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UGH, why anime industry do you have to ruin everything semi-original lately?

Story: 6

I will start off saying points for originality, BUT massive reductions for shitting all over it. What we have is a guy who was spontaneously cursed with something called "Absolute Choice". Absolute Choice erratically chooses two things that are pertaining to the situation around him most of the time. If he tries to not pick one or takes too long deciding it starts to hurt him until he chooses. This sounds great for a really original setting in a comedy. Where this fails is unsurprisingly fanservice. Nearly every single choice he has to ... make relates to him having to do something that results in fanservice to some extent. While at first this show is pretty damn funny it quickly falls off into a repetitive scenario where Absolute Choice is going to come up at the worst time and he'll have to do something most likely sexual. Throw in a generic harem cast and plots, and then you get whatever this is trying to be. This is a massive let down because reading the synopsis I was expecting something hilarious and new, but it's just another harem with a small twist. Also later in the show he randomly has three or four choices which just comes out of nowhere without any explanation.

Art: 6

The animation is fine, and the characters are your usual fare. Nothing looks particularly bad, but nothing stands out. It looks clean and the characters are nice to look at. It's pretty colorful which is something I always find fun to watch. There are a few times where the designs of the art style changes and it contributes to the comedy, but again nothing that's unique among other shows in the medium. Then we got the constant fanservice shots where you see panties when you shouldn't etc. Nothing new there either. I will say that the OP is pretty interesting and if nothing else I enjoyed it for being a little weird, yet still suiting the show in it's own original way.

Sound: 7

The characters voices are all mediocre, I don't have any characters I can even remember the voices of outside of Yukihira because she has a few scenes where she acts differently than normal and changes her voice. The music itself is all meh. Nothing special or good enough to remember just plain anime music. Sound effects are all the usual anime ones with random noises added for comedic effect. If there's one thing you will remember after watching this is, "ERABE!". Which will be said repeatedly every episode by the Absolute choice voice.

Character: 5

With a plot centered around being forced to make insane decisions at random this had room to be great. It wasn't. All the characters are tropes we've all seen in anime, and again they do nothing new with them. Being forced into these decisions could have serious mental consequences. But nothing happened with it outside of there's a way to get rid of it HURRRR; so the main character has random goals instead of trying to cope with his problem. Especially the main character just being the average comedy/harem main that doesn't do much of anything different other than make ridiculous decisions without anyone knowing why. This is comical most of the time, but all the characters are bland with minimal development leading to a show that just falls flat and gets boring and repetitive fast unless you take watching it slow which is hard to do since it's only ten episodes long.

Enjoyment/Overview: 7/6

While the show wasn't what I wanted it to be it is still something original, and worth watching if you can handle the overly stupid fanservice. There are some hilarious moments, but overall it's nothing that impressive. If you want a great comedy this isn't it, there are much better options out there and don't let the synopsis full you otherwise. However if you want a funny show with a lil romance and fanservice this does it well. It's not inherently bad, it just could have been so much better and had so much wasted potential.

With a 14 minute run time there isn't much to go off of, but it is still a significant amount of time to do something right. Hard to review something that's 14 minutes without any spoilers, but trust me it won't really matter either way.

Story: 2

Boy meets girl, other boys are asses. Her classmate also likes said boy and is trying to manipulate the two of them apart when they were assigned a lesson together. Cliched as hell. The merit this story had was lost on the fact that these are 12 year olds doing stupid shit in front of their teacher, and the teacher ... not once intervenes. Even when the whole class is up in the middle of a presentation and blaming each other for messing up on purpose as part of some conspiracy against the boys for being jerks. It literally just portrays her as not even being in the room its ridiculous and there is nothing here for anyone outside of kids falling in love over something meaningless.

Art: 3

HOLY SHIT WHAT ARE, oh those are your eyes I thought those were some flesh eating parasites clinging to your face, my bad.

Shoujo art at its worst, I mean seriously I understand they are kids, but there is a freaking limit on how big eyes can get before its just stupid. Oh and don't forget that this is a 14 minute OVA with fucking stills. Yeah mind as well have went with manga 2.5 or some shite because that was just appalling.

