season alone to feature idols? They have become the new vampire trend that we had a few seasons ago but they are everywhere so of course there was going to be a short also made to tie in with the idol trend that’s been booming. I have never been a huge fan of the music genre of anime, or the whole idol boom in general, as I find them needlessly boring with songs no one cares about or remembers after the anime is over. This anime is no different; maybe it is my harsh critique of the idols as a genre but I saw no stand outs in this anime and, much like others, the idols and characters have nothing distinguishable about them as there is no individuality between them all. Truthfully, I wanted to like this anime but it has glaring issues I cannot ignore.
Will I Continue To Watch? No, nothing special here!
Wakaba Girl
Lastly this week and what is also hopefully the last anime short I have to watch this season is Wakaba 
Girl, a comedy and slice of life (groan) anime which first aired on July 3. This anime is also an adaptation of the manga of the same name. The anime focuses on Wakaba Kohashi, who is the not exactly the whole nine yards if you know what I mean. A daughter of a pretty well-to-do family and her group of friends, Wakaba looks and dresses like what she is, which is a well-off but elegant young woman. She idolises the stylish gyaru fashion subdivision. Among her, there is Nao who used to be the more athletic type of girl but has since been consumed by the boys-love genre, Mao is the free spirit and acts the way she wants and, lastly, there is the fairy-like Moeko. We see them go about their lives and witness their triumphs and losses.
Another season with more slice of life and I have to say when I heard about this anime it literally screamed ‘trope-filled slice of life cliché, run away as fast as you can!’ yet here I am watching yet another slice of life. To start this anime could give even the sourest person a cavity; it is so sweet and cute which actually worked in its favour a small bit because you were half invested in the four girls’ lives even if it’s only because they are adorable. Truthfully, however cute they all may be, it did not make up for the fact that this was much like other anime of its type and had far too much conversation with not enough pay-off from said conversation, I understand this is there to build exposition for the characters and the anime, but it certainly becomes a snooze fest even in a short of eight minutes.
Will I Continue To Watch? No, it was a snooze fest of cuteness!
What have you been watching this week? Anything worth mentioning? Let us know in the comments!
