Ranked #2999

Colorful

Life and people are pretty colourful things. You know what else is pretty colourful? A pair of panties.

Colorful is an anime of voyeuristic splendour that anyone who appreciates ecchi humour can enjoy. Every episode shows you all the various ways in which one can sexualise women, whether it is a segment dedicated to girls running track, wearing kimonos, or even involving a kotatsu. What is the main storyline? Men's (extremely) desperate attempts to watch panties.

It takes every single gross fantasy involving women out of the recesses of the mind of a pervert and brings it to the forefront. However, it is different from other ecchi anime. While it exists to entertain, it also exists to educate. No, not educate men how to effectively look up the skirts of women (although it does that pretty well too). More to open our eyes to the world at large, that people are pretty perverted whether they're elite businessmen or bored college students. It's like looking into the mind of any guy you see trying to hide their dirty mag between the pages of a Biology text book. Hell, it's like watching someone try to get off on the pages of a Biology text book, even. Yup, sometimes it shows that extent of desperation.

The art is pretty experimental. There are random scenes interspersed throughout the episodes that look something akin to acid trips. The artwork is mostly comical, with the regular character designs becoming super-deformed at moments. The artwork ranges from very realistic depictions of people to average anime style to very cartoonish drawings. Prepare to see tons of panties, but there are also details in the animation, such as the scenes where a teacher's mouth moving slowly while enunciating words (much to the pleasure of her male students).

Music for Colorful is pretty colourful itself. There's an abrasive punk OP theme song, strange Microsoft Sam English words incorporated during the random scenes, and some of the background music is pretty sleazy too. It actually sounds as though they sampled basement music from stoners back in the 90s. There are lazy spaghetti Western tunes, traditional pieces, old school type house music. A lot of different and eclectic sounds to be heard. It is a sort of noisy anime.

There are a few recurring characters in Colorful. While some actually have segments dedicated to them, others just appear during the vignettes that separate each loose scene from the other Single, lonely and loserly. That's pretty much how you can describe ever male character in the anime. There are two college friends, a nerdy American camera freak and a sports coach that make numerous appearances, and they are all very hapless in their undertakings. The only two main female characters are Yamamoto (an all-round athlete who unknowingly the target of lust for her coach and is actually doing quite well with her training) and Ms. Pamela (a busty blonde foreigner who teaches English). Each man gets his comeuppance for perving out. Colorful does not let its perverts get away with their "crimes". It also shows these men suffering in some way or another due to karma from trying to be licentious.

Is Colorful entertaining? It sure is! Though be warned, if ecchi is not your style, then you will not enjoy this anime. Plus, it vacillates between being exploitative and being educational. It is crafted so that you cannot really tell whether it is objectifying women or revealing men to be wolves when it comes to sexuality.

In the end, the confused message may turn viewers off, depending on which side you want to take.

Women are objects. Men are disgusting. Is that it? Or maybe women are objectified by disgusting men? Who really knows which is the "correct" direction this anime wanted to take. It all really depends on how you want to look at it. read more

If you like ecchi humor, Colorful! is for you.
Although this series is very funny at the beginning, the events that take place seem a bit repetitive after a while. After all, it does contain frisky guys that seem desperate for that one upskirt peek or that one wardrobe malfunction.

The art is okay. If you want something totally psychedelic, go for the intermission pieces.

Sound...well, I don't remember anyone really talking? I watched the English and, sure, there was conversation but there wasn't really any developing dialogue that occurred. This goes for the characters as well: they were there but they don't develop like in any other anime.

This certainly ISN'T a Fooly Cooly type anime where you get the full dialogue, recognizable characters and have that urge to watch it again. It might be out of nostalgia that you might want to revisit this anime again but otherwise, for watchers like me, it was a temporary watch. read more