Sound: 3

Not much to say barely any music, voices are OK, and that's about it, you won't get much from here.

Character: 3

They are plain. It's 14 minutes not much to play off of here so I can forgive them for this a bit, but still they are just what you'd expect. And their teacher is a complete dumb ass that just doesn't give a flying fuck what her students do in the middle of class, really responsible...

Enjoyment/Overview: 4/3

This isn't the worst thing I've seen, but it could've been. It was short so sitting through it wasn't so bad, but five minutes in and I felt like it had been a half an hour already. This was a very bad attempt at making something that was short and told a legitimate story. Not much here for anyone and would never recommend unless I hated you, seriously don't waste your time. If it wanted to be good or in the very least mediocre they would have been better of going with 3 min episodes instead and have better fucking animation. THIS WAS 2014 PEOPLE SERIOUSLY.

Kanamemo is slow paced and for those who don't want something to take heavily. It's not bad, but has a few bumps in the road. Could be better, but for what it is you should have fun if you enjoy SoL/Comedies in general.

Story: 4

What story? There is barely a story if you can call it one. The main character Kana's parents have passed and she was in the care of her grandmother who soon passed and now she is homeless and looking for work. She ends up finding a place to work and live, but it's filled with eccentrics and quite the busy place. Her ... new found job is working as a papergirl delivering news to the neighborhood daily. This is the over-arcing story and all the rest is in a typical SoL episodic fashion. It's more or less cute girls doing cute things, but there is still some merit to this show despite the lack of plot.

Note* There is one episode centered around going to a public bath and it's heavily censored with a comical cat face. May or may not affect the enjoyment of the series, just a warning. Pretty fanservicey and feels like an OVA instead of an actual episode.

Art: 7

The art isn't bad, but not particularly good either. Nothing much stands out. I do enjoy the soft pallet of colors they use in general and the way it's colored and shaded adds very nicely to the laid back atmosphere. Animation is average at best, this is a SoL so expect stills and scenes without much animation as its very dialog heavy. Aesthetically it is pleasing, but nothing you'll be likely to remember.

Sound: 7

The sound is a mixed bag for me. I personally dislike the main character's voice as it is at least to me somewhat annoying. The rest were pretty average to me, and that's not surprising considering this is mostly a comedy and SoL where they aren't trying to captivate you emotionally, so it is acceptable; and suits the atmosphere. Sound effects are pretty average themselves, not deviating from the norm either. Music I found was a bit better than most. There is one theme that is constantly used for most scenarios (Mainly a flute/recorder That mixes well with the show.) and its gotten stuck in my head, so if nothing else it's catchy. Don't expect anything too much from the OP or ED because both are pretty average; SoL fitting themes.

Character: 7

This is the main catching point for this show and what gives it an edge over other shows in the genre. They use tropes that we all know of and have probably seen a handful of times, but executes them in a fresh feeling way. Not to mention this is the first time I saw a comedyesque show take a homosexual relationship seriously, without forcing it more than is necessary. They portray them extremely casually and never put an emphasis on "HOLY SHIT GIRLS KISSING WTF/BBQ!!!???!1 LOOK HOW EDGY OMG" (AHEM, Sakura Trick...) There is usually a joke about them every other episode but it's almost always lighthearted.

We have the other characters that don't show much development or change outside the main, but none the less are all likeable. And since this is primarily a comedy that's OK. Their tropes are what set up certain jokes and changing from them too much would endanger the fun aspect since this show should be taken with a chill pill anyway. The only character I absolutely couldn't stand was Haruka (The child molester essentially.) because she was just so effing annoying, and the joke of her messing with Kana got old quick.

Enjoyment/Overview 9/7

Kanamemo does everything by doing nothing, and has a few redeeming values. One of few SoL's I deem as something you should watch. While it isn't inherently great it has it's pluses that give it a pretty enjoyable feel. Something to be watched passively and without much thought because it is in essence just plain fun. It's a great laugh depending on your stance on humor and a laid back SoL without anything that serious happening. If you hate that then avoid it because there is a lack of plot, if you do enjoy something like Non Non Biyori you should check this out.

