Inu to Hasami wa Tsukaiyou

Dear Japan:

It seems almost every season, there’s one of those shows from your country that plays on fetishes or a rather bizarre sequence in the anime world. This time, it involves a girl and its….dog. Then, it decides for some odd reason to add the concept of scissors to the mix because we know it’s one of the dangerous gadgets suitable for “punishment”. As for the punishment itself, the receiving end is none other than our dog of the series, Kazuhito Harumi.

Inu to Hasami wa Tsukaiyo (also known as Dogs & Scissors) is an animated series based off the light novel of the same name written by Shunsuke Sarai. For a series about books though, this show sure likes to play around its other angles. So now begins the story of a dog and its master. (one sadistic if I might even add)

The show’s delivery essentially begins with its accurate delivery and promise. In fact, there’s a feeling of seriousness in the beginning. Our main male protagonist Kazuhito (a bookworm) is eager to read books and novels. As a fan of Shinobu Akiyama's works, he is determined to get the inside scoop of those words written in those text. But then one faithful day, the unthinkable happened. To be honest, if you thought your day was bad, Kazuhito’s day couldn’t get any worse because of what happens next. He becomes something he never thought he’d be and hence begins this strange tale.

As mentioned before, the show takes itself seriously at first. The scene involving Kazuhito and his fate is depicted as brutal and violent with even blood added in the mix. The aftermath however turns out to be much more humorous when we find out that the woman Kazuhito gets acquainted with adapts a sadistic nature to her personality. Dressed in black clad clothing and armed with a deadly pair of scissors, Kirhime Natsuno is a woman that delivers the punishment to our not-so-lucky protagonist. Because of the punishment he receives, the show itself leans towards borderline animal abuse at many stances. Although it seems to be humorous at many cases, the series itself becomes intolerable after many of those repetitive moments. It doesn’t help by the fact that the dog also both intentionally and unintellionally provoke Kirihime at many occasion that results in those punishments.

As far as the plot goes, the series sticks with its premise at first. In fact, it takes its turns early on to finding out the culprit responding for Kazuhito’s fate but more importantly to stick with its original plot. However, the series later on becomes a cluster of absurd comedy that makes little sense or no progression to the story at all.

The story itself also consists of many characters although the majority of the cast consists of female characters of different nature. There’s a masochist, an idol, a maid, and even a yandere. These characters all connects to the tale of the sadist and the dog in some way although mostly depicted as complete nonsense. For instance, the idol (aka the Shining Girl) of the series known as Maxi Akizuki plays little role besides trying to take the spotlight while mostly failing to do so. Then, there’s even a yandere character that clashes against Kirihime in almost borderline incest moments. Other characters later on in the series also presents absurd comedy in different nature related to the concept of competitions.

The relationship between Kazuhito and Kirihime is one of the more dynamic aspects of the series. Almost every episode focuses on them although the development between the duo is quite sour and sometimes way out of line. For the most part, Kirihime abuses Kazuhito at almost any time when she feels something doesn’t go according to her way or when the latter says something that shouldn’t of been said. However, if we look carefully, there’s also cases where Kirihime does treasure Kazuhito and vice versa. Even more so, Kirihime seems to get jealous at times for the dog and acts on those frustrations to carry out her punishments. As for Kazuhito himself, there’s a lot of humor revolving around his character with his new life as the dog. He doesn’t go out to hunt or guard the house but instead still follows on his goals to read books. Even as a dog, his determination seems to become avid as ever.

As noted by its absurd comedy genre, this show doesn’t loosen that style any bit at all. The comedy of this show is ridiculous, as in ridiculously bad. Kirihime’s scissors is just one primary example as a weapon that’s out of this world with inhuman capabilities. Kirihime herself often acts like the boss but she shows insecurity of herself especially in regards to her female body structure. This gag is made fun of nearly every episode because of her small breast size. (assumingly A-Cup). It doesn’t stop there though because her physical nature is made fun of that result in undesired consequences for Kazuhito. This repetitive running gag feels almost like an endless loop at many occasions with the misunderstandings. Later on, a yandere type character also enters the story that formulates a triangle which spells out even more misunderstandings. There’s case of fan services from here and there although it doesn’t fall into the ecchi category. What it does fall under though is the seemingly endless and repetitive gags ranging from masochism to sadism to dog abuse.

