Etotama

Etotama is fun, then its gets cool and it left me speechless of how good it is.

The only reason i'm placing such a high rating on what looks like some
shallow fanservice like anime is that... for me - its not like that at all.

Most people complicate things on how anime must have "this or that" level of animation, sound, blah blah blah for it to be good.

My only basis is solely
"did this anime teach me something important and did it well?"

... For me, Etotama delivered - it taught me how to have fun.

Story wise, its simple and easy to comprehend,
I actually appreciate how the show just keep pulling jabs left and right, especially with the moments that just makes you go WTF.

Animation is good, it just fits well especially when they do those "fun and stupid" things.
Although, the battle animation of this anime is on an entirely different level.

This thought just keeps popping on my head every episode:
"How can a moe anime have one of the best battle choreograhpy/animation ever made."


Sound, is well played.
The opening somehow got me hooked listening the first 10 seconds cause its catchy. ( i like the classical reference. )
The ending song, for me works, since its soothing and somehow appropriate on how this crazy show ends its episodes.
The Voice actors just delivered.
The BGM is appropriate.


Of course, alot of people have different opinions and even I would agree that this review is mostly biased.
But rather than looking at the "flaws" of an anime,
I'd rather point out what it did well.

Etotama is fun - and i'd recommend it to anyone who'd like to have a few laughs and enjoy the ride.

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. The Chinese Zodiac is a figure that has long since been used to identify one's characteristics and personalities, since there's a saying that people are like a certain way on account of their perspective zodiac animal. So, with an anime about this particular zodiac that is NOT Fruits Baskets, what are we to expect with Etotama?

Story (6.34/10): Etotama's story is based around the life of one particular individual named Amato Takeru, a high school student who moves into a rather large house by himself in Akiba. There, he notices a ... strange hole in a corner of his house, a hole that for some reason leads to the world of gods (probably). Here, he meets a girl who comes out of the hole, a cat-girl by the name of "Nya-tan", sending Takeru on a journey with this strange eto-musume (basically, a god-like girl, but not an actual god) on her goal to become one of the twelve members of the zodiac.

Etotama plays off from the original legend of the zodiac, where the rat tricked the cat before the start of the footrace to determine the twelve zodiac animals, leaving the cat no chance. With the main story being surrounded around the idea of Nya-tan collecting the twelve sol-lull seals (basically, sol-lull is moe power/gratitude from humans and such) of the twelve zodiac animals so that she can become a member of the zodiac. The show itself plays with this VERY straightforward plotline for literally the entire show. Within a given episode, Nya-tan will fight any given Eto-shin (aka, the zodiac animals) in a battledome-style fight where if she wins, she can get their seal and continue off towards the next one sort of like your classic tournament-style anime.

Its simplistic plot really only scratches the surface as to what kind of story Etotama has. The biggest issue I have with Etotama is that for the most part, it's inconsistent with the way it wants to deliver its story, particularly in the latter half in the show, which is, mixing comedy, with a serious, dramatic plot. I see this as Etotama's main problem because a good chunk of the time, the show will not only go serious for a brief moment and try and instill an actual plot aside from a cat dicking around with eleven animals and a dragon, which heavily clashes its for the most part, light-hearted and comedic tone that it sticks with most of the time. They just don't really fit together well, and that's my main issue with this show. Another problem I have is the fact that this show REALLY has no consequences with what it does. Because it mixes comedic elements with an attempted serious tone, a lot of the more dramatic aspects/plot points that are presented in the less funny moments of the show basically get resolved later on when the show decides it wants to bust your funny bone. To me, it's a bit of a distasteful experience because serious and funny don't really go together all that well, especially when your characters are gods that have the ability to reincarnate, essentially disregarding any sort of serious moment you attempted to put in the show to begin with.

Another thing that bothers me with the show is the fact that it has all of these commandments, rules, and terms that while do get an explanation, don't really retain that explanation all that much. Really, you're told what a certain term/rule is, then you'll probably forget it in a few episodes because the underlying complexity of these terms racks the brain quite a bit on account of their definitions taking at least 3-4 lines of text just to explain, so yeah, I'll pass on that.

In terms of a comedy aspect, Etotama is a show that heavily references the fourth wall. (Insert there is no fourth wall joke here.) Most of the show's comedy comes from Nya-tan herself as her crazy and varying antics boot us from scene to scene of her ridiculous hyperactive personality. But that's not all. While a lot of the moments are created thanks to Nya-tan, a lot more of them become more prominent because of the expansive zodiac girls cast, which each have their own unique personality to give every joke a little bit of a different twist. But, like all comedy, it's really depending on whether you think it's funny or not, since all comedy is subjective.

Overall, Etotama's story isn't really all that fantastic in any real story aspect. All it is mostly just a group of characters fooling around in an episode by episode story where each episode differs from one another with different and sometimes random topics like Shogi, a horserace, kick the can, and even just straight up bribery on several occasions. (Nya-tan will do anything to get those seals.)

Overview:
+ Easy to follow base story
+/- Good comedy (if you're a fan of fourth wall breaking)
- Has serious moments that clash with the show's mostly comedic aspect
- Terms within the show are somewhat complicated to actually remember (for the most part, you just know what the purpose of said term is, then move on with the show)

Characters (7.72/10): Characters in Etotama are what I think really the selling point of the show, and really the bigger reason as to why someone would really want to watch this show.

But since we have to be follow the rigid formula put in place by the reviewer himself, we'll start with Takeru, the only important human character in this show. (Yay for continuity...) Takeru as a character really...isn't all that special. As a person who produces very good Sol-lull (aka, that moe power thing I was talking about earlier), Takeru is for the most part put into this plot device role rather than an actual main character that has a grave impact on the show. Most of his work within the show is done in the sidelines as a source of power to Nya-tan, and doesn't really involve himself as much with the affairs of the zodiac or Eto-Shin as one may think. He does have this development where he "appreciates" the company of Nya-tan a lot more, but to me, it feels like forced development to give the serious areas of the show more impact, when in reality, it really doesn't. I mean, he's already WAY too accepting of a literal dozen of animal girl gods just showing up in his house randomly. He doesn't even so much as flinch when he learns that gods and a world of gods exists.

