Minami-ke Okaeri

Since the 2nd season of Minami-ke was a let down, this third season, Minami-ke Okaeri, was expected to bring back the enjoyment experienced from the 1st season. Good news is that it's really improved. The OP and ED is back to being good, and the show is now much more fun and interesting with the increased comedy and the cute developments. The character designs and animation has been modified again. According to some news I read before Okaeri came out, the producers tried to bring it close to the look of the 1st season and I'm glad to say that it didn't turn ... out badly. They also used the idea of strategically positioning the OP and ED in each episode, which is something I look for in anime, but I expect very creative and effective blending when producers try to do that, and it turns out as a so-so blending. Further going negative, the improvements were not enough to filter out all the bad things from the 2nd season. Some episodes were a bit boring, or maybe really boring but still, they have really good material in most of the episodes which greatly makes-up for it. You'll be expected to laugh here, very much on some parts, so it's a MUST WATCH specially for Minami fans.

Minami-Ke: Okaeri is the third installment in the Minami-Ke series, and while it does suffer from some problems, it should still be a series that most fans of the anime will enjoy.

Story:7/10
In any slice of life anime, we know that a strong storyline won’t be part of most of the series out there. As such, Minami-Ke: Okaeri sticks very strict to it’s layed back story formula. If you have seen the earlier two versions of this series, you will find pretty much the same kind of pacing and humor, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The jokes between the various characters are all present, however ... it seems to be missing the charm that the first two seasons brought to the table. Being that this is the third installment in the series, I was really hoping that at least some of the character relations and/or friendships would have come to some kind of closure or resolve. Sadly however there really is little to none here. Many of the "Kana vs. Chiaki" scenes that were made staples are sadly missing, as is many gags from Hosaka and Makoto (however, what they do have by them is indeed funny). And really that has been what the series has always been about; comedy! There are some pretty clever bits in this version, many of which can be quite hilarious. Now that doesn’t mean you get all giggles, because there are some hit and miss episodes, or ones where it starts off very funny, then starts to come down a bit (and vis a versa). One thing that I have always praised about the Minami-Ke series for, was how the show never relies on one sol character to keep the storyline funny, and once again it delivers on that regards nicely, and each character adds their own humor as only they can do! So aside from some hit and miss episodes with the humor, it still remains an enjoyable title for the "slice of life/comedy" fans out there.

Art: 6/10
I still to this day don’t know why they had to change the artwork from the first season. I realize that it has since been done by a different studio, but even still, the earlier version seemed to work well enough for it! Well they ended up tweaking it again, and gone is the creepy looking faces the characters would get when they were annoyed and the like. The eyes have been made a little bit smaller, and the characters seem to look a bit more mature. The backgrounds were pretty washed out, and didn’t really eave much of an impression. It was really hard to adapt to at first, but I found myself getting use to it by episode 4. The art isn’t anything bad really, it just seemed so unnecessary to change it in the first place.

Sound: 8/10
All of the background music from the series has followed along nicely throughout all the seasons, all with a little bit of tweaks here and there, it still remains quite down to earth and relaxing, with many soothing instrumental pieces. The voice cast has all returned to fill their roles for all the characters, and once again pull it off very well. The opening and ending songs are much more lively when compared to the original Minami-Ke soundtrack, and are quite catchy with their happy upbeat sounds! A nice soundtrack for the ears!

Characters: 8/10
The characters (along with their comedy antics) have always been a staple to the series, and once again it delivers. I found the character chemistry between some of the various cast members to be a bit more planned out for this version. We get some funny and tender moments between Chiaki and Kana! Hosaka and Makoto, while not seen as often as in the last seasons, are still as funny as they ever were. We also get some humor from characters either not usually funny, or even shown that much. Such as Riko and Touma. Heck even Fujioka has plenty of good humor to give! I was happy that the characters remained as fun to watch as ever!

Enjoyment: 7/10
I really did enjoy what the third season had to offer, the comedy and character interactions were overall very fitting to the Minami-Ke franchise. However, due to the fact that the comedy also wasn't quite as funny as the last 2 seasons, I enjoyed this one a little bit less than the previous. Still, what it does have to offer is still very good!

Overall: 7/10
The anime seems to be keeping a solid pace for the franchise. I don’t think the series has been quite as good as it had been back with "DAUME, " but I still feel that fans of the show should indeed check this one out as well. The comedy is still there, the characters are still as charming as ever, and hey--it is more Minami-Ke!

