Turns out it was a cutesy story about a reformed playboy (well, sort of) becoming the surrogate mother for his adorable, 5 year old cousin. It’s not as easy as it seems - Kippei had to deal with a psychotic secret admirer, Yuzuyu’s countless longings for her mother, a physically beaten child, etc.Plus there was also a love story in the forms, and thank God, it’s not one between Kippei and Yuzuyu. It’s with one of the popular girls in Kippei’s school, Kokoro.
I got a feeling that this anime is very popular among Japanese high school girls, or teenage girls in general. They can immerse themselves in watching Kippei’s love story evolve, and if they’re not satisfied with just that, there’s always the adorable Yuzuyu. I’m a bit disappointed about the ending though, but I guess it’s a win-win situation for all of the characters.
I only liked Kippei and Yuzuyu, because everyone else seemed so cold and mean. Kokoro barely showed any emotion, and even though she knows that herself she hasn’t really changed much. Reiko (Kippei’s older sister) was always so mean, Satsuki (Kippei’s younger brother) was almost unnoticed, along with the rest of the cast. Other than the two main characters, I also like Marika. I didn’t like Marika at first, since I thought that for a 5 year old, she sure was bitchy, but she’s actually a tsundere girl. I’m glad she was able to make friends with Yuzuyu.
The character I liked the least would be Yuzuyu’s mom. Why would you leave your 5 year old daughter on her own? I know she’s trying her best to be strong and find a way to take care of Yuzuyu, but isn’t she just being selfish? If she really wanted to take care of Yuzuyu, she should’ve stayed by her side. I’m sure Yuzuyu’s also sad about her dad dying.
While I’m not a huge fan of the art and animation, I got a feeling that teenage girls will think otherwise. The clothes Kippei, Yuzu, Kokoro and Miki would wear are really cute and I think this is what they wear in Japan right now too. Anyway, the reason why I didn’t like the art and animation too much is that it’s inconsistent. The characters’ appearances change almost every episode. Even Yuzuyu’s toys (the bunny and the bear) look different every time she plays with them – that is, unless she really has different bunny and bear stuff toys. The CG was also of low quality. Maybe they shouldn’t have used CG at all and went with hand drawn all throughout.
Voice acting was a bit off. It didn’t sound like voice acting in other anime series before, and I was thinking if this is how they speak in Japan. Only Kippei and Yuzuyu spoke with emotion, while the rest (specially Kokoro) were bland. I love Yuzuyu’s seiyuu. Her voice is so adorable, and turns out her seiyuu (Miyu Tsuzurahara) is actually a child. I don’t think an adult seiyuu would be able to pull it off, even if she’s really good.
There was nothing special about the music. It didn’t need my attention that much. The opening theme was OK, but I don’t get the part with the “macaroni”. The ending song on the other hand sounded a bit old, and it didn’t really fit the series at all, since as I’ve said, the plot is definitely for a younger audience.
After watching the ending, I can’t help but ask for a second season. Even if I wasn’t really impressed, I still want to see more of the story.
