Ranked #5425

Kaichuu!

Kaichuu, what to say about it. It's short, it's cliched, it's nearly without any actual sort of plot, but hell I enjoyed it anyway. For the few minutes it took to watch this I was pretty entertained.

Story:
As far as the story goes there really isn't much to say. The length allows no room for any sort of actually engaging story. It is basically just there to fascilitate the jokes and as an excuse to have a cute guy in a skirt. They try and set up the story with an opening bit of narration talking about some archery prodigy who disappeared from the archery world. The story has no room to form, but they don't try to shove a story in our faces, which is in the end a good thing considering what this is. 6/10

Art:
As I happened upon the page for this I wasn't expecting much after seeing the length. I was expecting flash art, long still shots and disproportionate characters, but I was pleasently surprised. The characters actually look good, Sasaki is appropriately adorable and the animation is decently fluid. For what it is the art is pretty good. 8/10

Sound:
Once again, as I was with the art, I was caught off guard by the seiyuu. They brought a proper sort of proffesionalism to their respective roles, playing them rather well. Not once did I cringe at a badly delivered line or laugh at a horribly over the top exclamation, because they weren't there. The music was highly forgettable, but it served its' purpose well enough. My biggest issue with the sound was Sasaki's seiyuu. I understand he's a trap, that he wishes to be a girl, that he's as cute as a button, but none of that means that you will sound more like a girl than most girls do. Just a little tinge of masculinity would have helped establish the character as truly male rather than a girl who is just said to be a boy. 7/10

Character:
Seeing as there are really only three characters, there really isn't much to go on. Due to the short length the characters have no room to grow, there is really not much depth to them so they just kind of embody certain stereotypes so the jokes can be made. The high point of the charcters would have to be the main character, Tachikawa. He isn't a very good archer, but he has a passion for it and hopes to one day teach archery because of a promise he made to his grandfather. Simple backstory, but it actually provides a slight depth to his character that makes him at least likeable and relatable. Sasaki, the trap of the story is just a walking punchline. He provides the setup for tranny jokes and misunderstandings. Even with the realization at the end he still seems shallow although being quite cute. He serves the story well enough though which seems to be how most aspects of this ONA are like the villain of the story as well. There is nothing to say about him as he is even more shallow of a character than Sasaki. He is the jerk that gets his dues in the end. 5/10

Now despite the lack of depth for two out of three characters, the miscasting of one of the seiyuu, the complete void of any truly compelling story this ONA is actually pretty good. It took me a total of seven minutes to watch and and to be honest I was entertained for seven minutes. It's short, it's amusing and it has a cute boy in a skirt so what more could you ask for.When the manga it is based on reaches a substantial length, I hope that they release a true anime for it. Sasaki is a trap I'd be willing to fall into again. So if you have a few minutes to waste you wouldn't lose anything watching this. It's purely light fun that will keep you entertained. Really, what have you got to lose? 7/10 read more

This basically sums it up: It's a TRAP! XD

Joking aside, this anime is one of those sexually awkward types. And no, I'm not talking about the ecchi kind. The premise is supposedly about archery but that is quickly overshadowed by the fact that the cute looking girl you see in the picture is actually a cross-dressing boy who falls for another boy.

If you can get past all that (which I doubt, especially if you are a straight guy) and focus on the story, the plot in the anime is pretty straight-forward. You get the idealistic boy striving to be the best, the "damsel" who has feelings for said boy, and the generic ugly bad guy who gets pissed off by the idealistic boy and plots a sinister plan. The story really doesn't win points for originality despite it being the few, if not ONLY, Archery based animes around.

About the technical side, involving graphics, voice actors and the like. The general impression I get is mediocre. Nothing too special. Isn't bad, but isn't good either.

All in all, there really isn't anything new this anime gives us, so you can watch it if you want but you won't be missing anything if you don't. And if sexually awkward animes aren't your thing, then steer clear.
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