So anyone know where 2016 went? We are two weeks off before the end of the year and fear not anime fans we will be taking a look back at the year in anime before (sort of) the year is out with your avoidable anime and the most recommended anime of 2016 as according to Otaku Digest. This week however we are scraping the bottom of the season, although considering the past few seasons have been collectively ‘meh’ that is saying something, yes it is that time of the season where we check out some of the anime shorts released this season. I always hold out hope for these little anime shorts to bring something new, perhaps this time my hopes will not be crushed. This week we check out JK-Meshi!, Onsen Yousei Hakone-chan and Komori-san wa Kotowarenai!.
JK-Meshi!
First up this week is comedy, food and slice of life anime JK-Meshi! that first aired on October 6. In this anime we are introduced to three high school girls who have managed to master the cooking of b-class and simple dishes known as JK meshi. The trio are Reina, Ruriko and Ryouka and are all second year high school students who often find themselves becoming distracted from their everyday school work and important studying for exams, what they do instead? Cook JK meshi. The anime will bring the vewer through the cooking of the different dishes showing the common ingredients used with easy steps so viewers can try out the dishes themselves. Nifty!
I had managed to avoid, since the season did not have many, slice of life anime. I know I should not dread them but I do with a hate filled passion. However, yes I am setting a however here I am actually liking the sound of this little short since yes it is slice of life but there is also a tutorial element to it which I enjoy since it gives the anime purpose bar boring me to the point of being demented. Something I did enjoy about this episode was the random banter that took place between the three as they discuss pretty normal subjects for students, in this case the French Revolution. Another aspect was the animation, which seemed to be more like a video game based style of animation but animated in a more fluid moving fashion than a game would be, the characters were very 2 dimensional and simple but it worked to the shows advantage. As for the step by step aspect that was done alright but it is not as step by step as they let on.
Will I Continue To Watch? Probably not but a cute little series nonetheless!
Onsen Yousei Hakone-chan
Next we have Onsen Yousei Hakone-chan or simply Hakone-chan in English which is a comedy, seinen and super power anime that first began airing on October 4 and is based on the manga of the same name. In Onsen Yousei Hakone-chan (the ‘Yousei’ we see in the titles in a play on the Japanese words for young child and fairy) we meet Hakone, a hot spring spirit who decided to descend upon a spa resort on Earth. With this decention she was had long time to slumber and because of the slumber she takes the form of a little girl on the outside even though she is an ancient hot spring spirit. One day she is discovered by an unsuspecting high school buy called Touya at the hot spring and somehow he winds up teaming up with Hakone to help her retrieve her original powers back.
Thank the lord a non-slice of life anime for this week. I do love how they make a series with an actual story based anime into an anime short rather than a whole series to itself. Saying that sometimes of actually works far better as a little snippet of an episode rather than a long drawn out series. Something that does bug me about these however is they still try keep an opening and closing theme and you cannot help but think why? It is only a few minutes long why bother? This series I actually enjoyed the easy going feel of it, it was comedic where it needed to be with an almost slapstick based comedy and did not take itself too serious which was refreshing. The animation is nice and simple with no big bows or shining points, it is exactly what it says on the tin, an anime short. I liked the characters, Hakone is your typical god complex character but she genuinely wants to help her friend even though she manages to make more of a mess than help, the other characters are good too although we only catch a glimpse but you can tell the story will actually go somewhere in the few minute episodes it has.
Will I Continue To Watch? Yes, it’s a nice little series to pass the time!
Komori-san wa Kotowarenai!
Lastly on the anime shorts for this week we have Komori-san wa Kotowarenai! or Komori-san Can’t Decline! a comedy, slice of life and seinen anime that began airing on October 4 and is another anime based on a manga of the same name. Imagine never being able to say no to people? Any request asked of you and you cannot decline. That is the life of Syuri Komori, a 14 year old girl who too nice for her own good and cannot decline people requests of her. There is something special that happens however while she completes the request she gains amazing powers. She goes about her life and has many fun and happy things happen for her!
Let me kick this off by saying straight away before even watching the little short I have an issue with this anime just going on the poster. Her breasts are massive which I get is an anime trope often used but my issue is here a) she is meant to be 15 and b) you have an anime about a girl who cannot say no, is fan service really the way you need to go? Also, really? Another slice of life for me to suffer through? Really? I have no idea what the point of this anime is, at all. The first episode gave you nothing to go on bar this girl seems to be above average in everything from her height to her attitude and the most obvious her chest size. This is a great example of everything I hate about the slice of life genre, it goes nowhere and has no point. I just watched a few minutes of a girl who is so nice that she cannot help but do everything she is asked to the point where she could possibly wet herself in the bathroom, at least Ella Enchanted had a story line and plot. Yes I realise this anime may have a plot later on but to be honest I do not care since going on that first episode this anime is a wash out, boring and not worth another 5 minutes to see anymore.
Will I Continue To Watch? Simply; no.
