Oniichan wa Oshimai!

Like many, I was impressed with the debut of Studio Bind and their highly-anticipated, highly-praised, highly-controversial anime adaptation for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, and like so many more, I was already getting excited for its second season as soon as its first came to a close. However, also like many, I proceeded to be half-disappointed, half-confused when I saw the announcement for Oniichan wa Oshimai! with the name of Studio Bind—the studio which I thought was created for the sole purpose of adapting Mushoku Tensei—so proudly attached. A veteran animator like Shingo Fuji making a directorial debut at a studio I can actually trust to ... produce something competent is always something to be excited about in my book, but would some goofy gender-bender manga adaptation really be worth pushing back Mushoku Tensei season two??? Call me the Grinch—no fun allowed—but could something like this really feel like time well-spent for such a capable studio and talented staff? Because after watching it, all I can really say as to the answer to that question is “hopefully yes.”

“Hopefully,” as in, “I hope this series ends up feeling worth MY time and effort to review,” since nothing else airing this season apparently is. I guess I could review season sixty of My Hero Academia or season forty of Bungou Stray Dogs, something like that, piss a bunch of people off, etc. But what’s the point? Where’s the fun? What can be said about the endless deluge of shounen baby formula, highschool romcoms, and isekai/grossly-isekai-adjacent fantasy adventures which populate the apparent entirety of this winter season that hasn’t already been said about prior, similar, questionably distinguishable contemporary anime to complete exhaustion? I’m going to try to refrain from ragging on the actual quality of the anime produced this season from a technical perspective, even though I most certainly could (and don’t be sure that I won’t), and I’m instead going to ask that we all take a moment to appreciate the eye-watering banality of it all from a creative perspective. Even everything popular, seemingly, is a next season of a show I already reviewed and can’t bare the thought of writing about again.

Then there’s Oniichan wa Oshimai!, the unequivocal best anime I’ve ever been this fundamentally disappointed by. It’s a show about your typical NEET otaku protagonist getting dragged out of their room and slowly but surely rehabilitated and reacquainted with normal, social, everyday life through the power of friendship, family, whatever. The element of the story which gives the series its excuse to call itself different and stand out from the crowd is that the inciting incident which first begins to push our hero, Mahiro, away from the NEET lifestyle is that his magical(?), genius(?), scientist(?) younger sister administers him an undefined mystery drug that turns him into a girl. Wacky, right? Don’t see many gender-bender anime around these parts, now do we? But if you look past the quirky gimmick, the oh-so outrageous loli fanservice, and the consistently mind-bogglingly fantastic animation, I’m afraid you’ll be left starring in the face of, essentially, an anime you’ve already seen. I’m not saying the series is generic, because, indeed, it’s a tad fucking weird. What I’m saying is that I wanted more Space Race type shit. Ya know?

If we’re gonna sip our cognac and be high-class, gentlemanly and ladylike, intellectual critics about this, then I think it’s worth taking a full-stride step back and making the general commentary that this was an enjoyable series. It has that nice cushiony fuzz to it where I could just sit and un-impatiently watch the damn thing. All an anime really needs to succeed when it comes to borderline slapstick comedy, at least in my book, is competent voice acting, which this anime has; creative direction and good timing, which this anime has; lots of movement and visual energy, which this anime has; and good character designs matched with memorable, funny, broadly entertaining facial expressions, which this anime has in fucking spades. So often did they go for the most obvious joke and still make me laugh anyway. It’s just the most technically well-executed version of the simple thing it is, and the simple thing it is is silly. And that’s fine…and I expected that…I just wanted more Space Race shit. I wanted it to have something that would fucking reach out and slap me in the face if I tried lumping it in with “the other basic moe shows currently airing” other than “lol he got turned into a girl.”

If you were to scroll through the seemingly endless waterfall of seasonal anime which aired this season, intentionally paying each promotional image nothing but a mere glance, combining every entry which your brain subconsciously finds difficult to visually distinguish into one anime, you would end up with I’d wager something like five or six. There simply isn’t enough pizzazz popping out, nothing to get your neurons firing in different enough directions. My eyes simply could not in rapid succession pass by the MAL entries for, for example, “The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World” and “The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World” without my mind fumbling incredulously at the alleged uniqueness of the two properties. When a friend of mine first learned I was considering writing for this series, he said, “Ain’t no way you’re hoping on this crazy train.” To which I frankly replied, “When does the crazy kick in?” Oniichan wa Oshimai! has a memorable premise, I’ll give it that, and I’d consider the cast of characters particularly quirky to watch, but the wholesome NEET recovery routine has been done so often now as to, well, be a routine at this point. Like, if this wasn’t such a heartfelt, technically impressive animation passion project, what would it be the sum of its actual parts?

