Gal to Kyouryuu

Never in my life would I have thought I would have to drop an anime. Ever.

Here we are, the 25th day of April in 2020. A year surrounded by chaos as Covid-19 runs rampant and we are all locked inside. Well fortunately, that doesn't change me much as I will continue to watch anime. The biggest change is me dropping an anime. I have watched and finished far worse anime in my life. I will tell you why I made this decision.

So let me focus on some good things before I dig into it. I like the characters. While not amazing, they seem to have ... a lot of fun and great personality to go along with it. Lots of energy was put into the characters and I can appreciate that. I think the art style is fun and enjoyable in the animation. We will get to my score later. There were some really wholesome parts with Kaede and dino in the first 4 episodes that I watched which I really enjoyed. The OP is pretty catchy too.

Okay, so it had some things going for it, but it definitely had things not going for it (and a lot at that). That is my first complaint. There is literally so much going on. The animation part can be divided into two separate things: the main animation and the "between scenes" animation. There is some main story which is actually pretty fun and nice. I enjoy that part. There are some silly intermissions, that while I don't particularly love, I can at least watch them with respect. Then the other part of the show is live action. It was a struggled after episode 1 whether I wanted to deem this worthy of an anime title, but I decided to let it slide. The live action parts don't really go well together and it just makes me feel like I am legitimately wasting time. The one in Episode 3 I guess was better than the rest by a bit, but still. It didn't feel right. I definitely would have had this show be a short instead of adding in what they did. It was like when Cartoon Network started adding in live action stuff. It just didn't feel right. Overall, there was just such a variety of substance packed into these 20 minute episodes and it just was a mess.

I feel the need to mention my art score. I liked the actual animation quite a bit. I would have given it an 8. It felt fun. I am balancing that with the live action part of 0/10 which gives it a 4. That's all. Not that deep.

The sounds were really fucking weird. I swear, air horns and lightsabers as sound effects probably aren't the best choice. There were a lot of other sounds in there but those were the most notable. Like I said tho, at least the OP bopped.

I got most of my complaining out of my system now. I really think dropping this anime may not be for everyone, but I think it is important to talk about and fairly assess the show as is as an anime on an anime site. I just cannot continue to watch and support this abomination of clutter and mess. From what I understand, this is nothing like the manga so far so there is that whole factor too.

There are spoilers but it doesn't even matter. You shouldn't watch this anyway.

Maybe this is just because I'm not within the target audience of young adult Japanese females, but this is awful.

To start off, the first few minutes of the show are "OK". However, all the gags are just about the dinos reaction. It doesn't even make a sound. From what I see, the girl taking care of it doesn't even seem to care about it. From parading it around and showing it off to friends. To drawing on it, forgetting its even there, stepping on him and choking him. Other than that, its basically ... just this girl shopping, talking to some boy and gossiping with friends.

Thats honestly it for the anime part. Yeah, you read right. The animation is done. After those first 5 minutes or so, you get a little padding of what can only be called "stop motion CG" (as if CG couldn't get any lazier) of some other silent gag for another minute or two that does nothing more than show how silly this creature is. Not by doing anything extravagant. Just regular old things with super over the top reactions to every little thing. It sits and watches TV fine. Dinosaur sees moving pictures on a screen? Meh. But waking up on Christmas morning to find a glittering rock wrapped up in a box? HEY EVERYBODY WAKE UP YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS ROCK (said silently only through actions). Totally weird.

After that its all live action. Yeah.

They got somebody to go out on the streets in a costume that looks like the dino and some admittedly kind of cute girl to walk around talking to what might as well be air. She does a good job trying to be authentic about it at least. I found it kind of amusing how one scene they were outside in the shopping district buying stuff and they actually got a shop owner involved in the scene. Maybe he was just another actor and they paid the stall for a few minutes of filming who knows. Lots of people in the background were clearly giving a few glances at what could possibly be going on. Plenty of them wearing masks too. Not that its strange considering the pandemic, but a little surreal to see in what tries to call itself a comedy.

In episode 4 during the live action majority segment, they had some comedian stand there and kind of just... danced? Moved all wacky, shook his beer belly, wore some gag glasses and tried making jokes. In the context of the show it was really embarrassing to watch. However it was hilarious to think somebody actually thought this was a good idea and OK'd this.

Overall it feels like some kind of rejected Disney show. There's no real substance or backbone into what is actually going on. And this is from somebody who loves the slice of life genre. It's really sad that anime has reached this point and will only get lower. (I'm looking at you netflix).

Just stay away from this.

Looking at the reviews for this, I think... have I stepped into a parallel universe? I don't understand what people see in this show. Is this for kids? But it's aired at 1am. There is simply nothing this anime does that other anime haven't done better. It brings nothing new to the table. But well... let's see what this anime has to offer.

The anime's strong point is certainly the visual style. The 'normal' art style is simplistic but appealing. The character designs are distinct and cute. And of course, there are many different styles incorporated in this show. There are 3D stop motion-esque segments, and ... the latter half of each episode is done in a live action style, with a big costume for the dinosaur, which remains expressive with the aid of sound effects and changing the eyes. The transition segments are done by different animators as well, which is pretty neat. The OP and ED also incorporate different media and are a joy to watch

But everything else is mediocre at best. The voice acting is fine, nothing particularly remarkable there. The sound design is bizarre. There are constant random airhorns during the live action segment. I have no idea what that's about. It was entertaining in the first episode due to it taking me off-guard but by the third it just got annoying. The video game-like sound effects for the dinosaur are pretty charming though.

