Category: Kuragehime

It’s really been a while since we’ve gotten a series that starts off with a chemistry that’s already this dynamic, which is especially great considering we’re only dealing with 11 episodes here. At this point I’m pretty sure of my three favourites of the current autumn season: Letter Bee, Star Driver and Kuragehime.

On top of the comedy, this episode also put a lot of attention to prejudices. It’s great to finally have another series about otaku that doesn’t really try to to celebrate them like most series of this kind do, while sort-of looking past their flaws and downsides. The characters here are secluded, but also completely biased and secluded. The characters here don’t fit the general stereotypes of fujoshi; they’re simply a bunch of eccentrics who live together in a house. That’s not to say that this portrayal is perfect, of course: to me it feels like the creators went a bit too much out of their ways to make these characters out of the ordinary, but it’s definitely better than the alternative.

What matters here is how well the creators managed to breathe life into these characters. It just continues to deliver line after line, without much of a break or weak moment. Especially the emotions of the lead character are a complete roller coaster here, and this energy is part of what makes this show so much fun.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Ah, first impressions for those really late airing Noitamina shows are pointless. Over the course of 2009 and 2010, there has been only one Noitamina series that I didn’t blog: Nodame Cantabile’s Final arc. Apart from that, it really evolved into a top-notch time-slot over the past two years, in which just about every premise was creative, well thought out and varied. The sea creatures are really top notch this season.

I was looking forward to this series less than usual, though, but that all laid in the premise, which was full of things that are usually horribly abused in anime. While it’s true that this is the first series about fujoshi, series that focus on otaku are a dime a dozen, and I’ve really found that those shows, instead of trying to portray otaku, they instead try to glorify being an otaku way too much. Considering myself not really an otaku, there really have been very few otaku shows that I ended up liking. The same goes for cross-dressing: a lot of anime cross dressers are turned into some kind of fetish, or are just completely pointless in the series they’re in.

Still, my fears were completely wrong. Kuragehime is a series that’s full of life, and the comedy isn’t just funny: it plays around with a lot of other emotions. Basically, what I wanted to see in this episode was more than just a bunch of random jokes, but also a lot of character. This episode had its bits of drama, which really convinced me that this series will be more than just a bunch of random laughs. It introduced the lead character well, showing that it won’t have paper thin characters, and due to its slice of life nature, it can just stop at any random moment, avoiding Noitamina’s biggest weakness: its short length.

The thing I liked the most about this episode was its energy, though. It’s also really well directed, which always is a big plus. On top of that, I also loved how nonchalantly the creators introduced the cross-dresser in this episode. Most cross-dressers try not to get found out or something, but this guy just didn’t seem to care. I love how he is completely unlike any other anime character I’ve seen: straight-forward as hell, grown up, nonchalant, and someone who actually looks like he has a normal sex life. Really, since it seems like only 1% of all major characters in anime aren’t virgins, this really is a very potentially interesting guy.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
OP: Hollywood classics? Awesome!
ED: Interesting kid theme. A pretty nice song as well.