Gugure! Kokkuri-san

Barakamon has left an empty hole in my heart. After watching the first episode of Gugure! Kokkuri-san I felt like I might have found something similar, yet much better. How disappointed I was. There isn't really a central plotline there to speak of. The attempts at character development are pathetic. Humor is mediocre.

Overall...meh...if you have nothing to do, give it a shot, otherwise, go watch barakamon. I liked it a lot more.

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread)

People in society often believe in a wide range of "things:" religion, luck, and destiny are some of the first to come to mind. Some believe what they do to find comfort while others use it as a means to explain the impossible. Another common belief includes beings of the supernatural variety. In other words, ghosts. Spirits that are caught between the land of the living and the dead, forced to perform some duty before passing on completely. While such creatures are typically associated with horror, that isn't always the case. And Gugure! Kokkuri-san aims to make such ... a statement a truthful one.

STORY

The tale begins one day when Kohina, a young girl, begins to play a game of "Kokkuri-san." Surprisingly, the game works, summoning the fox-like spirit. When he sees the little girl's living habits, he decides to stay and help her on a daily basis.

The meat of the anime is strictly comedy. Its focus is on making the audience laugh at nearly all times. It relies mostly on visual gags, referential humor, and character quirks to achieve the intended effect. It's usually able to balance each of these aspects nicely enough, making the jokes feel varied despite them using the same tactics over and over. Kohina's doll persona has a shocking amount of uses, watching Inugami receive abuse never got old, and throwbacks to famous movies and shows were duly noted. At the same time, the show adopts an episodic format that actually contains a good amount of crossover. A scenario at the beginning of the episode may find relevance later on, or anywhere in between, rewarding the viewer who is paying a bit more attention to these more dialogue-dependent jokes.

Earlier, the term "nearly" was used to describe Gugure's focus. "Nearly" because it also sets its sights on two separate themes that are not as executed as nicely as the comedy itself: the idea of simply enjoying what life as to offer and the difficulties of isolation. The former derives from not only the final episode, but much of what goes on leading up to it. Life isn't about what was or can be, but about enjoying what happens now. People come and go, and not everything is going to be jubilant at all times, but as long as you relish the moment for what it is, there really isn't anything more to wish. Now, due to the ridiculous nature of the comedy, the message isn't as defined. It's easy to enjoy life when fantastical things are happening within it: having an evil ghost buddy, having an alien for a classmate, and following a boy-turned-girl fox spirit around town. The luxury of having the enjoyment come to you as opposed to seeking it is prevalent within Gugure, but the latter is a stronger idea overall.

The second motif is centered around the idea of isolation, what it harbors, and how to fix it. Many of the characters, and more specifically Kohina, have an affinity for being lonely. Their backgrounds provide where such dependencies come from, and at times, it seems to take itself seriously. These moments, though, are quick to be forgotten with another gag or joke to take its place. The show has this weird attachment to wanting us to care more deeply for Kohina and the rest, but then uses them shortly after for another laugh rather than reflecting on the idea presented. This is fine, since the comedy is the focus, but then such "emotional" moments lose their impact.

ANIMATION

The art within Gugure is rather simple in nature. Much of what occurs takes place within Kohina's abode, but the group does visit other locations. Forests, the city, and the school are frequented, but they're more just there as okay scenery rather than something to be marveled at.

The character designs are better. All of the characters have their "real" persona and their "character" persona. For example, Inugami looks like a normal human but can transform into a small, purple puppy. Even Kohina maintains both sides, with the regular form barely making itself known over the course of the anime. Either way, all of the designs are either cute when they need to be, or distinct enough to make the characters known for what they are. Kokkuri's bell, Kohina's rectangular eyes, and Shigaraki's sake holder are all traits they maintain from beginning to end, and are nice details that the art is usually lacking.

The actual animation is typically average at best. Being a comedy, it uses the lesser amount of animation to its advantage to make movements seem more hysterical. Still, it can pull through during certain bits, such as Kohina attempting to take a scolding from Kokkuri. It doesn't happen a lot, but the anime does what it can with the animation it was given.

CHARACTERS

Gugure relies on the characters to deliver the comedy. They mostly stick to their shticks to do so, with some performing better overall than others.

Shigaraki is an older gentleman who finds himself living with Kohina later than the rest. Usually scrapped for cash, he is often found drinking away without a care in the world. But deep down, he has more sympathy for others when compared to the entire cast. Willing to help his fellow spirits and Kohina, despite his relaxed nature, makes him the rock of the group. Sadly, he is perhaps the weakest character because of it. Being the silent watcher causes him to be the least memorable, and subsequently the least funny.

With his name in the title, Kokkuri plays a large part within the anime for every episode. A clean freak, emotional, and unable to handle stressful situations, many laughs are had at the expense of his well-being. To him, Kohina's health comes first before anything else. He isn't afraid to go above and beyond normal reactions to situations, often deferring to violence or stalker-like tendencies. While he may hate dealing with the troubles that his housemates bring, there is no denying that he cherishes the fact that these new people in his life have made the present more fun than ever before.

