Mayoiga

A bus full of eccentric individuals is headed towards the urban legend known as Nanaki Village, a place where one can supposedly start over and live a perfect life. While many have different ideas of why the village cannot be found on any map, or why even the police cannot pinpoint its location, they each look forward to their new lives and just what awaits them once they reach their destination.

After a few mishaps, they successfully arrive at Nanaki Village only to find it completely abandoned. Judging from the state of disrepair, it has been vacant for at least a year. However, secrets are soon revealed as some of the group begin to go missing while exploring the village and amidst the confusion, they find bloody claw marks in a forest. As mistrust and in-fighting break out, will they ever be able to figure out the truth behind this lost village?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Masaki Main

Aisaka, Yuuka Japanese

Hayato Main

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Sakai, Mitsumune Main

Sakai, Koudai Japanese

Koharun Main

Sakura, Kaoru Japanese

Lion Supporting

Igarashi, Hiromi Japanese

Love-pon Supporting

Kakuma, Ai Japanese

Jack Supporting

Miyoshi, Kousuke Japanese

Nanko Supporting

Tada, Konomi Japanese

Yottsun Supporting

Majima, Junji Japanese

Maimai Supporting

Shimizu, Ayaka Japanese

Maeda, Toshihiro Producer

Ishiguro, Tatsuya Producer

Kojima, Hiroaki Producer

Okamoto, Junya Producer

Reviews

Jul 11, 2016

ChrissyKay

Recommended

Yes, I apologize, but I'm going to have to join the Mayoiga debate, since there are apparently a large number of individuals in the anime community who are convinced that this beautiful disaster is somehow entirely unaware of the fact that it's a comedy. Now, I've heard a lot of things said about the matter, and so I would firstly like to clarify that I am not a diehard fan of the show trying to justify it, nor am I attempting to tell anyone that they are somehow stupid or foolish for assuming that Mayoiga is actually just mind-numbingly stupid trash. I don't even consider ... this some enlightened or critical interpretation: this review's main purpose is to tell people that yes, this show is worth watching, and that yes, it is only worth watching if you look at it from the standpoint of "Mizushima and Okada have fun messing around with B horror tropes", because while there are certainly a fair number of blatant giveaways, much of Mayoiga's humor comes from the small details.

So why is Mayoiga good again?

Most anime comedies are bad. That's an opinion, obviously, but it's one that I'm fairly hard-set on. Anime comedy derives mostly from physical comedy, overreactions, making fun of anime tropes, stupid sex jokes/boob jokes/food jokes, and other versions of uncreative/broad-appeal humor that gets reused over and over. When anime does set up good jokes, it often ruins them by pointing to them aggressively to make sure you understood the fact that yes, this was in fact supposed to be humor.

Mayoiga never does this. Once. What makes the show work more than anything is that it's so absurdly self serious one-hundred percent of the time. More than anything, this is likely why there is so much debate surrounding it, because there is never a single moment in the show where Mayoiga acknowledges that anything that it's doing is a joke. On the other hand though, this is what makes it so entertaining. You have stuff like Nyanta and Jigoku wandering around with amunition belts and assault rifles or Lovepon ceaselessly screaming about her gradually-escalating need to execute someone, and no one pays this even a lick of attention. It's pretty much the anime equivalent of that comic with the dog in the middle of an inferno saying "this is fine." In Mayoiga, nonsense passes as logic and no one questions it once. The names "Hyouketsu no Judgeness" and "Jack" are acknowledged to be 'similar'. A character claiming to be able to see dead people is accepted as a valid argument as to why another character is not in fact a ghost. Medieval forms of witch torture are used as practical assessments of guilt, with a council of thoughtful glasses-pushing intellectuals actually trying to stab a twelve-year-old girl just to check if she'll bleed or not. The offhand way in which Mayoiga spews utter nonsense without ever treating its story and world as anything other than absolutely intense and important makes what would be an absolutely attrocious plot into a phenomenal piece of entertainment.