Short Review for the Reader With Little Time
Story (6/10): There is not a coherant storyline throughout the anime, but more of one than in the original. Just as depicted in the desription, the day by day lives of the Minami sisters.
Art (5/10): The art hasn't gotten better since the last season, in fact, it got worse. After the disappoint of Minami-ke 2, I was hoping the art be improved, or at least match the original Minami-ke.
Sound (4/10): Not much to say for music.
Character (7/10): The characters all share the air time, which is nice, but the new character designs are what bother me. The personalities ... are the same, also nice.
Enjoyment (5/10): Not as enjoyable as the original, or in fact, the second season of Minami-ke so far. However, it is still early in the series, so it could get better!
Overall (5/10)

Minami-ke:
Its basically a slice of life, comedy anime. Very chill.

General Plot/Story:
There is no overall plot or goal. No plot arcs. Just shows how 3 sisters live together in their apartment, go to school and have fun with their friends. Strictly episodic. In fact, each episode is kinda segmented too; dealing with a specific story. Story-wise its similar to Azumanga Diaoh. The only difference is that in Minami-ke, the minamis interact as a family whereas in AD its all about friends. Never felt the story dragged.

Slice-of-life-ness:
The slice-of-life part is done very well. Like very, very well. You know how many animes have the typical 'school ... opening part' --> 'kareesames (Christmas) party' --> 'sports fest' --> 'field trip' --> 'emotional part (love confession etc)'. Well minami-ke doesn't do that. It does something a bit different. To me, i felt like, instead of understanding the characters based on their reactions to events, we get to know characters by their direct interaction with each other.

The comedy:
The comedy is quite subtle mostly. There is less of the ridiculous-looking, exaggerated faces expressing emotion. Less of the screaming, silly poses. Basically its less slapstick in nature. It adds to the slice-of-life effect.

Characters:
In my opinion, they were very well performed. There were a few surprises here and there which didn't make them seem robotic. Personalities are easily distinguishable without falling into common stereotypical types. So its not like we have a dumbass, a smartass, a disgusting ass (?), the well-endowed ass, the handsome ass, the mature ass, the average ass....u get my point, right?
The variety of characters was also pleasantly surprising. The 3 minami sisters complement each other very well without developing a strict, rigid, 2D personality each.

Soundtrack:
Slow, soothing, matches anime genre. OP songs are awesome! My fav were 1st and 3rd. Note: 2nd season OP is supposed to be a parody of the serious slice-of-life types. Many ppl didn't understand tht and started hating on it.

Overall:
Very chill anime, nothing too exciting. Gives off an easy going feeling. Excellent for those who hate cliffhangers. Non-stereotypical characters. Main characters have some personality depth and are not like robots. Comedy is subtle and the not in-your-face kind.

p.s= kana is boss :P lookout for the famous, pink t-shirt xD

Man, compared to Okawari, this one is a breath of FRESH air. However, since they didn't do a whole lot of changes, I won't have a very long review like I did with the last two.

Right off the bat, they appear to have embraced the art style of the better season again! However, they unfortunately kept the redesigned characters of the second, so they all now just appear as though it were season one again. Even the backgrounds look more cheerful and colorful as they did in season one! Truly, this is a faithful new season in every good way.

My only complaint with this new ... season is that we had to keep those new designs, despite them even going on about how this season was to be faithful to the first. However, it's certainly more cheerful and colorful than the second and I enjoy it a lot. However, had it done a few things differently, it would have competed pretty well with the first season.

The good side with it merging with the two season is that it kept that Kana and Chiaki bond where they were starting to get along better and they did it really well. They took every good element from both seasons and basically made a really fresh season, which is something I have NEVER seen an anime do before; going back to an older art style. It is quite interesting.

So the question you are all waiting for: do I recommend THIS season? YES. It is a significant improvement and any Minami-ke fan will love it. If you loved the first season, you will enjoy this a lot as it is the true "second" season of Minami-ke in my book and you should not miss it. I even recommend the OVA as well, as it still retains the style of this season.

Funnily enough, they actually tried changing the hair lines briefly in one PART of an episode where they had the classic across the hair, akin to season one; mixed with the new way they do lines. Then after that segment ended, they went BACK to the original art style they implemented. It was quite hilarious and occurs at some point, so look forward to it.

this series is one of those that once you start it you are kind of obligated to belt it out ... however... i felt no obligation to watch season 3 of this series, on the contrary i could not wait for it to start airing.
---story>>> i have yet to find a story line to this series...no ... to this anime as a whole, so when it comes to story-line please do not expect much from it.
---Art>>> the art started to worsen after season one (worsen sound pretty harsh but i could not find another term); however the character design is good and it still ... has that adorable factor to it.
---Sound>>> i always loved the actor voices for this series and on this one i still do ... i think Chiaki's voice is the cutest thing ever.
---Character>>> this anime has one of my all time favorite characters Kana Minami... she is so cool and fresh, happy, and every time i see how dumb she is it brightens my day.
---Enjoyment >>> all i can say about enjoyment is "OF COURSE" this anime its enjoyable under any circumstance

Well... this season of Minami ke series isnt compare to the other two series. I like much Okawari and Mikami ke first season


The story is a quite slow, sometimes I got boresd and I didnt finish see all complete chapter. I think is the most slowly story of the 3 seasons.