Inugami is easily the strangest of the bunch. His adoration for Kohina is almost unbelievable, but he maintains a rather calm demeanor when she is not present. Being able to switch genders at will, she doesn't have any qualms with becoming the type of person that Kohina wants. Like dogs in general, he is willing to trust others to a fault. Before being included in the group, she was unsure of the kindness of people in the world. Now, he is fully aware of the good that the world can bring.

The star, the funniest, and the best of the cast is, not surprisingly, Kohina. In love with cup noodles, she often acts like a doll as an ingrained defense mechanism. She has difficulty smiling, but not so much difficulty in getting others to do the same. Even though she behaves in an unorthodox manner, she's the only human within the group. Her ability to attract supernatural beings is evident, as is her adorable way of speaking. All of her time alone may have caused her to become quite distant, but in time, Shigaraki, Inugami, and Kokkuri should be able to get her back on the right track.

What's interesting with the cast is that everyone involved, even the side characters, have an obsession of some kind. Some are more obvious than others: Shigaraki loves women, Kokkuri loves to protect Kohina. Some are more subtle simply because we don't see them much: Kureha loves her beloved, Jimeko loves having friends. For the most part, the fascinations the characters have provide the setting for the comedy to unfold. At the same time, however, it gives a look at what it means to love something to death so dearly. In this case, the portrayal is that having an obsession is okay, as long as it doesn't bring harm to oneself or anyone. Inugami's can be seen as detrimental, while Kohina's is fine as long as she is supplementing herself elsewhere.

SOUND

The OP is really funky. The beginning part utilizes both singing and regular speaking parts to give a hilarious mix that perfectly fits with the anime itself. The half-way part is whimsical, with the last portion continuing that sweet disco feel.

As for the ED, it is oddly sad. The soft piano playing and simple singing give it a relaxing feel that helps to calm the viewer down from what happened during the episode itself. The bells and ending double-vocals end the piece on a happier note, giving the song more power than it really deserves to have.

The soundtrack contains quick and fun tracks, and more serene ones to fit the situation. One track in particular, the acoustic guitar playing with the vocalist "singing" with it is very catchy and fun to hear.

The voice-acting sees above-average performances all around, with Kohina taking the lead. Ryou Hirohashi does a wonderful job as the lovable, doll-like girl. A special shout-out to the narrator for also doing a good job of contributing to the comedy.

ENJOYMENT

This one actually got me to laugh for every episode. I wasn't laughing at every single moment, only usually when Kohina and Inugami were on-screen acting like their typical selves. Kohina especially is able to be the right amount of cute, mean, hilarious, and real all at the same time in order to get the laughs out of the audience.

But there is someone I liked even more than Kohina. And that was Jimeko. She only truly has the fifth episode showcasing her, but I loved her by the end of it. It may just be my inner-"moe" coming through, but her tiny arc was adorable beyond measure. It therefore made me sad to witness that she was almost never included again within the show.

As it is, Gugure! Kokkuri-san is an above average comedy with great music and a funny cast of characters. It may seem wacky, but Kohina and the gang provide a fun little show worthy of your time.

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, pure comedy, thematically lost

Animation: Fine, okay art, good character designs, average actual animation

Characters: Fine, Kohina, Kokkuri, Inugami, and Shigaraki are funny and obsessed

Sound: Great, good OP, good ED, good soundtrack, good VA work

Enjoyment: Fine, needed more Jimeko

Final Score: 6/10

The story started really well I'd say the very first episodes gave me promises what is it gonna be about. It's seems that our characters intentions comes from their past were the two main character deeply related. It promises to find out why is Kohina pretends to be a doll, and why Kokkuri-san wants to help her(only have a suggestion, that Kohina is reincarnation or descendant of someone who Kokkuri-san knew once). However the as the episodes goes on we won't go any further on their relation significantly. Instead of it, we'll know other 5-6 characters whose past are barely told in 1-1episode, there isn't ... really more time anyway for them, since the anime have 12episodes.

The art is fair, the colors are lively and some pattern on clothes are interesting but nothing more impressive regarding how new the anime is.

About sound they fit well the situations, they don't push too much but keep it tense enough when it's needed.

About characters, we've got a not perfect-gentle and pretty stubborn "Sebastian Michaelis" renamed as Inugami, the typical pervert and little tricky (elder) Shigaraki, the doll who seems to search for way how not to be lonely Kohina, and the most "balanced" character who's trying to keep everything tidy and organized Kokkuri-san (who could be the deepest character with Kohina).

About enjoyment... the anime have some cliche from bleeding nose during "interesting moments", to kick someone high and make a shiny star of it. The anime is (trying) to joke a lot about being pedophile... or about being pervert... sometimes the ghost "dies" and you can see something come out of it... a ghost in the ghost? Sometimes it doesn't makes much sense, yet there are some really interesting situations where fun is granted to even cold-hearted people, the question is if it fits your sense of humor, if you wanna know the end (for now it could be continued) and if you have a need for deep storyline and character development (where the anime is somewhat poor if it won't be continued).

