Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to The Animation

This is a short anime, composed of twelve 13-minute episodes and six 8-minute special episodes, which are pretty much exactly like the main episodes other than being shorter. It should be noted however, that the OP/ED is still present at the normal length for all of these, and hence in terms of content it's more like twelve 10 minute episodes, which is about half of a normal episode, and six 5-minute episodes, which is about a quarter. This is my first short anime, and hence I found that it felt even shorter than expected. It works fine with the structure of the anime however, wherein ... even these small episodes are composed of even smaller somewhat self contained short segments. The focus here is primarily on comedy and not on any sort of overarching plot. Now that's not to say there isn't a focus on characters, as many shorts are focused on developing or fleshing out the various characters, and it does a reasonably good job of that considering the time allotted. However, it's the comedy that the true draw of the anime, and I think that aspect is reasonably solid. It's not enough to constantly have you laughing, but it does stay pretty amusing throughout, and though there isn't a lot of range to it, primarily being focused on how strange or pathetic the main character is, the anime isn't long enough for the comedy to get repetitive, and hence I consider it pretty solid, and enough to successfully hold up the anime. The art and animation were okay. The OP/ED were decent.

A short anime held up pretty well by its comedy.

8/10

I will also note that there was inherent amusement to be had in that the main character is voiced by the same voice actor as Kirito from SAO, and the main heroine is voiced by the same voice actor as Yukino  from Oregairu.

This anime is a hilarious ride, packed with wacky characters, ridiculous situations, and a healthy dose of humor.

The show's premise is simple: a successful manga artist and his quirky team of assistants get into all sorts of silly misadventures. But the execution is pure gold. Each episode is a self-contained comedy gem, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and witty one-liners.

What I love about this anime is its playful, lighthearted vibe. It's not trying to be deep or profound; just a fun, entertaining romp. The characters are lovable and relatable, with Aito's passion for manga shining through.

If I have any criticisms, it's that the show can ... get a bit formulaic. Some jokes feel recycled, and the plot doesn't really go anywhere. But honestly, I didn't care. I was too busy laughing and having a blast.

Overall, this anime is a fantastic choice if you're in the mood for something funny and lighthearted. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a heck of a lot of fun. So grab some snacks, sit back, and enjoy the silliness!

You know, Comic Artist and His Assistants was so close to being a recommended anime for me. It's both funny in sad in its all too real portrayal of the modern Japanese man; awkward, anti-social, unable to properly talk to women or distinguish fantasy from reality. it could have worked as either a lampooning of the ecchi genre or just straight up ecchi with social commentary and I would have lauded it as one of the more standout horny comedies. It was so close. But the problem is it wants to sexualize women who look prepubescent in the creepiest possible manner. It's one thing to ... take an adult woman who is five-foot-nothing and lacks large... tracts of land, and sexualize her. It's not unheard of in real life and women like this deserve a chance to be represented in adult media. It's another thing to put said woman in little girls' dresses and treat them like children while also sexualizing them. Because now you have unlocked some uncomfortable fetishes that shouldn't be animated and streamed to the public. Hell, they even sexualize one of them before we realize she's an adult.

If this had stuck with being a parody or at least set up boundaries to not cross then it would have been great. It has the setting and it has the humor, it just can't stop stumbling over its own shoelaces. Especially when it gets to the OVAs, which trucked along fine until the fifth installment, which should be sent in a rocket ship to the moon. I have nothing else to add to this the way most reviewers do. The animation is standard for the era, the characters are all stereotypes of the genre, the show is overall brief and can be blown through in roughly three hours (OVAs included). I just wish it hadn't gone in the direction it went in.