And of course, we have the true star of the show (quite literally, cause she has a starfish thing on her head for some reason. I don't know how that thing works tbh. I swear it's like alive or something...), Nya-tan. As a cat eto-musume, Nya-tan aspires to be a member of the zodiac for reasons that she herself doesn't even remember. Oh well. As the central character for the show, Nya-tan is a very exuberant character, attempting to find a character-type for herself so that she can shine and basically, make better ratings for the show. (Or something like that.) What I like personally about her is that she's not a very grounded character. She's selfish, greedy, sometimes smart, sometimes helpful, determined, lazy, all sorts of adjectives. I think that's what really makes her so much of a memorable character and truly stands above all the other characters in the show. Of course, whether or not you like her is really your decision, cause she is a character that goes on quite literally, opposite ends of the spectrum.

And finally, we have Chuu-tan, the rat Eto-Shin. Personally, I felt like this character deserved mention specifically because she mainly serves as the show's antagonist and has a creed to "destroy the cat clan!" and all of that lovely business. As far as villains go, Chuu-tan is a lacking character for no other reason than her lack of screen time. While acting as the bad guy for basically the entire run of the show, she doesn't really appear all that often and has a very lackluster existence overall because she not only doesn't have much to go off on on account of how little she actually appears in the show, but because her actual motives for wanting to slay the cat clan was something I felt was explained very poorly. It didn't really make sense, so I really just had to go along with it, even if I didn't truly understand what was being talked about. That to me, is a major flaw.

But truly though, I believe that the real stars of the show belong to the side characters, particularly the eleven Eto-Shin in the zodiac. While each one of them really gets 1/2 - 1 episode completely devoted to themselves, and they all basically have one-note personalities, they don't actually falter all that much in that aspect. In fact, the one-noteness actually makes most if not all of them more memorable characters. They're a colorful cast that are all fairly easy to remember, and they all show up so often that it really makes it hard to not at least recognize the lot of them right away. And besides, how can you forget characters like a perverted cow, a traumatized horse, a rooster with a three step memory, a sheep nurse, and the exposition pig with the sesame oil addiction?

Overview:
+ Interesting female lead
+ Great supporting cast
- Male lead leaned towards supporting
- Villain was for the most part, not present/unexplained

Art and Sound (7.44/10): The art for Etotama was made by a little known animation studio by the name of Shirogumi, a studio that really...hasn't done all that much in terms of quality work. Nonetheless, Etotama's art style leans heavily towards the moe-style of animation. With big eyes, cartoony expressions, and these very innocent looking ears on the girls of the show, with the standard animation not really looking all too different from animation these days. For the most part, it's standard fare. That is, until you get to the battles.

Etotama in addition, also uses CGI whenever the characters within the show do battle. And contrary to what you may think, it's not actually that bad. The CGI for these specific scenes doesn't actually look all to bad in terms of Japan's CGI standards and does actually give a new depth to the visuals for the show. Of course, it clashes with the original visuals for the show, that's an aspect of it on account of how glaringly different they look from one another.

In terms of sound, the OP in particular for Etotama is a very...interesting track to say the least. Similar to the show itself, the OP switches its tone as well, going from a rock sounding theme with the guitar before leading towards a bouncy melody and cute lyrics. Personally, I found this song to be VERY addicting and found myself listening to it an absurd amount of times. Is it a good song? It's ok, not the best, but decent enough. The ED on the other hand is a very mellow piece, reminiscent of sleeping on a meadow with its calm atmosphere and tones. The tracks for Etotama aren't bad per say, and they're actually quite memorable, but they don't really stack up to be anything more than a fun song. They're good, but not masterpieces.

Overview:
+ Standard fare animation
+ Decent soundtrack (that I personally find to be memorable)
+/- CGI is good, but clashes with the standard animation

Personal Enjoyment (9.00/10): Admittedly...I had more fun with this show than I really should've. Not only am I a big fan of girls with animal ears (yes, I'm that kind of person), the fourth wall breaks and the overall comedic style of the show just perfectly suited to my personal tastes.

Did I like this anime?

Far too much. It was fun for me to watch, I enjoyed the characters, and I really liked the style of randomness and just overall oddity that the show presented itself to be. I'm a personal big fan of fourth wall breaks, so that was definitely an aspect of the show that I really liked. The music for me is one of my favorites this season, and even with the flaws that I will mention very soon, I really enjoyed this show regardless.

What didn't I like about this anime?

The clash between serious and comedy was really the only true personal downfall I felt. It's tough to balance comedy and plot together, and when you don't succeed, the end result doesn't really turn out well. That being said though, every other flaw didn't really stick out or bother me too much, and because I really enjoyed the show a lot, there's really not much to complain about.

Would I recommend this anime?

If you're looking for something that isn't too thought provoking, Etotama is decent for that. It's by no means a masterpiece, but rather just a fun show with randomness, CGI, some ecchi acts from a questionable cow, and lots and lots of fourth wall breaks. This show really doesn't serve much beyond a casual watch on account of its material and style of comedy. It's a decent show, and if you're into slapstick or random episodic episodes, and want something new, Etotama's a good pick for something of that category.

Overall Score: 7.23/10

Just over 3 months ago when I was searching for new titles to watch, I chanced upon this one and went like "What in the world is this?" 12 weeks on, I am a pretty satisfied viewer of this relatively unique series, because I'm quite confident that we will never see anything like it again.

[STORY: 9/10]

Without much hesitation, I'm easily giving this a high score. The very instant I knew it was about members of the Chinese Zodiac battling out with one another in cute chibi forms, the decision was made. Because I am absolutely fascinated with this idea. Coming from a Chinese background, ... I am pretty much familiar with the stories regarding the Chinese Zodiac, especially the conflict between the Rat and the Cat. So what made this even more special was that the Cat actually tries to battle her way up the ranks. It's a great addition and twist to the initial knowledge I have. Nevertheless, throughout the 12 episodes there were intense battles, heart-warming moments and occasional comical (albeit forced at times) scenes. All these made up what I thought was a decent plot.