There’s some action as well but it’s mostly carried out in a comical fashion. The way the characters move and fight makes it clear at first but the transformations and execution is painful to watch. It tries to follow its themes involving the seven deadly sins as well but most of this is downplayed as nothing more than a textbook of mistakes. At one point, I question myself why I watch this show. Perhaps it might be the small chance of a decent mystery as briefly shown in the beginning of the show but this later wavers down with nothing more than nonsense once again.

Artwork wise, the term generic is what comes to my mind at first glance. Even the dog is portrayed as being generic with its design. He doesn’t look dangerous at all but instead of someone of frail nature. On the other hand, Kirihime’s design does look a tad noticeable with her black clad outfit. Her scarlet eyes and long black hair gives her a more dangerous look. On other hand though, idol characters, maids, and yanderes are designed in this show exactly what you might expect.

The music aspect of this show is almost a joke like the show itself. The OP song "Wan Wan Wan Wan N_1!!" by Inu Musume Club is portrayed as comedy and does its job as such with its sequences. In the song, we see characters dancing while doing animal movements complete with some flashy outfits. The dog though? He’s there in the background usually suffering the abuse. The ED song doesn’t do any better either with bits of fan service and a similar style of its comedy genre. The OST is also hardly noticeable although we do see some of the more dramatic moments carried out in a serious fashion. Finally, I didn’t feel like any of the VA portrayed their roles in an outstanding way. The only noticable voice though might be the voice of Kazuhito when he was once human. If we notice carefully, we never get to see his true face. In other words, the voice of his character when he was human gives off a sense of realism in this ridiculous comedy of nonsense.

For a comedy series, this show sure likes to play around with the genre; a bit too much perhaps. At many points, it feels like if you’re watching not just a parody but a series crafted out of nonsense. By nonsense, I mean nonsense as in making no sense at all while defying the laws of a decent story. The story itself also had a strong promise at first but breaks itself apart with its random gags and repetitiveness. In short, this show is one of those anime series where it tries to be “so bad, it’s good”. However, it just ends up with the first part as in ‘bad’. I know my expectations might be a bit high but being bad sometimes should have its limits.

Sincerely, a disappointed viewer. read more

Do you understand what is comedy? Do you really value it? I am very sure you don't, not until you watch Dogs and Scissors. It is a series that will make you appreciate jokes, more than ever, because its pathetic, dreadful, and fan-service accompanied "comedic" plot will make you appreciate the math joke that you thought was stupid.

The plot is simple..you can read the summary anywhere, so I am not going to detail that. But yes, this is an extreme story of books..where you either write or die..you read or die. That was the opening sentence of the anime. Quite interesting right? Yeah, I wish it was like that. Not until you pass episode 2, when you will suddenly realize the deep, thoughtful ways of this anime, thoughtful ways of putting fan-service. This anime is a collection of "weird" otaku fetish: sadistic tsundere, extremely attached younger sister, voluptuous masochist, and most importantly, a complete harem of girls. Not to mention the "flat-chest" jokes, "those" dialogues....and whatever a loner otaku dreams to see.

At first it begins decently, guy loves books, he dies, and gets reincarnated as a dog to become the pet of his favorite author. And then starts the non-stop loop of "flat-chested" jokes, sadistic scissor scenes, younger sister pleading "Kazu-nii", girls appearing to satisfy harems and ends with hot-spring bath and beach scene near the ending of the anime. This anime, without a doubt, will satisfy if you're into "these" things.

Characters are simple. Protagonist is a straight-man (or dog) of the series, who gives commentary to every line spoken. He loves book more than anything. He is mostly in his dog form. The female lead (the scissor) is a 20 year old sadistic, flat-chested (where the jokes come from), tsundere and best-selling author, who although highly intelligent, limits her insults to "perverted dog" "ero dog" "idiot" and "mongrel"....yes, very intelligent insults she uses.

Side characters include overly-attached imouto; a bookstore girl the protagonist loves;her younger sister who likes to "play" with the protagonist; a voluptuous and masochistic book editor; a maid who is overly attached to her mistress; a "shining" idol who is supported by overly attached men in black; and the girl who is always apologizing...and for comic relief afro guy, muscle men and whatever the anime industry needs to create comedy.

