Ranked #923

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki

Okay, I'm writing this review before the series has finished airing, which means two things. First of all, my opinion is subject to change by the time it has finished airing. Secondly, I'm basically a guinea pig reviewer.

After reading the synopsis of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, you may have some light suspicions that this anime may be a bit crazy.

It is crazy. Normally, when you hear of an anime that features an officer of a paranormal agency and six descendants of an ancient monster, you expect it to be some sort of fantasy/sci-fi shounen series. Well, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki throws that convention out the window like a high school delinquent does to his alarm clock in the morning.

However, as crazy as this series is, it gets incredibly deep. In less than ten minutes of the first episode, you will get the idea of how crazy this series is. But you will have to watch at least two episodes to see that Kyouran Kazoku Nikki is not just crazy, but it's a brilliant combination of comedy and drama.

Story and Character
As mentioned earlier, there are an officer from a paranormal agency and six descendants of an ancient monster. But instead of waging war against eachother, they all unite as a loving family. If you think about it, that actually sounds kind of lame. I could hardly imagine that working on some other series like Scooby-Doo or Star Wars.

But have no worries. Kyouran Kazoku Nikki actually makes this seemingly boring idea work.

The story uses ideas commonly associated with family, such as a wedding and honeymoon. That's right, the Midarezaki family actually takes their relationship seriously. You won't even find the type of family dysfunction frequently found in American sitcoms! (Except maybe around Kyouka) Then there are ideas unrelated to family. Things like mad science, assasins, voodoo, and pirates. As for why such outlandish things are there, you'll have to trust me when I say this: They just make Kyouran Kazoku Nikki what it is.

As for the members of the Midarezaki family, they make a quirky, yet solid set of characters. It's too early to say whether each member of the Midarezaki family will have their own backstory, but the ones I've seen so far are surprisingly deep and, in fact, emotional. These characters are not as silly as they seem in the beginning. They're as solid as anime characters come.

Art and Sound
The art style is cartoon-like to match the hyper mood of the series. Of course, the series isn't always hyper. In fact, in the more dramatic scenes, you will actually see blood. That said, the art has a pretty good balance between a cartoony look and a mature look, so that it will flow along with the light-mooded moments, but not contrast so much with the blood scenes.

As for the background music, again, some of it is suited for the cartoony moments, while some of it is suited for the darker moments. Some of the music and sounds make the anime seem a little more sci-fi than it really is, yet it still feels natural. On a minor note, the anime occasionally uses the weirdest sound effects, such as when Kyouka is jumping around in episode 4. Those random sounds can make you go, "WTH!!1??" but again, that's just a minor note.

Then there are the opening and ending themes. The opening theme, Chousai Kenbo Sengen by Mosaic.wav, fits the series fantastically. The super-fast vocals and energy-filled sound effects yell out the same quirky essence of the anime, even if it has some strange lyrics. ("Autocracy is the best word of compliment I can get")

The biggest highlight of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki music-wise is probably the ending themes. The ending themes are like character singles, with a song and animation for each member of the Midarezaki family. The songs reflect each member really well, and while some of them may be over-the-top, they're genuinely enjoyable.

Enjoyment and Overall
Admittedly, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki isn't for everyone. I personally enjoy this series so much, that my score of 9 is just my objective score for this review. While Kyouran Kazoku Nikki has both hectic comedy and deep drama, overall it's a crazy, hyper anime that's more suited for the comedy lover. But daring drama-seekers looking for a refreshing frenzy can feel free to give it a try, since I still think it's a brilliant blend of both sides. read more

There seems to be a lack of reviews of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki where all the episodes have been watched at the time of writing so I shall attempt to fill that void.

The Diary of a Crazed Family, that should tell you something about this anime. In fact, if you were any bit serious about it, it would take your face to the curb and beat it out of you. At least for the most part. But let's get this party started shall we?

There is no real story in Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, each episode could easily function as a standalone short, but that doesn't mean the show lacks continuity or has no real meat within the episodes themselves. Usually there is an Aesop or moral or something or other to be taught by Kyouka-sama and that's about the only thing that would annoy me. It's more or less a slice of life. Your mileage may vary.