To play Devil’s Advocate, it’s worth pointing out that the first half of Hikari no Ou came out this season, so…that was probably interesting and worthwhile…presumably? Buddy Daddies, as well, looks fun, decent, cute enough…DOESN’T IT??!?!?!!????? Clearly I’m just being an asshole about the whole seasonal anime thing, right? I mean, what? An anime becomes worthless and derivative as soon as the arc of its story begins resembling an established genre of past works? Is that the argument I’ve been making? Because that’s a fucking stupid argument. If my whole thesis statement is Oniichan wa Oshimai! is somehow not worth watching because it is to whatever degree “formulaic” underneath the visual gloss, then this is a bad review. I just don’t have the fucking time anymore, okay? I’m like a normal fucking person now with a life, under pressure. If I’m gonna soak back into this, I wanna be pulled in hard. I wanna suffocate in the quicksand that got me this deep in the first place. I wanna be wooed, wowed, kapowed—swept up, up, up, and away, or plunged into the abyss. I don’t just want to watch something good; I want to watch something special; I want to watch some new and exciting, boundary-pushing, Space Race shit. Evidently, I want to watch something that didn’t air in the apocalyptically unimpressive season of Winter 2023.

But hey? This is all sounding more and more like a me problem.

Thank you for reading.

The only reason why I decided to give this anime a shot is because of the fact it was going to be animated by Studio Bind. Therefore, I thought... "Why not? Looks interesting to me. A gender-bender anime about a failure in life who became a loli by his or should we say 'HER' now to give HER a second chance in life." Now I know what you're thinking, if you look into this out of context, it's essentially a story about a fully grown man who's living alongside middle schoolers who don't have the slightest idea of this PERSON's past, yet it's treating it ... as if the main character was never a grown man, to begin with. This review is here to give you the judgment needed whether this anime is worthy of your time.

This anime gives off a similar feeling to Maid Dragon, in terms of its environment, atmosphere, the fluidity of its animation, and the existence of school kids in the picture. For a comedy anime, it has no business looking this good. Studio Bind may be a lot of things, but pushing out rushed products was never one of them and it proves just that despite being their 2nd known work after Mushoku Tensei. Hence, I'm looking forward to whatever anime they can make and never getting blinded by money.

Mahiro, who is the main character (victim) of the anime, starts to get her crap together and decided to put some backbone into improving her life. How does she do it, you ask? Well, by making her befriend children who are way out of her age group but it's okay... "Because her body physically looks like a teen, therefore it's fine if she's hanging out with them, it's not like she's an actual stranger who has lewd desires." I, for one, enjoy watching this anime, but it's damn near impossible to try and defend the plot when you actually take a step back and realise what it's like in a nutshell. Thus, I'm not going to defend it and fully admit that it's detestable. Allow me to provide you with two perspectives about Onimai!

"Why can't they just make Mahiro initially a female middle schooler to begin with?" - Point 1
Doing it this way should solve the 'grown male turned female child' issue, however, it would lose its reaching appeal. The only reason we're here, to begin with, is that Mahiro turned into a girl is the main catch or else, we wouldn't be here. It would lose its appeal and has no chance of standing foot against other seasonal anime.

"Why make her befriend herself with children? Why not adults?" - Point 2
Honestly, I would also appreciate it if they do it this way. The story could easily just make her try to find a job (be a cashier or cleaner), get money for her household and meet new people, which solves two things, Mahiro being a functioning person in society and having friends to talk with. But no, then we wouldn't have our CGDCT and School section, to begin with. Hell, Mahiro has essentially forgotten almost everything she has ever learned back in her earlier school days, therefore she has to go back and do it again (although I don't think it has to be like this).

I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this anime. I had a good time watching it, hell I thought it was going to be just a mediocre show. When you don't try to think about the bad things it built its foundation from, you get to see some cool wholesome and genuinely cute moments, aligning with adorable character designs, it's a blessing for the eyes. It fulfils the CGDCT theme most definitely.

The characters are kind of a mixed bag, while Mahiro and Mihari ended up to be quite decent characters, there were particularly two characters that left a bad aftertaste whenever they take up screentime. Kaede and Miyo were so off-putting, for different reasons. Starting with Kaede, she's a walking fanservice icon, her boobs are big, she dresses up like a gyaru and has no problem wearing skimpy clothes, which honestly shouldn't be a problem if it shows them erratically, but it happens so often that it makes me want to stop watching for a while and take a breather. Another issue is with Miyo, who acts like a lesbian voyeurist for the most part and is mostly played for fan service jokes. The pandering is so obnoxious and out of place despite it being a cute wholesome anime. As for others except for Momiji, they act nothing more than tropes adding to the comedy it seeks.

