The Snack World (TV)

Snack World (TV) is based on a game. This anime is something like an indulgent 'snack' - completely binge-worthy. Full of adventure, little giggle moments and cute characters. But do not expect a conventional anime stylised storytelling. There is no sob stories, character "depth", or like a deeper meaning to anything. It is pretty much to the likes of Yokai Watch, Digimon, Rockman and Pokemon.

If you have some time to burn or nothing to do, Snack-World is one of those shows you'll actually want to watch without any deep attachment to it.

The characters are totally cute and honestly what drove me towards the show ... in the first place. My absolute favourite character is Mayone for her cheek-in-tongue attitude and sassiness. Honestly the type of female character we should really be seen in mainstream anime.

The Snack World is an anime designed as a tie-in to the game of the same name by Level-5. It's set in a "casual fantasy" world, with a mixture of fairytale and modern elements. There's both Cinderella and convenience stores, Snow White and smart phones. As at the time of my writing, there is no English translation beyond the first handful of episodes, I feel that a brief plot synopsis is appropriate to give readers a general idea of the series.

The story follows the adventures of Chup and his companions Mayone, Pepperon, and Gob as they attempt various ridiculous and challenging quests with a long ... term goal of defeating the sinister and avaricious Vinegar Khan. The show follows the fairly tried-and-true shounen formula of failing, powering up and trying again to overcome difficulties.

I did initially expect with a title of "Snack World" that there may be a focus on snacks and eating, but snacks in the world are actually small cards which you can use to summon allies to support you, and not things you eat. The series does not have a particularly strong food focus.

The series has a rather unique visual style for a Japanese production, utilising 3DGC in order to create characters which are reminiscent of claymation. It's certainly not what I would expect when I think of anime, but I do think that the visuals are effective, and the characters and surroundings are lively, colourful, and expressive. It's difficult to compare this visual style to other series which I have seen, but while I don't think that I would like all anime to take this route, I didn't mind the style, especially owing to its novelty value.

The series is definitely targeted at the audience of children and families, and as such the plot and characters are not especially in depth, but during the duration of the series, we do get to find out some things about their back story and why they're choosing to overcome these challenges. There's plenty of humour (mostly visual gags, slapstick and puns), and I found that the series also displayed a lively sense of adventure. I don't think that it goes beyond its intended audience, but if you are like me and enjoy series which are targeted at younger viewers, it is well-produced and at times charming. If you like other Level-5 franchises like Yokai Watch, or just generally enjoy fantasy/adventure anime for younger viewers, The Snack World may be a series you would like.