Bakuon!!

Ah, girls on motorcycles. We may see it sometimes these days in other form of mediums such as live action films. But, how about a series that dedicates itself about cute girls riding motorcycles as a way of storytelling? An anime adaptation produced by TMS Entertainment. Bakuon!! is a show with a lot fun with cute girls doing extreme things.

In a way, this show reminds me somewhat of K-On! There’s the club with a prominent cast of female characters each with their own unique personalities. For instance Onsa reminds me somewhat of Ritsu with their tomboyish characteristics and is easygoing with their friends. The characters ... also comes from different backgrounds and each episode gives more insight on their individual stories. From the cast, Hane stands out as the most noticeable character as she gets directly involved in the story from the beginning. Her relationship with the others brings out a lot of about her character and as time goes on, we can see how their bonds grow. And speaking of bonds, the show establishes a very casual atmosphere with each episode highlighting daily adventures of the club.

Indeed, the story of Bakuon!! is fairly loose despite some background storytelling on occasions; such as the instance about Rin. Every episode is more of a standalone that features the girls and what they do as part of their daily lifestyle rather than linear storytelling. It also involves motorcycles and the comedy it ensures. The show sells its comedy from a variety of angles. However, this can feel a bit distracting at times with unintentional fan service such as an episode about motorcycle washing in bikinis. For the most part though, the show’s comedy style is fun to watch with running gags and dialogues. It also cleverly uses imagery depicted through character interactions to get the most of itself. There’s even some occasional events that can seem out of the world such as an episode featuring Hane’s encounter with a “holy being”. Nonetheless, the humor of the show can be a big deciding factor to whether you decide to watch Bakuon!! or not.

The show is also known for characterizing its brand well for most parts. Some of the most noticeable eye catches are Hane’s Honda that reflects the choice of her logo or Rin’s obsession with Suzuki. Onsa’s Yamahas and Raimu's Kawasaki are also good examples with the latter featuring a nice spotlight in one of the episodes. In essence, the branding of the motorcycles is also important because it shows why the girls are interested in their choices. It also reinforces the meaning of their character names that gives the viewers a nice representation of them. So in some degrees, it has a feel of realism.

In terms of adaptation content, the show can be a hit or miss. I confess that there are a few episodes really took the cut which makes it a bit frustrating for those who are looking for faithfulness. Also, character designs are somewhat modified with lesser details such as Onsa’s hairstyle. On the other hand, the show is consistent in maintaining character personalities that is pretty parallel to the manga. It’s not a perfect adaptation but not too shabby either when you watch it with an open mind.

In terms of animation style, Bakuon!! is simple with its character designs. Surprisingly, it adapts the motorcycles’ designs quite well with consistency in colorful mechanics. There’s a decent amount of fan service present in the show such as Rin’s design and various camera angles. The teacher in particular is a walking billboard of fan service when she’s drunk with her yuri-like characteristics. There’s even an episode with the girls washing their bikes while wearing skimpy bikinis. Still, the show itself is mostly tame.

Soundtrack is mostly moderate with nothing really to write home about. The OP and ED theme songs are playful with lighthearted choreography. It features all the main characters and the motorcycles of their choices. Character voices is also pleasant and the voice actresses adapts their roles quite well on most parts.

It’s not a complicated show to watch. The premise is simple and the character cast is fresh with a diverse range of characteristics. While the story isn’t impressive in context, there’s a good degree of comedy that makes the show entertaining. And if you watch it with an open mind, the reward can be quite an experience.

Ah, Bakuon. Described by the author as a light hearted "High School Girls X Motorcycle Comedy", Bakuon delivers just that in a nice slice of life package. As a motorcycle enthusiast myself, it's refreshing to see an anime genre that I otherwise would have cared nothing about stepping out into some new themes. As far as I know, Bakuon is the first example of an anime about motorcycles- which definitely earns it points for originality.

The character archetypes, however, may not be the most original, but the personalities implanted into them give them a lot of life and variance from the typical moe moe SOL ... desu offerings rampant every season. Enter Hane, the airhead, idiot character. After getting smoked on her bicycle by a motorcycle on the first day of school, Hane decides that she's going to go out and get a motorcycle. At school, she meets up with fellow enthusiast Onsa, the sensible, gear head who knows all about bikes. After they decide to form a club with the resident Stig Raimu and spoiled, dimwit rich girl Hijiri armed with her butler, the group is set... except for one: Rin.