Not every modern day harem is complete garbage, I, I Swear! Prepare for something that while done before is still alright, but leaves something to be desired.

Story: 6

The harem genre in general seems to be hitting a stagnant point where there is just nothing new being made that breaks the mold set by other shows before it. That's where Rokujouma no Shinryakusha seems to at least be a bit different. There's not much fan-service and the story itself is at least above average when compared to others in the genre. However due to its limited run time of 12 episodes in the end you'll ... be left wanting more, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. While it does change it up slightly it still reminded me of another harem Sora no Otoshimono, with the lead being surrounded by girls that can/have to fight. This is why its awkward because unless there is a second season its hard to judge the story. In itself it does a good job of setting up likeable characters and giving some development for each, but in the end no remarkable distance is achieved story wise. This would be fine however if the characters themselves weren't already well known tropes.

Art: 7

The art looks rather nice. It's a style I personally enjoy and all the characters are clean looking with fluid motions. Backgrounds are nothing spectacular, but action sequences look pretty good. It won't blow you away. It will however get the job done nicely and look good doing it. Character designs themselves are all pretty standard and what you would expect from any modern day harem.

Sound: 7

Background music here is nothing amazing. I liked it, but can't remember any specific piece. I did however like both the OP and ED for my own reasons, never skipped either, and I was especially fond of the ED. Sound effects are decent enough. You'll get what you expect. A few funny/cute noises to go with the actions of the characters that suit the situation as well as decent enough environmental noises. The voice acting was my favorite part, not entirely sure why though. The characters all have their roles voiced well however and not many/any annoying voices to be heard. So all is good here.

Character: 5

(This section might be a bit spoilery, but not really passed the first episode, just fair warning.)

The characters are what you would expect from any other harem, but each has a small magical/super-natural twist. We have a girl from another universe/future with her servant who are there to take over the room for her family's honor. A girl from an underground society who is there to invade the earth. A magical girl who's mission is to watch and wait to protect the magic in the room from being used for evil. Then we have the local tenant, the ghost of a girl whose parent's were killed. With the main character being the pretty usual average guy that doesn't really realize he's in a harem (Even then he's still pretty likeable as a character).

Each falls into a trope that you are probably used to. There are no relationship developments that you probably won't see coming. Which is what saddened me because they did a generally good job developing the characters into their roles, as opposed to you knowing instantly how who is going to react to what from the start. This left me feeling the characters we're just kind of OK, but not annoying like most shows where the tropes define almost everything a character does.

Enjoyment/Overview: 8/6

The story while done to death still manages to bring something relatively new to the table, and has a good way of presenting itself. There is a large amount of every kind of scene to give everyone something to look forward to, but at the same time you'll be left hanging. I'm assuming that there is a planned second season because this show desperately needs it to succeed as something unique. As it stands now it ends in an awkward place. It hints at a romance blooming between the MC and one of the girls in his harem, and there is still no decided champion of the room, whilst evil is still lurking around the corner.

For what it is I enjoyed it more than I expected and that was mainly due to them slightly switching up the formula, and having somewhat interesting characters that are all fro the most part likeable. If you like harem anime this is definitely something you should watch, but be aware that it doesn't end with a winner for the MC's affection. Even if you don't generally like harems this might still have something for you in the way of comedy, and in the case of a second season maybe even romance. Overall it was pretty enjoyable even though it's pretty average.

Hanayamata is something we've all seen before whether you've seen it specifically or if you've seen any other random SoL with a similar plot, unfortunately it could have been greater. The subject is something known as Yosakoi. A Japanese style of dance you've most likely never heard of unless you're into that sort of thing or live in Japan. The show does next to nothing to bring you closer to the subject and barely informs you of anything that has to do with the style of the dance outside of the fact that they use naruko and its done in groups. I could almost forgive ... this if there was actually more to the show though, because I can understand it was intended for a Japanese audience.

