Story: (8/10)
The story begins with our main character, Miss Monochrome, aspiring to become a popular idol like Kikuko on T.V. and her caretaker, Mana, asks to be her manager. She becomes her manager and requests 19.3 billion yen as the first thing to do as an idol. Our poor main character, Miss Monochrome, believes her and gives her all her money, leaving her broke, homeless, and stranded out on the streets to search for a new manager. Upon hoping to find one, a person named Maneo, who is surprisingly a manager, appears out of nowhere, but is not the manager you’d expect him to be. Little did you know, he’s actually a manager for a convenience store. Maneo becomes her manager and decides to help Miss Monochrome try to become a popular idol that she had always dreamed about. There’s not that much to say about the story, because the anime is so short, but what makes this so compelling is that you don’t know what to expect. What you just read, was an example of one of them. Majority of the episodes you watch are unexpected and randomly funny and by the end of each episode, it leaves you wondering if you’ll ever see Miss Monochrome become an idol. The only drawback I found within the story is that it perceives to be linear by the way the writer had set it up. You may not think the story leads anywhere, but it all comes together in the end.
Characters: (10/10)
This anime couldn’t be done well without its characters. Our main character, Miss Monochrome, may seem like a vocaloid by appearance, but in actuality, she’s an android. Her inability to feel emotions and take things literally enhances the show’s comedy. Another thing this anime does well is that the characters feel like a comedy routine. Maneo, being the one to find jobs for Miss Monochrome, sets up the joke and Miss Monochrome, the android who can’t differentiate between a joke and a serious answer, is the punchline. Mana, the con artist, sets up the tragedy for the main character and Kikuko, the popular idol, being the main goal. Of course you couldn’t forget about Miss Monochrome’s trusty pet, Ruu-chan, to add character depth towards her. Each character in this anime serves a purpose and executes it well.
Art: (8/10)
The artwork was produced by Liden Films who also made Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches, Terraformars, and Senyuu. The artwork for this anime wasn’t that bad. The 3D CGI character of Miss Monochrome in the end credits were well done. However, the overall environment and the design for some of the characters looked generic.
Sound: (9/10)
There’s no opening theme for this anime, only an ending. However, only taking up the last minute of the show, it sounds good. I was surprised how well the English dub vocal crew were compared to the Japanese one. The main character for Miss Monochrome sounds very similar to the Japanese vocal actress which I liked very much. The rest of the English dub voice actors seemed to have fit the role just as the Japanese ones as well.
Enjoyment: (8/10)
Since Miss Monochrome is 4 minutes long, I expected it to become another generic anime and something linear, but it seemed to have proved me wrong. This anime made me go on an unexpected feels trip. I never knew something that seemed so upbeat, lighthearted, and innocent be so tragic at the same time. Another thing I liked about this show, was how it referenced some real life people, anime, and merchandise. I mean, who doesn’t like a bit of references right? An anime can throw around a few references, but when it’s done right, it can become a masterpiece. In Miss Monochrome, the references aren’t just some subtle hint hoping to give you a little chuckle, it actually adds toward the story and the comedy which, surprisingly, impressed me.
Overall: (8/10)
Overall, Miss Monochrome is a short, enjoyable, slice of life anime that will make you laugh and feel good after watching it. You can kind of expect what’s going to happen in the end, but the random journeys you go on with Miss Monochrome makes up for it. Miss Monochrome’s stale but optimistic view on becoming an idol has certainly put a smile on my face. This underrated anime deserves a little more attention and I hope you give it a chance too.
