Watanuki-san Chi no

Watanuki-san chi no is the second major TV debut for VTubers, the first being the variety show Virtual-san wa Miteiru by the short lived Studio Lide. Virtual-san was a good first try which faced criticism for its animation, meta humor and uneven comedy, but how does this second attempt fair?

One major difference that will likely spare Watanuki-san some of the trials of its predecessor is the fact that it hasn't been labeled as an anime. While the difference is somewhat trivial and has more to do with marketing than anything else, Watanuki-san is a true sitcom with more in common with its live-action cohorts than ... its predecessor (laugh track included). Its stars are VTubers, but they're acting the roles of characters, and the show lacks the meta-humor and inside jokes that led people to throw at Virtual-san the dread accusation of pandering. The animation has also taken a step up, with its warm tones and relatively fluid motions a far cry from the rather sterile environments of Virtual-san.

In other words, it couldn't get any further from Virtual-san - it even has a segment at the end of the first episode explaining who VTubers are and stating their intent of reaching a wider audience. And while this show indeed expands upon the breadth of what VTubers are showing themselves to be capable of, how enjoyable that actually is will depend on how much you a) enjoy mundane subject matter and/or b) enjoy the VTubers acting in the show outside of their normal environments.

With regards to the subject matter, Watanuki-san is a "slice of life" show with the qualification that this carries none of the usual connotations that term carries in the anime community. The visual cues, jokes, and banter could just as easily have taken place in a live-action sitcom. Episodes are alternately comedic and touching and often both as the show follows the lives of three sisters in the wake of their father's death as one prepares to move out after marriage. Its strength is in portraying these intimate moments, hinting at the depth of the characters and their relationships. How funny you find it will of course depend, but I'd say the writing is more hit than miss though the limited cast and setting - the entire show consists of three on-stage characters in a single (rather large) room - may feel a bit claustrophobic at times.

As for enjoying the cast, the show requires no familiarity to enjoy them, but fans should enjoy seeing VTubers building their acting muscles with something more serious than usual fare. Tokino Sora deserves special recognition here for her performance as the eldest sister, and it's great to see her star continue to rise. Any shakiness in their performances can be attributed to lack of experience that fans will find all the more endearing. The after recording interviews with the cast following the episodes are also a treat as you get their reactions and banter with the writers.

Also to be enjoyed is the animation quality, which is some of the best I've seen involving VTubers. The soft lighting especially gives a feeling of warmth and intimacy that enhances the already pleasant nature of the sketches. This of course has its flaws - the sometimes awkward motions of actors due to motion tracking issues as well as some of the details on their bodies (for example, hair highlights indicating lighting that don't shift when they move) can be distracting, but these are minor issues which stand out mostly because of the already high quality of everything else.

As a drama and as another feature starring VTubers I'd call Watanuki-san a success. Though this isn't what I usually come to VTubers for and wouldn't be particularly excited for the future of VTubers to be sitcoms, it's decently entertaining and gives us another venue in which to enjoy them.

Recommended for slice of life fans looking for something different.

Essentially this show is a fairly low budget/uneven quality sitcom presented with 3D anime vtubers instead of real life people. The whole show takes place in one room and the 3D has some issues. Character's mouths move out of sync with what they're saying (minor), hair sometimes clips in and out of clothes (minor), character models sometimes move in ways real people shouldn't (minor), camera work is amateur (moderate), and the aliasing on Futaba's horribly chosen black and white striped shirt looks awful every time she moves (major). I feel the frame rate could have been ... higher too but it's hard to say whether that would have made an improvement or not. A lot of this stuff could have been fixed if they did some post processing over to top to correct it but I understand they were likely limited on budget and time. It's definitely better than the 3D we've seen from vtubers before and it's far from unwatchable, but as a professional show it feels like watching a low budget version of the future. Credit is due for the soft lighting, it makes the show feel warm and plays an extremely important role in stopping the visuals from looking sterile and soulless as common of CGI. The 3D modelling of the set is crisp and overall well done. The problem is the whole show happens in one room and feels a bit cramped especially towards the end.

But the main reason why I think this show is worth a watch is because it has something that I think has been lacking in a lot of slice of life anime recently. Something like SOUL or CHARM. The whole show is filled with it and you can feel the fun the actresses are having on set through their amateur acting and slightly off 3D models. This is the first time any of them had done any acting, it shows, but it feels like they fully embraced the opportunity as a welcome change from sitting on the computer streaming video games. The 3D graphic flaws and warm lighting help with the charm on the visual side too and it's really refreshing watching a slice of life with visuals like this as a change from normal anime.

It has very cliched sitcom writing with a mixture of comedic and touching moments similar to countless sitcoms that have come before it. The touching moments do well in bringing out the charm and chemistry of the three sisters but the comedic moments are hit or miss with the two stand-up episodes being the worst in the show. There's a distinct Japanese flavour to the writing too that's somewhat different to other anime. There's references to Japanese authors, bands, celebrities etc, but also to social customs, current affairs, language nuances, and all sorts of other minor stuff that might add a very specific sort of appeal for some people. Maybe it would be tiring for regular viewers of Japanese live action but it does stand out a bit from both slice of life anime and American sitcoms.

Sound wise the show is fine except for a bad laugh track. Fortunately they seem to have removed it for the second season and Futaba's awful black and white shirt has been changed too. There's also more characters and scenes set outside the Watanuki sisters' one room.

Sadly it doesn't look like this will get English subs anytime soon so it's limited to people with an understanding of Japanese. If you are one of these people and like slice of life, you may be in for a nice surprise and a welcome change of pace. I don't see myself becoming a devoted fan of these shows if they become more common in the future but this one is a nice novelty and it's a novelty done well enough for me to watch season two. Realistically it probably deserves a lower score but overall my enjoyment of it is around 7.5. It grew on me a lot after being relatively underwhelmed by the first episode and I think it deserves points for feeling new.