Story: 4

Have seen K-On? Have you seen any show like it? If yes then you know the story already. A girl with no after school club somehow ends up in one they know next to nothing about and it is un/partially-formed so they have to get members to have it approved by the school. This time the club is about Yosakoi and only the leader/club founder has any idea what the hell it even is. That would be all fine and dandy IF they actually taught the viewer anything about the style of dance outside of some very minor basics.

This is the traditional story of Kawaii School Girls doing school girl things cutely, and that's rather disappointing because this story has been done a hundred million times and done better. If you love that sort of thing then this might not be a problem, but I'm speaking as someone who is finally sick of it after about 50 shows doing the same.

There's also one other thing I'd like to bring up. Just because your school doesn't recognize you as a club it's not the end of the world. If you have a group of people that enjoy doing something together there is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing it by not being in a club specifically for that thing. I never could understand the drama about these types of things. Especially in this case where you need next to no money to get started. These types of story devices annoy the piss out of me and that's something that's present here, constant worrying about whether or not the club is legit.

Also don't forget the obligatory hot-springs training camp episode, we get some of that too.

Art: 5

The art style is something I'm not fond of personally, but it's not bad just because I don;t like the way it looks. The back drops are Ok to good at best and the characters are very colorful. The designs are nothing impressive, and almost all of them have the same eyes drawn slightly different. Nothing really stands out, but it's not objectively bad so I can't really complain.

However the animation is mediocre as fuck. Which is highly saddening because the scenes with dancing could have been great if nothing else. In itself there is nothing great about the art style I can see and it doesn't even look better then things that are coming out along with it. I was just overall unimpressed.

Sound: 6

Sound is what you would expect from your usual moe SoL. High pitched girls because they are about 13-14 years old. Cute sound effects for their interactions. And honestly not much else. The voice work didn't really do it for me. During the "emotional" scenes of building friendship I did not feel grabbed by the voices in any way.

Music is alright, I rather liked it for what it was. OP and ED are your usual fare of j-pop type songs and not breaking any ground in that regard. I personally enjoyed both though that is subjective to my taste in music and not a reflection of the show itself. The songs are not going to interest you at all unless you like most anime OPs.

Character: 4

If there's one thing I can appreciate it's well written and thought out characters. Hanayamata has none of that. All characters fall into the generic anime tropes that you've seen 400 times over and does not tread new ground with any of them. We have the ditzy/shy girl, the rich girl, the stuck up girl, optimistic happy go-lucky girl, and the tsundere. All crucial parts of any middle school rag-tag club. The small amounts of character development that there is can be seen from about half a planet away and has been done with every trope already. Nothing impressive is to be found and most are completely forgettable if not all of them.

Don't forget that one of the main characters is a native-English speaking transfer student that is supposed to be having trouble learning Japanese, but from what I can tell she speaks pretty damn fluently. There is even a episode about her failing at it and having to study harder for her to participate in the club. Yet not once is her accent (Doesn't have one) ever mentioned or anything. Yes I know the voice actor was Japanese, but just another thing that annoyed me a bit. I mean is it that hard to try for some realism?

Enjoyment/Overview 6/5

This show if done in a more informative fashion could have at least been something a wee bit original that had something going for it. But they took the idea of using a lesser known type of dance (At least in other parts of the world, in the show they treat it as if it's something uncommon in Japan as well though.) as the main plot device and took it a whole five feet before dropping off into the usual moe SoL that we all know and love/hate. I was expecting more only to be let down quickly, but I always hoped for something to change, but guess what; it doesn't.

For what it is I enjoyed it somewhat, but I'm getting sick of the same setting with the same story over and over with no show even trying to break new ground with it. I couldn't help but hope at least initially this would be something akin to Tari Tari. Where we got characters that actually grew over the course of the show and had at least some semblance of a story to tell. Don't be like me and get your hopes up. If you like moe, watch. If you want a good at least semi-original SoL don't, because it will take you nowhere fast.