The art is good, for me and that good for me, no more things to say. Is the same in sound. But... talking about sound I like the ending, the music and the song was so god, I like it. The opening was good, but was so strange that the studio put the opening ... so late in the chapters.

Every character has her/him own personality scince Minami ke and thats good. They keep that personality. Hosaka is still the most funniest character of all.

I put an 8 in enjoyment becouse the characters are good but I said that some epsodes were slow and borin, so, thats becouse.

I went and rewatched Okaeri recently and as I was watching it, I was thinking that it wasn't as funny as the original. But then Touma's brother visited the Minamis and scene had me crying with laughter again. And Kana is always awesome, especially whenever she's surprised or gets an "idea".

Okaeri isn't a radical change from the previous seasons, just little things here and there. They seem to have moved to the 3-segment style instead of part a/b, which is kinda annoying cause now I have to skip sections twice instead of once. Chiaki looks even more different now, which is ... neat. They did a pretty good job of trying to animate someone growing up physically; she looks a little closer to Haruka now. I feel like Haruka has evolved over the course of the seasons also - she's now a part of some of the humor and has a personality instead of just cooking/cleaning/school.

Overall, it feels like they were trying to transition Minimi-ke from purely great comedy to something that's more slice-of-life. It might not be for everyone, but it's worth watching just for the gems like Kana and Hosaka.

Okaeri is the third and last season to the Minami-ke series. Picking off from where Okawari left off, it's pretty much the same slice of life done in it's usual 'Minami-ke Style'. While the second season was a bit of a disappointment, the third season saved it from it's low points bringing back the cheeriness of the OP and the ED and an improved art style resembling the first season.

Story - Slice of life sums it all up, but is good enough to make you wish you were part of it. You really do wonder if these kinds of innocent happy times take place in ... a family of three adorable sisters is some part of the world.

Score: 9 - did what it wanted to do. Good job there.

Art - Has it's unique art style. Best of all three seasons. I love how all the faces are just ( ' A ' )

Score 8 - Great art, if they just overdosed with a few nicely added effects it would've passes as a 10

Sound - konobakayaro!

Score 8 - Voice acting is the strength to this. I can't really remember any of the music to this. OP and ED are good songs fit for the anime.

Character - Jesus, will I ever finish this review? Chiaki Minami will make you commit suicide in the hopes you'll be reincarnated as someone close to her. Freaking adorable. And the trap Makoto, just win, epic win.

Score 9 - Nice nice. I love all of them and would spend my live savings on figures.

Enjoyment - I got what I wanted and I'm really happy that i decided to spend my withering life span on this anime. I don't feel cheated at all!

Score 8 - made me lol, i have enjoyed

Overall - Great in it's own category. Probably one of the best slice of life I've ever seen.

Score 8 - it came made me lol then left. I would want to see more...

Wow, I cannot believe the seasons of Minami K are actually getting better as the seasons progress!
One similarity between this season and the last was the fact that over the last few episodes it gets quite emotional, as if it wants to leave off some sort of legacy. It is a bit weird but nonetheless it was nice.

the story is about 3 sisters who live together in an apartment. They constantly have a ton of friends around, including Mako Chan who is actually a boy but pretends to be a girl to get closer to the eldest sister, Haruka. Kana is the rowdy ... one, and Chiaki is the most composed.

This season had less episodes at school compared to either of the last 2 seasons so that was interesting. All in all pretty good season!

OP was good
animation best of the 3

You should watch Minami if you really like the whole calm, comedic type animes. No shonen battles here lol

Final Score: 7.5/10 I liked it better than 2nd season but same score. I can't give it the same score as Konosuba. Sorry!
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

Minami-ke Okaeri is much better than Minami-ke Okawari.

Rather than my usual template (characters, story, art, sound, enjoyment), since this is a sequel, I'll keep it very brief.

Minami-ke Okaeri is a much fresher version of the story of the Minami sisters. The art style has reverted back to the more bright and colorful atmosphere we grew to love in the first season, while the character designs seem similar to the second season. There is also a little less fanservice. The stories are as varied as ever, with much greater involvement of other characters. This season is also funnier than the second season.

Basically if you are ... a Minami-ke fan, you will enjoy this season, and will be happy to have gotten through the second season in order to get here.