Deji Meets Girl

A nice short with some fun visuals.

It isn’t revolutionary in any way and can be potentially forgettable, but there are worse ways to waste 25 minutes of your life. Some of the more dramatic scenes are lackluster because of how brief they are, and the most enjoyable parts were easily the more lighthearted moments that were more present in earlier episodes. The depiction of Okinawa was something I really enjoyed, being expressed through the experimental art style.
The ending theme is also really nice, enough for me to add it to my music playlist.

Overall, it was fine, and considering it's the length of a single 24 ... minute episode it's entertaining for what it is

I can't believe the audacity of some people.
Each and everyone of you admit that what they disliked about the anime is how short it was despite the potential of the story. The fact that you're able to give such a low rating to something which probably didn't have enough support to be better tells a lot on your understanding of how the world works. The storytelling is great and makes you want more. The art is beautiful and each frames tells a lot about Okinawa's culture. You feel how much they want to tell a rich and compelling story in every one of those twenty ... five minutes. The least we can do is applaude how much the staff was able to put in such a tiny time frame and hope that they will have more work opportunities in the future. Have some respect for the artists and their struggles.

No spoilers in this review

I expected this anime to be pretty weird, but really it has its own charm. The more I watched this short anime, the more I wished that it was full length.

Art: 9
Sound: 8
First off, the atmosphere is great, there are plenty of little details that make every scene nice to look at. That is only exemplified because the art style is vibrant but simple enough that you are not overwhelmed.

Story: 7
The story so far is unique and works well with both the art style and how short the episodes are. If this was a full length anime I might have rated ... it even higher.

Enjoyment: 8
Overall I enjoyed it, was it worth like the 10 minutes I put into watching it? Yeah it was and I wish I had stayed in their world a little longer.

Overall: 8
What's great about short anime like this is that by the time that you finish reading these reviews you probably could have already watched the anime yourself, so why not give it a chance.

It is an incredibly quick story in something that takes itself seriously, in that, it is also a speedrun of the Jun Maeda formula.

If you've seen some of my reviews before you'd know I have no problem with shorts doing whatever. Now, relative to this short, everything is fine I would say, although it did like to put in a lot of detail where detail could have been neglected. A touch of info about Suzuki's surveillance and maybe condensing a few materials that spanned 2 eps into 1 would probably have had a greater simplicity factor. Such is not done here, which in turn ... made it fall to something a little more baseline as you'd expect from the mainstream that gives a lot whilst also not. The short ends up being something comparable to about 90% of the medium. Whether you want to spend time on something like that is based on you.

I quite liked the art if anything. When I first found this anime the art was the thing that sold it to me, it possibly would for you, and honestly, with a runtime this short, I see no reason to not watch it for the visual quality. Audio is generic on that note, doesn't necessarily mean it is bad though, probably works for something like such but I would leave that to you to evaluate.

Anyway, this is a nice enjoyable short, could have been more if it didn't try as hard as it did but oh well, there is other stuff. Would recommend this title if you have the 30 min to spare, otherwise, go watch something like:
- Sounan Desu ka?
- Honobono Log
- Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows

The more I watch this short, the more I felt overwhelmed by the lack of everything else. Just give the complete package of give nothing at all, this has the potential for it.

For this short to come out alongside Blue Period in the same TV program broadcast slot and have its story themes be quite similar to Aquatope, I was actually hoping for an OVA of this all compiled together, because it was intriguing at the very start, only for the one major sin of this short, the runtime, to be 90 seconds long (minus the ED). That pretty much has the story stumped in ... YouTube-like shorts feature, which IMO doesn't really elevate the story that well in snippets.

Liden Films really did well when it comes to this short, and I was expecting some mediocrity out of a short, but this isn't the case here, so I'd say a job well done. The only song which is the short ED in this just sounds fine, nothing amazing.

By the time you've finished the entire short series, you would've finished the equivalent of an anime episode, OP and ED included, so congratulate by giving yourself a pat on the back. A kinda forgettable short if I'm being honest.