Hanasaku Iroha in short is one a few SoL anime that actually manages to hold a plot and have quite a few episodes on top of it. Unlike your average SoL where most of the time it's lackadaisical laid-back and more comedy than anything, you get a direct cut out of the main characters life and what they do on a day to day basis. There are a few romantic, funny, dramatic, and out of the ordinary moments that make up everyone's lives and this show seems to aim at bringing you closer to the characters through those experiences.

Story: 9

The story is a hard thing ... to describe, because it focuses on so many characters that it's in reality telling more than just one. It likes to skip around between the characters in short 2-3 episode arcs that show development of their personalities and character traits, usually focusing on one at a time with a few that centers the group as a whole. The basic underlying story is a girl from the city has to move out to the country on a short notice and ends up working at a Japanese style inn almost against her will. It's nothing too original or intensive, but its simplicity is something to appreciate because it gives a great setting to the characters to grow and develop. There wasn't a single episode where after the fact I felt like I had wasted time or it was irrelevant to the overall character progression.

Art: 8

While the art is good its nothing mind-boggling; it does what it needs to and represents the show well while remaining consistent throughout. There are no real spikes in animation quality up or down outside of the occasional still, but overall the animation is really nice and smooth. Some of the backgrounds are extremely detailed and look great; some are even stunning really. It's over average for its time and does look a bit better than even some current stuff. Even the CGI is better than a lot of shows which is a major plus for me because I usually can't stand it at all.

The biggest thing that bugs me about the visuals is that here is WAY TO MANY bath scenes, like really its ridiculous. None of the scenes are done in bad taste, but its so frequent that it was a bit detracting from the story. There's no reason every time something dramatic happens that they need to discuss it in a freaking bath house. This is the single and only thing that I think should have been done significantly different. Due keep in mind though if you are reading this as someone who has yet to watch Hanasaku Iroha that while frequent they aren't over the top borderline yuri scenes, just the girls chatting for the most part (Pretty sure they never even showed a butt crack...). Its just something that annoyed me don't let it stop you from watching if you're interested.

Sound: 7

The voice actors do a good job portraying the characters well enough, and there doesn't seem to be any parts that I would consider to be lacking. You can feel plenty of emotion where and when it's needed. All voices are distinct and fit the character designs very nicely, with no annoying voices in sight.

Music on the other hand is something I feel could have been a bit better. It all fits the show and its setting, but is often not even noticeable. During dramatic scenes where it's most important to convey the impact of what a character is saying it can feel lacking. I'm a very easy person to move to tears so anytime there is something emotional happening I shouldn't be having a hard time getting the water works running, but for some reason with Hanasaku Iroha I just don't feel it. I believe this to be related to the music not being impactful enough where it counts.

I enjoyed both the OP's they're a refreshing change from the generic J-pop and are more melodramatic sounding rock style songs that feel nice and most of the time do a decent job setting up the feeling of the show. The ED's however I found not to be terrible, but not worth watching. Maybe I was just excited to see what would happen next, but I almost always skipped them unless the episode had ended on an emotional note.

Characters: 10

This is where the show truly shines. There is a large cast of characters consisting of the three main girls, and the employees of the Inn. All outside of three are fleshed out and show significant progress as characters. I can't really put into words how well thought out they all are. Its a great cast and a lot happens over the 26 episodes leaving you feeling complete by the end. This is one of the few shows where I felt the characters could and might have been real people, I loved it.

Enjoyment/Overall: 9/8.5 (Rounded up for this because of the enjoyment factor.)

For the most part I feel this show was something original. A Slice of Life with actual life to it. The characters are all well written and believable, with common everyday things raising up in every episode that you'll be able to relate to; which is exactly what a SoL should be. Instead of high schoolers just doing random forgettable crap that's funny and/or cute we got three young characters going through the change in their life from children to adults and how the characters around them change because of it. For most of the show I forgot the main characters were even in school to begin with because so much of the plot is centered around their everyday challenges at their job. I haven't seen many SoLs that were addicting to watch and I felt like I had to keep watching especially not one that has so many episodes. It left me feeling with a sense of completeness and without questions.

