Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san

On the outside, Agastia is a firm specializing in entertainment, well-known for the theme park it operates. However, beneath such an exterior lies a monumental secret: Agastia is one of various highly advanced evil organizations that aim for world domination. Despite its true nature, the company boasts enticements that make it worthwhile to put up with the work environment. Led by its great leader Akashic, Agastia has recently become a frontrunner in reaching its fellow groups' common goal.

Working for Agastia's Monster Development Division, Touka Kuroitsu is a researcher who primarily does fieldwork due to the eccentricities of her seniors. Kuroitsu's everyday jobs also include giving abrupt presentations and proposals, meeting ridiculous expectations for monster designs, and accompanying said monsters to face inevitable defeat by Agastia's enemies. Nevertheless, nothing will stop Kuroitsu from doing her best if it means getting the promotion she desires!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Bete, Wolf Main

Amano, Satomi Japanese

Kuroitsu, Touka Main

Maeda, Kaori Japanese

Megistus Supporting

Inada, Tetsu Japanese

Akashic Supporting

Ichimichi, Mao Japanese

Hydra Supporting

Aikawa, Fumi Japanese

Thunderbird, Cannon Supporting

Toki, Shunichi Japanese

Camula Supporting

Taketatsu, Ayana Japanese

Mizuki, Karen Supporting

Kozakai, Yurie Japanese

Higaya, Yuto Supporting

Horie, Yui Japanese

Elbucky Supporting

Harada, Hitomi Japanese

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Ougi, Jiyuu Producer

Yoshida, Kento Producer

Hayano, Yoshito Producer

Reviews

Apr 2, 2022

AlexPaulLEWZ

Recommended

Watching many anime over the years, I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of hidden gems. One type are hidden gems that should remain hidden for people to dig up and come across their value themselves. The other hidden gems need to be exposed so that everyone knows and appreciates them as much as possible. In my opinion, Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san, or in English, Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department, belongs to the latter. It is clearly one of the most, if not the most underrated anime this Winter 2022 season.

So the story is about Touka Kuroitsu, a monster ... development researcher for the evil organization Agastia. Alongside her senpai Hajime, she, well, develops monsters to fight against "heroes," and in Kuroitsu's case, she fights against Blader. When I tried recommending this to other people, some of them kind of brushed it off as a mere Kamen Rider parody, which it is, don't get me wrong, but of course I'm not reviewing this anime if it's only just that. Moreover, we also have mahou shoujo, so to dismiss this as a mere Kamen Rider parody is not good and it totally undermines this anime's true potential. To be totally honest, my childhood is more on Power Rangers, which is basically the same series, but I'm not really a big fan of either so this anime's connection to Kamen Rider is not that significant as to why I loved Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san.

We don't have an exact story or a deep plot that involves something like Agastia totally ruling over the world, even though that's their ultimate goal. Instead, we have a slice-of-life story that still manages to fit in an episodic story, like your regular superhero series back then, that totally captures the essence of what "Kamen Rider"-esque series should be. But it's not all just fighting. There are also wholesome moments that, once again, make this anime deviate from being just a simple Kamen Rider parody. Yes, people dismissing this anime like that makes me salty. Very salty indeed.

Then there's the comedic parts that make this anime stand out and in my opinion is its strongest point. One of the things that I would especially like to point out is that while I do not think that the trope about "evil organizations" actually being not really that evil and sometimes even law-abiding not uncommon in fiction in general, I think it's really rare for anime and no matter what, I do not find myself getting tired. Most of Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san's comedy stems from the fact that Agastia, dubbed as the leading evil organization, is actually a pretty chill company. They pay their workers well with good benefits, and the work environment is comparable to normal jobs. It's written so well that I wouldn't mind another anime with this kind of trope in the future.

Next up would be the art. While I can't say that the art has been consistent throughout, the art from each new monster and character per episode clearly checks out. Perhaps you can call me out for having a little bit of bias towards anime waifus because it's very true. The best thing I can praise this anime for is for its character designs that are most oddly the most emphasized. For example, Kuroitsu is somehow still too pretty despite her job in a laboratory—especially in a laboratory where literal biological monster… uh… things are developed. Just imagine the stress and the complicated chemicals that are involved in the process that are almost guaranteed to have a negative effect on a person's face. Nevertheless, real world logic doesn't really apply to anime, so I'm not going to cry on spilled milk much further.

In terms of character design, some of the "monsters" like Wolf Bete and Hydra are just so cute and endearing. The same is also true for Agastia's CEO, Akashic, (fbi open up) and the magical girls. As for the Kamen Rider parody characters like Blader and other evil organizations' nemeses, their variations are actually quite good to see, reminding me of the sheer number of Power Rangers and Kamen Rider variations within its years of existence. While I say that I don't like people dismissing this anime as a mere Kamen Rider parody, I still give props to how it pays homage to it which contributes to this anime's goodness.