Yet it's an interesting anime, if you have a hunger for a fair comedy you don't need to look any further.

And people were saying Danna Nani was Prime Minister Abe's propaganda effort to have NEETs and otaku go out in the world and reproduce. Kokkuri-san looks like Abe's effort to have the same set of NEETs and otaku take care of children.

The question needs to be asked: Where is Kohina's parents and why is she all alone in this world. If traditional Japanese folklore are trying to raise her, then something is DEFINITELY wrong with this culture if this is true.

The show's pretty good; some of the characters turning into mascot dolls threw me off guard, though. It's nice to see Daisuke Ono come a ... long way from being "part of Kyon's harem."

Gugure Kokkuri-san is one of those anime where I love the concept of the show, but certain unnecessary elements kind of make it hard to enjoy. I'll be listing what I enjoy about the show and then what sort of ruins it for me and makes it a 6 instead of the 8 I wanted it to be.

Concept:

What I really love about Gugure Kokkuri-san is the fact that it takes this scary concept of Kokkuri-san, wherein Kohina is playing it alone and most certainly shouldn't be, and then introduces you to the humor of the show by having Kokkuri-san appear at the door and ... having Kohina immediately shut it on him and ask the board who the man outside her house is. Everything from there sets up the atmosphere of the show, how it'll go from seeming serious and intense for maybe a minute and then pulling a gag that dispells it and reminds you, quite pleasantly, that it is a comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Characters:

What also really drew me to the show and kept me there were the characters. They're all fun and unique and taking the idea of Kokkuri-san and making them all a quriky odd family was pretty hilarious. I also liked the little peeks of depth into the characters, such as the real reason for Kohina's 'I'm a doll' coping mechanism and why Kokkuri-san actually appeared before Kohina. There's these little bits of real depth to the characters that keeps them from being boring, one-dimensional caricatures. The laughs come from exaggerating and playing with that depth, like poking at Kokkkuri's insecurities or Kohina's childish unawareness of how things are supposed to be or Shigaraki's many flaws. I really appreciate that the anime succeeds on that front. Nothing is more important to me most of the time than characters, because that's really what I hang around for.

Story:

The anecdotal story telling was also very fun and enjoyable, though if you're not here for the characters, than you probably won't enjoy it, because it's mostly to provide humor by looking into their lives and pulling out different problems they come to deal with.

Art:

The art is also very nice to look at (that's pretty important to me too, because I can't spend that long staring at something that I don't enjoy looking at), and honestly, that opening theme is something I listened to and watched every episode.

Cons:

Now with that all out of the way, here's how I'd make Kokkuri-san an 8 instead of a 6, and why I feel it is that way.

First, toss the pedophilia jokes. They're gross and lazy and are the main source of my issues with it. Hard to enjoy what you thought would be a fun twist on a family comedy when you've got pedophilia jokes at every turn.

Second, maybe make Inugami an actual child, maybe around Kohina's age.

Third, make Gugure Kokkuri-san an actual family comedy with Kokkuri of course as the stressed out housewife/mom, Shigaraki as the deadbeat dad, and Inugami as a second child/the family dog.

Why? I think Gugure Kokkuri-san would have been a much more enjoyable comedy that way. What's more hilarious than taking the ~scary~ Kokkuri-san concept and turning it into a family comedy? It takes a mundane slice of life genre and makes it fantastical by introducing these strange spirits and the little girl who honestly doesn't seem to notice how bizarre and out there it is. There's so much latent humor just sitting there and waiting to be used that it just feels like a lazy cop-out to resort to pedophilia jokes, like look at the potential:

Kokkuri-san and Shigaraki having an exaggerated husband/wife relationship, Inugami going to school with Kohina as a student and displaying doglike characteristics while at the same time being a protective older brother (sibling?), shenanigans occurring with parent-teacher meetings, family vacations, quirky friends--typical slice of life stuff intermixed with the supernatural.

Conclusion:

I really think this could have been a much better show, and I am disappointed with the lazy jokes it decided to play with (ex: pedophilia, suicide, homophobia, etc.). However, if you can ignore all that and stick around for the characters, then I'd say it's a pretty fun show to watch otherwise.

I do remember enjoying this but after re-watching the opening song and a few other scenes, I realized that i remember BARELY anything INCLUDING the characters. I mean I watched 47 animes after this one so it has been ages since watching it but i guess nowadays, the impression of the show isn't as big as it was when it first came out.
As far as i remember. The story was bizzare, I just checked again and Kokkuri-San was loveable and a lil funny i suppose. The main kiddos artstyle might be one thing memorable from this. She was cute, Doll-Like (literally) and definately unique. There ... was also a dog like character in a suit that can change gender i think? And maybe a snake dude?... wait was that from this or Kamisama Hajimemashita.. WHATEVER.
IN ANY CASE, It's short and fun so i'd say give it a shot :3