Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki

Have you ever been out with a group of friends you don't normally hang with and felt like they were talking in another language? They have all these inside jokes and short-hand phrases for things that an outsider just wouldn't get, and it would take entirely too long to explain. You try to decode as much of it as you can as the night goes on, and politely laugh along with them as inside the cogs in your head are spinning at maximum speed trying to keep up. Eventually you realize that it doesn't really matter if you don't understand the joke, because the infectiousness ... of their laughter makes it funny anyway. You're eventually genuinely laughing along with them, not because you get it, but because you're human and that's how we adapt.

That's how watching this show feels as an American who understand next to nothing about the language of Japanese or the geographies and cultures of any of the places they're on about. High praise to the translators and localization team that did the subs I watched this with because it managed to convey just enough information that I was able to get to that feeling where I was laughing along with the jokes simply because I knew they were supposed to be funny and not because I understood why they actually were.

The cute characters and the excellent vocal performances go a long way to making the show enjoyable even if you have no idea what's going on half the time. I think if even a dumb American like me can watch this and have a good time with it, they must have done something right. I'll give it a 7/10

Listen, I'm not gonna go out there and say that this is anything even close to special, because none of these 5-minute short series simply don't have the time required to do justice to their premises anyway. But when it comes to a show about making fun of Nagoya's extremely specific regional culture and all of the odd differences in accent, food, and traditions, Yatogame-chan delivers in droves. It's friggin' hilarious, but only if you are already familiar with some of these weird Nagoya things anyway.

So if you're willing to take a plunge and take the one hour required to watch this entire series, then ... I say crack open your ebi senbei, get your miso sauce ready, and enjoy your virtual trip through Sakae and beyond.

Out of all of the 3-5 minute shorts I've seen, and I've seen a good deal, this is one of my favorites. The characters are extremely cute, the dialogue is hilarious. It's very much worth your time. Monaka might have been the cutest girl in the season, and she's trapped in a tiny short! How sad! Also has some great moments for someone who's a huge fan of Kannagi such as myself, for whatever reason.

Of course you could consider the runtime of this series as a flaw, and in some sense I do as I'd love it if it was at least a ten minute ... series, but on the scale of 3-5 minute shorts this one is one of the best. If that's what you're looking for, as it sometimes is, here you go! On a silver platter! Enjoy!