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Sep 10, 2018
The Snack World is an anime designed as a tie-in to the game of the same name by Level-5. It's set in a "casual fantasy" world, with a mixture of fairytale and modern elements. There's both Cinderella and convenience stores, Snow White and smart phones. As at the time of my writing, there is no English translation beyond the first handful of episodes, I feel that a brief plot synopsis is appropriate to give readers a general idea of the series.
The story follows the adventures of Chup and his companions Mayone, Pepperon, and Gob as they attempt various ridiculous and challenging quests with a long
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term goal of defeating the sinister and avaricious Vinegar Khan. The show follows the fairly tried-and-true shounen formula of failing, powering up and trying again to overcome difficulties.
I did initially expect with a title of "Snack World" that there may be a focus on snacks and eating, but snacks in the world are actually small cards which you can use to summon allies to support you, and not things you eat. The series does not have a particularly strong food focus.
The series has a rather unique visual style for a Japanese production, utilising 3DGC in order to create characters which are reminiscent of claymation. It's certainly not what I would expect when I think of anime, but I do think that the visuals are effective, and the characters and surroundings are lively, colourful, and expressive. It's difficult to compare this visual style to other series which I have seen, but while I don't think that I would like all anime to take this route, I didn't mind the style, especially owing to its novelty value.
The series is definitely targeted at the audience of children and families, and as such the plot and characters are not especially in depth, but during the duration of the series, we do get to find out some things about their back story and why they're choosing to overcome these challenges. There's plenty of humour (mostly visual gags, slapstick and puns), and I found that the series also displayed a lively sense of adventure. I don't think that it goes beyond its intended audience, but if you are like me and enjoy series which are targeted at younger viewers, it is well-produced and at times charming. If you like other Level-5 franchises like Yokai Watch, or just generally enjoy fantasy/adventure anime for younger viewers, The Snack World may be a series you would like.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 13, 2017
KochinPa! is an anime series with 15-second episodes starring 3 idol characters, which has been made to advertise Pachinko machines. Each episode features a simple gag or joke.
The series has been animated using 3DCG, and has lively, colourful visuals. There's not a lot of motion and the same setting is reused throughout the series, but owing to the short run time it doesn't grow too stale.
It's very difficult to compare this to other anime owing to the exceedingly short run time. The script was written by Suguhara Souta - the writer behind gdgd Fairies and I definitely could see some similar off-the-wall humour using limited
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resources. A few of the episodes gave me a good giggle.
I mainly enjoyed KochinPa! for its uniqueness, and while I don't think that it was ground-breaking as regards visuals or story, the fact it managed to do anything at all in 15 second blocks is rather impressive. I'd really only recommend this to others if you like watching series for their novelty value. If nothing else, the fact that all 12 episodes can be watched in 3 minutes (plus the time taken between videos) may be all the incentive you need.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Dec 21, 2016
The title of this series of anime shorts speaks for itself – it’s a show about a boy named Kiitaro, and the memories that he makes meeting lots of different Youkai. The first episode of the show has a slightly different feel, but the other episodes all involve Kiitaro meeting some Youkai and having interactions with them which reveal something about their nature.
The show is light-hearted and comic in tone, with Kiitaro ending up in some silly situations either from misunderstanding the youkai, from the actions of the youkai themselves, or his main companion the Zashiki Warashi Suzu.
I will say that there’s a surprising amount
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of somewhat sexual humour in the series, with repeated upskirt jokes and things of a similar nature. To me it didn’t feel like it added anything to the story or my understanding of the youkai. It felt rather out of place in what was otherwise a very light and cute series.
The episodes have a short section at the end actually talking about the youkai and what they’re like in folklore. This was interesting to me as a short primer, as while I’m aware of youkai as a general concept, I’m not familiar with many specific kinds of youkai, so finding out a little about them was interesting! Obviously a 10-15 second segment can’t give you a lot of information, but it does give me enough so that I can find out a bit more.
The visuals are of a high quality for a short series (it’s certainly not a show which looks like it was animated in Flash), with detailed backgrounds and colourful character designs. There’s no dynamic action sequences and the characters movements are kept pretty simple, but I was surprised with how good it looked in comparison to other shorts, even if it would be pretty standard for a full-length series. The ED is animated in a style which is reminiscent of traditional Japanese painting, which seemed apposite for a show about what could be called traditional Japanese spirits.
There’s numerous different ending themes played throughout the series. None of them really stood out to me strongly enough to form an attachment to them, but it was interesting hearing different tunes to the same visuals each episode. The soundtrack mostly features some traditional Japanese music which suited the theme of the show.
Overall, I found this series to be charming and generally funny. I’m definitely glad I checked it out! You may like watching it if you’re interested in knowing a little about youkai.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Dec 18, 2016
Izetta The Last Witch is set in an alternate WWII where the ruler of Eylstadt, Archduchess Ortfiné Fredericka von Eylstadt (Finé) seeks to defend her small country against a Germanian invasion, together with the witch Izetta, who owes her a debt of gratitude owing to Finé helping her in the past.