I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a SoL about everyday life instead of a boring comedy with kawaii school girls doing random shit. There's a bit of everything, comedy, romance, drama. The only people who should avoid it are those who are huge on action and nothing else 'cause that's the only thing the story lacks, only because it wasn't required for the story to be complete.

Much to my dissatisfaction let me start off saying despite a few other reviews I saw this show is not shoujo ai. The opening also points to this possibility however don't get your hopes up. It's not there so if you're looking for a cutesy yuri don't go for this, but that doesn't mean you should drop it either.

If you like moe shows you'll like this and if you like comedy this is also a winner. At its core Love Lab is a comedy and no matter how serious the tone it always delivers a joke and never misses the punch line. It delivers plenty ... of fun moments and does a good job of not deviating too much from the main goal of keeping you laughing.

The plot itself is not going to blow your mind or set new lines for what a comedy should be so just expect the common place cute girls doing cute things and trying to learn about boys, but actually hilarious in comparison to something like K-ON! The main characters are your standard fare of cookie-cutter archetypes don't expect much on this front. That is not necessarily a bad thing though because the show works and flows nicely this way and will deliver at least one or two characters you'll like.

The art for this show is very familiar and nothing too new or impressive. It does keep the same style throughout. On the animation side of things Love Lab starts off with some pretty visuals and nice flowing scenes that are very well animated and looks surprisingly good for a moe comedy. However the animation doesn't keep this quality through all the episodes, and falls off quickly. It seems only the more emotional scenes get this treatment and it's a shame because it looks awesome.

The sound in Love Lab is also nothing too impressive, but it's good enough to not take away from the rest of the show. The voice actors portray the characters well. The only thing is that they're the same voices you hear in all moe comedies. The music is nice and accommodates the scenes nicely, but is overall forgettable outside the OP. The ED isn't anything that great either, and I found myself skipping it a few times just to get to the next episode.

Overall Love Lab is just another moe comedy with not too much going for it, but at the same time seems to hold something special that not all the others have. It's funny and it doesn't stray from this path other than once or twice to add drama and even then it's always just setting up the punch line for another joke. Its fun and entertaining if you like innocent, romance themed humor or cute girls interacting with each other.

I give Love Lab a 6.5 out of 10 but MAL won't let me do that so 6 because I round down.

Ai Mai Mi, is a show that is apparently about three girls (Can you guess their names?) who are trying to make a manga together with no real knowledge of how to do so. At least that's what all the other synopsis' say. What it's really about is a whole lot of nothing. You heard me right absolutely nothing.

Story: 2

I actually think I'm being generous here. In all actuality there really is no coherent story past the first episode. Everything after is a train wreck of randomness with barely any sense being made throughout the entire running time of about three minutes, which is actually ... two given the intro and the outro of each episode which are all nearly the same. The only reason I gave this a two is because I felt that if it actually kept itself on an actual plotline than there might have been substance to the show.

Character: 2

Your typical everyday characters mixed with some more dull. Every character is completely flat with virtually no substance. I understand this is supposed to be a comedy/gag anime, but there is a line even for the most standard of the genre that they couldn't even meet. None of them even stand out from the others. Given its short run time per episode I can't blame them for having no character development; however this is just annoying.

Art: 5

I can't really judge the art of the show very well due to the fact that there isn't much to base it off of. It has its own style (Or at least one I have yet to see before) that radiates weird which given the context of the show isn't necessarily a bad thing. The animation felt average at best, and the designs of the characters are pretty standard as well. There's not really anything wrong with it I just think it could have been better.

Sound: 5

Again I don't have much room to judge this aspect of the show due to the low number of subs I have actually watched, but with what I have seen I can tell there's really nothing special here as far as voice acting goes. The music from what I recall is virtually nonexistent outside of the OP and ED so don't expect much from there either.

*In my personal opinion I find the voices to be a bit annoying, but that might just be me.

Enjoyment: 3.5

It's really hard to say. Maybe I just didn't get a lot of the jokes because they pertain to something in Japanese culture that I am simply unaware of; or maybe they are just what they seem like, shallow and random. Whatever the case may be I found myself laughing only minimally with this show. I don't feel I wasted my time because the episodes were so short, but I can't really say I enjoyed it that much either. There have definitely been worse experiences than that of Ai Mai Mi, but this is not very high on the ladder itself.

