Moetan

Moetan can best be described from the popular tags on the database. It's a comedy about a group of loli magical girls who behave moe.As in any other loli anime before this, it starts off with a walk to school. Nijihara Ink just happens to act all clumsy and cute as she tries to get to school. Hilarity ensues...





Story (Mediocre)
It's an already been used story line thats been beaten down so many times that you can tell if you'll love it or hate it based on the first episode. Judging from the first episode you'll get an eyeful of purposely cute situations mixed ... in with some gratuitous fanservice. And when i say gratuitous, i mean theres so much fan service that you will either enjoy it because theres so much or hate it because it's too much. It's not for the faint of hart, trust me. Other than that, Ink and her friends get to deal with some monsters and fight bad guys thats pretty much the gist of the story.

Art (Great)
Fortunately, the art is something to be believed. The artists did such an amazing work on this show. It's kind of like an anime version of Candyland, with all the bright vibrant colors, large shapes, and cute things. Everything is crisp and clear in high definition. But you will notice (like the theme) that the style might feel a little borrowed from an anime here and an anime there. When I watched it, for some reason it reminded me of Popotan. For others N-Drop. And maybe even a little Kamichama Karin. Point is, that it'll remind you of another show.

Sound (Very Good)
The sound, like the art quality is very clear and 'magical' as one would expect from a magical girl anime. Complete with their own transformation song/sounds to all the comedy antics one is used to when watching this show. I didn't feel any annoyance toward any sound and I (again) love the OP and ED song of this show. Very happy, catchy little melody with some engrish for some extra kick. The seiyus were all spot on. I can even say that they did a damn good (aka hilarious) job on Moetan Corner. I can watch that segment over and over and its still pretty funny.

Character (Good)
The magical girl characters are all typical moe branded type girls. But they do add a little 'extra' to them to separate themselves from the rest. For instance, Ink's left (sometimes right) sock always falls down. Sumi's ahoge makes little emoticons to show her emotion which was really cute. And Alice's sidekick is just too much its fantastic. There are other characters around but they're a pretty forgettable bunch, except for the animals. You'll see what i mean if you get a chance to watch it.

Enjoyment (Good)
Overall if you're all into the "cute moe loli" thing than this show is a barrel of fun. But if you don't like the slightly ecchi loli thing, then try something else. As an acquaintance in a chartroom told me "Its disgusting." Personally i think what he said was a little overboard.

Moetan is one of those series that is memorable in one way or another. It is truly unique, being able to make its viewers react in ways one would not usually react. To me, it has the most brilliant form of parody - it parodies itself. For any parody, one of the main concerns is whether or not the viewers will "get" the references thrown at them, but in Moetan, that isn't the case. What you see on the screen will be the main subject for amusement, not obscure references that leave half of the viewers in the dark. And that is the really the ... main reason why Moetan is considered to be an excellent series to me. You don't have a be an otaku or long time anime watcher to enjoy Moetan. All you need is a sense of humor.

Story: 8/10

This is interesting, because how does one rate the story or plot of a parody/comedy series? To be straight to the point, Moetan has little plot, none of it relevant in any way to enjoyment. The real "plot" here is for that Arks and Karks have been banished from their world to the human world and they, with the help of magical girls that they choose (Ink and Sumi), will have to collect good deeds in order to return to their world. However, the real story here is the complete parody of the magical girl genre, especially the transformation sequences, along with the parody of Engrish, ambiguous age of students in anime, flat chests, fanservice, tentacles, Bandai Visual...you name it. The most spot-on moments of Moetan includes a serious/touching/fanservice moment that just makes you laugh. There are many panty shots and more explicit near-nudity scenes, but they are presented in a way to be absolutely hilarious.

Art: 9/10

The art is nothing to complain about. In fact, the characters are cutely drawn and the transformation sequences have...lots of good detail. It doesn't get a ten because those are reserved to truly animation masterpieces, but for the purposes of this series, the animation was perfect. There are little things that I personally like, such as the simple ending sequences featuring looking at a window with a character looking out at different phases of the day/season. It's very calm, contrasting the upbeat ending music yet presenting a great mix. And the character/background switches every episode so it's also an extra look into the characters' daily life. The final ending sequence for Moetan in episode 13 was just amazing, featuring sketch-like still drawings of Moetan characters, very pretty yet fitting.