Deji Meets Girl Recap (spoilers)
Higa Maise is your average first year high school student that helps out with her family's shoreside hotel in Okinawa. She discovers that there is a popular client staying at her hotel named Ichirou Suzuki and gets curious; Upon his arrival, supernatural phenomenon occur at Maise's family Hotel like time skips at the beach, a large tree suddenly growing, fish submerged in floating water and many more. However, she soon finds out that these strange phenomenon are a manifestation of Suzuki's urban life as a promising dancer/singer and his stress buildup from failure. Realizing the burden Suzuki is carrying by himself, ... Maise steps in to console him and prevent these phenomenon from dragging his spirits down. Will she have the courage to fight the unknown?

Story & Characters: 5/10
A shoreside setting isn't particularly new in anime especially with a story that has 2 protagonists and the world revolving around those protagonists' adventures. However, despite its short length Deji Meets Girl focuses on the duo protagonists' character development and world building exceptionally well. On the surface level at least, each episode added to the build up of mystery about the supernatural occurrences and toward the end it is revealed that these are indeed caused by Suzuki's downspirited demeanor as a result of his failed urban venture. It's an average story because of the lack of story elements which definitely could have been improved with a proper length series, it's a shame it was so short and cut off. Suzuki isn't an enjoyable character but he has a realistic impression to hide his feelings - It would be too easy on us if he just admitted his failure to Maise so the intentional build up between them was to get the viewer familiar with both characters. Not the best story and characters but it definitely made for a somewhat entertaining experience.

Art & Sound: 6/10 & 4/10
The art is very colorful, it feels like there was a lot of experimentation going on with the art style and animation. The art style feels like a manhwa or mangaka's work especially with the line breaks in character outlines. I really enjoyed it for what it was worth but the animation was a bit stiff at times which suggests a smaller budget, production team or even time constraints. Overall Playful and fun art and animation.

The sound didn't stand out to me for the most part. There wasn't much memorable in terms of sound except for character dialogue which was done okay.

Overall & Enjoyment: 5/10
Deji Meets Girl is a very playful and experimental production; The story is a bit adventurous while the characters could definitely be improved on. However, my favorite aspect of the short was its art, it had really high quality, fun and colorful characters and scenery. I would like to see more endeavors like these in the future, although about something other than the shoreside super natural phenomenon that seems to be overused in wholesome supernatural stories (Ponyo, Ride Your Wave).

So I just want to say that this anime might not be perfect for everyone, I feel like just about anyone could find it entertaining and I will explain what I mean below.

This anime revolves around the culture and lifestyles of those living in the Ryukyu Islands south of Japan. These islands are a prefecture of Japan but were their own nation originally which makes their culture significantly different to the rest of the country.

*MINOR SPOILERS*

Someone not familiar with Okinawa is going to be confused by a lot of the symbolism of the scenes and set peices. The significance of the Banyan trees, the ocean, ... the never setting sun, the strange creatures that drink and eat themselves silly (Shisa), and the double arched Torri gates all play huge parts to make the culture and identity of Okinawa. If you have knowledge of the Japanese language the dialect might be very difficult to understand and there are several times where words from Okinawa's original language are used.

*HEAVY SPOILERS*

Deji came to Okinawa because it is about 900 miles south of mainland Japan and a cheap popular tourist destination. I think it is implied that he makes a wish to get away from the pain and pressure of the idol lifestyle. The island tries to grant his wish in several ways. 1st they give him the beauty of the Okinawan aquatic life. I'm guessing as a source of beauty as Okinawa is rated one of the best scuba diving locations in the world. 2nd there is the Banyan tree. My guess is that it was symbolism for the over of a long life of peace. Banyan trees are also capable of slowly moving over time to ideal locations. 3rd is the never ending sunset. In Okinawa one the the favorite past times of locals is to throw huge beach bbqs. Normally you invite loads of people to one of these events and as the booze starts flowing, you will find yourself with other strangers at the beach. The never ending sunset is to offer the never ending possibility of simple pleasure and a never ending supply of booze, food, and sanshin music. Then you finally have the last set of episodes that introduce those strange creatures to the hotel. I beleive those to be Shisa. They are known across Asia but I only know of their significance to Okinawa. Typically there are only too. One keeps it's mouth open to catch happiness as it passes by while the keeps it's mouth close to hold on to happiness. I beleive their appearance was a final chance to grant Deji's wish. The final scene is kind of confusing as Higa is sent to look for Deji by the Shisa. My only guess is that the Shisa were upset that Deji rejected their attempts to grant his wish and tossed him to the mercy of the fox. Foxes play no part in Okinawan lore to my knowledge and may be a shot at mainland Japan (Japan heavily neglects Okinawa and has commited extreme acts of cruelty on its people) and stating that only the mainland Japanese gods would answer his prayer as a call to be spirited away.