[ART: 8/10]

Not perfect but good enough to portray what had to be portrayed. This is, after all, a light-hearted action/comedy series. Character designs need not be that complicated and detailed, and they complied to that. The battle scenes were sublime though, with all the effects brilliantly worked out and helped to capture most viewers attentions.

[CHARACTER: 7/10]

Well, 12 Chinese Zodiacs represented by 12 girls, all in 12 episodes. Trying to concentrate on individual character development would be quite a mammoth task. That being said, overall it went pretty well. You can evidently see the Cat growing in confidence along the way, as well as her comrades' trust in her. Although one down side would be that the Rat's did not feature much, and was kinda rushed towards the end.

[ENJOYMENT: 8/10]

Since Day 1, this series has been something to look forward to every week, for me at least. I've enjoyed it; all the battles were exciting and the jokes made me smile. Though I doubt I'll be missing this one badly, but for sure this series won't be hard to remember about, because it's just so darn unique.

[OVERALL: 7/10]

For anyone who just wants to while time and watch a series which has a jovial mood to it in addition to some action/adventure, this would be the one for you. If you do pick it up, hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did! Cheers!

Since when is the last time you watched an anime that is so much wacky and nuts that you pretty much gave up your soul to Satan? Well, if you have not seen this anime yet, you are going to miss the experience of getting sucked into Satan’s chamber. At the same time, no spoilers in this review.

So, Etotama popped up this season. I did not know what to expect when I first heard about it, since I came to put in on my watchlist because of the voice actresses involved. But upon watching the first episode, I just find out how insane it is. ... Produced by Encourage Films, it revolves about Nyaa-tan, a cat who has an amnesia, and she aims to be a member of the Chinese zodiac through her silly methods. She meets Takeru, a high-schooler who lives in Akihabara, and decides to become a freeloader in his house. In order to reach her goal, she has to battle off against the twelve main zodiac characters and obtain their “Sol/Lull seals”. To explain about this battle system, it will have to take some time (probably a few episodes from the start) for a viewer to understand it fully. Even I had some trouble understanding about it, but after a while it came clear. It is a simple “collect all tokens, reap your rewards” kind of battle. Do not worry as there are eye-catch cards with a piece of information about the battle system during the middle of an episode. Back to the main story, usually in each episode, it introduces one or a few zodiac character(s) and how they will carry forward the story. The synopsis may sound quite clichéd, since there are many other anime with a similar one. It started out a bit weak, but as it progresses, the amount of pleasure into watching the anime grows, with more understanding and development. However, having this fast-paced, some parts of the story can be seen as rushed. The comedy is one of the high points in the anime - there are so many hilarious moments such as how meta it goes. There are also a few emotional scenes, especially during the last two episodes, but I do not think the staff is serious in most of them, since they break into more comedy afterwards. The zodiac is something unique since I never heard of other anime that played zodiac as a part, hence it is good to have a bit of originality here. Overall, it is a nice story to follow up on with extra hilarious comedy.

You have twelve zodiac characters, Nyaa-tan, Takeru and maybe two more side characters that are not important as the cast. About Nyaa-tan, the main focal character, she may be dumb and crazy most of the time, but sometimes she understands the situations she face and gets on working to solve them. Maybe a few people will find this daunting, thinking that once she goes back being her usual self, the mood of the story gets ruined. But I felt quite the opposite, since I never want the emotions of the anime to develop further to become forced drama. Her involvement with Takeru is very big, in that case he is like her support. However silly she tries to force him into giving support, he usually does it whenever it is needed. I do not know if there is a lesson learnt in this, but I find it nice. For the other characters, I can say that they definitely have different personalities which have similar anime tropes. As I mentioned earlier, one or a few of them gets their own spotlight in each episode, but I feel that the spotlight do not necessarily be bright. The range of their involvement depends, so while some do have something, others are treated more as side characters who probably make people laugh. Character development is minimal, or I think it was not noticed enough.

Another high point in this anime is the 3D animation. This anime has a fair usage of 3D animation, and most of it is used during the battle scenes. I loved the transformation scenes, the sceneries where two characters battle out, the action and visual effects when they fight and also the cute chibi character designs. Everything there is perfect, and I do not think I have any complains in their 3D animation at all. For everything else, I say that it is normal - nothing really stands out from the rest of the anime this season. The sceneries look nice, the character designs look great, and the facial expressions are funny.

The opening song, sung by the voice actress of Nyaa-tan, is quite catchy and nice to listen to, if you are into this sort of music. The ending song, sung by all the voice actresses, oppose towards the opening song. It has a much more emotional feel and the vocals are good and they match to the instrumental well. There is one original soundtrack during the transformation scenes that I like, which fuses one type of genre into something more Asian. For every other tracks, I think that they are okay. Voice acting is good - yet again, nothing special. I appreciate Rie Murakawa for voicing Nyaa-tan since she did a great job as acting out with that kind of personality.

Etotama is an anime that I found myself to be very high whenever I watch the episodes. Thanks to the comedy, the awesome 3D animation, Nyaa-tan herself, and some of the other characters in the anime, I pretty much enjoyed it a lot. Sure, there are some flaws along the way, but they are just unnoticeable if you do not care at all. And now that is over, I really hope there is another anime next season that fills that spot similar to the anime.

First of all this is how I honestly felt about the series. It could be seen as a rant however I back up the claims that I could be seen as ranting with events and why I didn't like it in the series.

Story overview:
Etotama's story is about a cat character Nyaa that wants to join the Chinese Zodiac such as the synopsis states.

Sounds like a good idea right? That's what I thought but the comedy so far just ruins the episodes. The comedy is really the same thing with them breaking down the 3rd wall with saying "between episode 1 and 2" as well as ... fan service every now and then. I don't mind them breaking down the 3rd wall if it done in a fresh comical way such as Blood Lad when he was bringing up examples of the events being something found in a shounen manga and reference to Dragon Ball Z. Etotama could have been more creative but seemed to go for low brow comedy. As I stated the ecchi between characters seemed to be way over the line to point it was coming close to the level found in Queen's Blade. I did find the comedy with the Chicken zodiac to be funny.

