Ranked #401

Moyashimon

If you're like me in that you tend to look for those quirky, odd, and oft times underrated anime, then rejoice, for Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture may be right up your street.

The original manga, created by Ishikawa Masayuki, began serialisation in Kodansha's Evening magazine in 2004, and in 2008 it won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Grand Prize as well as Kodansha's General Manga Award. The anime adaptation, directed by Yuichiro Yano (Mujin Wakusei Survive, Patapata Hikousen no Bouken), and produced by Telekom Animation Film and Shirogumi Inc, was released in October 2007.

The story takes place at an agricultural university in Tokyo (something which I'd never heard of before, and I was surprised to find that it does actually exist), and centres around a first year student named Sawaki Souemon Tadayasu, who is attending the university along with his childhood friend Yuuki Kei. Sawaki, who is from a family of tane-kōji-ya (mold-starters, or yeast producers), isn't really interested in attending university, and has simply tagged along with Kei (who's family runs a sake brewery, and are long time customers of the Sawaki family).

They are taken under the wing of the highly eccentric professor Itsuki Keizo, and old friend of Sawaki's grandfather, and are given a crash course in fermentation on their first day (you'll understand when you watch the first episode).

Now, one would expect this to be a normal comedy, however Moyashimon has one big difference - Sawaki can see and interact with microbes, germs, viruses and bacteria, and all without the use of equipment of any sort. Only a few people know of his ability and, as far as anyone is aware, he is the only person in the world with it.

Cue the shenanigans.

The character designs are very good in this show. Each character is very clearly an individual, however the real stars of the show are the microbes themselves. Their design was pure genius as they are both cute and funny at the same time (especially with their big cheesy grins). The backgrounds are nicely detailed, with the university environs having a strangely authentic feel to them. The animation throughout the series is very smooth, and the usage of CG, especially for the microbes, is almost seamlessly tied in with the normal animation.

One thing I did like about the style of the show was that it wasn't afraid to go for the overly dramatic in certain scenes, and this actually enhances the comedic moments which often follow.

Sound is another good area for this series. The effects are well used, and serve to enhance the various scenes. The thematic music is nice and quirky, and is often highly reflective of the fact that this show isn't really meant to be taken seriously. The OP, "Curriculum" by Ifu Sarasa, is an extremely catchy pop song, and I never get tired of watching the video that goes with it as it is extremely well choreographed. The ED, "Rocket" by Polysics, is just as good, just as catchy, and very well choregraphed too.

The voice actors are very well chosen for their respective roles. Sakaguchi Daisuke does extremely well in the role of Sawaki, and manages to bring a certain long-suffering, and slightly bored quality to the character. The other seiyuu are also just as good, but then the cast for this show is extremely talented in the first place having worked in shows as diverse as Aria, Genshiken, .HACK//, Negima, Baccano! and Bamboo Blade. Almost every member of the cast has had a leading role in a popular series, and even the Aspergillus Oryzae are voiced by Touma Yumi (who plays Urd in Ah! Megami-sama).

The characters are very good throughout the series. Sawaki is fairly used to disbelief at the start of the show, so it comes as a shock to him that other people are not only aware of his ability, but also accept it. A good portion of the show sees him being dragged along by events and other people, and while at first he seems like he has no backbone, one should remember that he finds it very difficult to trust people, and so tends to take the easier option of just going along for the ride. Kei has his own, more fundamental, problem to deal with, and as the show progresses Kei seems to fade out as a character (although once the reason for his problem becomes clear, then it all begins to make sense).

The most memorable characters though, are definitely the eccentric and mysterious Itsuki Keizo, and the microbes themselves (who have their own quirks and prejudices too).

Each of the characters is portrayed in a very realistic manner, and I found it ironic that many of the traits they displayed were as familiar to me as my own hand - as they may be to anyone else who has attended university, lived in a dorm, or had dealings with a professor who seems more than a little off-the-wall. .

