Ichigo Mashimaro

"her distinguishing trait is that she doesn't have any real distinguishing traits"
That's how i would describe this anime.
I came into it hoping for a decent slice of life anime. I wasn't expecting gold, but i hoped this would at least make me smile... or chuckle... or something, but it didn't. Most of the characters are decent. They're all pretty generic and forgettable but they're still pleasant. The key word here is most. The problem i had with this anime is Miu, the most annoying character i've seen in an anime. There are characters similar to her in other great animes, Azumanga comes to mind ... here, but Miu takes it to a whole new level. She's a selfish, attention seeking brat that made me want to punch her most of the time. I actually found myself asking why she is even friends with the other characters throughout the entire show. She doesn't actually do anything other than be annoying.

This wouldn't necessarily kill the show alone, but all the jokes are build around her. The show is pretty much about her, so all the jokes are about her as well. I just couldn't find anything funny when i hate this character so much. Like other characters like Miu, she often ends up face down on the ground when her antics get out of hand, but it doesn't show her getting hit or anything. It's not satisfying, and she doesn't seem affected by it, so it might as well not have happened.

Since all the "jokes" revolve around Miu, and the other characters are really bland, this show is almost completely empty of anything funny. There are parts without Miu that are enjoyable, but not funny. This show only made me laugh out loud once, and that was the first few minutes of Ana entering the show. That one part if what is keeping me from giving this a 5, or 4, or even something lower.

At least the plot, artwork, and sound was okay, but nothing to write home about, again, no distinctive features. Apparently, some people actually like Miu, so you might like her as well, but i would strongly suggest staying away.

Story: 5
There is no general plot for the series, more like slices of life for the 4 children and the adult. Episodes 10 to 12 are quite dull imo. Lies, insensitivity and sabotage are quite commonly fill the episodes, along with cuteness and innocent behaviour.

Art: 9
Is great.

Sound:7
OP is not bad, a catchy song. ED is a slower, relaxed song, better. Dun think there were a lot of OSTs. And most were dialogues anyway.

Character:4
Interestingly, only Miu seems to stand out among all the characters in the series. The other 4 main characters mostl;y seem to be led by her actions, or else all the ... episodes would have no interesting features at all. Take for example eps 10 - 12.

Enjoyment:7
Miu makes most of the entertainment by dramatic (sometimes retarded and ridiculous) actions. Then there is Sazakuya, who always have to stand in the corridor no matter what he does. But cliches like these soon ruin the enjoyment (like Miu's and Suzukaya's usual treatments). Plus insensitivities and lame actions sometimes make me wonder if what happened in the series can happen in the first place.

Overall:6
Initially is quite good, but over the episodes I realised that the jokes seem to be reused over and over again, and lies and misleading information (used for enjoyment) seem not to be corrected to viewers. Some scenes inside are best not to be followed by people in real life (especially for kids around the 6th grade), like the beach incident. Most of the stuff inside this series should be taken with a pinch of salt as well.

So it took me some time to finish this anime, primarily because of the major annoyances that this show has present in every episode. Although I dig layed back slice of life shows, and how this story has underlying themes about the importance of childhood and how certain attitudes are helpful that tend to be lost in adulthood, but it does not present these themes in an enjoyable way. I was recommended this show as a comedy and I literally only got 2 jokes out of this that were funny out of 12 episodes, and those jokes were used way too much. I honestly dont ... care anymore about this series but the main problem in my opinion of this show is the girl with the pig tails, the driving force of this show. She is ssooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo infuriating and annoying. I literally would pause for minutes to just cuss her out for being so stupid. In conclusion, this show tries to address themes that are pretty important to consider, but just does it in a very shallow and annoying way.

Ichigo Mashimaro attempts at a comedic/slice of life CGDCT show, but fails to really nail either part down.

Scratch that: the CGDCT aspect of the show is probably pretty decent, but as a comedy, it really is unsuccessful. Granted, there might have been one or two times where I thought a scene was kind of funny, but that was far and few between. The comedy just feels second rate, watered down, and done better in many different series featuring CGDCT and comedy.

Ana reminds me of Olivia from Asobi Asobase, but way too passive. Miu reminds me of Kyouko from Yuru Yuri, but way less lovable ... and a lot more annoying. Chika is supposed to be the tsukkomi to Miu, but it's honestly not that impactful, and that's because neither the scenarios, characters, or joke setups are that spectacular. Sakuragi are supposed to be victims of sorts to Miu and her antics, but she just doesn't have much of a personality other than that, compared to someone like Akari from Yuru Yuri.

Nobue is actually the best character in my opinion, having some semblance of a character that breaks off from a typical archetype. Of course, she smokes because the author decided that was probably one of the easy ways for her to come off as the older sister despite childish personality at times. She's also the one perpetuating the fanservice scenes most of the time, but even still, she's a decent character, and would have carried the show if the children were likeable.

Just remember that most of the time, the anime is more CGDCT centric and slice of life than it is comedic centric, so it all depends on what your preference is when deciding whether or not you would like this show or not.