Animation/Art:
The downside of the animation is really the seal battles. The animation goes from "meh, not really my style" to downright "what are they thinking?" I think that the animation could have been better if the didn't drop normal animation to CGI for the fights. Of course the CGI could have worked if it was more like the CGI used in Accel World instead of really seeming to be a huge drop off.

Sound:
The sound was the only decent thing about the series. The voice acting really fits the characters and the battles had great sound effects in the background. The only issue I have with the sound is the music and sound effects seemed to be deeply buried in the background when theres speeching and I can honestly say I wish they kept things more balanced.

Characters:
The characters could have been better but it goes back to the story which is the comedy really put me off with the characters. This happened with the perverted character of School Rumble. I start to like them then all of a sudden they make a joke and it just puts me off of them. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has this happen to them if not in this series then should be in another series.

Enjoyment:
I did not enjoy this series but I had to keep watching it because new profile so I'm trying not to have more dropped than completed series. I'm not attacking anyone's tastes that loved the series I watched this series with an open mind, skipped reading reviews as the series was airing and after each episode I took time to reflect on what I just seen. I tried to find the good but more times than not I couldn't find one. I can say that this is going to be one series I'm not going to buy or re-watch. Once is more than enough for me.

Overall:
Overall I loved the overview from outline. I loved that the series had an original story and not resorting to a magical girl or someone has magic powers and have to save the world. I can say that I can praise it for the original attempts but the other sections had things that I didn't like which is why I can't really give it a good score because I take all negatives into account and it wouldn't be an honest review if I gave it an 7 or 8 out of 10 when I honestly didn't like the series.

I honestly don't know why this show had bad comments, personally I found it funny and interesting at the same time.
I mean yes; the Chibi versions of the characters may be somewhat new to some people and it may cause haters to raise and comment about it but still!

We should look at the plot!

The plot is based on the 12 Chinese zodiacs and the story of how the cat tries to fit in among the zodiacs.
The plot itself is somewhat unique; I mean who would think of a competition that is held once in a few thousand years for the 13th zodiac place?
That's plenty unique ... if I must say!
There are also times when the anime goes past the line that they shouldn't pass (I mean it they start talking about recap episodes) which is funny so no problems there

Although it is not fully focused on explaining the reasons behind Nya-tan's motives until much later on; the anime keeps the viewers distracted by providing us comedy
I swear this anime can be categorized solely as a comedy anime and I don't think anyone would complain.

BUT the story starts to go into detail about Nya-tan towards the end (sadly) but none the less the explanation was necessary; especially with an anime like this which already started with the present setting from episode 1.
I still find it amazing how creators can summarize the plot line of the series into one episode.... It amazes me till this day....

For a 12 episode series it ended perfectly!
Although it felt rushed the series was none the less interesting and in addition was hilarious!!
Comedy lovers will love this anime (If they don't mind how the characters transform into Chibi versions of themselves)

Now I Am Out Of Ideas For The "I Don't Usally Do This But When I Do" Meme. Damn

Anyway Back To Reviewing And For Today It's Etotama

Story: 7.5/10 I would have rated this higher but the story got serious near it's last episode. Anyway the story of each episode was pretty good anyway. As this is a light hearted comedy anime without much story to it. I am not going to write more on it.

Sound: 8/10 The sound was pretty good and it kinda matched all the scenes in one way or another. The fighting scenes had a nice set of music too also the ... transformation music was really good as you could hear nice tones.

Characters: 7/10 Cause I didn't likes some characters. The characters didn't have anything special in them. It's like they do this and they become this = I Didn't like it. Takeru was an interesting character in the start till middle episodes but then he fell down the throne as he became uninteresting to me and Nyaa-tan took his place as she was really carefree (I like carefree people).

Animation: 9/10 The animation done during the transforming and the beautiful Chibi 3D animation done deserves points as another chibi 3D anime I know sucked in 3D (Psst - It's Show By Rock). Normal 2D animation was pretty good and colorful itself

Enjoyment: 9/10 There was no limit for the enjoyment I had in this anime. I Should probably say this line - "The Enjoyment Is Over 9000" - This line sums up how fun it was. It was one hell of a ride for me.

Overall: A fun anime you should probably watch when you are tired.

Overall rating: 8.1/10

Personal note: Watch this anime when you are tired from your work/school/class as it feels much better when watching it at that time

(This has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Have you ever, intentionally or not, compared yourself or another person to an animal? “He is as free spirited as a bird” or “she swims like a fish” are easy to understand because the animals themselves are, too. Indeed, you would be hard pressed to find someone who does not know some of the most prevalent creatures in the animal kingdom. It also makes more sense to relate to an animal than their equivalent, manmade devices. For instance, calling someone an airplane or a boat is not as becoming because those vehicles are autonomous; they do ... not choose to act the way they do. Thus, “he is as ferocious as an alligator” or “she is as harmless as a butterfly” are quick and simple approaches to describe people and the way in which they behave. Etotama is all about spirit animals – the Chinese zodiacs, to be specific – showcasing a girl as selfish as a cat fighting to achieve her dream of joining the ranks of the heavens. Although the journey is short, it highlights that while we may be similar to birds, fish, alligators, butterflies and cats, we will always be, above anything else, ourselves.

STORY

Etotama is a classic case of “do not judge a book by its cover.” It looks silly – women dressed up as cows, chickens, and monkeys – and its premise is even sillier – Nyaa-tan the cat fights other animals to become a god. However, the anime takes full advantage of each of its elements it has at its disposal, earning it success where none might otherwise have been. It is not perfect, but when it is consistent and reasonable, the narrative stands strong and proud.