Sound: 8/10

To be honest, I did not pay attention to the background music, which means that it's at least mediocre enough to not be out of place but not impressive enough to be noticeable. However, I will comment on the opening and ending songs, which in my opinion are wonderful. The OP is fun to watch, and the more you watch Moetan, the more you laugh at its hidden messages. The ED is catchy and cute, in a way where it's too cute that it feels weird to listen to, exactly how I would feel if someone sees me watching the series. One noticeable moment in music is in episode 13 where the special OVA OP is played near the ending, and it was just very fitting with the battle scene.

Character: 8/10

Once again, it's a parody, so aside from the witty motifs and dark, adult themes, there's literally no character development. Like slice of life series, you get the gist of the "story" plus some defining characteristics and personalities of each character, and the comedy builds on them. What I will say though is that the gags and jokes are not overused and the series always find some new way to make you laugh.

Enjoyment: 10/10

And here is the main reason why Moetan is one of my favorite series - it is entertainment near its best. I can go on and on about analyzing every single detail of an anime, but it all comes down to whether or not I enjoyed that anime, and for Moetan, every minute is worth it. There's really nothing else I can say, since you have to watch it to know what I mean. What I will say is that I spent lots of time laughing along with the characters, and it is one of the few series where I can keep a smile from the beginning of an episode to the end.

Overall: 9/10

To earn a 9 overall rating, usually the anime has to impact me in some way...until I watched Moetan that is. Rarely has enjoyment alone been so strong that I am obligated to give the series higher than a 7, but that is exactly the case with this series. The kinds of anime I like are meaningful series that is deep, but Moetan alone proved that I don't need complex plots or drama to be entertained. Moetan was way outside my comfort side, but somehow it hit at all the right spots. This is a series I will recommend to everyone (who feels comfortable laughing at semi-nudity scenes), because if it can make a tough analyst like me wholeheartedly enjoy it, then it can probably do the same for you too.

Moetan is more of a comedy rather than a romance, centered around 4 main characters that have magical powers.

The show was really more of a cute kid show rather than an adult oriented one. There was a lot of ecchiness and near pornographic transformation scenes. Although, the show was comedy oriented, I didn't find myself laughing my ass off (LMAO) or anything like that. Quite frankly it was pretty bland, but there were a few good moments here and there filled with moe.

The story is centered around a girl named Ink. She some how coincidentally found her way to becoming a magical girl who must ... help people. But her sense of helping people is helping a boy she has a crush on with his English studies. And that's mainly it, the plot gets a little thicker a little down the line, but it isn't anything really noting. (That should probably tell you how well thought out this show was).

The characters felt really shallow, as if there wasn't very much character build up. We learn very little about the characters past, which is the reason why I felt so detached to the characters. All of the magical people from another world are very perverted to the point they should practically be in jail. The only really deep thing about Ink's and Sumi's past is about their friendship and why they both like cats. Other than that, it is pretty much something you could've figured out on your own without an entire episode dedicated to that memory.

The music suited the mood and the actions the characters were doing, but I am pretty impressed with the English dialogue. Nao, the main character who is supposed to learn English, never actually speaks it, so I found that kind of ironic.

The art is very MOE. Almost everything about it is supposed to be moe. Little girls with no female features is apparently awesome in Japan... That is a cultural divide for me. Anyway, I was unimpressed with how the artists would repeat the exact same scenes, two, three and sometimes four times. It felt like there was a really big budget cut, so they took short cuts in a few places, and you'll notice them when/if you watch the show. And for some reason, frilly and complex costumes are impressive in Japan... it's no wonder that you need magic in order to put on these extremely complex clothes like that.

Other than a few things, I guess I can say that I enjoyed the show a little bit. It felt more like a waste of time rather than something I had to watch to satisfy my curiosity. There was good moments here and there, but the ecchiness was mainly involved with the little girls with no feminine features. Looking at naked little girls is practically no different from looking at naked little boys.