In every group of motoring enthusiasts, there must always be that purist- an insufferable, near rabid fanatic of one brand, and that brand only. Embracing all the flaws, or a severe case of denial, this lover of all things < insert brand > can be your best friend, or worst enemy. In this case... Rin is the worst enemy of all bikers- an intolerable Suzuki addict.

Each character in the story also represents a different manufacturer and aspect of the typical personalities you find in bike culture, so there's a little something for everyone who cares about such things. We have the veritable bike encyclopedia in Onsa, extreme fangirl in Rin, the noob in Hane, the "money fixes everything" in Hijiri, and the racer in Chisame. If there's one thing Bakuon does really well, it's getting the bike culture feel right- with tons of references and factual, true statements about different machines (and their riders), and a lot of in-jokes for the raiders among the viewing populace. Raimu-senpai is the Stig's Japanese Schoolgirl cousin, and Ducati and Euro-bike riders get mercilessly crapped upon, as they should. No one is safe however, even the 4 major Japanese brands. Kawasakis leak, Hondas don't start cold, Yamaha transmissions break, Suzukis have electrical problems, everyone gets crap!

That said, Bakuon is not for everyone. This show is targeting a very niche audience of motorcycle enthusiasts, and is about the last manga I expected to be picked up for animation. People expecting some kind of lesbian romance or drama will be sorely disappointed. With a handful randomly placed, but rather tasteless sexual humor moments, there's a few nuggets for the fanservice lovers among us, which I didn't enjoy very much. This show is a slice of life in its purest form however: just a group of chicks, their bikes, and the adventures they go on. For me, I laughed all the way through, just as I did with the manga, and an enjoyable romp it was, even if it was just a brief 13 episodes.

Things Bakuon gets right:

- almost perfect adaptation of the manga
- no stupid romance
- informed bike humor, things only people invested in the culture would get
- factual information about the bikes in the show, and other bike culture
- The Stig

Things Bakuon gets wrong:

- unnecessary fanservice
- calling Onsa frizzy (translator error, but this is my place to complain)

Watch if you like motorcycles and bike jokes, otherwise, give it a pass.

This has got to be a love it or hate it sort of ordeal. If you don't like motorcycles or have zero interest in them, skip it. If you DO like motorcycles.. it's a fun ride!
Each girl has a make that they favor and a big opinion to go with it, leading to fun squabbles, and they all possess different enough personalities to make a fun dynamic. Yes, they're basically the archetype for anime (rich girl, tsundere twin tails, tom boy, quiet and shy, and dopey but lovable) but in a series like this that doesn't take itself too seriously, it works. Let's ... not forget the one that doesn't totally fall into an archetype; The Stig. Er, Raimu Senpai.
It can be a tiny by ecchi sometimes, but never gratuitous, and it generally adds to the shows laid back feel.
The art for the girls and scenery is adequate, but the art for the bikes... gorgeous. They're super detailed and look amazing. Just like how the tanks have great care paid to them in Girls Und Panzer, the bikes here are a treat to behold.
It's summer, the wide open road is waiting.. if you went out and got your motorcycle license after watching School Rumble (guilty) this will be just what you need to whet your appetite for the wind in your hair and 750cc lump of Japanese steel between your legs. I'd highly recommend to anyone who loves motorcycles, and all the better if you like cute girls.

Bakuon!! isn't like any typical "girls doing cute things"...as it's about girls with motorbikes!!!..ohh wait it's still "girls doing cute things" but still...

Bakuon!! has fleshed out characters as well as a cast that has ALOT of great chemistry with each along with the bizarre plotlines this anime take and all with a motorbiked theme makes this "cute girls doing cute things" all the more different from it's predecessors (well in LA's eye anyways).

Bakuon!!'s fleshed out cast of motorbike enthusiasts with Rin Suzunoki voiced by Nao Touyama as the Suzuki zealot as the fanservice girl and while not an expert, has experience in her hobby (*cough* ... Mio from K-On!) is LA's favourite character, but the other cast members such as Hane Sakura voiced by Reina Ueda the ditz and rookie come well-trained club member to the Motorbike Club and talks her hobby (*cough* Yui from K-On!), Onsa Amano voiced by Yumi Uchiyama are tomboyish and have moderate expertise and often butt heads with Rin (*cough* Ritsu from K-On!), Hijiri Minowa the ojou wanting to do something different from her ojou-life (Mugi from K-On!) to Raimu Kawasaki the mute senior of the club who is has the most experience yet fails in the most outrageous ways were damn well memorable in their own right with their quirky personalities and love of motorbikes. Later on another character gets into the main cast, Chisame Nakano voiced by Ibuki Kido who is one year younger than the rest of the cast and has more experience than Hane (*cough* Azusa from K-On!) and their team dynamic just gets even better. If anything the character group dynamic and the similarities LA keeps pointing out, the character roster feels like a parodied fanserviced version of K-On!.