The structure of the narrative itself demonstrates Etotama’s first signs of consistency. From the beginning, the anime lays out the adventure: Nyaa-tan must defeat 12 “Eto-shin” to make her dream come true. Therefore, the audience immediately knows (for the most part) that the rest of the season will consist of Nyaa-tan going paw-to-paw with each member, experiencing a spiritual journey that culminates into a resolution that befits the tone of the show. This type of narrative structure – “X must obtain all Y to succeed” – is simple but easy to understand. The groundwork is established, the goal is set, and the proceedings never feel “unfair” in the sense that the events fit comfortably within the rules and confines of the world. It also uses its breaks during episodes to maximum effect when it explains said rules. That is, extra information is provided without stealing attention away from the action, fun, and purpose of the anime. All of this leads to a narrative that is understandable and therefore capable of focusing on the aspects that it wants to because the pacing, progression, and plot derive from the structure itself.

Two aspects in particular are given the most priority: the battles and the comedy. First, in order to avoid the potential predictability and repetitiveness that also comes with the aforementioned structure, Etotama spends a great deal of effort on making each “Eto-shin” encounter unique. One battle involves stealing socks, another revolves around go-cart racing, and another still is mired in a “shogi” (colloquially, Japanese chess) motif. The battles are a byproduct of the structure and are designed to be fresh with each new reiteration, but more than this is the reasoning stems from the characters themselves. Using the same examples, Moo-tan’s obsessiveness, Uma-tan’s franticness, and Piyo-tan’s arrogance allow the previous events to occur naturally, demonstrating the anime’s awareness of the variables in its formula and the consistency of its direction. Second, the multiple fields of comedy Etotama delves into keeps it from going where it does not want to. Meta humor about future sales of the anime, slapstick with Nyaa-tan to amuse the audience, and recurring jokes like Bu-tan’s perishing are a small sampling of the types of comedy employed. The entire summary episode is even tongue-in-cheek, where it was just a ruse to cook some food. But no matter the comedic genre, the anime almost always makes sure to follow its comedic tone, even during sentimental or dire situations. Nowhere is this more evident than in the finale; it completely mocks Nyaa-tan’s whole journey, ending the show on the same note it had always been playing. In other words the direction of the comedy, like the battles, remains consistent from start to finish.

Unfortunately, Etotama does get lost now and again; as was said, the narrative is not perfect. One of the most glaring grievances is Nyaa-tan’s amnesia. It was mentioned, referenced, and discussed throughout the whole season, but the curing of it happened all at once rather than gradually, leaving the impression that the anime lacked the foresight to deal with one of its most major plot points. A missing narrative theme is also a fault. While Nyaa-tan’s battles help to develop her actual person, they do little to serve the plot. Indeed, the main antagonist is prominent only in the beginning and end, meaning the most important conflict is barely present. Consequently and simultaneously, the middle section awards small, simple, yet saturated messages that are endearing but do not mesh well with the anime’s tendency for comedy. Thus, consistency gives way, and the show must sit where it once stood.

So while the cover for Etotama might appear off-putting, what lies within is a tale (and tails) that manages to be more worthwhile than at first perceived.

ANIMATION

Without a doubt, Etotama’s highest feat is in the art and animation it offers.

More specifically, the CG work is some of the best – if not the best – in the medium. In fact, it would not be a stretch to consider Etotama the king of CG in anime, the shining figurehead that all subsequent shows should look up to. The worlds shown are not only vibrant but purposeful, since each world coincides with a specific character’s personality. Dora-tan’s world is an icy plain that matches her cool persona, Usa-tan’s all-over-the-place décor goes along with her quickness, and Shima-tan’s is a forestry jungle that follows her tiger qualities. But it is not just the art itself but theactual animation that is so surprising. The choreography of the fights uses: slow-motion segments, diverse abilities, explosions, easy-to-follow camera operations, and fluid attack patterns that, taken together, create a set of battles that are executed wonderfully. The cartoony depiction – where the characters go into “Pretty Mode” or “chibi” stature – aids the entire process because the unrealistic portrayals gives leeway as opposed to a realistic setting where exact movements would be required. Overall, the CG art and animation in Etotama deserves nothing less than the highest of accolades.

As if the CG were not enough, the two-dimensional aspects are strong as well. The character designs are quite detailed, with each zodiac accurately representing their respective animal. The animation of common interactions, balls of light, and body movements is easy to spot. Lastly, while Takeru’s abode is the main location visited, the show is not afraid to go to other areas, like the local café, parts of the city, and different spots of the heavens.

These aspects are not as strong as the CG (that is difficult to do in this context) but at the minimum they are “icing on the cake.”

CHARACTERS

In a show like Etotama, where the prominent cast is quite large – more than twelve characters – it becomes inherently difficult to develop them in a meaningful manner because resources are spread so thin. The anime stumbles into this pitfall, with little growth seen from anyone besides Nyaa-tan. Arguably, Nyaa-tan’s development is poor at best; she goes back to being who she was after remembering everything rather than learning from the entire experience. However, the characterizations are, like the story, taken advantage of as much as possible, leading to its theme on people being nobody else but themselves.

When the characterizations are looked at superficially, it is somewhat easy to discern that the characters and their personalities come from the zodiacs they represent. That is to say, the zodiac symbols symbolize the characters – their actions, their mannerisms, and so on. A quick example would be Chuu-tan the Rat. Rats are dirty and gross, with the connotations of being conniving and sinister, which is exactly what Chuu-tan is: the evil villain of the show. Another example is Usa-tan the Rabbit, who is quick on her feet and fast in the game of business. One more is Shima-tan the Tiger, tomboyish in attitude, rough when dealing with others, and incredibly powerful. While some are a bit more difficult to classify – Mei-tan the Sheep is a nurse because wool covers, protects, and warms others, “healing” both body and mind – each and every “Eto-shin” has some connection to her respective zodiac sign.

But there is another connection, one that is not so superficial. Interestingly, each symbol also forms a dichotomy; each character has traits that are the opposite of their chosen zodiac. Using the same examples once more: Chuu-tan becomes the most pure of the bunch, Usa-tan’s weakness is her heel (a “rabbit’s foot” is considered a lucky charm), Shima-tan is teased about being the most womanly and sexiest due to her good looks, and Mei-tan gets “sick” after the “love bug” bites her. Again, this type of dichotomy can be seen with each character, not just the ones listed. These twists are minor, but because they are so ironic, they improve the base and symbolic characterizations further since they help to give a new and different angle to view them with.