In the end this was made for a pretty small audience but I hoe it's animation, sound design, and mistique inspire people to learn more about this beautiful place

so first off each episode is about 2mins long.

But even with the short time it was really entertaining.
I was expecting a quick and boring story line with some good points here and there but I was pleasantly surprised, its an anime that relies a lot on the atmosphere and the emotion which I really appreciate

And I love the overall concept of the anime it begins with something that seems to have come out of a folktale or a cultural story and molded that into the struggles faced by the male lead.

And not to mention the art is absolutely stunning. Each scene is beautiful and intricate ... and has its own charm and the light humor just adds to that

but at the end of the day we are talking about 2 min episodes so it doesn't really give the story time to build it did feel rushed for the most part
but Overall would recommend.

The art style and overall design is carrying every other aspect on its back and is the sole reason why I rated this higher than a 4. It gave off the feeling of a well done animation project and is pretty enjoyable, especially with how colorful everything is (even the character outline isn't a solid thin black line).

Everything else is just.. okay. There's really not much to spoil because there isn't much about the story anyway.

It's a nice time waster, at least. If you've just finished a groundbreaking anime and you want something to calm yourself down, this is a nice anime to pick up ... before starting another hard hitting one.

What a quickie.

Story; A young girl with nothing to do decides to work at her parents Inn during summer vacation. Then a mystery boy decides to stay at the Inn. He brings mystery, excitement and a little fun into the girls summer. Art; the reason I added this to my list because I was interested in the style. super cute. Sound; Not much to it. I sweet ending, but nothing remarkable.

Overall, I didn't really understand what was going on haha. I rewatched this twice, and besides the girl being bored and being interested in the mysterious boy I didn't 100% understand why the things around ... them were happening. Memories, stress and the feelings of failure piling on top of each-other until they form into enigmas and creatures?

Nonetheless, if you have a half an hour to kill you might as well give this short series a try. Only two minutes per episode... I feel like this would've been better if they just made this one OVA, but I have a feeling they used this series to advertise Okinawa in some way.

There isn't much to say about Deji Meet Girls as all the episodes are about 2 minutes, with the last 40 seconds being saved for its ending song, so we get about 1 minute per episode. The story follows Ichirou Suzuki and Maise Higa as they develop their relationship together as each episode passes. However, due to the short nature of the show at times, it did seem like things were happening too fast and each episode almost have a lack of things going on, which didn't make you very invested in their relationship. What made me stay watching (aside from it being a ... very short watch), was the bright and colorful art, it was bright and saturated which fit with the vibe of the show. "Deji" Meets Girl is a fairly interesting short, but it is hampered significantly due to its short nature but if you have 25 minutes to spare, perhaps you might like it. For me I'm quite indifferent towards it, I was going to give a 6/10, but there's not enough content justifying that for me. So I will be giving the show a 5/10.

I was not expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did. In fact, I wasn’t expecting to watch this at all. I went to my local movie theater with the intent of watching Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko, and if you’re curious about my opinion on that film then you can read my review and analysis for it. However, this is all about the unexpected bonus that accompanied the film called,”Deiji Meets Girl”. Did I stumble across an amazing series, or was it nothing but another brick in the wall?

For starters, this film isn’t even a film at all. Rather it’s a collection of ... shorts culminating together to make one large piece. In fact, I was thoroughly confused until about the third short. Because before Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko played, there was a foreword by the director and producer of the film. Not long afterwards, there was a message that told the audience to stay tuned after the credits to see a theatrical version of “Deiji Meets Girl”. I figured I’d be watching a theatrical exclusive trailer for an upcoming series, not the entire series itself! (and one that had already aired the year prior at that). Despite my confusion (only bolstered by the abrupt ending of Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko) I was captivated by the unique artstyle this compilation of shorts had.