On speaking of fanservice, the fanservice in this anime is rampant from some very yuri play to full out nudity to some typical hot springs episodes here and there from most of the cast yet LA quite liked it. (Sue LA that Rin got the most fanservice and LA could quickly ignore the rampant fanservice all because of her)

The group dynamic of the cast helped the comedic and rather weirder moments of this anime and again fleshed out the cast at the same time. The comedy and random/Chekov's Gun moments really does make this anime for what it is worth from the character jabbing to again the weirder moments of this anime, for example, Jesus giving Hane a miniature Suzuki Cup...yes this actually happened, LA would praise the author of Bakuon!! with the insanely funny moments of this anime as it just made LA's day whenever LA watched Bakuon!!.

Sure this anime has lots of advertisement to the motorcycles that the main cast rides like Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Ducati, but these advertisements is taken with a grain of salt and thankfully they don't push the advertisement of the bikes in our faces...just add in fanservice and it just goes away...*ahem* take that as a good thing, this anime IS about girls and their motorcycles right?.

The animation by TMS Entertainment, the animation had times of animation derps here and there yet has lots of high detail when concerning the bikes and racing. Yes, it's inconsistent yet LA didn't mind the animation and thought that the animation got better at some point.

Does LA need to say anything about the voice acting, considering LA...-sigh- "typically" LA's favourite voice actor goes to the tsundere shy Nao Touyama, though Yumi Uchiyama who voiced Onsa needs to get special mention as both Nao and Yumi's chemistry together with their banter really made the comedy even better.

LA would hate to admit it, but this was LA's guilty pleasure of Spring 2016 and no it wasn't just because of Rin, but the crazy antics the cast went through "drove" LA to carry on watching no matter how weird the plot gets as simple as it is about a high school girls biker club. Rin and the fanservice and just the weirdly crazy plots these girls take just absolutely made this anime a guilty guilty guilty pleasure for me from start to finish.

Bakuon tells the story of a girl who likes motorcycles. She makes her best to get a license to drive these vehicles, and get one of this so she can join to the bike club.

Throughout the anime we can watch the girls from the club talking about the bikes and driving her motorcyles to travel from one place to another.

When I was watching it I remembered K-On and other similar animes, it really feels like you're watching any of these.

Maybe if you don't know anything about these stuff you will feel a little confused (like me), but that doesn't mean that the anime is bad. ... In my opinion, I say you give it a chance. Maybe you can enjoy it more than I did.

Oh boy, I'm detecting a sudden influx of otakus going to their nearest motorcycle dealership store and they're going to purchase a Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki motorcycle. We all know they're going to go for Suzuki because Rin = best grill of the series.


[Story]
If you've seen a "cute girls doing cute things" type of anime before then Bakuon is no different. Well, there are slight changes here. Instead of "Cute girls doing cute things", it's "cute girls doing cute things in a motorcycle". I haven't seen that before. No, really, I haven't so a show featuring cute high school girls riding in a ... motorcycle is new for me. Except the formula is nothing new as the show is still the same old "cute girls doing cute things"

The story of Bakuon is basically a high school girl named Sakura Hane who got interested in motorcycles after tirelessly going up a hill countless times using her bicycle. That hill was, of course, part of her route to go to school. She realized that going to school in a motorcycle was far more easier than using her bike. From there on, the crazy antiques begins. Hane, who knows nothing about bikes decides to join a bike club with other members who are a bunch of motorcycle savvy nerds and knows a lot about motorcycles and sometimes they even argue on which brand is better.

I came in to this show with no expectations and I ended up enjoying this series far more than what I would have expected. I've always been a sucker of motorcycles ever since I was a kid so don't tell me that Bakuon! influenced me to go out there and buy a motorcycle because that's clearly false. If you ask me, I've always wanted one of those Kawasaki 1000cc motorcycles.