The characters themselves, although cute, have their merits end there. Every character is bland. I wouldn't call them unlikeable, just... bland. Forgettable. The titular gyaru is a laid-back nice gyaru. That's about it. The dinosaur acts generally cute. There isn't really anything special about him either. The side characters are even more forgettable. They have no depth. The most depth they get is that there's some mild tension between the gyaru and her ex-boyfriend. There's nothing to be invested in.

There isn't a story to this anime, except for a weird subplot that seems to have come straight out of a middle-schooler's fantasy. Just a daily life type of thing. But even then, it's just dull. In the most recent episode I watched, there a shot of water filling up a tub... that lasts over a minute. Barely anything happens. Is this supposed to be ambient? The humour is bland as well. It'll make me snort some air out of my nose every once in a while, I guess. Maybe I'm just too old for this.

The reason I started watching this anime is because the title intrigued me. And indeed, when I watched the trailer, I found it hilarious. A gyaru and a dinosaur are polar opposites, after all. But after the entertainment of the concept wears off, you're left with having to sit through twenty minutes of what seems to be just a kids' show. I hold out hope that at the end of the anime, there'll be some incredible twist that bumps up my score a digit or two, that will reward me for sitting through all this. But I don't think anything could make it worth it to stare at this show for the equivalent of four hours. There is nothing special about this show. It overstays its welcome by the second episode. I think I would've enjoyed it much more if each episode had been half the length, at least. The entirety of each episode feels like filler. Don't waste your time on this anime. It's not even entertainingly bad, because it does have its merits. But perhaps that's its biggest flaw - the fact that despite all efforts, it just ends up being forgettable.

I don't usually write reviews on MAL, but I felt I had to in this case as a special exception. I'm a writer by trade, and I could easily give this a 2,000+ word essay if I wanted to, but that is not necessary. Instead, I'm only using this as a chance to justify my first (and possibly only) score of 1 on MAL. This series is an outlier in every sense of the word.

If I were rating Gal & Dino purely off enjoyment, it would probably get a 7. Maybe I'd bump it up to an 8 if I were feeling generous.

Here's the thing ... - I cannot consider this an anime. It is a sketch comedy show split between animated segments, claymation, and live action.

If you are frequently drunk and/or high (as I usually am), then you will probably highly enjoy this show. I sure do. G&D is off-the-wall, weird AF, and random as hell. If you like that type of thing, go for it.

If you are expecting a sincere, well-written anime, do not bother. You are wasting your time. This show is for viewers who do not give a damn about quality storylines and are just looking for something random and silly.

If you like late-night programs on Adult Swim and you have a bong or some dog food in font of you, and you want some total goofiness, then please, watch this show. You will totally love it.

I NEVER rate anime this low. A score of 3 is pretty much always the lowest that I'll give. Anything lower, and I would just drop it entirely and not bother to rate. But I am giving G&D a 1 out of strictly principle.

This is not an anime. This is a sketch comedy with some animated segments. Therefore, it gets the lowest score. I joined MAL to rate anime, not sketch comedy shows. If you want to get on the "well it's Japanese animation so therefore it's anime" argument, then do what you must. But as someone who has watched hundred of anime series, I will stand by my opinion that G&D is not an anime.

If you are weird like me and enjoy off-the-wall humor (and you usually party while watching your shows), then by all means, go for it.

If you are looking for a sincerely good and well-written anime show, then you've come to the wrong place.

G&D gets a 1, as it is not an anime IMO. I'm here to rate anime, not Japanese sketch comedy shows. And I felt I had to justify my 1 score with a review. This is a very fun and entertaining series if you're looking for something weird, different, and amusing. But it's not an anime, at least IMO.

Ever wanted to watch something animated while also having live action elements? No? Because that sounds horrible? Well, Gal to Kyouryuu is for you! It's an unholy mix of live action, stop motion, and animation all done horribly wrong. Wondered what a unmemorable 5 minute 4-koma manga translated into a full 12 episode 24 minute production? This is it.
This show really puts needlessly long segments of "stillness" due to I guess, their lack of budget. It's extremely slow paced, and any sort of jokes that could have been funny are destroyed by the terrible pacing. Not to mention, the simplicity of all the gags and ... the lack of characters, to say the least, make it so that if the execution of these simple setups are done properly, there's nothing else for the viewer to latch onto. The show has simple contents, but if executed well, it goes great. If not, then, there's not much to talk about. Unfortunately, the skits and gags are barely passable, and when there's nothing else redeeming or focused upon in this show, it becomes real chore to watch.. This is extremely evident in the CG and animation. One minute jokes get turned into 5 minutes worth. And that's the episode.
Look, I'm not going to even comment much on the live action portions. I am not familiar with JP live action, because I don't like it Ok? However, do trust me when I say that the production value of the live action portions are poor to say the least.
This show just puts stuff of pure mediocrity together to mash up 12 episodes of pure nonsense. If there was any coherence or effort to combine these elements into one, the whole might have been greater than the parts. This is not the case for Gal to Kyouryuu.