Ranked #2938

Asobi ni Iku yo!

Uhm... I don't know how to make an introduction for this review... I'll just get to the main points right away, I suppose.

Story 2/10: Fucking dreadful... Lol Well, I guess it's an alright show...if you like a story about a bunch of horny girls who have the hots for a wishy-washy, average-at-best geeky kid who is apparently a Gary Stu somehow because he gets all the fucking ladies (which is completely unrealistic) including neko space-women, and then in the end, a bunch of anthropomorphic dog people come to destroy the earth FOR SOME REASON, and while all of this is going down, Aoi and Manami decide to fight over Kio. Great time to do so... And then all of a sudden they save the world last-minute by miraculous means with some Deus Ex Machina plot writing. And after all that nonsensical bullshit, they live happily ever after... Oh yeah, and then Kio apparently gets into a polygamous relationship with all three main girls of the show. The end.
I mean, the show is cute, ecchi, humorous and fun, but it is NOT a good show if you're looking for plot.

Art 9/10: Pretty damn good. The character design is great, I like how all the human characters had natural hair colors and still managed to create diversity between each character's looks. The animation was superb and crisp, as well.

Sound 8/10: Loved a lot of the soundtrack, especially Kana Hanazawa's song in one of the ending credits. Only watched it in English dub because I love Brittney Karbowski and Monica Rial.

Character 5/10: The character development was mediocre at best. And there were some characters that just kind of showed up out of fucking nowhere like that one girl in the hat (I think her name was Ichika) who just suddenly appeared and started handing out superpowered scrolls to the main characters. Lord knows where the fuck she got them.
I did however like how shy Aoi was around Kio despite her profession where she's a badass Merc or some shit. There is some sort of satisfaction in seeing a total bamf become a sensitive, lovable person and show some character rather than being a stoic badass ALL OF THE TIME (*cough* Kanade from Angel Beats *cough*).

Enjoyment 7/10: I enjoyed the humor and ecchi-ness. It was a fun show to watch just for a few laughs.

Overall 6/10: Ehhh... It was okay. read more

Unyaaa!!

For those that don't know what that means, it's apparently cute cat talk and reference to 2010's summer anime Asobi ni Iku Yo. An anime purely dedicated to fan-service enthusiasts who love eye-candy.

With an abundance of cliché anime that provide service in the market, it's pretty hard for people to differentiate whether it's worth watching or passing up(due to having seen its type before.) Whilst I'd normally say the latter for Asobi, I'd be lying if I did as it had definitely caught my attention within the first 2 or so episodes. Asobi is an anime that amalgamates everything a fanboy loves and adds a story for which the most part, does leave you wanting to see what happens next. If only it had kept it's pacing and consistencies to the very end, I might have had better regards for its rating.

Story - 6
Asobi ni Iku Yo is a tale of how an ordinary boy meets an extraordinary alien cat-girl(nekomimi shoujo). Clichéd? Definitely. So what makes Asobi any better then the rest of what's out there? Simple. Add in a gun wielding childhood friend, an introvert spectacle-wearing classmate with special powers, a teacher belonging to an underground UFO cult, an uncle who seems to be more then he is, a cat worshiping ojou-sama, and an alien dog-woman as the main antagonist and we have a formulated cast that could either make or break the show...

The disadvantage to this though, is the introduction of too many characters that you could easily like, and not leaving much in regards to background.

Art - 6
As an anime dedicated to fan-service, it was in no doubt that ecchi would play a part in the series. As a hot-blooded male I see nothing wrong with that and considering its targeted audience are probably lonely boys who get off on the harem setting, the series has done well in the visual department as it didn't cater for just one fan of ecchi either. Whilst most guys will agree that bigger breast is best, we cannot out rule that there are a certain few who's preference are palm-sized or have none at all. Asobi provides this.

Watching the series in an upscaled HD format, artwork was passable as it's not mediocre yet I wouldn't class it as a masterpiece either. Everything is drawn well and animation is fluid throughout the series, which I believe should be a standard norm for any anime being produced as of 2010. Hence my rating of 6.

Sound - 6
Like its art, OP and ED are not groundbreaking, and at best suits its uplifting theme throughout the series. With Sphere playing their catchy J-pop tune "Now loading... SKY!!" on opening credits, one could feel that this is your average type harem or romance/comedy as it's a beat that unconsciously invites fandom into the series. One thing worth mentioning though is the series choice of seiyuu(voice actor). As a fan of Haruka Tomatsu(Rouge from Basquash, the twins from Nyan Koi! and Aoba of Cross Game just to name a few), they have decided to use her talents as the mains childhood friend in a tsundere type role. Now this may be another chance for the director to show more service and if it was, then it's pure win as Haruka is the type of seiyuu I prefer playing a tsundere-type lead over others in the market(eg. Rie Kugimiya).

Characters - 6
Whilst each character on their own may seem cliché and lackluster, it's the culmination of having them brought together that I guess makes this anime work. As clichés go, we have your main Kio who is the center of the story. An uninspiring lead who nose-bleeds easily, but I really can't fault him as he does fall in your classic harem archetype of being the weak/shy boy who will stand up to anything regardless of fortitude. If only he wasn't as clueless, I might have liked this anime even more. Then we have his harem, Eris(alien cat-girl), Manami(childhood friend) and Aoi(school friend with mysterious powers). Whilst each heroine falls under their own archetype also, they do have redeeming qualities that can out rule you from rolling your eyes each time they go into cliché-mode. There are others worth mentioning, but I won't so not to spoil it for you, and my only advice in this area is to take each character introduced lightly as this anime pokes fun and may even parody certain archetypes.

Enjoyment & OverAll - 5
Unfortunately what started out as an anime with a lot of promise, due to the series being short and certain inconsistencies, it had left some questions unanswered and felt rushed at the end giving us a mediocre conclusion. There are a lot of flaws to this series from becoming a "cut-above-the-rest" type harem, but for an anime that runs at 12 episodes, I guess it's a lot better then some out there I could list out. Whilst the series may not be aiming for top spot in MAL or any other anime review site, what it does aim for is to give viewers 20+ minutes of mindless entertainment per episode, and give lonely boys out there some false hope that it may happen to them.

If you don't mind service, then this anime is worth the laughs and amusement.

UNYAAA!! read more