One of the many things that I enjoyed about Bakuon!, besides the motorcycles, is the comedy. For the most part, the comedy is surprisingly good. I mean, at times you can tell they were trying hard but most of the time, the comedy scenes would make me laugh. Few examples are when characters compare each other's bikes and they argue over the bike's flaws and how Suzuki is a very flawed motorcycle.

The show also has quite a lot of product placements for Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha's motorcycles. Now the question is, who payed who (Did the show's producer's paid the motorcycle companies or was it the other way around?) and how much? There's also some fan-service moments in the show. The most notable one is when Hane decided to clean her bike in a "lewd" way or that quote that I don't think I'll ever forget which was:

"My butt's vibrating" -Hane 2016
______________________________________________________________
[Art/Animation]: (8.5/10)
TMS Entertainment did a good job with the show's visuals and its character designs. The visuals looks pretty average when the girls are just messing around in school but the visuals excels when the girls go for a ride in their motorcycles. There's only one thing that I want to talk about in terms of Hane's character design and that's her eyebrows. I have to admit that it looks cute. On the other hand, the animation was decent. What bothered me is the fact that they used still-shots sometimes when the girls go on a ride. I know this is a slice of life and I shouldn't expect much in terms of animation but it was seriously off-putting at times.
______________________________________________________________
[Sound]: (9/10)
The soundtrack is just your average soundtrack which you'd expect in a slice-of-life show so they're not worth mentioning. Now, the OP and ED theme song(s)

The OP theme song is "FEEL×ALIVE" by Sayaka Sasaki. Man, the title of the OP theme song just predicted how I felt about the OP. It's super catchy, the melody is awesome and it made me feel alive whenever the OP theme song comes up. The ED theme song is "Voon! Voon! Ride On!" by Hane, Rin, Onsa and Hijiri. The ED theme song is nothing really special. I was just in it for the ED animation which was pretty funny when I first watched it.

I don't usually review the voice actors but for this show, I just have to because of one voice actor. I love Hane's VA and her performance. She sounds super enthusiastic all the time and that's the part that I loved about her, which in turn, made me like Hane's enthusiastic personality.
______________________________________________________________
[Characters]: (7/10)
Hmm, what can I say about the characters? Bakuon has a fun cast of characters and the weak character development, especially Rin, wasn't taken seriously and they were there just for the laughs. Though, I have to admit that Rin's past had me dying in the f*cking floor. I want to talk about the characters next.

Hane Sakura is my second favourite character in the series due to her enthusiastic and charming personality. She rides a pink Honda CB400SF and nice choice by her because it looks like a nice motorcycle.

Next up is Rin Suzuki which in my opinion is the best girl in the series. It's not because of her gigantic melons but it's because I feel bad for her. I mean, the cutest girl in the series getting bullied by that "Frizzy" girl just because she owns a Suzuki motorcycle? Hah, I just love the hilarious arguments between Rin and Frizzy. She rides a Suzuki GSX400S Katana which doesn't even look that bad. Is Frizzy saying bad things about Katana because of the specs?

Next up is Onsa Amano.. I prefer calling her "Frizzy" because Rin's right about her messy-ass hair. I just wish Frizzy and Rin can get along because I can clearly see a hidden yuri love here and they surprisingly work well together when they get along.

Next up is Hijiri Minowa. She's your typical rich girl but she doesn't know how to ride a motorcycle properly even though she has a motorcycle license. Instead, she rides in a Ducati outfitted with a side car. She sits in the side car and her butler rides the Ducatti.

Last one is Raimu Kawasaki. She's the weirdest and the most mysterious character I've ever seen. She wears a helmet which means we never get to see her face throughout the series and she never said one word throughout the series which makes me quite suspicious of her sexual orientations. How do we know she's a "she"? How do we even know she's a high school girl?
______________________________________________________________
[Enjoyment]: (8/10)
Say what you want about the series being a "cute girls doing cute things which has been down over a million times by now" but I still enjoyed the series. The show did a good job on the comedy side, albeit not great and it has a right amount of comedy.
______________________________________________________________
[VERDICT]
Bakuon! may just be your typical slice of life "cute girls doing cute things" but this show was still a fun ride for me. The show has a fun cast of characters and the comedy might not be perfect but it still did its job to make me laugh. If you're a slice of life fan or you're a motorcycle enthusiast then you'll definitely enjoy riding on a road paved by Bakuon!