Nyaa-tan the Cat follows suit, having symbolism and dichotomy of her own. As a cat, she is shown to be quite selfish and carefree, doing whatever it is she feels like doing. Yet, unlike a cat, she is actually the most selfless, handling duties all over the world while being concerned for everyone around her. Since Nyaa-tan and the other cast members each follow these ideas, it begs the question: what about Takeru? As the (literal) odd man out, it is not immediately clear how he fits in among the other characters, let alone what he symbolizes and what sort of dichotomy he holds. But after watching the show, listening to his speech on imperfection, and accepting him being the “Human” zodiac, the beauty is that he does not fit because he is not supposed to. Symbols and dichotomies do not define Takeru because he, and by extension the other women, is more valuable than that. He might have traits like a dragon or a monkey or a horse, or he might have traits that would seem uncharacteristic. But at the end of the day, people are who they are and nothing more. Furthermore, since Takeru represents all of humanity in the context of the anime, this interpretation has more weight because it does not apply to just himself but all people. This might explain the missing character development; people do not necessarily have to turn or change into someone else because sometimes it is not needed, sometimes people are who they are, and that is okay.

Development or no, this theme – people are not symbols or dichotomies, but simply themselves – is nicely captured through the characters, giving Etotama yet another leg to stand on.

SOUND

Etotama’s weakest area is the music it incorporates. The opening theme has fun bits in the beginning and middle, and the end can be somewhat catchy, but the vocalist does little to instill emotion or prepare the viewer for what is to come. The ending theme, however, does well due to the sheer number of singers involved. With a new zodiac being included with each subsequent episode, its power only increases. Plus, like the dichotomies previously, the mellowness of the piece contrasts with the anime, helping to ease the audience out of each episode after the craziness contained within them.

The rest of the soundtrack contains background pieces that more or less serve their purpose. Uppity tracks for the fun times and piano tracks for the sad ones, as well as other arrangements to fit the occasion. Nothing noteworthy, but nothing grating either. The voice acting can be seen the same way: average outings all around. The exception, of course, is Rie Murakawa as Nyaa-tan who gave a fantastic performance as the rambunctious, lovable, and “boo-boo” spouting cat god.

ENJOYMENT

In order to like this anime, one has to like Nyaa-tan. Luckily, I really liked her. She was the star of the show, always putting a smile on my face with her fun, cute, and endearing antics. Something I still quote to this day is one of her lines from early on in the series, where she says “got it” in a sly voice after pretending to defend Takeru from everyone else calling him a “Sol/Lull battery,” which was just a ploy to get said “Sol/Lull” from him. Nyaa-tan was incredibly vibrant and hilarious, and I will always remember the laughs she got out of me.

I am giving Nyaa-tan a lot of praise, but laughs were also had with many of the other characters as well. Uma-tan’s apologizing because she felt it was her fault the other zodiacs were always forgotten, Piyo-tan’s memory loss after three steps yet still having negative emotions towards Nyaa-tan, and Uri-tan’s vocal tic (“desu, desu”) were all funny, with each character having their moment in the spotlight. However, the only gripe I have is that there were too few interactions between everyone. Due to the “zodiac-of-the-week” format, Nyaa-tan would have comical, one-on-one skits, but this left little time for the other zodiacs to have relationships between each other. Still, what the anime gave never disappointed.

That is Etotama, a show that does not disappoint. It has some flaws in its story and music, but the rich CG, the thematic cast, and the nice amount of entertainment it dishes out mostly make up for the tiny missteps it has along the way. While the anime might not be as strong as an ox, it accomplishes what it wanted to be all along: itself.

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, consistency in its narrative structure, battles, and comedy are a boon, but mishandling of key plot points and overall theme are evident flaws

Animation: Great, a shining example of CG art and animation for anime

Characters: Good, symbolism, dichotomies, and a theme on people being nobody but themselves

Sound: Fine, okay OP, good ED, average soundtrack, average VA work with the exception of Rie Murakawa providing a fantastic performance as Nyaa-tan

Enjoyment: Good, Nyaa-tan was hilarious the whole way through, the rest of the cast was funny as well, but not enough non-Nyaa-tan character interactions

Final Score: 7/10

What's your zodiac sign? This is basically what this show tackles. Etotama portrayed Chinese zodiacs as anthropomorphised beings and did it without losing the essence of their origin. If that weren't enough, it even included historical background to make it seem like it actually did happen.

The story was pretty funny the first few episodes, the everything gets serious on the following ones. Despite that, the show still retained its humor of breaking the fourth wall and, yes, slapstick humor. And very few shows can provide dramatic scenes while remaining a comedy.

Characters pretty much the personality of their corresponding signs. If you read the traits of ... each sign and observed the characters, you'll see it's not that different. Of course, Nya-tan is an exception, but she still personified a cat nonetheless.

One thing I really liked was the mix of 2d and 3d graphics. Truth be told, I would've been fine with it just being 2d, but 3d made it all the more interesting. The mix of both dimensions provided me a chance to watch the show at a different perspective. It's not everyday you get to see one show in 2d and 3d.

The tracks had a cute vibe which fit the show. That's all I can say about it.

Overall, this show was quite different from all the other. Actually, when I first picked it up, I thought it was gonna be another harem. Boy, I was wrong! If you like to watch a show that mixes comedy and drama (albiet cheezy), the I recommend this show to you. And perhaps you'll know why we need zodiacs in our lives...

I'll kick this review off by saying my final verdict of this show, if you happen to be intrigued as to why I wrote what I did, you can read further below to see my first, short analysis of an anime.

Etotama can be judged and brushed off as a regular harem series with very few intellectually advanced points, and to be honest, that is not very far from the truth. However, it is not often that we see a harem with such drive for its story (instead of dismissing it for fan service), as well as original elements like the 3D battles given in ... this anime.