For sound, I'm only going to critique the opening and ending themes, which are so good that I keep singing their tunes. The opening theme "Special Force" by AXXX1S reminds me of your usual shounen theme, but still hits hard. Not to mention that banger of a refrain!

"itsumo BA-RI-BA-RI-BA-RI tachimukatte
GI-RI-GI-RI-GI-RI kuishibatte
kimi wa “zettai akiramenai”
sore ga chikara sa taisetsu na Special force
kyou mo BA-RI-BA-RI-BA-RI tsukisusunde
GI-RI-GI-RI-GI-RI norikoete
ikou yo Stronger
kimi no utsukushii Special force"

Utterly splendid. The abrupt one-and-a-half beats between the lines are so hard to keep up which makes it even better to sing. Moreover, I never thought I would be hyped up with a boyband like this. As for the ending themes, there are two, both by the idol group Maybe Me, which alternate between episodes. First one is "Destiny," which kind of sounds like an opening, especially with its very upbeat introduction to a mellow strophe, which is staple in J-pop but still is nice.

"Tomose yuuki wo sono yaiba de
Kotae naki michi wo ittou ryoudan mirai he
Ano koro yori mo tsuyoku natteru hazu
Hashiridase yo fuan wo kette"

Then there's "Aimai Identity," which I feel is better than the other because of its easier and clearer lyrical structure. There are almost no accidentals that force the singer to speak an excessive amount of syllables within a set amount of beats like the previous song. Moreover, that refrain! It's the best out of the three songs!

"Doyagao de TRY
Ponkotsu de CRY
Riaru wa choppiri sechigarai
Kiseki wa matsu mono janai
Jibun no te de tsukamu mono
Akiramenai maketakunai
Dakeredo ganbaritaku ha nai
Konna watashi mo watashi na no
Aimai IDENTITY"

Time to become a Maybe Me fan!

The main character, Touka Kuroitsu, is a hard worker whose goal is actually to become an Agastia executive staff member, so she does all she can to impress them. This actually allows her to have a motive to be such an impressive and quite sassy character which makes it hard to get annoyed by her potentially annoying personality. Instead, it draws you in, because not only does she have the confidence, she has the skills and kindness to back it up. Ironic for an evil organization to have a majority of kind and caring staff, but once again, that's what makes Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san a good anime in its own right. I'd also like to mention Kuroitsu's right hand, Wolf Bete. She, well, he was supposed to be male, but was given a female body. As such, her, uh, his interactions with other characters are more interesting which really gives me a laugh whenever it comes up.

But out of all characters, my favorite one for this series goes to "Camula," the head of Agastia's Pluripotent Cell Department. Her dominant personality was enough to hook me on her from the first frame she appeared, and the fact that she has her gap moe of being an idol fan is truly adorable. Also, Ayana Taketatsu as her voice actress? No surprises there.

Like I said earlier, this anime is a hidden gem that should be known to everyone. This anime is simply not a Kamen Rider parody, and it is utterly preemptive to just dismiss it as that. It is a unique anime in its own right and is an unexpectedly enjoyable masterpiece. Watching the ending episode was also one of the most hyped I have been that not even Fantasy Bishoujo Juniku Ojisan to has given me. And like many anime that preceded it, I want a second season of Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 2, 2022

SpRayquaza11

Recommended

I love this show, it comes in my top 5 of the season! but the problem is this may not appeal much to the younger crowd, that is the only reason I think this is rated so low.

Power Rangers, Gojira, samurai Kenshin's, old jap superhero shows if you loved any of these, this show is gonna be a great nostalgia trip. But that s not all of It,
It does the fanservice the right way, the nostalgia trip is great and also has a mildly cohesive story on work-life culture and a good Workplace comedy.

plot(7/10)
The plot is mostly CGDCT, beach episodes, fanservice amusement parks occasional adventure ... rides with the cast but, mainly on Workplace interaction which are just special episodes on the pretext of the workplace.

characters (8/10)
The characters are best left experienced by oneself hence I won't mention them. Id says they are as quirky, distinguishable and genuine as they should be in a superhero show, BUT it's the evil org peeps that are the main focus which is quite the irony I must say since the Hero do it for PR and money yet the org is the innovator's xD.

sound (9/10)
The OP and ED are custom built for weeb Karaoke, Full of energy and emotions, love the 90 s vibe in it, and definitely singalong once or twice. VAs can do the screamfests that we remember from our favorite Pre DBz era live-action shows and they do a near-perfect replication and the screaming and power up stuff isn't as annoying as the standard shounen BS and is quite bizzare/quirky just like old times.....