But it goes past that. Mayoiga's dialogue and overblown character tropes may be fun, but what really makes the show special is that it assumes that the audience has seen at least a few B horror movies and murder-mystery plots in their day, and it uses that to violently thrash their expectations in the most viscerally unsatisfying ways imaginable. If Mayoiga was a violent gorefest it would quickly slip into the realm of incoherence, lose the appeal of its nonsense dialogue, and turn into another Another (heh). But instead, Mayoiga capitalizes on lethargy and apathy. It treats its plot twists and reveals like inqonsequential details to skim over. Instead of whipping its characters up into a frenzy, it makes the majority of them lazy, subdued, whiny, and complacent. It devotes ominous attention to cast member that are never remotely relevant. If ever there were a perfect backdrop against which to place a few under-the-radar psychos and sociopaths, it's the one that Mayoiga creates through its easily-distracted mob. When characters start going missing, large portions of the cast are more concerned with existential reasoning or even debating the spelling of said character's names than with worrying about their own or their comrade's safety. Beyond this, Mayoiga goes so far as to present some of the worst direction concievably possible, pace itself in ways that make no sense, and demonstrate a staggering penchant for anticlimax right through to the very end. It could be argued that the plot was technically 'resolved', because it was, but it is done is such a way that you're left confused and slightly baffled, wondering 'wait, what? that's it? this is a story, weren't there supposed to be dramatic stakes?' and then you can't help but chuckle at the fact that Mayoiga got you good one last time as you realize that it couldn't have been any other way.

So yeah, Mayoiga is hilarious. I laughed out loud at least two or three times an episode on average, with plenty of chuckles in between, and I'm talking about from the very first episode. This is funny stuff.

That said, even for what it is, it's by no means perfect. I enjoyed the show immensely, but I still wish that it had been just a little bit better at what it does. The final third of the show is noticeably less funny than the rest, with a reliance on anticlimax and executing big moments horribly taking away from some of the show's momentum. In addition, the show is composed by Okada, who has always loved her melodrama, and this becomes more and more apparent as the number of faux-emotional flashbacks intensifies until that joke has been overdone and it loses its charm. If these flashbacks and idiotic backstories had become increasingly more absurd and creative perhaps this would have worked better, but the show's best backstories are mostly the early ones so unforunately this wasn't the case. In addition, it's usually the case the truly successful comedies succeed the way they do because they manage to be engaging even when they aren't throwing out jokes simply through atmosphere/intesity/actual plot, and again unfortunately when Mayoiga isn't making you laugh, it isn't really doing anything of note. In my opinion, this is what sets something like the first season of Jojo apart from the rest of the fold--even Mayoiga--in that even when Jojo isn't being immediately absurd, it manages to breed an atmosphere of fun and excitement that keeps you interested because it feels like an adventure and not just one big joke. So yeah, this thing is flawed. But that doesn't change the fact that it's a great time, and that it's consistent enough to not give you that empty feeling of 'I want to laugh more, I'm in a humorous mood, but the show's just not quite getting there". With the right attitude, Mayoiga delivers.

In the end it kinda just makes me sad to see the show getting so much hate, because it's a kind of unique and truly dedicated comedy that we see rarely-to-never in anime, and it would be cool if more people could appreciate it. After watching people explode over stuff like Konosuba (personally, I find Konosuba to be, well, kinda garbage, but to each his own) I was excited to have an airing comedy that I was also invested in and could laugh along with the rest of the community. At this point, it seems a little late for that, but it's not to late for all you smart people out there who spend your time wisely and wait until the end of the season to see reviews and decide what looks like it's worth watching. Despite what almost everyone is saying to the contrary, I firmly believe that if you go into Mayoiga expecting a comedy and a self-aware but deadpan parody that you will likely find yourself happily laughing for twelve delightful episodes. Every type of humor isn't for everyone, granted, but for what it does Mayoiga is pretty much one-of-a-kind among anime, and I think it's worth giving a shot, even if just to see if it's for you.

In Mayoiga-esque fashion, here's the score breakdown loaded ino the end of the review now that it's almost entirely irrelevant.