Sound tracks are average. Opening song, you know those songs where the singer changes pitches as she sings..with hyperactive attitude? Ending is rather decent, after first ten seconds. And overall, very decent, low-average music.

Art. Average 2013 art. Animation is decent, the fight scenes are alright. It' just nothing to look forward to. And it's sad how every character must have colorful eyes and hair, certain types of figure and stereotypical appearance.

Overall, I began this anime because of how frequently it was recommended. This anime was made TO satisfy the audience, especially the guy stuck in his room 24/7. There are plot holes everywhere, non-sense characters and low average art and animation. It just takes pathetic on different level. I didn't enjoy it.

Recommended only if you're interested in "those" matters I mentioned, or just want to watch every anime of the season. Otherwise, just save your time on something better. Seriously, I cried realizing the depth anime reached these days. read more

Snips, snails, and puppy dog tails

There are many anime shows out there. Some are serious, some are goofy, and some are both. Other shows enjoy dishing out ecchi, and then taking it away because it was all a trap to begin with (God, there's a lot of those). However eventually there is a show that is just really different. Bizarre. Plain weird. And just absurd. That show is Dog & Scissors.

It starts off simple enough as any other anime. It has a plot, and a reason. However those two get resolved pretty quickly, and then the show goes into Simpson-esc sitcom mode. Mostly because this show creates a mini universe type of feel. From a scarf wearing steroid user who loves to talk about muscles while jogging, all the way to an OCD pop model who loves to say "SHINNY!" every 2 seconds. There are a lot of weirdos to gawk at, at almost every corner here. The characters are mostly strange. Natsuno Kirihime is the most well rounded one here since she conveys more emotion than everybody else (Happy, sad, being evil, being crazy, being drunk, etc.). She does torture her dog (Kazuhito), however it is not brutal torture where she grabs her scissors, and digs into the dog (A sigh of relief for PETA right there). She just cuts his hair into weird shapes, occasionally threatens him, and calls him names. She has a good reason though. He's literally asking for it since Kazuhito resorts to making fun of her body all the time.

Music in this show is pretty generic, but it gets the job done. The opening theme is pretty fun to watch. And so is the ending theme. The singing is not bad. However the instrumental part is the reason why it does not sound so special.

The designs of the show are not bad at all. The eyes of all of the characters (Mostly the female ones) actually have a unique look to their irises, and eyelashes. Colors are spread around in the show giving off a nice palette. The backgrounds are standard anime protocol (Schools, cities, parks). However, back to the character design. A whole lot of them have a bit of a twist to the usual anime stereotypes (Mostly Maxi does, the "SHINNY!" pop idol mentioned earlier). And the animation is decent enough for an anime.

On A Personal Note: This show is pretty unpopular. I understand why. I mean pretend that someone went into a restaurant, read off the menu about a chocolate cake with garlic in it being sold (With the ingredient "garlic" written everywhere). Then that someone ate the whole cake, and then acts shocked, and then shouts "Why does this have garlic in it!?" at everybody. Then another guy is there at the same place, at the same time, and that person ate the same cake. And then that other guy loved it because it had garlic like promised. That is how I feel about this show. Im the guy that loved the garlic chocolate cake. Before I even started watching this show (And Im not being all high, and mighty here), but I knew from the get go because of the description what I was going to get. And that's what I got. And I liked it. The show is not bad. Give it a chance. Expect it to be absurd.

It's not like the show is promising the moon. It's promising a crazy girl who has scissors, and a talking dog going off on weird adventures. And it delivers. read more

“Japan never fails to surprise me with their anime”

Anime, without we realize has turned us into some people who likes weird things or even taboo in some society. We are getting used and even being desensitisized with japanese weird taste, Like ecchi that basically soft porn, incest that mostly all people in the world against it, and even turn us into a lolicon. Now, they even will make us turn into more weirder with the love between an animal and a human. Prepare for this?