Overall: 3

There's not much more to say. This show is short which may be one of the reasons it failed to impress me. There's not much to it other than random short skits that may or may not be funny depending on who you are, and besides that everything else is average at best. There have been worse; however this might be for you; it's not for me to say though. If you think you might like it than give it a whirl. Hell you can watch the entire thing in about the same time it takes to watch two episodes of anything else so it can't hurt to try, eh?

Ninja Nonsense was something of a surprise to me. Most of the synopsis talks about the first episode as if this were going to be an ecchi type series but it really is not. There’s much to be had in this series, but apparent from episode it might not be for everybody.

Story: 6

Shinobu is a ninja in training so to speak (Although that is questionable), and the series opens with her on a mission to steal the panties of a high school girl for her sensei, Onsokumaru who is a pervert in every respect of the word. This encounter brings her to the bedroom of ... Kaede where she attempts to steal them unnoticed. Inevitable she is spotted by Kaede, which leads them into an unexpected friendship.

Over the course of the show they get into many hilarious situations together, and the only actual story development doesn’t even occur until the last episode. The rest I guess can be considered as “training”, but it felt like there was a large portion missing from the show in this respect. Even the climax of the last episode is very short and otherwise forgettable.

Where NN really shines though is the comedy. Most of which to me is on a comparable level to Baka to Test. The show takes itself lightly and because of this it is open to the craziness that creates some hilarious moments (Like a talking ninja alligator for instance.) that will leave a lasting impression in your hearts.

Character: 6

There is close to no character development in NN, but that is not bad considering it is a comedy. The small amount that there is does not even appear until the very later parts of the show, and unless you love the characters to death will give little in the way of satisfaction. However like I said since this is a comedy firstly the characters I find are pretty well done for the situations they provide.

As Kaede grows closer to Shinobu she gets more involved in the world of ninjas, and is often there when Shinobu gets into strange situations. During most of these encounters are the group of faceless ninjas under the beck and call of Onsokumaru, one of which is known as Sasuke. Like the others though you never see his face, and it’s unknown if Sasuke is actually one ninja using some sort of Naruto inspired ability like Shadow Clone or is in fact an individual amongst all of them.

Onsokumaru has to be one of the most memorable characters in any show I’ve seen. He is the definition of a pervert who constantly puts the moves on Shinobu, all while looking like Pac-man. He tends to grow or maybe transform a body at certain times (A very muscular one) and flaunts around calling himself the “Master of Ninjas”. Many times he has “Soft-core” fantasies of Shinobu and Kaede that he uses to coerce the band of faceless ninjas into his pervy schemes. As far as odd characters go, I’d say he would be at the top of my list.

There’s one more character I’d like to mention which is Shinobu’s younger sister, Miyabi. She is rather absent from the show, but she has her moments. Unlike her sister she follows a path of “Magical Summoning” instead of traditional ninjitsu, and is actually more skilled than Onsokumaru. She openly dislikes Onsokumaru in most cases. I feel that she should have had more screen time, because she was a good character and added balance to Onsokumaru’s perverted antics.

Art: 8

This is one of the better aspects of the show. I really appreciate the art style and feel it has a very pleasing look to it. All the characters have unique looks to them and their designs remain consistent throughout all the episodes. The backgrounds are simple, yet unique. The whole show has very soft feel to it as well. Simply put especially considering when this show was aired it looks good, and is fun to watch.

Sound: 7

The sound in this show is nothing truly special, but what I do like is the dub. None of the characters have annoying voices, and I think the cast is pretty much perfect. The OP and ED are both very well chosen too. Each has a different feel in tone; however they both reflect the attitude of Ninja Nonsense very accurately. The OP is a more upbeat and catchy song and shows the cast in the same respect. Then the ED is a more mellow song with Onsokumaru being mischievous as that tends to be the center of the shows plot.