The art, fitting to the theme, is vibrant and colourful. In fact, this is one of the few anime that does not have over-the-top "anime" hairstyled characters. For that I applaud it. Heck, even a Stinger is faithfully recreated in anime form and ofcourse, the sparkles are appropriately added so there really isn't anything to say about it. Not outstanding, but not terrible.

The same can be said of the sound. The OP, is one of the few that I willingly sit through to listen to. A very good indicator of what the show is about as well. There are multiple EDs, one for each of the Midarezakis, save perhaps Gekka, but she's a Jellyfish sooo. Moving on, each ED is in a way, representative of each Miderazaki, quite fitting and credit is given where credit is due. Next we have the BGM, which I can't say doesn't go terribly well nor wrong. In fact, not commenting about it probably the best thing I could do. Because it means they did something right. I have nothing to complain about.

Almost all of the main cast has some depth to them, a shame really, I wanted to know more about Ouka and Ginka. In fact, there are still some unexplained flashbacks (and I haven't checked Wikipedia yet) for Ouka and I would like that resolved, thank you very much. Ginka, on the other hand, got the short-stick when they drew the characterisation priority chart I bet. Other than that I'm fine with the hyperactive yet insecure Kyouka, the shy and timid Yuuka, the mysterious Gekka, the innocent Hyouka, the mindful Teika and of course the rather normal Chika (rather being the stressed word).

Then of course, comes the enjoyment derived. But it is hard not to enjoy such a well implemented comedy. My favourite moment is probably when Santa took a Stinger and later going to town with Kyouka. There are plenty of things that are over the top. But that just adds to the comedy, and somehow it never feels forced. Which usually then segues into a heartwarming moment. Quite well pulled off at points but sometimes, I can already see it coming which can dampen the impact somewhat. Overall, this is something of a must watch for fans of comedy (personally I don't know anyone who would dislike a good comedy). That's it really, so embrace Goddere and may Kyouka-sama smile upon you. read more

The story, well, there is no story. It's just the events of an extremely messed up family, the Miderazaki's, consisting of a cyborg, catgirl, gay son, lion, two oni daughters, a freaky jellyfish, and a military officer human. It focusus on the plan 'Cozy Family'. I forgot to mention all of the people, except the human and the older oni daughter, are children of enka, an evil demon that died a long time ago and said his children will come back to take revenge. this plan was to get the children of enka to enjoy life and to not think about destroying the world. So i guess there is a story.

Art: the art is kinda childish yet it really fits the mood of the story, so i like it. not much to say here. =3

The sound, in my opinion is very good. The opening song is kinda fast yet i like the music. Sound effects are pretty good to especially for the sounds the jellyfish makes. they range from electricity, explosions, lightsaber sounds, etc so i think you might enjoy the music.

Now the characters. This is one of the most widest array of Characters i've ever seen in an anime. The eldest son (Ginka) is gay, the eldest daughter (Chika) is one of the oni daughters that used to be abused by her family, the second eldest daughter (Yuuka) is the one who was abused by her family after Chika, she is shy yet very kind. The second eldest son is a lion (Teika) he can talk, is kind hearted and over protecting even though being the 3rd youngest. Next comes the tallest, and 2nd youngest child Hyouka the cyborg/ or android. The parents, the father is a military officer and the mother is a catgirl that is 20 but doesnt look a day over 11. The Last is A jelly fish that can stretch its arms over a long length and has a distinct liking to sushi, like me =3.

I really enjoy this anime its funny and always leaves me laughing out loud. The song is addicting and my overall enjoyment is extremely high.

hope you liked my report!! read more

Story: The show wasnt as random as I thought it would be. It keeps on switching between drama and comedy, which is very confusing. There are way too many serious parts, and too few funny parts. If you liked the randomness of the first episode, and want to watch something similar, dont bother watching the rest. With the cast of characters, I feel that the show could have been done a lot better.

Art: The art is awesome, no com...plaints there.