The visual aesthetic and character designs are what stuck out to me the most. With each character having a shiny glow to them, almost as if they were plastic, with a dark blue (almost purple) outline and shade to them. The series takes place on an island, usually in the dusk hours, which only makes the scenes that much more beautiful.

In this story we follow a girl named Maise Higa, who works at her dad’s hotel. One day, a boy who’s a famous celebrity/performer named Ichiro Suzuki checks in, and not much later strange happenings begin to occur. Such as the entire hotel being enveloped in water, a giant beanstalk that goes through the hotel, or a bunch of mysterious large frog-like figures looking to take Ichiro with them. To my dismay it’s never explained what’s causing these events, or what they have to do with our characters in the first place. I also failed to find any symbolism behind them. So I assume they’re just meant to be weird abstract adventures for the sake of being abstract and fun. Maybe occurrences in this world aren’t completely out of the ordinary. I mean, there’s even a bit where Maise’s relative is a legit medium. Who’s able to sense sorrow in Ichiro just by looking at him through her hand.


The ambiguity to these occurrences is my biggest gripe with the show. Given the length of them, I wasn’t expecting anything too in depth regarding the characters or lore to their world. But I was expecting more of an explanation for why any of this is happening in the first place. Why did Maise accidentally crushing Ichiro’s glass vase cause their environment to go back to normal? Is it all make believe? Is everything we’re witnessing just an exaggeration of events that actually played out? That’s what I assume at least, but even then I’m still left with lingering questions.

So did this series of shorts match the wildebeest of the flick that played before it? No, but it did tonally fall in line with it. While I wouldn’t call it an Iyashikei, it’s still just a series of random events in the lives of the characters we follow. Though I’d say this has a more definitive plot and central conflict than Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko. I admit though that this is a great companion piece to that movie, so kudos to GKIDS for screening these together. As for the movie on its own, if you have 25 or so minutes to kill, using it to watch this would be a great time. Don’t expect anything too life changing from it though. But do expect a very unique visual aesthetic, and some beautiful backgrounds that serve as a nice backdrop to a unique spin on the,”boy meets girl” type of story. Or should I say “Deiji meets Girl”....Who even is “Deiji”?

It had everything going for it, but it's execution was just not all the way there.

The story is rather simple. A girl named Maisa Higa works with her father in her family hotel business after experiencing an injury in handball, although this is never actually told in the show, as far as i believe. She meets one of the hotel residents, whose name is Ichirou Suzuki, and they go through weird, unexplained natural phenomenon's together. After that, the rest is history.

It's practically a 24 minute special divided into 12 episodes, and i think this is where it fails the most. Abruptly stopping the story ... every minute broke the immersion i had with everything else the show had to provide, and i think if it was just one short special directed in a way where all the individual episodes are put together in a seamless manner, it would've been received more positively by the community, and by me as well. It's unfortunate to say this, because Deji Meets Girl has such weird yet engaging world building which falls victim to subpar storyboarding.

Moving on from it's ill-fated directing, the show actually does provide some sweet visuals. The character designs are cute, the backgrounds are even cuter, and the wacky imagery is there to back it up the whole time. To the hotel being filled up with loads of colorful fish and a ginormous tree, the show at least tries and most of the time succeeds to entertain you with its audiovisual aspects, which LIDENFILMS does pretty well here, despite me having negative opinions here and there about them as a studio. The animation is smooth, the CGI fish were fair and not a pain to look at, and the show is objectively well made, but it doesn't do much beyond that.

I leave this show feeling empty, but full. It's a weird mix of wanting more, but being somewhat content with having less. I will say though, if the decision was made to make this show into an hour-long movie instead, i truly believe it would've been way more successful. Because, if this was a film, it could've been up there with Your Name and Weathering with You, as it's cuteness is pretty formidable.

End of review.

The story does not excel neither of fantasy nor even construction of the characters but the animations and colors are exploited in order to make you fully live that typical Japanese summer feeling.

Despite not having memorable moments is a series that thanks to its short duration, only 2 minutes, can make you spend that half an hour of time in total relaxation.

The supernatural element makes no difference and absolutely does not stand up to the pace of series that feature the same theme released in the same period (Mieruko-chan, Platinum End, etc...).

It is definitely not a series to see absolutely but that if you have ... nothing to do or see could be a good pastime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5