In conclusion, watch this if you want:
- Cute characters doing cute things.
- Really good animation and visuals.
- Decent main character writing.

I don't recommend it if you can't:
- Turn off your brain thinking of the gross things in life.
- Stand unnecessary fanservice in your face.
- Dislike abysmal plot development.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

This anime is a pretty polarizing piece of media. It is something for the male gaze and for lolicons. Trans people and cis women will probably not like it (but not generally, like what you want). Studio Bind already showed with Mushoku Tensei that a sexist world can be interesting for viewers and if the production is good enough, r*pe humor will keep people entertained. This is their second IP they touch and oh boy, it got worse.

The original manga has the same problems with their initial setup, but leans more into the slice of life aspects than the anime does. The anime has a ... really weird focus on making everything sexual and being apologetic about situations, but doing it anyways. The animation on the other hand is gorgeous, the voice acting is nice and the opening is a banger (for the genre). The only problem with it is some scenes where certain parts of the body seem to have been done in more detail than everything else, which looks a bit weird.

The story is about a boy getting turned into a little girl by his little sister, who is a genius scientist and learning about situations in a girl's life. But don't think it is a trans story. He still wants to be a man and says that often, but sometimes thinks that he may live with his new gender now, because not everything is bad about it. It is basically the opposite of a trans story. xD But a lot of the scenes and situations can be very sweet and adoreable. You just have to be into the humor or live with it.

In my opinion the anime is the worst this genre has to offer, but I understand what people like about it. You probably have to expect those series by Studio Bind and it is fine. Love it or hate it, be outspoken about it, do what you will with it. : )

Studio Bind has given birth to an anime like no other: a magical sex shift anime with cgdct stuff. If my parents were to walk in on me while I was watching this show, I would quickly switch to a porn tab, how would one explain a loli girl moaning? But let’s get to the real point, is it worth watching? If one is able to look past the initial shock factor of episode 1 then the show has a lot to offer. A fanservice episode doesn’t necessarily mean its the end of the world.

The story starts off like any other simplistic gender-benders. An otaku ... ero-gamer, room temperature IQ, socially inept brother got transformed into a young loli girl by his little sister. This is not the typical fanservice-laden anime, it is just another wholesome slice of life show like Kobayashi. This is a mixed review with some honest appraisal so expect up and downs fluctuating throughout.

This show could’ve done well without the fanservice bait in the first episode, which seemed to be intended to entice loli lovers. However, this was a double-edged deal as it drove away as many viewers as it attracted. Little hype was generated by well-known YouTubers due to its questionable potential. Most viewer’s starting point is the trailer, and they were likely traumatized by the excessive fanservice, among other things. The only two unique aspects of this show are that the main character is surprisingly wholesome, not being a pervert or supporting incest.

Story-wise, the way the pace goes this is absolutely perfect. Not an uncommon story since its about rehabilitation but they used a unique way to tackling this. The character development focuses on how the Hikikomori might recover by becoming a girl. Onimai takes a comedic and simplistic approach to the brother's recovery, and did it help him? The short answer is yes, but it took a harsh amount of sacrifices. These “women POV situations” are relatable to the female audience and the males would definitely be curious as well. It even helps build their main objective. I really like the knowledge this author has for these type of small things.

The only noteworthy accomplishment achieved by a character in this series is their transformation from a naive and immature individual to a more mature and understanding one, as well as touching grass. In terms of the characters, Oshimai’s cast of characters aren’t that impressive overall. While they may initially come off as endearing, loveable characters, not much is truly fleshed out enough to really make a statement. Lots of side characters come and go merely getting small screen time. At later episodes the characters become more integral to the show, providing wholesome scenes and moments. The main characters, Mahiro and imuoto, also often create heartwarming scenes. The inclusion of yuri elements was expected, but the show has managed to avoid any incest relationships, which is truly commendable.

Vibrant backgrounds, captivating artstyle, and aesthetically pleasing visuals make this show stand out. Its colour palette is far superior than the dull hues of many modern anime shows. This show art is incomparable it even made gyaru style look good on Mahiro. The character designs are well-crafted and you get a good feel of who they are. While their personalities maybe somewhat flat, they are still distinct enough to be recognizable. This show is sure to draw in viewers with its unique visuals and engaging enough characters.