Sound: I think that having different ending songs each sang by a different member of the family is a good idea for their part. The OP is also very catchy and perfect for the show.

Character: While they included a very weird returning cast: an electric butterfly, a biological weapon, a talking lion, a floating jellyfish, and a shinigami, they failed to make them funny. Most of the characters just get a few seconds screen time each episode, with no real impact on the story. They also failed to show the story of the homo son, Ouka and Kyouka. Even though Ouka and Kyouka are the 2 characters who came out the most, you know almost nothing about them in the end. The shinigami, who I thought was one of the more enjoyable characters only came out in 1-2 episodes as a major character as well. None of the characters are interesting nor memorable.

Enjoyment: to be frank, I didnt find this anime funny at all. There is no conversational humor like in Minami-ke or Lucky Star, very few randomness like in excel saga, no circumstantial humor, nor any other type of humor at all. Sure, there is a lot of absurdity, but they failed to make them funny. The few jokes and lines they have, are already overused in the first 1/4 of the series. In the end, this show is more like a normal anime story with a weird cast (who still act like normal characters anyway). It had a potential to be a great anime, but fail to deliver.

Overall: If you have time, and nothing else to watch, go ahead. I like the OP the most about the anime. I recommend the following episodes: 1, 8-10, 21. read more

If I could summarize this series in one word, it would be: inconsistent. The bright style, hectic OP, and bizarre premise make this seem like this will be an absurd comedy. Ok, there is a lot of that there, I won't deny it. However, there are certain episodes, especially the ones that delve into the characters' pasts that are downright depressing. The switch is rather jarring at times, especially when they do it multiple times in a single episode.

Also, the series tends to take itself too seriously at times. It's as if half the staff thought they were still in serious mode, when everyone else had already moved onto a comedy scene. Take this one episode for example (I don't remember the number, but it shouldn't really matter). It starts with the family on vacation, on a tropical island, and one of the children gets kidnapped by albino monkeys with jetpacks. Ok, silly. Next we meet the midget professor who created the monkeys. Still silly. Finally, he goes into a sob story about how he wants to play god. In another context, one could take this seriously and sympathize with him. However, I couldn't get past the fact that there were albino monkeys with jetpacks.

So should you watch this series. Sure, give at least the first episode a shot. If you don't like what you see, don't expect it to get much better. On the flip side, if you like it, you should enjoy the rest of it. This series is consistent almost to the point of it being a flaw. Yuko Goto shows up later as a sweets loving butterfly girl for fans of her out there. But there are better shows with her out there. I personally don't know if I like it or not. It's fun enough to motivate me to watch another episode, but not enough to care about what is going on. So all of its high and low points average it out to a mediocre 5 across the board. Sound gets a bump up for a cute OP and the interesting idea of having different EDs sung by the different characters. read more

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki is one of the anime in which although not popular but enjoyable to watch.
I stumbled upon this anime when I was looking for an anime who has a female character that has this following characteristics: tsundere (more like Haruhi-like), loli and milf. Glad this anime has it plus it is a family story, a theme which is quite rare in anime.
Strengths: The last time I heard Nomad animating an anime, it was Sola. Then, they're doing Kyouran Kazoku Nikki. Hence, the quality of the animation is more or less the same as Sola: perfect quality of colouring. Another one is that the comedy is not depend on ecchi (Seto no Hanayome is another example) and also has drama and romance plus has a great sense of humor. The characters are quite attractive, especially Kyouka and Yuuka.
Weakness: Some, or maybe more or less than half, of the episodes were spent on side characters (hence it turned out to be one of those Doraemon movies plots) which are not really satisfying (with the worst one is episode 10, don't be angry if I say this since it is from my point of view). In my opinion, this could the cause of some people dropped this anime (glad I'm still stick with this anime). The story is, in fact, none but okay. No comment on that.
Overall: If this were popular enough, I'm sure this anime will rival some great anime such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It began perfectly and it ended perfectly. And most importantly, this anime is enjoyable to be watched. Before I ended this review, I would like to say that All Hail Kyouka-sama!!! read more