Story (7/10):

The story was good, nothing ground-breaking or even great, but just satisfying. Each episode was certainly somewhat entertaining, even for a battle-of-the-day type of anime. Those types can get boring, but Etotama does it by sprinkling some comedy and downtime here and there. The battles themselves were great. Even though the outcome for each one is obvious, the variety of 'em is refreshing, going from standard brawls to shogi to races.

For the cons, the comedy is not for everyone: most people won't laugh out loud, a chuckle from time to time perhaps. It's not horrible, but it's not nearly good as it should be for a show qualified as a comedy above all else. Another thing, this one robbing the story some points, is the transition between comedy and the more serious moments. The show is ridiculous, it's meant to be that way... but it is hard to take the moments of conflict and hardships seriously with the atmosphere Etotama builds.

Art (8/10):

The strong point of Etotama. The regular art used in 80% of the episodes is fine, good I might add, not "knock-your-socks-out-10-feet" fantastic however. What does make the art an 8/10 is its use of CG battles. The animation during these is great, but more importantly, is something we rarely do see be this well done.

Sound (6/10):

Generic comedy show soundtrack. It sets the mood just fine, but no memorable tracks who could boost the score higher than the average.

Characters (5/10):

This can go one way or the other for anyone, and can turn your opinion of Etotama from: "Eh, alright" to "I want a season 2 soon". Here's why:

Main Characters: You have your female protagonist, whose personality is hit or miss. You will either love her or dismiss her as the standard hyper loli who-loves-her-friends stock character. The male protagonist is not much different, he doesn't offer anything new to the anime table, and in all honestly is just a standard wasahii-onii-chan-archetype character.

Supporting Cast: It's a harem, what do you expect? You'll have most personalities types you see in anime covered: twins, submissive, athletic, idiot, loli, glasses, pervert, crybaby, and many more.

The problem here is whether or not you will judged the characters as "already seen this before" or just take them for what they are and enjoy the show. As mentioned before, this will most likely be what sells it for you or makes it a "no no".

Personal Enjoyment (6/10):

I didn't enjoy Etotama, I didn't dislike it either. The original battles scenes intrigued me, and I think I may have had fun here and there, but that isn't enough for me to qualify it as good. I am, however, highly biased, as I entered the show with a mindset of "this is a wish-fulfillment anime for people who want to wake up one day and find a group of cute girls in their room".

Overall (6/10) and Verdict:

If you like the cast after the first couple of episodes, hey, you'll probably enjoy this one. To the others, you may want to turn tails, or just watch the "eh", with a dozen "ahhhh", for 12 episodes. In both cases -and this is my opinion- there are ALOT of better things out there to watch, and unless you're just trying to relax and unwind after whatever you might be doing, you should probably search for something with more enjoyability (is that even a word?).

My review on Etotama im unsure about the series to be perfectly honest i have gripes but overall i enjoyed it more than disliked it but it definitely wasn't great.

Story- You can read the synopsis that's on the site already but in short its about a girl who wants to become member of the Chinese zodiac her memory is hazy and her journey is basically to find out how to become a member and having to do silly things in order to become a member as while living off a high school student she meets.

I thought the story was good in many ways it was ... funny alot with the "breaking the fourth wall" scenes and so on but the ecchi seeming fanservice was kind of a turnoff for me throughout the span of the anime the path to trying to obtain a position within the zodiacs was also enjoyable through great looking fight scenes which uses the cgi effect which some people hate but if it looks good i have no complaints and if the fights are decent i have no complaints.

Art- 2 words really vibrant,the color palette the anime has is great its just really in your face colorful even during some dark scenes it still looks great.
It uses cgi animation which looks good during the fight scenes esp in the last episode.

Sound- Honestly it wasn't terrible but there was absolutely nothing in my opinion that stood out to me the intro is probably the only that stood out and was somewhat decent but everything else was just straight up generic i don't really have a gripe or love for anything in terms of music. The fight scenes voice actors and characters speaking were all in sync and sounded great but based on OST and that its nothing special.

Characters- The Chinese zodiac includes 12 people represented by an animal so their are a decent amount of characters including the male leading character and another character which adds up to about 14 you will see 13 majority of the time. The characters had all different personalities some cute and enjoyable and some you couldn't really hate or like because they weren't broadcasted as much to form an opinion i enjoyed some characters but overall it was just average no real character development just static characters throughout the anime.

Enjoyment- a light 7... 7/10 truly a 6.8/10 in my personal opinion.

Overall- 7/10 if you are just looking for new anime to just watch and add to your list then watch it but dont expect much but everyone has a different opinion so you may hate it or you may love it but i thought it was OK at best.

Getting this out of the way:

Treatment of shounen lead. = 6 (out of 10)
Upskirt panty shots. = 0

I guess in the end, a show that aims to actually be "good" doesn't have to rely on a small dose of sexualization. (Because unfortunately, animu with upskirt panty shots tend to go too far and would evidently become a major turn-off.)

That being said: Etotama's a pretty fun anime. The characters herein aren't too predictable and trope-based. If they are trope-based, then there were efforts to break said tropes and have them become more solid characters. "Efforts," mind you.

And while the amount of cartoony violence (outside of the ... fighting violence) is abundant; atleast it's not focused upon the shounen lead.

This show is too good to be left in "low-Wapan-sales" limbo. I'm hoping either Sentai Filmworks ("disc space" argument be damned) or Media Blasters can get this show and give it an English dub.

Etotama is a lot of fun to watch and very cute, I'd highly recommend it to someone looking for a cute high spirited show, half of the show is also done in a different style using CGI which I've found to be a turn off for a lot of people based on the fact that in the past CGI has had a pretty rough run but this show pulls it off nicely and the animation quality is great in the fighting scenes and it's super colourful.
The characters are pretty great for the most part, they all get a pretty good spread of time and they ... are all relevant at some point or another if not the whole way through, one of the two main characters is pretty irrelevant unfortunately and his interactions with the other characters are far less entertaining then the interactions between the Zodiacs which ranges greatly depending on character.
The soundtrack for the show was good, nothing special but it fitted the show nicely, the opening is great particularly the video.
Etotama also panders heavily to my particular interest in cute fun shows with cute fun characters.