The alternate world naming schema of the show is a bit strange, as the countries are readily recognisable for their real-world counterparts, Germania for Germany, Britannia for Britain and so on. I realise that war is a sensitive subject, especially for Japan, but as it’s a fantasy world, there’s no reason why they couldn’t have
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named the countries something totally different (or even just gone for the ‘fake eastern European’ names which were popular in fiction written in the early 1900s). However, there’s been some thought into building up the late 30s/early setting, with the commoners wearing clothing similar to that which was popular at the time, and the weapons mostly being based on existing WWII weapons or plans for them. There’s also some great use of ‘news footage’, with black and white imagery and the flickering effect that is common in real news footage of the time. There were a few things which I spotted as being a little anachronistic or implausible outside of the obviously fantasy/magic elements, but overall there was an engrossing feeling of place and time created by the show.
As characters, Finé is a young and inexperienced ruler who seeks to do what is best for her country. She’s a little idealistic, but she has people around her who help advise her and channel her idealism into more practical outlets. Izetta is shown as having a huge debt of gratitude to Finé for saving her several years ago, to the point where she’ll do almost anything to help. She doesn’t feel confident in her own abilities, but she wants to do all she can for Finé and by extension for the country in spite of being told that witches shouldn’t interfere in the affairs of others. I found the protagonists both pretty likeable, although they definitely both seemed a bit starry-eyed and out of touch with the situation at times.
The soundtrack for this show was beautiful! There’s a mixture of orchestral music and some haunting choral pieces. The music works to enhance the feeling of the different moments in the show, and I especially loved the track which I’d associate with Izetta using magic.
The visuals were quite competent, with a lot of love being put into the battle scenes and Izetta flying. The dog fights seemed to be choreographed in a way that was engaging and fun to watch! I mentioned earlier how I liked the period-appropriate fashions and vehicles. There were also some sharp military uniforms. While I think that during real WWII, soldiers wore khaki on the whole to blend into the surroundings, the Eylstadt troops wore a charming blue uniform with red trim. This is nice to look at and I think that these sorts of flashy uniforms help to create a sense of solidarity amongst the soldiers and also make them stand out more, which is good visually for us as the viewer, although perhaps poor in a real war situation. I would say that Izetta’s costume design (quite scanty clothing) felt rather immersion-breaking, as it seemed improbable that such clothing would have existed in the late 30s and it goes rather against the fashions of the times. There was no particular story reason given for why she had to wear this clothing instead of just wearing existing clothing which could have been found in the castle. It felt like the only reason for this sort of costume design was to sell possible figures, which was a shame in an otherwise carefully crafted world.
The problem I had with this show was the story. While the concept of a witch defending not-Austria from not-Germany in WWII was very interesting, and the various elements were well crafted, the show seemed to struggle to use the elements to create a compelling tale. There were slow-paced, almost slice-of-life moments in this show which portrayed itself as being a tale of the underdog standing up against the odds, and they felt very out of place. The struggle of war and the tragedy of war seemed to be absent from this tale which was ostensibly about overcoming difficulties and self-sacrifice. There were also a lot of characters who felt like they didn’t get used to their full potential, and some who seemed to really have no purpose in telling the story at all (Elvira Freidman the stylist comes to mind). At some points in the story, the struggles of the Germanians to find information and beat Izetta felt more intriguing than the activities of the main characters, and while the show did portray some likeable and idealistic characters on both sides of the war, I don’t think that it was their intention to make the Germanians more sympathetic than the protagonists. Whilst there were some excellent moments in the series, I don’t think that the story was very good as a whole.
Overall, I feel like Izetta is a show which had some excellent elements; a great concept, pleasant visuals, an outstanding soundtrack, but owing to its poor storytelling fell short of what it could have been. I think if you’re less story-oriented than myself, that you may find it to be an enjoyable, albeit flawed watch, but I didn't find it to be a pleasing watch personally.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Dec 14, 2016
What do you think the leader of a demon army would do if stuck in our world with no magic. World conquest or chaos? How about casual employment? The Devil is a Part Timer (also known as Hataraku Maou-sama) shows the lifestyle of the demon leader trying to scrape out a living in modern Japan when he ends up stranded there.
This show is a great blend of three of my favourite genres; fantasy, comedy, and slice-of-life. It turns out that Satan (or Maou Sadao as he decides to call himself in Japan), has a very driven, responsible streak and on realising that there’s currently no
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way to return to his home world of Ente Isla where he was conducting a campaign of world domination, settles down to aiming to be the best possible employee of *definitely not McDonalds* MgRonalds. Unfortunately, what with a hero trying to chase him down and other visitors from Ente Isla, a peaceful life isn’t on the cards.