Story-- Decidedly unique. Better than Trasformers: Dark of the Moon. No other information necessary.

Art-- Totally fucking terrible, the CGI looks like a bad skyrim mod.

Sound-- Surprisingly competent, could even be counted against the show because it's too effective. Opening is catchy AF.

Character-- You either love them or you Lovepon them.

Enjoyment-- Really the only thing worth mentioning, it's a good time, that's enough of that.

Fin.

Hail Lovepon.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 19, 2016

711nono

Mixed Feelings

Many people within the anime community complain about the degrading quality of modern anime works. Though I always try to view anime in a positive light, I can't deny that Mayoiga is a great example of this. I mean it was so mediocre and pretentious and it just fell into an eternal abyss of dissapointment.

The lost village is the type of show that tries several ideas and concepts but fails miserably at several of these endeavors. It desperately attempts to incorporate deep themes but can hardly get down dynamic characterization and development, not to mention a completely muddled narrative.

The story of ... Mayoiga follows thirty young individuals who are going to a village to escape all of their problems. This is an incredibly promising concept which could have been amazing if it was handled and developed properly. However a main issue is that a core story doesn't really appear until midway through the entire series. This leads to much confusion throughout the entire series because even after a narrative is established it doesn't take long for it to completely fall apart.

The main characters of Mayoiga had great potential. The character of mitsumune had an interesting backstory and some valid motivation. However he is a really annoying and bland character and he hardly grows throughout the story. Masaki is kind of the standard timid quiet innocent girl that is very generic. Koharun was also pretty bland but there was a good plot twist involving her. Hayato was probably the best and most interesting character and his motives were very relatable.

The other side characters in Mayoiga is the perfect example of a large amount of characters who don't mean crap to the viewer. Honestly just info dumping their backstories at random is not a good way to develop a character. Their were a couple of semi-interesting side characters but the rest were just hit garbage. The cast was way too big and it really hindered the potential of the show.

The themes of accepting your psychological scars is explored through characters I can hard,y care about. This makes the anime very pretentious due to it trying to be deep but failing miserably.

The art of Mayoiga is actually good. There is a feel of modern polish and I had no problem with it. The voice acting was also good and the actors portrayed their respective characters accurately. The music was excellent with a great opening and ending themes. The ost also built good atmosphere.

In conclusion Mayoiga is a series that had an amazing amount of potential in its premise but just completely flopped. It has some redeemable aspects but there are much better less pretentious mystery anime out there so I can't reccomened this anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jun 17, 2016

karlstein12

Not Recommended

Watching Mayoiga is like opening a surprise package and finding out it's something you so fiercely hate, thus transitioning your expectations into a decaying death. The premise itself is interesting, and there's a sense of an odd feeling of triumph at the beginning because as rarely as it comes, to see a pure original 'lost somewhere' flick is definitely something you can look forward to with excessive hype and such was the case with myself. As a matter of fact, before the spring season began, I had Mayoiga at the top of my most anticipated shows list. But Mayoiga, or rather Trainwre- I mean... The ... Lost Village, turns out as a complete disaster.

Mayoiga begins with a bunch of ragtags together inside a bus heading towards a peculiar place known only as the Nanaki Village. The similarity between all the people, thirty to be precise, is that each and every one of them had a traumatic past of which they were all desperate to escape from. Nanaki Village is a place that is not on the map and no one knows about it, and no one can pin-point the location of the place. Nanaki Village doesn't exist. That is until a mysterious group known as "It's Super Genesis" or "ISG" for short discovers the exact location of Nanaki Village. Various online users who make it through layers of protection of the ISG website, take part in this tour which is branded as the "Start Life Over" tour where people are seeking a world free of hassle and trying to relive their lives, escaping the reality. The irony in the story lies in the fact that "changing your lives" is something the adults should be doing, not a group of teenagers who have barely lived.