[OVERALL]: (8/10)


Pros:
+Fun slice of life series
+Mostly accurate motorcycle representation makes this show an enjoyable show for motorcycle enthusiasts
+Fun cast of characters
+Right amount of comedy
+Good visuals and animation
+Catchy OP theme song

Cons:
-Uses the same old formula
-Fan-service scenes can be off-putting

Yes, riding a bike doesn't necessarily involve drug trades or gang shootings.

Story:
Well, it's a comedy about "cute girls doing cute things", the gimmick this time is motorcycles. The question is, how much did they do with said gimmick? A lot actually. They talk about bikes all the time, they ride them all the time and most episodic plots are about motorcycles, so I'd say the potential is fully utilized. Since I don't know anything about these vehicles, I can't judge how accurate they handle the subject, but it looked like they did well. The comedy is varying heavily, from cute shenanigans to perverted fanservice. I ... don't mind either, but sometimes it felt like I was watching two different shows.
9/10

Art:
The bikes all look pretty good, as far as I can tell. The girls surprisingly fall a little flat compared to the background characters, who are much more detailed. The body proportions look a little weird at times too. Overall, I'd say it shines when it needs to, but could have been better.
6/10

Sound:
I'm a big fan of the ending, but the opening isn't too bad either (though nothing special). The voice acting was absolutely solid, though rarely extraordinary. I don't remember much background music, the sound effects of the bikes sounded realistic though.
7/10

Characters:
Out of the 5½ main characters, Rin and Onsa were the most memorable. To me it felt like Rin was more a parody of a tsundere than an actual one, which was kinda nice. Onsa is an interesting mix between "dirty old man" and "only sane person". Also, her hair looked awesome. Hane fell a little flat compared to similar main characters (see Anne Happy for example), but she was still okay. The other three didn't impress me much, but they also didn't annoy me or anything. The side characters were great though, Rins dad, Raimus old classmates and Bike Jesus especially.
7/10

Enjoyment:
I had a lot of fun with Bakuon. Many slice of life comedies run out of ideas fairly quickly, but Bakuon always had another thing up its sleeve. Surely not everything was a hit, but most of the time, I had a really good laugh. I can see the fanservice feeling out of place for some people, but I personally didn't mind. For a show of its kind that isn't purely cutesy, it did a very good job.
9/10

Overall:
7.6/10

I started this with no expectations but to be honest, it's better than i thought it was going to be. I was most shocked to see actual brands in this show such as amazon, but also all the motorcycle brands, helmet brands and the such. Character types are very typical and not very creative. the main character and her sister are like Yui and Ui from K-ON! down to the hair color and their respective personalities. motorcycle engine noises aren't anything to rave about, and could've been more interesting had they added some actual race flair, but it's just about moe girls liking motorcycles. Bunta ... from initial d is straight up in this, along with suspension noises, and the Hachiroku makes a cameo in one of the episodes. Essentially you have an interesting mix of K-ON! and Initial D, which gives you some great fanservice for fans of both the anime.

Hello brothers of the Church of Bakuon!!

Welcome all. On this blessed day of teen biker girl superiority we gather to discuss our best girl, all of them (but mainly frizzy).

This show is ultimate anime.

Do you want badass girls? Check.

Do you want Jesus Christ? Check.

... Do you want tig ole bitties? Check.

Do you want a hot springs episode? Check.

Do you need transgendered representation? Check.

Do you need a trap? Check.

Do you need the Stig? With vagina? Check.

Do you need a drunk handsy suicidal teacher? Check.

Do you need to be entertained? Check.

Look, this is my favorite anime. It is in all honesty at best a 6-7/10 show.

But,in my heart I could never rank it this low. Waifus for days. Tomboys. Bikes (which are well rendered). And the love of biking (motor kind, not that spandex sissy kind) makes this the best use of anime ever conceived.

When the west falls and we go to war I will have Onsa on the side of my truck as I ride into battle.

Yamaha superiority forever.

The biggest regret that I've had with this show, is in not writing a timely review praising its delectable outrageousness. Welcome to Bakuon!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's simply nothing to gush about when it comes to the basic plot of the show, rather what isn't explained outright is that this show is an absolutely irreverent parody of the subject matters it features- complete with random scenes of sheer absurdity drenched in over-the-top -and at times, subtle- goofiness.