STORY (4/10) - Inu to Hasami is basically your generic of romance comedy anime with some harem in it. The premise of the story can be seen in MAL page. But its like what its said, its about a highschool boy who is being killed when he tried to save a girl and he’s being resurrected as a dog. Now, he’s turned into a pet for a girl that he saves before. Summary, this anime will be focussing on interaction between Kazuhito (the dog) and his master (Kirihime). The interaction that happen is not always about the romantic but also the funny. Usually, the jokes is about when Kirihime abusing her dog.FYI, she is sadistic and the punchline jokes that Kazuhito always do is pretty much makes the viewers at least gets smile or even laugh, though sometimes it isn’t funny at all.

If you think the premise are absurd enough, then you’re surely surprise what will you find in this anime. In Inu to Hasami, you will find many absurd things that even you wouldnt think before. From absurd battle, wracky story, and furthermore, nonsense comedy. Its feel like you put many things into one box. But aside from that, Inu to Hasami is pretty easy to follow. Even the story is absurd but atleast you will understand about what this anime about. Though, its still absurd. SO absurd.

Aside from all that aspects, Inu to Hasami is pretty enjoyable anime to watch despite of how absurd this anime is. The jokes is literally the one that keeps me still watching it until the end. Of course, there is sometimes that even the jokes isnt funny at all or even makes you wanna punch the character.

ART (8/10) – Aside from the absurd story, the art in this anime pretty much well made and the reason why i still keep watching it until the end. The art is so vivid, colorful and the background itself is pretty detailed. Like in Kirihime’s room, the way this anime draws the bookshelf within the books looks so realistic. Moreover, the colorful art makes this anime is more enchanting and didnt make our eyes being tired from watching it. Sometimes they using comical style, especially when it comes to punchline jokes from the dog aka Kazuhito. The art in the battle scenes are also quite good, The art drastically changes if the battle scenes were appear.From the colorful art they turned into more darker, the effects also is quite stunning and increasing the atmosphere of “battle feels”. But, from the drastically itself it can makes the viewers feel uneasy, though its great they can change the art style and madely well done. but it makes the art itself didnt consistent. However, the art is stil great.

SOUND (6/10) – First from the soundtrack, the opening song of this anime “Wan Wan Wan Wan” by Inu Musume Club. This song is like the story itself, its absurd and didnt really catchy. I always skip the song anyway, since the song is silly and not really attractive. But aside from my egoistical perspective, this song is suitable with the anime itself and really present the anime itself. But aside from non-catchy-music, The video music in the opening itself is quite funny and again, using comical fashion and some parody jokes this video is funny on its own way, even in the openin music video the dog is still get abused.Though the song is still bad..

For the voice, the seiyuu in this anime is great. I mean, they really suitable with their own roles and characters personality. Like Yayoi that being voiced by Hiromi Agarashi, Hiromi Agarashi is really suitable for child role since her voice is childish and have cute tunes. Her voice is totally makes Yayoi is so loveable and makes you wanna hug her. But not just Yayoi, all the seiyuus is also did their job very well, though sometimes the voice feels seems off.

CHARACTER (6/10) – First of all, i must say all the characters in this anime is unique. Its great to have so many unique person in one story. Great and unique characters are the key for making the story more interesting. But in this anime, they waste it all. Since this “all unique characters” are like the side dish. Well, i know this anime is focussing on those weird couples but still... Those characters beside Kazuhito and Kirihime, its just like a figure. They didnt have any space for developments.

For Kazuhito, he is a bookworm guy who loves book than anything in this world and like any MC in another harem that usually doesnt really care about their harem and also, dense. For Kirihime, she is a famous writer that being adored by Kazuhito and she is Kazuhito’s master. Kirihime is also asadistic girl that usually abuse Kazuhito. But despite of all that abuse, she also have a dere personality and quite caring especially if its about Kazuhito. Despite of all that, this formula is pretty common in romance comedy harem today. Dense main character while the heroine falling in love with him. Though the one that makes this anime is different is your main character is....... a dog.

CONCLUSION (6/10)
Funny things about this anime is no matter how absurd this show was, but its still watchable. Though we still didnt used to see a Love between a dog and a girl is pretty hard to been accepted, but if you like beastility of course this isnt a problem. Anyway, since this is fantasy we can forget about the taboo and anything else and i find this anime is entertaining and pretty nice anime to spend time with, though dont get your hopes too high in this anime.
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