Gal to Kyouryuu

Gal to Kyouryuu initially presents itself as a faithful adaptation of its manga counterpart: a series of relaxing animated shorts of a gyaru who met with and took home a dino. With the source material itself being rather short, it receiving a full-length adaptation (as opposed to a 5/10-minute short) is rather curious indeed. And at the halfway point, when the live-action segments begin, and you are greeted with Mieharu-san.

The second half of the show is a live-action segment that is incredibly surreal in nature with branching timelines, mysterious tomes, and weird celebrity guest cameos. It's also about a gyaru and her Dino (originally an ... old man and his Dino). While occasionally disjointed and strange, this incredibly surreal series still manages to tie into the main themes of the original source material about the relationships of a gal and her Dino, albeit in a very roundabout fashion. Every week I sit in anticipation for the next unpredictable moment of the show, and the Covid-19 pandemic just made the waiting even more unbearable. And at the tail end of it, even if the resolution wasn't what I wanted, I still felt something inside me as Mieharu-san parted with Dino so it could have a better life with Kaede.

Not to discredit the animated segments as well. You also get the occasional variety-esque sections with guest animators providing short scenes of the Dino in various (grounded) scenarios that keep the show fresh. And the actual adaptation is fairly well done in it of itself.

While it wasn't what I expected, I'm glad to have experienced this one of a kind of show to its end. To say any more would be to spoil its many surprises. So long as you have an open mind to anticipate the unexpected, you'll be treated to one of the most original and wildest shows of the current generation.

8/10

“Do you like funny anime? Do you like good jokes? Do you want to feel like you have spent your time well? Well, then I have some anime suggestions for you! Nichijou, Kill Me Baby, and Jashin-chan Dropkick. Gal to Kyouryuu, or Gal and Dinosaur, is not one of those anime.”
This is how I started my review of Gal and Dinosaur back in April of 2020, however, now I feel that this is too harsh and unnecessarily mean. Now, I didn’t have this sudden realization that Gal and Dinosaur is good, but it is above the 2/10 I was going to give it all ... those months ago. Quite a few of my opinions still hold firm, such as the humor and editing are akin to a C-tier modern Cartoon Network show than what many people think of as an anime. My opinions that changed were the story is fine instead of terrible, the art is okay instead of awful, and the music is oaky instead of unbearable. Honestly, I also kind of enjoyed this anime more than I did back in the spring. Really, Gal to Kyouryuu isn’t bad, it’s just not to my taste. 5/10.

The story is limited. Really, it’s a slice of life where Gal and Dinosaur are followed around doing whatever. The first half is animated and the second half is live-action, which is largely disconnected from the animated part. These live-action segments are simultaneously funny and cringy. Honestly, I think a silent comedy would work a lot better for this anime, and this might even make the show more enjoyable for me.

The sound in the anime is very weird and off-putting. There are random sound effects that sound like lightsabers and airhorns in places where they just don’t belong. Some may say that’s the point. That the whole show is meant to be random and meant to be watched with your brain turned off. Now that’s fine, but it bothers me nonetheless. Moving on from the sounds to the OP and ED, I have to say I kind of like the OP and ED. There have been times when I was at work or a boring lecture at university when one of the songs played in my head, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy them.

The art in the ED is nice, but the art in the OP is just random images with Dinosaur somewhere in them, and I think that is rather lazy and should be stepped up for an OP because this is one of the first things people see going into an episode. Speaking of the first things people see, the sole image of this show on here is terrible. The perspective is all wrong and it looks worse than one of my 12-year-old cousin’s drawings. The art in the show is fine. It doesn’t make me stare in awe like Made In Abyss does, and it doesn’t make me want to go blind like The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods does.

The characters are nothing special. They are just stick-puppets that the story flows through. They have bits of personality sure, but a few little bits can’t support all the characters in the story.

I kind of enjoyed the whole Gal to Kyouryuu, but it wasn’t good. I don’t hate this show. In order for me to hate this show, it would have to make me slightly worked up. If someone were to tell me that they really liked Gal and Dinosaur I would just shrug my shoulders and say something like “Good for you man, or, I’m glad you like it so much.” When I watch Gal to Kyouryuu I feel like I’m watching a modern Cartoon Network show with my cousins. That being said if you like modern C-tier Cartoon Network shows you will probably like this anime too. In the end, the story gets a 5, art and sound a 4, characters a 5, and enjoyment a 6. For a final score of 5.

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.