Ranked #876

Minami-ke Okawari

First thing that's gonna pop right into your head a few minutes into this anime: "This isn't Minami-ke!"

But wait! It is.

Minami-ke's first season is known as being a tremendous comedy with slice of life appeal. Minami-ke ~Okawari~ is sadly no longer that series. Instead, we have a slice of life anime with lukewarm comedy, and you know what? It is not that bad.

Fans of the first season will sorely and surely be disappointed. We come in expecting to laugh and have a few grins over the inane day to day activities of the Minami family, and then what we get is all the inane activity of the Minami family with some frugal helpings of comedy.

In fact, it was with near irritation that I watched the first few episodes of the second season wondering what in any deity's name happened to the hilarious Minami-ke. It was now... boring. Where are the laughs? Why aren't the gags funny? What is with these new meandering dialogues that have no punchlines? Why is it now so... unfunny? Then realisation struck.

Minami-ke ~Okawari~ is NOT the comedy series that was Minami-ke.

It is a slice of life anime featuring the ever endearing Minami sisters. Once you get over or accept this difference, you may end up enjoying this season instead of hating it. A lot of people looked forward with great anticipation for more side-splitting jokes and situations with enough humour to have you belting out laughs, but the story for ~Okawari~ looks at more serious aspects of Haruka, Kana and Chiaki's lives.

The pacing of the anime is completely different. True to slice of life form (as opposed to comedy) it is mellow and less exciting. Day to day activities really do become day to day activities, so much so that some episodes are downright uninteresting. However, unlike the first season's episodic plotting, ~Okawari~ follows loosely an actual storyline. It also deals with some important issues and emotions. In fact, the anime is a lot more subtle now, a lot more thoughtful and atmospheric. It certainly has a few themes in it now, such as the strength sisterly affection, what truly makes a family, and also how to accept loss.

But lacking intrigue is a sin for which this season cannot be forgiven. Even though it is an anime about the 'everyday activity of the Minami family', it does not mean it has to be dull as seen in the first season, where even the simplest, most inane activity of Haruka, Kana and Chiaki was enough to bust your gut. This season? Not so much. Inane activity remains inane in this incarnation.

Noticeably, other than the changed style of story, the artwork as well has changed with the switch in production companies. The colour palette is a little rougher, darker than the very light pastel tones used in the first season. The animation however seems to have improved, and the backgrounds are more detailed. The character design has been edited for a few characters. The most important one is probably seen in Chiaki's hair (perhaps this was an attempt to make it look like she was related to both Haruka and Kana as opposed to just Haruka alone? Who knows?) and in the colouring of other people's hair as well.

The music is truly magnificent again, though for the moments where it sometimes overwhelmed the dialogue, its execution is not without its flaws. However, it remains as light and playful as always, incorporating more wind instruments (like the recorder) into the score. Another addition to the background music is unlike the first season, there is the incorporation of more sombre pieces into the anime. It works well given the new shift in themes for ~Okawari~ and the type of anime Minami-ke has been presented as in this adaptation.

Minami-ke ~Okawari~'s cast is composed of returning characters from the first season and a few new faces as well. The change in genres means that we get to see the girls develop quite differently. In fact, if anything, they might be less amusing in this season but they are certainly now more complex.

Haruka is still the competent eldest sister, however her laziness when having nothing to do has become a more prominent feature in her personality. She remains the wiser though slightly oblivious sister of the Minami girls, and a rougher, stricter side of her is revealed when her younger sisters start to muck things up. Her dedication to Kana and Chiaki though it is revealed in truly subtle ways that would certainly make you want to smile. The girl is selfless all right. And she sure loves her sisters.

Kana, ever the idiot, however is toned down. Her manic energies are a little more contained now, and you're left to wonder if the girl really has been getting a little more mature. In fact, some scenes where she shows a level of understanding that we may have underestimated in her. She continues to have crackpot ideas that usually fail but she has an amazing ability to assess a current situation and work things out (for instance, when she has to deal with both Makoto and Touma's cross-dressing).

Chiaka is still the unimpressed, serious, and sceptical girl. But during the course of ~Okawari~, she changes. In fact, there is a moment where she herself ponders whether she is the same. Moments in the anime show her kinder, softer, more insecure sides than you'd expect from her. In the end, we are reminded that she, despite her off-putting attitude, is just a little girl. Take for instance the issue of departure. Look at how she handles it--Chiaki is not as strong as she thinks she is, aloof demeanour aside.

And then there is the supporting cast. The new character Fuyuki is either a hit or miss guy. His purpose in the anime seems to be part of a theme as opposed to making him a proper character. His presence is of very little consequence, unlike the rest of the supporting characters. It would be nice to say that the friends of the Minami sisters have remained ever the same, but they have changed. Their presence is more comforting than it is humorous. Watching them now is like watching the friends all together and it feels right and is pleasant, but they no longer each give us tremendous laughs. Even Hosaka, though still persistent (and "disgusting"), is not as amusing as he was in the first season.

~Okawari~ is sort of difficult to enjoy if you go in expecting what you got in the first series. If you jump right into it, big grin plastered on your face, ready to bust your gut, then it is almost guaranteed that the grin will flip upside down and you'd be annoyed by what you see. It is not your first Minami-ke. It is a different one.

With lots of warm, touching moments throughout the anime and a lot less humour, Minami-ke ~Okawari~ is a pretty good slice of life series. It is not a very good comedy series, that's for certain, but it is not entirely meant to be a comedy. Keeping that in mind, if you could not get enough of the Minami sisters and want more, then this anime offering will have to suffice. You'll just be seeing a different aspect of the girls and their lives.

While this series is not going to make you howl with laughter like the first season, Minami-ke ~Okawari~ will undoubtedly get you to smile. Maybe not from hilarious antics, silly actions and witty dialogue, but certainly from the comforting warmth surrounding the Minami family. read more

So, Minami-ke Okawari, is, as anyone who watched the first series would know, a continuation of the original Minami-ke series. The first thing to be said is that it's not as half as good as the first season. The second thing to be said is that despite that fact, it's still very enjoyable.

I was following Minami-ke Okawari as it came out but I stopped around ep 4 and wasn't really watching it anymore. And with the first season, I searched for the new episode every week until the very last one. It took me a few months to get into Okawari to watch it, but once I started watching it again I realized it wasn't so bad.

One thing, I guess, is it just doesn't seem to have the charm the first one did. It's not as funny, I can tell you that. It has its moments, but some episodes in Okawari were just sort of mildly amusing.

The story and voice actors and character do not differ from the first, which is good at least. If you don't know, the story consists of three sisters living under one roof and their daily lives. And that's about it for the story and characters. It may sound boring at a glance, but it's done so well that it never drags.

However, the characters and story is not portrayed as well as in the first, so I give a little bit of lower of score than I did on the first season. The animation is very different, but I didn't find too much of a problem with it, though there's much more fanservice in this season which irked me a bit. Okawari's animation is not done spectacularly, but it is sufficent, and I liked how the kept the "regular to serious" style going in this season.

While I enjoyed it, I couldn't give it too high because at first I was struggling to watch the episodes and didn't even watch them as they aired each week. If you were a good fan of the first season this may come off as a little dissapointing. However, I was glad to embrace some more Minami-ke, and it is still a good series. read more