This is very much a comedy show aimed at a more mature audience, and I enjoyed it immensely. Younger viewers may not like much of the more subtle humour or the quasi-educational stance the show sometimes takes, although these are often amusing in their own way. This hopefully won't dissuade anyone from watching the show as, aside from the whole deal with Sawaki seeing microbes, this is one of the most realistic university based comedies I've seen, and at times harks back to the classic Animal House.

Moyashimon is a hugely underrated show for many reasons, but for those of you want something lighthearted, funny (in a sometimes surreal and nauseous way - you'll understand if you watch the show), and a little more "real" than the norm, then you should give this a try.

However I would advise hypochondriacs and people who are obsessive about cleanliness to steer clear :) read more

University life is all about experimenting.

Nothing seems to capture almost every aspect of the term more than the anime Moyashimon. In this charmingly quirky, extremely intriguing and highly enjoyable short series, the very nature of experiments is examined.

In what must be the strangest case of superpowers, a young man named Tadayasu is born with the ability to see microbes. These microbes though are not those ugly and potentially nausea-inducing growths that you see on microfiche slides. They are personified in Tadayasu's eyes as cute little things that can talk and interact with him. His gift is more of a curse like any unwanted power, but it serves him well when he starts his life off in an agricultural university.

What makes Moyashimon such an enjoyable anime is that it is both educational and enjoyable. While most of the plot is driven around these adorable and troublesome microbes, it never gets to the point where the viewer is left scratching their heads trying to understand what is happening, or worse, getting lost with all the technical terms. The anime is extremely well-written, engaging various aspects of "experimenting"; in the scientific sense (as many scenes feature fascinating moments where tests are conducted to show the power of microbes), in the university life sense (as there are equally many scenes that remind us that these people are indeed young men and women, and the order of the day is cramming, chilling, drinking and trying to score), and in the life at large sense (as the anime also takes time to examine really finding yourself).

As aforementioned, the microbes are given a cuter design than one would expect them to be given. Each looks unique, and eventually, it becomes very easy to visually identify them. Moyashimon's art for the backgrounds and the human characters though are extremely average. The high points are the microbes' designs and their movement. The 3D animation utilised for them is extremely fluid, and they move rather naturally.

This anime is given a good score. The background music is an interesting mix, sometimes incorporating traditional instruments to create a more rustic feel. It really invokes the slow and tranquil nature of the agricultural university. The voice actors do spectacular jobs, and again, the microbes and their high--pitched or chibified voices steal the show again with their entertaining, playful dialogue.

It is no surprise that the microbes really function as characters themselves. This anime is both about them and Tadayasu. The microbes are cheerful and have a sense of humour. They are pretty single-minded and goal-oriented, and it is fascinating to watch them swirling around, their major ambitions being to multiply and ferment. Tadayasu is a fellow who is a very well developed character. He is an average guy, despite his amazing ability. And it is his normalcy, his unimportance and his ineffectiveness that makes him a deeper character. He lives constantly with the notion "Do they want me for me, or for my ability?" in the back of his head. His first friends seem to be the microbes. The supporting cast is eccentric and very likeable. Their simple or even grand ambitions will get you caught up and strung along in watching them pursue it.

The important thing about Moyashimon is that even though it is an anime about science, it is also an anime about these young adults. And their university life is full and fascinating. More than just technical terms and these quirky microbes, the confusing, fun, and strange world of adulthood for young people is given to us.

Moyashimon manages to be a perfect blend; it has both "nerdy" humour and even "frat boy" comedy mixed together seamlessly with intelligent and informative discourse about science and agriculture. It even manages to be emotionally heavy at moments, bringing to light certain issues that would affect a young person, such as forging their own identity in spite of the identity given to them by others, and finding friends that truly want you for who you are and not what you can do.

It is also pretty touching (and the most important aspect of Moyashimon) how Tadayasu relates to the microbes and how they care for him. His relationship with them is estranged; he sees them as an annoyance, a detriment sometimes, but he has grown so used to them that they have become more like friends than anything. It is almost quite like watching the old farmer Hoggett and Babe the pig.

That'll do, microbes. That'll do. read more