Which brings us to question just what on earth does it make fun of? Biking perhaps? Why of course, the whole thing is essentially about biking, but it makes fun of it in ... spades! And what else does it make fun of as well? Oh plenty really, anything from traffic laws to business practices- not to mention the characters themselves whom are all relatively quirky, downright bizarre and completely ridiculous at times.

The script is also relatively well paced and imaginative, wherein it's loaded to the brim with various situations where >70% of which is outright designed to be soaked in comedic value. Other than that, there are also a few surprisingly charming but brief scenes spread throughout the show centering around such topics like friendship for instance.

But above all, if you can't already tell, this show is a parody of K-ON!

Plot & Themes/Script & Dialogue Rating: 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the visual front, there really isn't that much to comment on actually. Generally speaking, the show is decently made. The art is well-drawn, and while the colors can be slightly over-saturated at times, they are at the very least rich, vibrant and 'poppy'. The designs of the backgrounds and characters on the other hand aren't meant to break new ground, but are at least creative and distinctive. There're also plenty of real-life visual references in the form of scanned magazines, posters, photographs and artwork.

Animation-wise, this show is surprisingly well-animated at parts, especially when it comes down to the character movements and comedic scenes. The 3D-rendering of the bikes in the show is also rather impeccable- exquisitely detailed down to the most minute of particulars, the bikes themselves move very seamlessly on screen with very little to no choppiness in fact.

There're also several instances of experimental or at least, out-of-the-norm animation and artistic techniques being used in the anime, and the lighting -which utilizes extensive bloom to create the show's distinctively warm and bright look- and particle effects greatly enhance the visual appeal of the show. The camera-work is also very creative and the shots well edited to great effect, all flowing together very well in many of the scenes thus creating a consistently seamless viewing experience.

The OP sequence is a well-made though only somewhat creative sequence which introduces the characters and their bikes, before proceeding to showcase them embarking on a road trip in its second half. The ED sequence on the other hand is very comedic and simple, with mini versions of the characters on their bikes journeying back to school.

Art & Animation Rating: 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For one, this show's sound design is bloody amazing, wherein an appropriately joyful rock-oriented (BIKES = ROCK- PERIOD) soundtrack featuring some uncommon track structures and musical timbres, in addition to more conventional bluesy and poppy rock tunes, and various other goofy and idyllic tracks utilizing an eclectic selection of instruments used in the more slice-of-life moments drenches the show in an inviting musk of gleeful hilarity that's just simply hard to shake off.

Not only that, the sound effects themselves are superb- ESPECIALLY the greatness that is the bikes' engines... OOOOOHHHHHHH PURE ECSTASY. Ahem, I mean, in general they are carefully chosen and professionally made but yeah you get the point, no complaints there.

But hold it! There's just one more part that we MUST absolutely discuss before going in any further and that is the ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC voice acting! Oh God, the voice acting, the sheer amazing balls that is the voice acting is what REEEEAAAALLLYYY makes this show shine. Skilled, emotive and hilarious, the voice acting for the characters are all incredibly well done, with the only hiccups possibly going to the 'extras' on screen. However! The one character who received the BEST voice acting chops in the show is by far Sakura Hane, voiced by the highly talented Ueda Reina. Her portrayal of Hane as this absolutely dorky, cheeky, simple-minded, childlike dunce of a character drove me to intense elongated bouts of teary-eyed gut-busting laughter that is hard to top save for the likes of Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou. Man, I sure haven't laughed this hard in ages!

Sound Design Rating: 9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like I've briefly described at the end of my POFITs on the show's sound design, the characters of this show are absolutely absurd and ridiculous with varied personalities. I've already described Hane just now, but what about the rest? Well, there's:

1) Amano Onsa, who serves as your average, friendly teenage girl who's a little quirky with a deep passion for bikes and a good sense of humor. She switches from reacting to initiating jokes in a variety of ways

2) Suzunoki Rin, who's a smug, easily embarrased yet spunky girl with an elevated sense of self and a sore loser, in addition to being a diehard fangirl of Suzuki's bikes. She's a daddy's girl but has over time lost some respect for him due to his bike-related hijinks

3) Minowa Hijiri is your eccentric, air-headed rich kid who fantasizes about doing the 'naughty', 'socially transgressive' things that 'delinquents' tend to do or at least that's the impression that she has in her head. She's frequently accompanied by her butler Hayakawa who rides a Ducati

4) Kawasaki Raimu is an enigma of a figure who's utilized by the plot as a conduit for bizarre, unexplainable acts. No one knows what's underneath her helmet and she never speaks. She's a parody of The Stig from Top Gear

Apart from those 5 main ones, there's a host of other side characters as well, in addition to one who we're later introduced to before finally being bumped up to main character status- just like K-ON! Tee-hee!