A whopping thirty characters could all be in theory, regarded as our protagonists. But we all know that's not bound to happen in a show which consists of just twelve episodes. And that brings us to Mitsumune, the main character in which the show mostly revolves around and has the spotlight. For one, there is nothing that separates Mitsumune from the other thousands of generic main guys there are. He is shy, pathetic and single-minded who has a positive outlook no matter what happens. He is also very disloyal, so much so that he gives up on his best friend, who also joins him on the tour by the way, for a girl he met in the tour! Looking at Mitsumune makes you wonder why would such a phony guy even join on this tour? There's a backstory to him which is just as miserly as the show itself. As I said before, the first episode starts off with the tour organizer, Dahara, stating that only the people with gifted talent could ever break through the layers of their website and join the tour, which also makes you think as to how someone as dense as Mitsumune could have done that all by himself? Mayoiga is full of contradictions such as this.

The rest of the characters are up to no good as well. A majority of them merely exist for plot conveniences, and that includes Mitsumune at times too, and have little to no in-depth characterization. Probably a few of them worth mentioning are Masaki, the mysterious girl to whom Mitsumune falls for. She plays a big role as the show progresses, but there are little traits to her character worth explaining. She's basically used as the embodiment of the emotional trope and is a pretty one-dimensional character. Hayato who goes by the pseudonym Speedstar, is a good friend of Mitsumune's. He acts as the support for Mitsumune and helps him out whenever he is in need. Speedstar is more suited to be the show's protagonist in my opinion as he's displayed as someone who has a strong willpower and personality. He undergoes a terrible characterization later on however which was a waste. A few characters act as a sidekick like Valkana, who is shown as a very angry man. Koharun, who is the one responsible for locating the Nanaki Village and Lovepon, who is probably the craziest in my opinion. All she ever talks is about executing and is a good example of a literal cardboard-cut "yandere" trope character. However, there's a backstory on her which was quite captivating and displayed the struggles she goes through as a kid. It's depressing since the show doesn't do justice at all to the backstory as she's used for mere conveniences by taking on a more active role in the coming episodes saying the exact same thing over and over again.

It's such a shame because Mayoiga has well-designed characters for an original show. The art isn't anything significant and is nothing but generic, but it doesn't necessarily mean bad. The characters and the backgrounds are drawn simple and not too exaggerated which helps the viewers settle in very quickly. But for the most part, there is a visible decline in the art and a good example of this are the first two episodes. The pilot episode has nice visuals but there are times when it goes downhill from there in the coming episodes. The CGI effects used later on suck for the most part. One of the main reasons being the totally absurd "Monsters" but yet there are moments where the characters are shown alongside the CGI-designed creatures and it all feels very underwhelming. The visuals for the opening/ending songs respectively are kept very minimal where they focus on merely introducing the characters. The ending especially only uses the faces of the characters in them with different characters in the next episode ending than the previous. Overall I have to say the art is pretty mediocre.

The sound aspect of Mayoiga is once again a mixed bag. On one hand: Fantastic opening and ending song, A few good soundtracks in between which play by the mood and the atmosphere etc. And then there is this task of voicing over two dozens of characters. Honestly, many of the characters' voices are done terribly and seemingly by amateurs in the industry. And it comes as no surprise for an anime which was supported by crowdfunding, to have budget issues and made by a small time studio. Many of the characters are played by the newer personnel or ones with little experience in voice acting and that is so very evident in Mayoiga.

Mayoiga is at times so insane that it matches the contemporaries of those anime which are so bad that they're good. It's a common expectation that with such a huge amount of cast, many will be put off to death soon and that does seem to be happening until it takes a completely different route. It's tough to tell after a few episodes if this is truly a mystery show, psychological drama or a satirical comedy. Mayoiga doesn't rely on gore to put off the viewers and be 'edgy'. But instead it uses hysterically pretentious philosophical dialogues and awful plot twists which literally does the trick and puts off everyone watching it and can be deemed as cringe-worthy. At this point I'm just gonna say avoid Mayoiga at all costs. It's an utter waste of time and nothing good will ever come out watching it. I'd also like to mention that this is the worst anime I've ever seen.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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