Omishi Mahou Gekijou: Risky★Safety

Oh wow, this was really good. Before I start a more in depth-review, I'll say this: if you have any emotions in you, go watch this. Your emotions will thank you.

Now then.

Risky / Safety is basically about an apprentice shinigami named Risky and an apprentice angel named Safety who share the same body (which is 13cm tall). Risky is present when the person they're in tune with emotionally is sad, and Safety is there when he or she is happy. Moe, a slightly insecure junior high girl, is this person for most of the series even though they go off on ... random tangents in the form of odd stories sometimes. Stuff happens and things get weird but in the end it does come back to the main point.

So when I first saw this and read the synopsis, I thought "oh it's like Shinigami no Ballad + Shakugan no Shana-tan". Actually, that's not too far off. If you like the character of Shana-tan, you're going to LOVE Risky. But what really got me here was that, taken the basic plot outline, Risky / Safety did the best job they possibly could have.

Well, almost.

The one thing I have against Risky / Safety is that those random stories, especially the ridiculous Star Trek-esque epic and the thing with Ma-chan, somewhat detract from the amazing romantic plot. Honestly, this anime could have been a straight-up slice of life...that is, until you get to where stuff really gets screwed up nearer to the end.

This anime, above all else, makes you think while you cry tears of happiness and stifle tears of sorrow. Yes, a moe comedic anime that makes you think. Under all those nonstop gags from Risky and Safety and the general lighthearted aura the art gives, there are really deep psychological and philisophical questions and ideas at work. What does it mean to be good or evil? Is there a gray area in between? Is there a similar gray area between joy and despair? Is that where humanity really should be, in a bittersweet middleground? Very good musing material to come out of something that looks like a cute, mindless anime that can waste 24 sets of ten minutes of your life. But it's not one of those...it's an anime that can make 24 sets of ten minutes of your life more fulfilling than watching even some serious anime.

So let's go through these categories.

Story: Some flaws, some times where I can't help but just go "wtf" and pretend I know what's going on. It's not like it's perfect, but it's beautiful how it works out despite the flaws.

Art: I don't feel like I'm watching something from 1999-2000. When I think of that era I think of Pokemon days. But no, moe existed then too. :3 But really, besides that, the artistic style of Risky / Safety was what it should be for this type of thing--nice enough to enjoy watching, colorful, but at the same time simple enough so that you cannot get too distracted by it.

Sound: The ED song is nice :) Usually the BGM is kind of generic slice-of-life type stuff, but episode 16 is an exception. Episode 16 is done in a silent movie style, and in the spirit of that, they composed a very good musical score. I'm impressed. One thing this could've done without, though, is a narrator. It reminded me of Binchou-tan's narrator. However, she started to get really psychological after a while and I guess it helps get you thinking about the topics at hand.

Character: This is what makes Risky / Safety so great. The central cast is quite small (consisting of basically Risky, Safety, Moe and Yuya, the latter of which is Moe's love interest, and Lani, the dog), and that lets the characters (with the possible exception of Yuya, since this is from Moe's point of view somewhat) really blossom into something that you can connect to. Even minor or non-reoccuring characters are fleshed out enough for their moments of emotional amazingness to be really effective.

Enjoyment: I'm quite an emotional person, so I loved the emotional rollercoaster that this show set up. It's really got something for everybody (yes, it even has an epic monster fight. No, I don't think it was needed. But whatever, let the animators have their fun).

tl;dr go watch this if you are a human with feelings.

or a shinigami.

or an angel.

...

YOROSHIKU BABY~