Well, this is it. The show I’ve been looking forward to most all season. And interestingly enough, it’s the very first thing that came out. All I have to say is, this better be a sign of things to come, because I had a LOT of fun with this. Of course, that’s something I knew just from the previews. But the question is, was it as good as my expectations? Well let’s begin at the beginning (Oscar Wilde, eat your heart out).
The show takes place in Akihabara at a manga shop where all of our main characters work.
They’re currently performing the monotonous task of sealing doujinshi in plastic wrap so that people can’t read them in the store and to keep them new. This is interrupted however by a woman coming in and taking notes while looking at hentai.
Hiotan (the blond busty girl who works at the store) flat out blatantly asks her if she likes hentai manga. Ok, i have to admit i burst out laughing there. She then informs them that she works for the government and was making a surprise inspection to make sure that the mangas were all separated by age as accordance with the law.
Eventually she leaves and Hiotan ends up working in the back with another employee Umio. He teases her asking her if she likes eroge comics and, thinking she’ll get back at him, asks him the same question. To which he immediately answers, plain as if she asked him the weather, “Oh yeah, i like ones like this” and pulls out a hentai manga of a girl sucking on a popsicle. To which i immediately burst out laughing again.
Later they go to an event called the Sommelier. Someone who works at the store has that nickname. Basically how a sommelier can tell you what wine you’ll like best, a manga sommelier can tell you what kind of manga you will like best. And apparently this guy is some of amazing genius because everyone thinks he’s the best damn thing since the tentacle.
Eventually who should stop in, but the government worker, this time asking him what kind of manga she would like. He then proceeds to offer her a yaoi. And this is her reaction.
After receiving this manga, for some reason, Hiotan feels the need to tell the audience that she herself likes eroge manga. The government worker then proceeds to take the microphone away from the sommelier and..What happens next…. THIS is what sold me on the show. Before this, I was laughing, I liked it, but THIS..i’m not even going to tell you. just read.
To which she is greeted with the most well deserved applause and cheering from the audience that any speech ever deserved.
This is when i threw down the computer and went “FUCK IT! THIS SHOW IS AMAZING!”
And this is actually where the first part of episode 1 ends. I then found out it was one of those shows with the 2 12 minutes episodes as opposed to the 1 24 minute one. That’s okay. I”m fine with that. Unfortunately, setting the bar THAT high, part 2 probably won’t be as good. And, to my dismay, it wasn’t AS good, but… then again, that’s a REALLY hard act to follow.
The long and short of it is, One of the people who works there that they call Sensei actually turns out to be a manga artist. We find out that Umio is a big fan of hers and Sensei learns that he can draw. Being way behind on her manga deadline she asks Umio and Hiotan if they’ll help, to which they of course say yes.
As the night wears on Hiotan decides to go home but Umio stays and helps her finish. It’s a simple, “They work together” and eventually finish at the last minute.
Making their deadline they head to the comic-con and sell her book. The episode ends with them getting tricked by their boss to going back to work that night.
So how is the show? It is as good as I thought it would be? Well, overall, i’m going to say the answer is yes. I actually found myself loving all the characters. There was no character where I went “FUCK YOU BITCH!” which is rare because…..I hate a lot of characters. I knew the premise going in so it didn’t exactly throw me for a loop with what I saw because i knew what i was getting into, and it was pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. I also adore the art style as it was one of the first things that drew me in.
The only issue I really had was that part 1 was miles above better than part 2. If it seems that my recap of part 2 was less remarkable than my part 1 it’s only because part 2 IS less remarkable than 1. It’s a very common plot that’s been used before, but it was cute enough that I could forgive it.
I guess one of the things I really liked about this show was that it showed the audience how anyone can enjoy manga. In the crowd at the Sommelier’s event there were people of all ages and genders, from young girls to old men. And no one seemed irritated or grossed or weirded out, it was just everyone who enjoyed manga getting together and having a good time. And that’s what it really all should be about. Seeing that diversity with no one seeming to care actually made me smile.
It’s an odd mixture. It deals with subject matter that’s more adult (aka hentai comics) yet it manages to keep it still at the family friendly level. Not many shows I know can pull that off.
But now’s the question. Do i like it and am I going to continue covering it? The answer to both those questions is a big YES. Even though this show isn’t perfect, I feel the possibility of it becoming one of my favorite shows of all time. It’s just….not quite there yet. Now for score time on first impressions
Head (the plot): 8.5/10
Eye (art) 9.5/10
Heart (squishiness you feel) 8.5/10
Watching: Yes
Covering: Yes
Overall I really did enjoy this show and I want to see what happens. So then, with that, I will leave you with the most relevant picture I can think of. A man with a horse head with a carrot in his mouth on a park bench unzipping his jumpsuit while holding a doujin of a catgirl.
-Hideki
If you like the anime, you really should check out the manga. I watched this just because of the manga.
The best thing since the tentacle!! x’D