An American Writer's Thoughts on Japanese Animation

Month: February 2023

The Clothes Make The Romance – My Dress-up Darling Spoiler Review

Well, here we are at the end of Feburary, taking a look at one more show with romance in its DNA. Like Tonikawa this is also a fairly recent show with a second season announced. In fact, the first season is less than a full year old at this point. Sometimes I find it odd to review a show where I think “I could have done that as a seasonal entry” but here we are with time marching inexorably forward.

Don’t let that fool you into thinking My Dress-up Darling is otherwise like Tonikawa, though. Tonikawa was a rather soft slice of life with hints of magic. My Dress-up Darling is a fully reality-grounded ecchi comedy. For being well-regarded recent romances, they actually have surprisingly little in common.

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Well, at least it asks nicely – Onegai☆Twins Spoiler Review

Well, it’s still Feburary, the month that tends to get dedicated to romance, so let’s look at a very strange little love story about a boy and the girls who might or might not be his twin sister – Onegai☆Twins (or “Please Twins!”, which I refuse to use translated because it’s awkward to construct sentences around). It’s less taboo than it sounds.

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The Moon Maiden and the Man Named Nasa – Tonikawa Spoiler Review

Slice of Life edging towards Slice of Nothing hits a little different when its intentional, doesn’t it? Shows like Tonikawa (short for “Tonikaku Kawaii”, which translates to something like “generally cute” and which can also be referred to as “Fly me to the Moon” after its subtitle or “Over the Moon for You” after its English subtitle), as well as others I’ve reviewed in the past, prove that you don’t always need a fancy story with a lot of drama happening in order to carry a show. It’s just if you don’t have that, you need to know what you’re doing and generate the proper pace and atmosphere to support it, unlike last week’s topic of review.

So, what’s the premise of Tonikawa? In short, it’s about a couple that get married essentially as soon as they meet. Those of you versed in late 90’s sitcoms may already be groaning (depending on your taste), but this story really is ultimately its own.

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Real Spite – Nisekoi: False Love Spoiler Review (Both Seasons)

Last week when I took a look at the second season of Muv Luv Alternative I mentioned that there were certain other RomComs that left me baffled at the idea that we couldn’t get an adaptation of that story’s RomCom phase, Muv Luv Extra. Nisekoi is the hollow shell of a program I was alluding to most when I made that remark.

It is, honestly, baffling how this show doesn’t work given the degree to which it seems to have everything lined up in its favor. It has an interesting premise with a lot of potential for humor and/or drama (at least, that’s the case for one of the two major premises), its voice cast really give the show their all and represent some characters that at least should be extremely memorable, and it comes from studio Shaft, which has a deep well of creativity and style that helped bring Madoka Magica, Mekakucity Actors, and Bakemonogatari to life. Yet somehow, with all those stunning advantages, they managed to produce Nisekoi.

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