This time, I wanted to check out something I knew absolutely nothing about. So that’s why I went for a strange obscure shoujo-adventure from the 90s. Don’t ask why, I’m not sure myself. Anyway, to my surprise Kero Kero Chime actually turned out to be good. Talk about overlooked!
The way Kero Kero Chime sets itself apart from most other shoujo comedies is its sense of humour. Really, I can’t recall many shoujo-series that spend so much emphasis on sarcasm. Believe it or not, but Kero Kero Chime can be surprisingly witty at times. There are of course enough quirky characters in this series, but the added degree of sarcasm really adds an extra spice that makes this series much more enjoyable than your average comedy.
Those who’ve been following my blog will probably also recall my annoyance with a lot of comedies that get dull after their first ten or so episodes. Examples of this are Bamboo Blade, Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei and Magikano. And here comes Kero Kero Chime, and it actually successfully avoids these flaws. Heck, it really stays enjoyable until the end and finishes off with an actually nice climax for such a series. The characters know when to be stereotypes and when to not be them, which allows them to get fleshed out and developed well enough to keep both their quirks and the comedy fresh for thirty episodes.
But yeah, I think you can already see from the screencaps that this series can be very childish at times. It’s not as bad as the pencil and eraser from Power Puff Z, but if you’ve got something against kiddie-shows then this series will be hard to get into. The comedy is also hit or miss: even though most of the episodes work, there are a few amongst them that are embarrassingly dull, especially around the middle of the series. There’s also a little issue with the voice-actors for the male and female leads: at times, they can’t carry their characters, so be aware of this while watching.
Seriously though, if you want a comedy that makes you laugh and don’t mind a bit of childishness, then you should consider checking out Kero Kero Chime. It’s also great to see a shoujo-adventure-series from the 90s that doesn’t involve a main female character with a “godmode-beam”. Instead, Minori only can jump very high and swim very well, while Aoi (the male lead) only has one power throughout the entire series: the power to turn into a frog when he comes into contact with water. Add a narcissistic crystal, a tea-serving forest-fairy and an obsessive doll-maker, and you’ve got lots of hilarious banter.
Just one warning if you do end up watching this: stay away from episode 23. Those monkeys fainted for a reason!!!
Kero Kero Chime! This is one of my favorite underappreciated shows.
Heh. “godmode-beam”… Akazukin Chacha was kind of annoying with that when about every episode they’re horribly out-matched by an opponent, then Chacha transforms and instantly wins. It was still great, though.
Ah! Do you know I was looking for reviews of this just a couple of days ago. Too bad the torrent has lost all seeders…
I should say hello, btw. I’ve been a lurker here for nearly a year and a half now, but since I tend to wait until a series has been fully subbed before watching, it always seems like any comments would be a bit late 🙂 But I owe you a big thanks for your intelligent reviews, I’ve ended up checking out several series I otherwise would have overlooked (just finished Otogi Juushi Akazukin!)
If you’re checking out older comedy series, then seriously, you need to watch Mahoujin Guruguru! (: I know I keep hyping it… but I keep hyping it for a reason! It’s a DAMN GOOD SHOW!! (:
(Though if you ever do watch it, be sure not to give up on it too quickly! The first few episodes are good, but then when the party of adventurers gets to their first dungeon, the 4-episode or so dungeon arc kinda misses more than it hits. After that, though, the series suddenly gets awesome again, and STAYS awesome clear through the end!)
-Tom
*put this on my must watch list* Old school comedies have this charm which appeals to me (Akazukin ChaCha, Mahoujin Guru Guru, Goldfish Warning, Chou Kuse ni Narisou ) What makes them a little inaccessible to the typical audience besides their ‘vintage-ness’ is perhaps their inevitable length (series back then tended to last for episodes on end as opposed to today’s prefered 12/13/24/26 ep format), which accounts for why Akazukin is the only one so far I’ve completed (74 eps!!!)
nuuuu you didn’t watch to Rozen Maiden but kept this on your watch list buaaa T.T What a waste T.T
This actually looked intersting except I can’t find ANYWHERE to watch it.
Also, Rozen Maiden sucks.
Denizen: crunchyroll, boxtorrents.
Solaris: perhaps I’ll watch Rozen Maiden someday. It’s not like I watch my most anticipated series, first. 😉
i love this kind of old anime,i love the animation style of the late 80’s and 90’s so it is good to watch old series like this one from time to time,now all i have to do is get in the mood to watch this genre of anime since i can’t say i am a huge fan of but i give a try to anything that i find to be fun to watch 😀
Psgels i was joking of course 😛
Denizen Suijin Tou is going to eat your soul and Desu will torment you doing horrible tricks in your dreams. Bwuahahahahahha!!
I also recommend watching Mahoujin Gurururu, one of the funniest series ever (it is even more funnier if you like old school RPGs).
And don’t watch Rozen Maiden until they announce a third season…