Jun 23, 2018
Minami-Ke Tadaima is the fourth season of the series Minami-Ke. It’s a slice of life comedy with elements of high school romance sprinkled into the mix. To say that this show is unique and is a “must watch” would be stretching it. The slice of life genre has always been one of my favorites, but this show just didn't do it for me. The jokes are pretty stale and some of them lose their potential humor simply because of the way they’re set up. But let’s stop with the general impressions and get into the specifics, shall we?
Story:
Being a slice of life school comedy, Minami-Ke
...
Tadaima respectively does not have a complicated plot. It follows the ordinary lives of three sisters: Kana, Chiaki, and Haruka Minami. Each episode is formatted linearly: An ordinary problem is presented, hijinx ensues, and a conclusion is met. It’s simple and should be effective. I say “should” because the sheer quality of most of the jokes and the reactions of the characters actually works against this linear format. That's not to say that the show never made me laugh. It got me a few times, but for a comedy, it was rare.
Characters:
Aside from Hosaka and Kana--huge shout-outs to their voice actors by the way--most of the cast is a bit uninteresting. Again, most of the show's failings are brought up from the lack of reactions and lack of exaggerated responses from the characters and some of the characters ended up as tropes. Take Makoto's character for instance. In order to hang out with Kana without drawing the suspicion of his classmates, Makoto takes on the form of Mako--a female version of himself. You would think that this could draw out a few laughs, but the setup for the jokes are really typical and not fun in all honesty. In truth, I think the whole show could be described as “really typical and not fun,” but I do think the music helps ease the boredom.
Music:
The music from the show is actually pretty good. The music used in the comedic scenes generated a silly, albeit cheesy, atmosphere. More specifically, the opening was always something I looked forward to listening to. It was really upbeat and I think it captured what the show really tried to be: a heavily emphasized comedy. The ending theme was less than addicting, but my ears didn't bleed because of it, so that's good.
Art Style / Animation:
Being a show from 2013, Minami-Ke Tadaima actually doesn't look great in comparison to some of the other shows that came out at the time. While the art style is a bit dated, the animation is serviceable enough and the character designs are unique and even a bit fun at times. While I wouldn’t consider the artistic direction of the show to be its strong suit, I can see how others might enjoy it for its simplicity.
Overall Impressions:
Minami-Ke Tadaima was a pretty below average experience for me. It just wasn't as much fun as I thought it'd be and I really like the slice of life genre, so I know that's not the problem. Aside from Hosaka's and Kana’s characters, the show was a bore to get through. With its lack of good characters, its repeated use of unfunny jokes, and without a solid reason to keep me coming back to the show, I had a really hard time getting through this one. Even some fans of the show found out that they didn’t love this season of Minami-Ke in particular. In the words of Chiaki herself, “Please do not expect much out of it.” I cannot and will not recommend this show, even to slice of life fans.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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