Art and animations (8/10)
This is seriously something that is for the child that still remains in all of us.
Now the animation may not be the best but the fights are done exactly how you'd remember (ridden with effects and power moves xD) them from your favorite shows, the character art is awesome and is a great throwback to the villains of yesteryears, the heroes are all REAL people! there was just so much love poured into this show which I sadly feel is being overlooked.

this is a very niche anime, I know many will not be very blown away by this one

Yet those who have been long-time fans of the old Japanese shows are sure to fall in love with the great recreations of the most memorable kaijin and heroes that we miss so much , a definite recommendation if you are into stuff like that!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 3, 2022

Jozuwa-_-

Mixed Feelings

A pretty good Tokusatsu-themed parody Anime. Most of the theme-specific comedy bits hit quite well. I wouldn't say it's very funny as I don't remember laughing out loud once but, there are a lot of brilliant comical Tokusatsu genre references. My only nitpick is that at some point, they started loosening the concept and started doing some basic work-life bits instead of villain organization work-related bits. But overall, this is a good Parody Anime entry. I'd watch the 2nd season if there'll be one. Hopefully, with more comical situations involving Super Sentai characters.

STORY (5/10):
The story didn't really have any worth-it payoff, even for comedy Anime ... standards. The Agastia's Monster Development Division's main purpose is to make monsters, which they did make a lot earlier on. But in the end, the final project that Miss Kuroitsu made was a Super Sentai armor which helped them win the battle. The point about treating the created monsters right wasn't really pushed enough. Other than Wolf Bete, we don't really get to see much love for the other monsters as we only get to see them during some filler comical episodes doing non-monster-specific gags. The only ones that really contributed something to the theme are Cannon and Hydra's snake sisters, and the Anti-Blader turned Idol for one episode.
There's also the side-story about the odd-jobber girl that kept getting herself hired to do dangerous goon jobs by her supervisor. I thought that was gonna end up playing an important part in the finale but, it had a disappointing conclusion.
The dynamic between Kenshin Blader and Kuroitsu meeting in person on regular days unaware of each other's secret identities was the only one that has a payoff in the end. That was fun to see but, at some point, Kenshin Blader wasn't really on screen much so, it didn't hit hard in the end. Still a good moment though.

CHARACTER (5/10):
There are lots of them, but most of them we don't really get to see much substance from. Not to say they were unlikeable. They just weren't fleshed out enough.
Wolf immediately took the spotlight after appearing. Some noteworthy characters for me are Hydra's Snake sisters, Megistus, and Uncle Long-range. Karen and her supervisor Heike also did a lot of end-credit skits which was fun while it lasted. Kenshin Blader could've been fun with a little more of his normal life bits but there wasn't enough. So other than Kuroitsu and Wolf, the rest are mostly just one-offs.
Hopefully, if there's gonna be a 2nd season, we get to see characters be involved in situations where their character-specific gags will shine.

ART and SOUND (5/10):
Character designs are good. But art quality is definitely low and inconsistent.
The only thing I scored for SOUND is the OP theme. It's too catchy for me to ignore (*SPECIAL FORCE!!!*). The ED was generic. And it's so forgetful that I had to listen to it just to remember how it sounded for this review. VA's wasn't that impressive as well. No one stood out as a unique character voice.

OVERALL (6.5/10):
I still enjoyed it even with all of my nitpicks but, my expectation for this wasn't really that high in the first place. All I wanted from this was for them to properly deliver the Tokusatsu-parody concept, and for me, that they did. At least for the most part. And credits to them for not pulling too much ecchi stuff. I'm not sure if I want to recommend this but, all I know is that I quite had fun with it. Maybe put it on your list if you're a fan of parody/spoof, sketch-based genre, and give it a try when you're in the mood for it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san Episode 12 Discussion Stark700 - Apr 2, 2022	43 replies	by DrMechano »» Sep 9, 6:46 PM
	Poll: Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san Episode 5 Discussion Stark700 - Feb 12, 2022	22 replies	by DrMechano »» Sep 7, 7:19 PM
	Poll: Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san Episode 4 Discussion Stark700 - Feb 5, 2022	23 replies	by NyteScythe »» May 4, 6:51 AM
	Don't bother with the BD, even that is censored removed-user - Jun 20, 2023	2 replies	by Neidhardt_ »» Jun 21, 2023 4:42 PM
	Poll: Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san Episode 11 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 26, 2022	31 replies	by Gator »» Jun 6, 2023 7:50 AM