Pretty Rythm
Short Synopsis: Our lead character from out of nowhere gets idol powers.
Out of all of the kids’ shows this season… this was actually the worst of the entire bunch. The thing is that the other kids’ shows this season, while boring, at least knew what they were doing. They were trying to be cute they provided a nice enough fantasy for kids here. Pretty Rythm however completely misses the point of fantasy, and starts to outright lie against its audience. Yes, it does not matter that you’re not working hard. Someone will see you jump around and immediately see your talent, you get to shine on a stage without any preparations whatsoever and you can immediately get the boy that everyone is looking up to. This show doesn’t even pretend to care about setting things up correctly. All it is is a bunch of deus ex machina that allow an airhead to just randomly become a well loved idol. On top of that, this show also contains the most terribly CG-animated dance sequences, along with some terrible live-action shots at the beginning that serve no point or purpose whatsoever. And yes, I know that this is for kids and all, but I remember that when I was a kid, I also hated these live action bits inbetween my cartoons. I mean, I just wanted to enjoy my favourite characters back then. Not see some random boring people do boring stuff and stroke each other’s egos.
OP: Boring J-pop
ED: Terrible song, terrible live action bits.
Potential: 0%
Happy Kappi
Short Synopsis: Our lead character finds the prince of a mysterious kingdom of stuffed animals.
Happy Kappy is entirely in 3D CG that tries to look like 2D. The results… vary. There is a lot of movement, but it all feels a bit too erratic and undirected. In any case, this is one for the kids. It’s just another one of those shows where a random girl gets her own pet (this time by feeding him a donut), and that pet has magical powers. It’s all just so cliched and I can’t find anything to praise it about. The acting is also pretty bad as well, which doesn’t make this one enjoyable in the slightest. And yes I know I’m criticizing something that is meant for kids here, but that’s no excuse to not try a little harder.
OP: Too much sugar
Potential: 0%
Jewel Pet Sunshine
Short Synopsis: Our lead character if a cute and fluffy animal.
That was… that was… what the hell was that?! This is the third year for Jewel Pet, and it has always been this boring children’s show about a bunch of girls who get their own cute pets. Especially the second season (or what I saw of it before tuning out) was incredibly generic and annoying. And here this show suddenly comes, puts all of the animals in school (seriously, they sit behind school desk in class just like all other students… alongside a robot and an alligator that never really are explained, let alone even mentioned. What the hell happened in that second season? This entire episode was full of overacting and bizarre situations that were mostly so bad that they became good. Also, what is up with this season and goats? First Nichijou, and now this series also has a goat in the middle of a classroom.
OP: TOO MUCH SUGAR
ED: Badly sung and boring J-pop
Potential: 30%
Happy Kappi was something that just really hooked me. Not very many series can do that to me, and it’s why I’m so excited to work on it.