Enjoyment: 9

In terms of enjoyment it’s hard for someone like me to not like it. There are tons of moments that are plain funny, others that have some fanservice, and all the while being completely unserious. This show reminds me much of Disgaea, and FLCL in the terms of feel, and that is something I enjoy very much. Most shows fail to keep me interested to the point I literally watch the entire show in one sitting, but NN does this while keeping a high re-watch value.

Overall: 7

In the end Ninja Nonsense is much like any comedy. High re-watch value coupled with a cast of entertaining characters that are both loveable and hate-able (Onsokumaru mainly for me). It looks really good for its time of release with a nice atmosphere and fluid animation. Even better yet this is one of the few a far in between series that delivers a good English dub, that allows those who wish; to get even more involved with the characters. Unfortunately it has its pitfalls too. Mainly due to it being short with almost no character development, and a weak; virtually non-existent story. That said Ninja Nonsense has much to offer to those who are fans of comedy, and it is hard to find out if you will like it otherwise. Your best bet is to just try it out and watch an episode.

This is only my second review so please leave some feed back and rate the review if you read it!

Story: 7

For the most part the show is what you would expect from Baka and Test, light hearted silly and fun to watch with loads of comedic tid bits that will have "ROFLing" your ass off, but with more to it this time around.

The series starts where it left off, a weak (Story wise) love triangle between Akihisa, Minami, and Himeji that is and really isn't the main focus of the show. However this season changes that a bit in the second half and gives ... us the much needed character development that was virtually (More literally) nonexistent in the first season. During these episodes we learn a lot more about the characters pasts which makes the triangle more interesting and is definitely paving the way for a third season.

Unfortunately there are some problems with it as well. The main one being the arc centered around peeping on the girls. It lasted way too long and should have been at least an episode shorter. It simply didn't bring much value to the show as a whole, and to me felt like a filler arc.

Art: 10

This is my favorite part of the show, everything from all the various character designs to the sometimes simple, but unique backdrops. The entire style of this show is just fun to look at and really fits the mood of the show. I'm particularly fond of the way they treat the shading by putting little circles inside everything in the backgrounds. Animation is solid and consistent throughout the entire show and never fails to just look good and fluid. Simply put I think this show looks awesome and have yet to adore any other show as much as this.

Sound: 9

I'm a dub fag so please forgive me dub haters but it is what it is.

The dub for Baka has always been good to me, and it definitely has one of the better dubs that much is for sure. The cast sounds pretty decent without any (Maybe one or two) annoying sounding characters, and all the voices fit the characters pretty well. The music in the show however is really nothing special; in fact I can't even recall any BGM that I can even replay in my head which is a little disappointing because I felt the music for the show could have been great given the art style.

The opening and ending are nothing that special either but that's really just personal preference more than anything. I will say that the ending is fun to watch though and grew a little on me after I had watched it a few times.

Character: 8

The cast itself is not very large compared to some shows and is relatively easy to follow, relate to, and recognize at a moments notice. Each is designed very well and look great. The only problem is other than the main characters not much is discovered or explored in the way of back story or development. Many of the characters just always act the same as they have and don't really change. Which given the show is mostly a comedy is not necessarily a bad thing either. Each brings their own amount of oomph to certain jokes in the series, but I felt they could have explored the others, at least some; a little bit.

Enjoyment: 10

It's hard to not enjoy this show there is plenty of comedy (Most of which is slightly clever, but not as much as the first season.) to keep you laughing and character development is never a bad thing as far as I am concerned. Everything looks great and sounds good so there's nothing distracting and it's just an overall good experience.

Overall: 8

Baka and Test is just an all around good show with a lil’ of something for almost everybody. It looks great and has a wide variety of comedic elements that can really make you laugh and it's at times hard to stop watching. Even when it gets serious about its characters they find a way to keep it light hearted and yet still emotional while being fun to watch. I think if you sat down and watched it with a close friend you would have an unforgettable time laughing it up just as I did with season one. This is one of those must try series that almost everyone can enjoy and it’s not very long so you have nothing to lose giving it a try.