Story: 6/10
Visual: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Pandering: 10/10
Overall: 8/10

im a fan of full girls anime,but i was dissapoinment,theres no character development in this anime,the girls only stay to fight nyaa tan and gets defeated by her to enter the chinese zodiac,but nyaa tan its incredible annoying,irritanting,makes me to punch her in the face,another problem its the 3d chibi fights,sounds innovative huh? yes,but its sucks,the girls doenst look good in 3d,the girls desing are lovable,specially the cow,the dog girl are ok ( its supposed to represents me) but she its so weak and gets easily deafeated in a 3 vs 1 match,this anime its not good,the protagonist?...haha!..another generic teenager......,nothing more to say,dissapoinment,only i recomend ... to watch if you like full girls anime.

The description of this anime makes.it sound like a romance comedy, but it is not. Sure there are some cute moments and heart touchy feelings but id say this is more action than romance.

For anyone familiar with the tale of the zodiac and the cat/rat fiasco you will be pleasantly suprised how they did it in this anime
Nyaa-tan strives to be admited into the zodiac but its not that easy, she needs all twelve sol-lull (i know i am spelling that wrong) symbols from the other zofiac members in order to become admitted. That means fighting, trickery, and even a bit of fan ... service!

The art style is cutesy and prone to chibism. When the girls fight its in chibi form, this may get you thinking "what..why? I dont want this!" but trust me, its Bad Ass. The fights are a nice length and left me satisfied with the action to counterbalance all the zaney in between stuff, and there is quite a bit of it... One whole episode was just Shaa-tan (the snake) refreshing what happens in prior eps.

The characters themselves are a mixed bag. Some we see a lot of screen time some we see very little. Of course nyaa-tan and Takeru get a lot of screen time being the mains. Uri-tan (boar), Chuu-tan (rat), and Moo-tan (cow) get thier fair share more than others as well. All of them have interesting personalities though.

Moo-tan i think is one of the most stand outish..for obvious reasons..and also because she loves Nyaa-tan so much. She also speaks half english and i laughed at her mixed sentences and sayings. Nyaa-tan is your typical big hearted but clumsy main who messes most things up, grows thtoughout, and has everyone root for her. Its a nice trope but its overplayed. I really liked Chuu-tan as a villian, she was mean and did not apologize for it. I also enjoyed Takeru but he was a bit stale, other than providing his home to the girls and sol-lull he didnt do much in my eyes.

I wish the others where given more of a role, my personal zodiac Shima-tan (tiger) had little to do as did the horse, rooster, monkey, rabbit, etc. It would have been nice to see more personalities shine. This does not distract from the story and i did enjoy the ending, its a cute, funny anime with its sweet moments that i am sure many will enjoy!

This was an interesting anime to watch, it's nothing spectacular, nothing ground breaking, and certainly not the best sounding either, but it does have one quality that shines through the rest. The style and idea, while the story was more interesting by the second half, the style and overall idea was extremely enjoyable. With Chibi Zodiac girls duking it out in a relatively (almost identical) Mega-dimension Neptunia style (mostly during the 3d sections) the show takes on a more of an actiony and interesting story following a weird cat girl and her wish to become part of the zodiac, which, somewhat follows the tale of ... the actual zodiac.

I won't go into too much detail because if I explained it to in deeply, it'd be ruining the show greatly, but all I can say in general is if you've got nothing else to watch and a couple hours to grind out, then this show is GREAT binge material, especially if you like cute things duke it out in the battle field.

Another anime without a plan. Basically its selling point are cute characters.

Writter run out of weak jokes, even while whole anime is basically cute girls run around saying random words acting stupid. Anyway anime turns to be a drama as usual for animes without any real story.

So drawing is okey, characters are boring stereotupes. Its is kind of like a harem anime, just not all the girls love protogonist, some seems to be there just as fanservice. Then there are those 3d scenes that look interesting but getting boring soon. I dont recomend watching this unles you like Lucky Star show.

Etotama has many unique qualities. The chibi-style 3D fights are genuinely impressive, and the CG and traditionally animated scenes are both fantastic. Paired with a really good OP/ED, and some decently funny meta comedic bits, creates a decent package that won't blow anyone away. However, my mixed feelings come from its laser focus on one or two characters, while neglecting its wonderful cast.

The main characters are decently explored, with enough exposition to drive some motivation to watch from episode to episode. As the theme suggests, this is very much a gag/comedy focused anime. It is incredibly light hearted with no real stakes. There is some ... semblance of romance, but it is very light.

Mostly, the show revolves around the antics of its mixed bag female protagonist Nya-tan, and her relationship with the MC Takeru. The show seldom explores a deeper connection between them, and keeps all their developments surface level, which can be a major turn off if you're looking for romance. This show is not advertised as one, so don't get your hopes up, despite all the hints.

Secondly, the laser focus on Nya-tan is honestly one of the bigger turn-offs. While hyper eccentric and sarcastic characters can be enjoyable to watch, it can get irritating when the show refuses to indulge in its unique colorful cast, sacrificing all that screen time for a repetitive protagonist.

This is at its core a show about Nya-tan's growth, however her growth is largely uninteresting and bogs down to a slog whenever the repeated formula of "Nya-tan's going to lose! Oho! Here comes some motivation and flashbacks, she wins!" is used.

I cared less about her and more about Takeru's involvement with the other members of the cast. So many characters are left forgotten in the dust or just pulled over for a cheap gag, when you could theoretically direct all 12 episodes to focus on each singular eto-shin. I also found myself not rooting for Takeru and Nya-tan because of its stubborn fixation on maintaining her gag character traits and not sufficiently evolving her into something more.

Overall, I wish it was 24 episodes instead of 12, and focused largely on its side cast just as much as its main cast. Its protagonist Nya-tan gets boring and repetitive fast, and her dynamic with the MC Takeru is left superficial, without any bold writing. If you want a gag/comedy focused anime to maybe have a laugh at, go for it. But if you're looking for a really good package of character development and inclusion of its many characters into the overarching storyline, you'll be left disappointed.