Characters Rating: 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To sum all of this up, I just simply couldn't get enough of Bakuon!! and waited extremely eagerly each week to know just what kinda shit that the cast are gonna get themselves into the next time. Not to mention those nights when I simply couldn't sleep at all, laughing my ass off just thinking about all the absolutely hilarious situations and dialogue that occurred throughout the day's episode. Without a doubt, this show was easily my most favorite show of Spring 2016 and I wonder in excitement as to whether something similar to this BUT WITH CARS would get animated one day. Hope you guys can see the charm of this show just as I did when it aired months back.

Enjoyment Rating: 9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And with that I bid you all farewell, till next time then.

[Personal Rating: 8]

[Critical Rating: 8]

[This review contains minor spoilers.]
I am glad that I watched this.
I would recommend this to others.
I have watched this once, subtitled. I have only watched the anime.
I may watch this again.

---- Positives ----

Motorcycles get a decent amount of focus.
This series incorporates motorcycles into the story well. It's not just a detail.
...
Time is well spent.
Pacing was great throughout. The club members actually go out and do things, as opposed to just sitting in their clubroom.

A new character is introduced toward the end of the series, and this is done well.
Near the end of the series, the club gets a new member, and episodes after this point still focus a good amount on all members.

Sakura is voiced well.
Her voice stands out and fits her character well.

---- Negatives ----

Kawasaki's backstory is a little peculiar.
After hearing more of her backstory, the series felt a little weird to me.
Opportunity for cancel: No. I don't know if she's covered better in the manga series, but it feels like there are a few details missing from her past that would have helped explain her situation so that it didn't seem so strange.

Suzunoki seems to get a disproportionately high amount of fan service.
This series is actually fairly tame, except for one scene where the club members are washing their motorcycles ... and quite a few scenes involving Suzunoki.
Opportunity for cancel: Maybe. I initially had the impression that this was some lewd series from some video clips I saw before watching this series. I was glad to discover that this actually wasn't that type of series. That one motorcycle scene doesn't represent the series.

NOTE: This may contain spoilers.

Story: Very interesting and funny storylines in the anime. Plus, it's great to see how motorcycles can bring a group of friends together.

Characters:
Hane - She is sweet & adorable. Hane reminds me of Yui from K-On! & is a new-comer to the world of motorcycles.
Onsa - She is very tomboy-ish and cool. She has two younger brothers and her family owns a motorcycle shop.
Rin - She has long, blonde hair and large assets. & idolizes Suzuki.
Hijiri - She is a rich, soft-spoken girl. She has a butler by her side (especially during their motorcycle adventures). Plus, she is also ... very creative and funny when she takes her ideas to the next level.
Raimu-Senpai - The eldest student of the main characters. She is very caring towards her friends and is an experienced motorcyclist. There's not a lot information that is stated about her, but she always has her helmet on.

Overall: One of my favourite animes to watch. Plus, I would like to see Raimu-senpai without the helmet. This anime makes me want to ride a motorcycle too.

Bakuon!! is a cute girls show. It has messages about friendship, moe moments, and a bit of fanservice. It is not any sort of game-changer, and doesn't have any sort of deep meaning, but that does not mean that it is not a damn good time.
The best thing about this anime is that the girls are absolute bike nerds. They argue about which manufacturer makes the best bikes, and they are loyal to the point of idiocy. They talk about the specs of their bikes and enthuse over bike magazines. It's hilarious.
The humor of this series is absolutely on point. ... Jesus Christ is a character in this anime. He tell the main character that God loves motorcycles and presents her with the holy grail. What more can I say?
In short, this anime is a good time if you're looking to blow off steam or need a smile. A solid 8/10

Yes, I know. Cute girls doing cute things. Boring! I agree, such shows can indeed be tedious, but not this one. This one actually has depth to its humour, which makes the world of difference.

Bakuon doesn't just focus on the cute girls, it actually goes into great detail about the ways of motorcycle enthusiasts. It mocks a bikers love of their own bike over that of all others, yet at the same time embraces how wonderful it feels to have that love. It explores both the upside and the downside of motorcycle ownership without prejudice. That honesty makes ... the whole thing relatable; even to those of us who have no interest in bikes. And that's an essential ingredient for any comedy to work. And what great comedy it was.

