Jun 26, 2022
This Healer's a Handful actually prompted me to write my first review.
This anime is ridiculously misunderstood. If you like anime where every episode is either filled with quick jokes or mindless banter between characters with a sprinkle of surprisingly wholesome moments, you'll probably at least like This Healer's a Handful. If you want something with depth or an amazing story, this isn't the show for you. Personally, this is the AOTY for me so far. At least until Mob Psycho S3...
Plot: Not important.
Story: There is no story
Sound: idk, it's forgettable and at its worst, it's painfully generic. The thing is, I wouldn't put it
...
past the studio to make it sound generic as a joke.
Animation: Mostly average, sometimes a little stiff even. However, it's a comedy anime made by a seemingly new studio (formed in 2009 from what I can tell. Credited with only 12 anime on MAL, with seven of those roles as producer, five as a studio).
Art: Characters aren't exactly pleasing to look at and the character designs come off as bland, but this works towards the strength of the show. Characters like Alvin, who looks like a typical knight, is actually just a loser. Carla, although she looks like the typical kind and patient healer character, is actually extremely rude and obnoxious. For what it's worth, I think Carla looks cute.
Characters: This is easily the best thing about This Healer's a Handful. Both characters play off of each other perfectly at the start, but it somehow gets better as the show goes on. There's not much development to speak of, but when there is, it manifests as something really cute, wholesome, or both. There were even times where I felt sympathetic towards Alvin. Most of the side characters like Mostly Bear, Dryad, Altargaia, and Thief are great additions and I almost wish they had more screen time.
Comedy: I can see why people wouldn't find many of the jokes in this show funny. If I were to describe the comedy style, it's like a lite version of a 21st century meme video with the way the jokes have minimal build up and the next joke comes just as fast as the last one. The first episode was the hardest I've laughed at an anime in a long time (Some of my favorite comedies are Nichijou, Joshiraku, Lucky Star, Love Lab, and Gintama'). With the bar set as high as it was in the first episode, the rest of the episodes definitely couldn't reach that level, but a few episodes came close. Especially the last episode. If you're looking for a heavy emphasis on building up a joke to then deliver a solid punchline, this isn't the show for you.
I've seen too many people criticize the show for having a bad story, unexciting plot, poor world building, etc. The issue with that is it's not fair because that's not what this show wants to be. It's not Attack on Titan and it doesn't want to be Attack on Titan. If you didn't find the jokes funny and you don't like it for that, that's completely fair. But when rating an anime, or any form of entertainment, it's so important to review and criticize it for what it wants and sets out to be.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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