#ybswinter16rev

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Deen / Josei, Historical, Drama / Manga

Rating:10/10

It makes no justice to write a short review for a great work like Rakugo Shinjuu. There are so many things to talk about and reflect on this show; so many lens you can use to dissect it. It’s rare to have a show that can earn so much praise.

Rakugo has all the makings of a classic - a historical story line, focus on a deep friendship and art that Deen made with respect. Rakugo serves as a base for layers of stories to unravel - a traditional art struggling to find its place in a modern world, and through it a set of characters searching for meaning and self-worth.

Maybe I can summarize the plot as a story of inherited burdens - on how each generation pass on a baton of ensuring the art stays alive and their honor stays intact. Rakugo is not a simple art form or a medium of entertainment - families and friendships are built upon it, dreams fulfilled and lives grown upon each story memorized and perfected. Through it we see Kikuhiro and Sukeroku’s shared journey to represent an art forced to them by circumstance but they end up loving more than themselves.

Kikuhiro built his journey on a quest to find forgiveness - to forgive himself for being not good enough, not being worthy of the Yakumo name, not able to fulfill his promise to Sukeroku to foster a rakugo that can stand the test of time. With the arrival of Yotaro, he’s forced to reflect about his life and realizes that he didn’t lived a worthless life, no matter how many tragedies he’d overcame or how many wrong decisions he’s done. What matters is the present and how he spends his remaining days in the world to ensure the cycle of burdens will be cut off once and for all.

Dagashi Kashi

Feel / Comedy, Slice of Life / Manga

Rating: 8/10

After a lot of unimpressive shows, Feel finally had something that made me stay! Sweets, sweets and more sweets, who knew? And the history/context behind them - that’s what Dagashi Kashi’s all about. It’s a silly show about how Hotaru convinces Kokonotsu (son of a candy shop owner) to take over their shop while introducing us to Japanese snacks in the process.

The plot’s actually simple but all those snacks and toys being featured each episode is what makes the show entertaining. It doesn’t have a whole premise than the one above but people still watch due to the funny antics among the characters (as well as some ecchi on the side). Of course I shouldn’t fail to mention the educational side of the show, with each snack having its own history (many dating back to hundreds of years) - some with very nostalgic or simply mundane contexts.

Admit it, the show makes you want to go to Japan and buy all those stuff featured - sad many are only available locally. And it’s great that the show ended without the need to actually end, as newer slice of life shows tend to be like that. I’d definitely recommend the show if you need a lot of laughs in between more mainstream (and darker) programs.

Prince of Stride: Alternative

Madhouse / Sports / Otome Game

Rating:7/10

Madhouse isn’t a studio that comes to my mind when people talk about sports anime. (They did Hajime no Ippo, a sports classic.) I actually had low expectations with Stride, considering its otome origins and how it focuses on a sport that doesn’t exist in real life (yet). Even so I ended up with a sour aftertaste as Stride rolls over.

Stride seems to have an identity crisis on what it wants to pursue - is it a shonen about a club rebuilding to reclaim former glory? A shoujo/harem with a girl surrounded by muscled guys? Maybe some yaoi cheese trap with a heaping of fanservice? Sometimes it attempts to be a silly comedy, too. These ideas are all over the place which convinced me it’s a show not to be taken seriously. Of course it’s entertaining but it takes some convincing to believe the sports aspect actually works - the idea’s fresh but vague. There was a lot of potential if only it was more fleshed out.

The colorful palette and the music compensates for what’s lacking - if only more time was spent drawing the characters. And as a show goes into climax it made me confused who is the main focus of the story - you’d though it was the entire team, maybe it’s Nana or Riku or whatever. There was little time to sort out all these conflicts and the rushed ending doesn’t help in solving them once and for all.

There are many ideas that could have made Stride a better anime - a longer season, perhaps? More competitions or backstories? I’m not in the position to say what should’ve been done but as a viewer I feel sad (of course) that a story with such potential only ended up half-baked. Whatever, it was somehow fun and I’d love to see the fictional sport turn into a real-life affair.

Girls Beyond the Wasteland

Project No. 9 / Drama, Romance / Visual Novel

Rating:8/10

Hardly anyone watched Shokomezadue to its art style and being judged as another “school club” anime, but as the series goes it managed to ward off that impression and offer something surprisingly deep. Good thing I simply thought of the art as being reflective of its VN origins when I signed up.

Buntarou Hojou (a.k.a. Bunta) has a seemingly normal life but doesn’t know what to do in the future as any high school student would. Then came Sayuki Kuroda, a loner who’s deeply engrossed in bishoujo games (partly because her brother creates some) and plans to create one, for some vague reason. With the help of Bunta’s friend, they go on a journey to create a game that will sell and will be talk of the town.

The “vagueness” of Kuroda’s motivations and how it unraveled and was solved as the story ends could only be the big letdown for me. It’s as if the story’s struggling to make a convincing ending. But ignore this and you’ll find Shokomeza refreshing - the focus on the VN-making process and the light moments among the team members; add to that Bunta discovering writing is actually his passion and something he doesn’t just do to earn or due to favors from friends. There’s a sprinkling of quotable moments in each episode, mainly reflections on the joys and the struggles being part of the creative industry.

While it’s originally a VN, there’s little focus on the romance aspect, which makes me torn if it worked to its advantage or not. Maybe they’re trying to avoid the drama or could be reserving it for later, but it’s definitely interesting to see how the Bunta-Kuroda-Yuuka love triangle could have developed if they focused on it more. 

Shokomeza deserves some love, definitely. I’m amazed on how a relatively new studio delivered something decent out of the maligned school club/VN segment. I can’t wait for a second season, if there will be.