We don’t see a lot of the world of Ente Isla, it’s mainly featured just in the first episode, but it seems to be a fairly standard fantasy world with a theocracy. There is enough in the sequences that we’re shown to get a bit of a taste of life in Ente Isla and its contrast to life in Japan. Both visually, and in terms of the events, it feels that Japan is a much lighter and more open world.
The comedy is mostly based around treating everyday situations with excessive gravitas. While we would take running a household or part time work for granted, for Demons and Heroes from another world, all of this is new and different, and at times difficult. It’s funny to see how earnest the characters are as they attempt to go about their daily lives.
There’s also a good dose of action, and the fights while not spectacular are quite fun to watch. The comedy and action elements are separate, but they blend well in the story and it doesn’t feel jarring to jump from one to the other.
I’m normally someone who is quite content for series to end where they are, even if there are some loose ends or there’s still source material to be adapted, but I must say that I’d love to see another season of this show. The ending felt satisfying (although the final episode was an anime original and a bit different in tone to the rest of the series), but it felt like we could have seen more! The interaction of the characters was very enjoyable and I think that it would be great to see them in some new situations.
The show, while I don’t think it has any strong themes or message and is primarily light-hearted fun, does showcase some of the beauty and light-heartedness of the everyday. Watching the demon leader Alciel carefully plan a household budget, or Satan worry about damage to his bicycle shows that even the drudgery of every day life can be fun and funny.
The Devil is a Part Timer was very much an enjoyable viewing experience, and a show I feel that I could happily watch again. I’d recommend it to people who enjoy comedy series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 2, 2016
Spelunker Sensei (or Spelunker is a Teacher) is a 30 minute comedy OVA following the misadventures of a teacher who is a Spelunker and those around him. The idea is based on the video game Spelunker which is a rogue-like game about exploring caves and obtaining treasure. A more modern game based on the same idea is Spelunky, which has some of the same features of cave exploration and easy death.
The OVA is made up of numerous short gags, mostly focused on the fact that Spelunker Sensei can die from seemingly minor events. Sometimes the same set up is used multiple times with a
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different outcome, which I found amusing because it was hard to predict exactly how the situation would play out each time. It seems really similar to a lot of shows with 3-minute episode length, except that all the material is in one episode.
The animation is done in Flash and very basic, but I don’t think that this is a detriment to the show. The characters aren’t especially mobile, and the backgrounds are simple, but the comedy mostly revolves around dialogue so the visuals are of secondary importance. Most of the show is in a simple traditional anime style, although there are also some 8-bit style visuals and a few scenes which have been shot in real settings.
I found the music very enjoyable. The opening song ‘Risk My Life’ is lyrics set to the tune of Spelunker BGM and it was exciting and to me evoked the feeling of the adventure and difficulty of Spelunker Sensei’s life. The ending theme 恋は探検 (Love is an Expedition) was very cheerful and perhaps didn’t suit the very dry humour of the show as well, but it was catchy and fun to listen to. The background music during the show featured mainly some simple synthesiser sounds which I think complemented the comedy in an unobtrusive way.
As the comedy of the show is based around dialogue, the voice acting is important and I think that the cast performs very well. Sugita Tomokazu, known for his roles playing cynical characters, is definitely worth a special mention as I think he does a great job showing Spelunker Sensei's resigned attitude to life.
I really, really liked this show! I would definitely recommend it for fans of dry humour or if you like seeing a nod to retro games.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 14, 2016
Much like the title Bananya is a portmanteau of banana and the noise a cat makes (nya), this series is about creatures who are a portmanteau of bananas and cats. It’s a series of short (3-minute) episodes following the daily lives and adventures of Bananya and his friends.
Bananya and his friends live in a human family’s kitchen and throughout the series we see them playing with each other, exploring the house and the world around them, with their actions being described by an unknown narrator. There’s also a short section at the end called ‘Bananya Identification Guide’ (although the actual book cover says Bananya Picture
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Book) where there’s a character profile of the bananyas. Each episode stands alone, and there’s no reason to see a previous episode in order to understand any other episode.
The visuals are simple, with heavy outlines on the characters and not a lot of movement. I think as this series is very stylised and is aiming to be cute, this isn’t a detriment to the show.
The soundtrack doesn’t especially stand out, but contains plenty of light comedic music which complements Bananya’s adventures. The ending theme ‘Lucky Holiday’ （ラキーホリデイ) by Axell is by nature extremely short, but is a well-suited conclusion to the show, with the same light tone as the rest of the show, and the depiction of the bananyas on a holiday.
Obviously with such a short episode format, there’s not a lot of time for character development, and the series rides on cuteness and comedy. Each bananya has an individual personality quirk, but I still don’t think that they’re particularly unique. I think that the narrator has excellent timing and reactions to the events that he sees and this makes the show quite lively and fun! I’m not even a particular fan of cats and I found this lovely to watch.
I definitely recommend this show if you enjoy short anime and/or you like cats! Bananya has been charming to watch from start to finish and while it doesn’t bring up any especially unique concepts, it’s a show which I looked forward to viewing each week.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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