Rebirth

So, I had watched 6 episodes of this show so far without realizing that this was supposed to be a promotional short for an upcoming TCG to be released some time next month. And here I thought it was a simple comedy slice-of-life show which just happened to include a card game as a device for people to have a good time and some fun. So I had no idea that this was supposed to be promoting this new card game I've never heard of called "Rebirth" and I was just enjoying the anime for its slapstick humour and comedic tropes. The show itself actually ... rarely shows the card game or its rules for that matter, it focuses more on the characters which are a group of young girls and their daily lives. It's more of a show to promote the characters than the card game, and I find it a really enjoyable slice-of-life for what it's worth.

Despite its very simple chibi art style animation, the show does very well in capturing its audience with unique japanese slapstick humour and expressive animation. And by expressive I don't mean that there's a lot of movement or action, but the characters appropriately show facial expressions and body movement depending on the context of the conversation. You can notice how characters may sometimes blink or tilt slightly as a reaction and the transition between faces and scenes is brief but apparent. There's a lot of attention to certain details which are often overlooked when the super simple art styles like chibi are used but this show manages to keep quality standards despite its simple designs.

The comedy isn't groundbreaking, it's not much of a comedy as it is a slice-of-life. If you're looking for some semblance of story or character development, this isn't that type of anime. But it is a really good slice-of-life. The structure usually follows 1-2 skits per episode, and its appeal is more aligned with moe culture than comedy. It's cute girls doing cute things and it does it really well.

Another thing I find that it does really well is how they introduce the characters. The show doesn't bother with creating long narratives or explanations, it goes directly into conversations and leaves it to the audience to connect the dots. I've always been a fan of show don't tell. It's much more interesting and engaging as a viewer. This is much more of a preference of style but I find the redundancy annoying when a narrator overly explains something blatantly obvious about a character. Albeit this may leave some viewers confused with what's going on, I find that the show does quite well in presenting its characters to the audience.

You can notice that it's not the most expensive production. The art-style and soundtrack is kept simple, probably to reduce workloads. But it also shows how good direction can turn even the simplest animations into good anime. Considering it's a 3-minute short, I would definitely recommend even if you're not that into slice-of-life. It's a good example of how a slice-of-life should be. Rebirth may not have the best animation, soundtrack, or story for that matter but it does what it does really well. Definitely give it a try especially if you're into moe and slice-of-life.