Binchou-tan tells the tale of Binchou-tan, a young girl who lives out in the mountains by herself as this world apparently has no social workers. She goes to town every day to work for money, because this world apparently has no child labor laws. In this town, she creates and hangs out with several other young girls.
Binchou-tan is a really simple show. It's just Binchou-tan doing stuff every day. That's it, nothing more. However, in a way that's the charm of the show. Most slice-of-life anime just show selected scenes from the life of the characters, where stuff happens. Sure it's not exciting stuff, but it's still stuff. However, due to Binchou-tan's really slow pace and having several scenes of just Binchou-tan walking around, in a way you feel like you are watching Binchou-tan's whole life. It's not boring, it's actually very interesting to see how this strange little girl lives. Actually, girls. Most of the episodes switch back from scenes of just Binchou-tan and shows the life of the other girls too. Heck, one of the girls doesn't even meet up with the group for the first time face to face until the last minutes of the final episode. I really liked how they did that, as it gives us a taste of others lives and not just Binchou-tan's.
The characters in Binchou-tan... I hate to admit it, but they're all rather lame. Most have little personality. Binchou-tan is just kind of, well... I don't even know. She never really talks very much during the show. She's rather kind and quiet I suppose, and a little spacey. For the rest of the girls, most of them have gimmicks, not personality. Chiku-tan likes to invent stuff. Ren-tan is a Buddhist, likes dangos, and has good luck. Kunugi-tan is rich and wants to befriend Binbou-tan. Aloe likes to swim. However, the dullness of the characters never really gets in the way of the actual show, due to the fact it doesn't concentrate on comedic scenes but just scenes of everyday life. In a way, their dullness somehow makes the show more relaxing.
The animation is decent. The character designs are definitely more chibi than realistic. They're obviously are meant to look cute and add to the fluffiness of the show. They do work out in the end though. The simplistic character designs allow more fluidity in the animation, even if it does use stock footage a few times. Yes, stock footage in a slice-of-life show. Why not? The music is also rather decent. The opening is cute in a relaxing way and the ending is cute in a, well, cute way. They both fit the mood of the show. The voice acting is also decent, though I do get the feeling I would have hated Binchou-tan's voice actor if she spoke more as she has a really squeaky voice.
If you must have plot and action and comedy in your anime, then stay as far away from this show as you can get. It is a must for slice-of-life fans though, and I give it an 8.