There are no cheap laughs here. The jokes are extremely well thought out and it had me in stitches at times. The relentless mocking of Ducati for their lack of reliability; the shameless behaviour of dodgy backstreet dealers and garages; the delusions of Suzuki owners; these are all very real things, parodied beautifully. Yes, it has some ecchi moments, but who really cares as long as the comedy element makes you laugh? I certainly don't. I loved every minute of it. The characters worked really together. Their rivalries and friendships were excellently portrayed. All great comedies need a degree of reality and seriousness or the jokes just aren't funny. Not all writers manage to strike that balance, but the creator of this one got it spot on. 10/10 from me. A joy to watch.

Story: the story in this is pretty almost typical honestly but its about Hane who is walking to school one day when she someone riding a motorcycle and she decides that would be her passion pre say so she joins a bike club in the school to so she joins the club and now she has her new found love and that is motorbike so she starts learning about them and so on that is really about it for the story is really not a hard story to understand.

Art: the art here is really done her personally no idea if CGI was involved in this ... in any way but if it was never noticed anything wrong with here unlike some other bikes ive seen (granted those were nitpicks if anything) as for character look and backgrounds they look good.

Sound: the Op and Ed were really good at first i didn't care for them but later on i grew to enjoy them so yeah as for the voices for the characters they were really done good here as well.

Characters: Hane is the main character of this anime and she is well a really bright light and just overall fun and nice person she is also really energetic all the time also i liked her in the anime she was well done. Ramiu is another main character and i mean personally i can't describe here than she just doesn't talk at all like that the only real thing about her. Hijiri is another main character and she is a person who is actually wealthy and has her own butler drive her around and such sense she can't but she does have a pretty good attitude and not a snobby one again just a cheerful and nice character. Onsa is another main character and she actually has a bike shop unlike the others (granted her father runs it but hopefully you get my point) so she like everyone her is actually a cheerful and kind person in the anime. Rin is the last main character here and she is really passionate about Suzuki bikes to the point of arguing over it with Onsa (they get into alot cause she loves them but Onsa personally hates them so there you go) she can kinda have a snobby attitude but she is a nice and good character here (also i usually don't add support characters here but will but just one). Chisame is a supporting character and she goes to the bike club later she was a minibike rider but doesn't ride them on the rode cause she think they shouldn't be on the rode (uh ok that makes no sense but roll with it) but she is a good character i personally didn't care for her cause i don't know she just seems gloomy and stuff ALL the time but she again is a decent character i should say.

Enjoyment: What i liked: i actually like this anime the comedy was more here and there not the greatest but decent the characters here were all good and the enjoyment i had was really i mean enjoyable and the voices to the music as well here. What i didn't like: me personally (this a nitpick) but for whatever reason i personally didn't like rin having big boobs no idea why just seemed unnatural to me for her also some of the jokes with the bikes flew over my head at times sense im not big into motorbikes also i don't understand with throwing in Chisame like (sorry for the spoiler) like in episode 8 or 9 like why have her join the main cast like THAT late made no sense to me also the drama (when it has those little bit of here) sorry but it didn't click with me was weird if anything ( episode 11 i can understand for a sense but yeah it was more weird but again this is more of a nitpick) but it wasn't like terrible or good just decent but weird.

Overall: id give this a 7 i though about giving this a 6 but after debating it for a bit im deciding on a 7 it was actually pretty enjoyable from the comedy being here and there at times and also from i guess kinda learning about motorbikes was neat and also it was really well done with the character as well to the voices for them being really well done here id give this anime a shot it was really good in my opinion.

As a rider myself, I couldn't help but laugh at every single episode in this anime, it is just hilarious. All motorcyclists out there has got to watch this series for the pure comedy. Overall, the anime was very enjoyable and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a light hearted series to watch, especially for people coming off horrible endings and such 'you know what' lol.

The fun factor of this anime is doubled for motorcyclist audiences but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it if you aren't. That's basically saying if your not a chef, you wouldn't enjoy Shokugeki or if your ... not a basketball player, you wouldn't enjoy KnB. So this anime is definitely for everyone.

Obviously, its a school setting, the usual girls only anime with some fan service, so if your not a fan of these types then its not for you, simple as that.