Ranked #802

Tonari no Yamada-kun

Despite being a fan of Studio Ghibli, this release somehow passed my by. Today, I'm adding it to my "re-watch" list, somewhere near the top. Whatever you may think anime is, throw it out the window, this is not a typical show.

You watch the first few minutes thinking that it's the credits and you wait until you realise, this isn't the credits, it's the story! The unique style of animation throws you in for a loop, but it's not bad. Yes, it's simple, more like a moving comic strip than animation, but simple does not mean sloppy. Each line and curve of the drawings is thought out and perfectly placed and the motion smooth. You can't help but like the characters, the director perhaps explores their stereotypical side - the salary-man dad, slightly lazy stay at home wife, reluctant student son, cute as a button younger daughter and grandmother with a sharp tongue - but that's what makes it funny.

The story is told in snippets, sometimes interrupted by metaphors or one of the character's recollection of an event past, all wrapped up neatly by humour: sometimes a great belly laugh and sometimes a gentle smile. The movie leaves you feeling good and, somehow, cuddled. Perfect family viewing; I suspect that one appreciates this movie more as the time goes by. read more

QUICKREVIEW
Story: 10 (Refreshing family story thats not cliche)
Art: 8 (Very unique, take on the comedy style)
Sound: 7 (Average slice of life/comedy effects)
Character: 10 (resembles my family almost perfectly)
Enjoyment: 10 (everything in this movie i can relate to)
Overall: 45/50 = 9.0 (Excellent anime for family time)




::Full Review::
I managed to stumble upon this gem of a show simply by walking in the wrong film room at the Anime Expo. Man, if i didn't walk in that room I would have never discovered how great of a show this was. It's not your typical movie style movie, instead, its told in a dozen or so situations all involving one family: the Yamadas.

Theres no deep evolving plot or intriguing storyline to look forward too. It's simply a nice slice of life movie about the daily lives of the five members in this household. It's main highlights of the show is how they tell portray common situations that occur in a majority of average households. Things like how parents use swindle their kids into doing chores, or manage to convince someone going to the store to get things for you because you're too lazy. All these situations are average everyday things that we normally don't find humorous (and they usually piss us off). But when watching it from a different viewpoint, we realize that such things are so ridiculous yet true that we have no choice but to laugh because we know those situations all too well.

The art work is something else as well. In typical ghibli fashion, it goes for its own unique style and manages to make the super simple in to something that one can only call it a masterpiece. You can see the pen strokes, and watercolors and errors everywhere, it almost looks like someone just scratched it together out of someones notebook. But there are some scenes that run amazingly smooth (aka high frame rate). A good example are the TV shows they end up watching. It looks so simple yet, it moves with a fluidity that is only comparable to real TV broadcasts. Of course some people will think the art is the worst they've ever seen and say that they can even do a better job. But theres something about the simplicity that just makes it so wonderful. I just can't pinpoint that exact reason why.

The sound effects are all standard fare. Nothing wrong with them at all. Most of the sound consists of household sound effects and such. But where the sound effects gets its most use is from the voice acting.

Since I was living in a pretty full household (grandparents, mom, her brother and two sisters, and 1 cousin) I can easily relate to how this family interacts with each other. It's comical how exactly their emotions and how they talk to each other emulate my family. Including the grunts and groans and such and backtalk all make it so wonderful and interesting to watch.

Just like any Studio Ghibli film, this is a perfect movie to watch with the whole family. As a matter of fact I highly recommend watching this with the whole family, and point out things that they do just like the Yamada's. This isn't a show to watch just for the sake of watching. After watching it twice its clear that this show has the potential of bringing families together with all the conversation and interaction that can be happening while viewing this movie. read more