VA’s were slightly well chosen, they sync well with the characters portrayed. The OST of Onimai is quite exquisite, with a blend of melancholic melodies that perfectly encapsulates the atmosphere of the show. Although there is no OP/ED that stands out as particularly noteworthy since it was an okay level, but it is fitting for a sol-ish anime. The most controversial aspect of the show is unironically the animation of its opening sequence, which features blatant fanservice. Therefore, one may opt to skip it if they wish.

It is impossible to assert that there is no merit in watching this show; however, it is far from excellent but close to being great. It offers some enjoyable moments, but still lacks any real substance. Despite its potential, it fails to present any endearing characters, making it a forgettable experience in the long run. Its unique art style and remarkable animation are its saving graces. If you are looking for story or plot, this show should be avoided however, it is a great option for those seeking something lighthearted and wholesome.

There is something oddly weird about this show. Think of it like Dragon maid. While there are for sure, sus moments, and moments that are very questionable. Because underneath some questionable material, is something that is actually quite wholesome, and really knowledgeable for that matter. But also, something I doubt many will touch upon, that it's not too perverted? Like, one would suspect that it would completely dive in that direction from the MC, going from a boy to a girl, but weirdly enough, it's more tame in that department.There are still moments that hit that way, but they're not major as one would think. ... Which is quite nice, as if we had a pervy MC, it'd be a bit more disturbing.

Story and characters:7
To go over the show, as it's explained in the synopsis. Sister turns her big brother into a little sister, and how now she is adapting to the change, but how the sister is monitoring and studying him. but with a sweet side to it. As if she really wants to help her sibling live a happy life, to be happy with where they are, rather than being a shut in with no friends. Because honestly, despite their differences in ability and popularity level. They have quite an honest and good sibling love for one another. There is a legit care between them, and that is the major wholesomeness to this. It's a weird watch yes, but wholesome? Can't deny that it isn't.

I've touched on a bit on the characters, but to go in further, I would say there are a lot I can see from Dragon maid, by that I mean in terms of an upbeat tone of content, and driven character. The sister seems like a perfect person who can do anything, but is a big sweetheart, despite a few weird sides to her, but she's having fun having a little sister, whom is the onichan she cares for. As for Mahiro themselves, throughout the show, I expect them to change over time, but they're good too. The sister may be the stand out. But the loner is the one who was the excellent older sibling, that made the strong relationship possible. They're a great character.

Art and sound: 8
Honestly, the animation reminds of like Do it yourself from the previous season. A colourish, but looking more cartoonish look in parts. It's a style that works, and works well with the animes contents, and doesn't look bad at all. While some go for a more breathtaking experience, this uses a good simple palette, and does it well. With a great matching scene by scene sound design, to really run the anime home.

Oniichan may certainly be weird, like really. But there is an honest to good, wholesome vibe about it, that makes it a must watch for sure. Long as it doesn't go too weird that is. But from the first three episodes, it's certainly been a wholesome experience for sure.

imo
when i watch the trailer for the anime i would think "ah shit a gender bender ass anime"
but after watching it, it actually wholesome even though the anime contain ecchi moment and so call "fan service" moment
from a "shut-in" brother that never go outside or even talk to his little sister and now he in his girl form start to go outside and start to talk with his little sister again even making some new friends
i would recommend for those who like wholesome anime
i know that some of you dont like ecchi or fan-service but give it a try

I love this anime.

Some other reviewers are disturbed by the forced feminization as a betrayal and irritated by how trans people could like this anime. I think this anime is wholesome and it should have “slice of life” as a tag as well.

Like what betrayal, Tohru the dragon was attacked by gods against her own will and it is tragic and she was betrayed? So what? It is a fiction? And a gothic loli joins to her gang but they were licking each other in bathroom? And the most horrible character appears Ilulu? Still does not make anything from the show's wholesomeness about how a ... girl tries to escape roles forced tot her and her embracement of her feelings and her relationship with her father? Stoicism of a software engineer? Kobayashi Dragon maid had much more to offer than the loli stuff and some people cannot see it.

I think Onimai has many things to offer as well. Like what would you do if you were able to live your life again? What made Mahiro depressed in the first place? How would you separate yourself from porn addiction and explore the life again? Also where are their parents? How did they support each other for all those years as kids alone? Many questions and so on..

So, just enjoy it people.

If you don't like it, don't watch it. I don't watch things like for example "Rent a girlfriend" or "Tonikaku Kawai" which is just exploitation of women and some sex abuse jokes for me.

Onimai will go down as one of the best anime of 2023. Sadly, it’s also one of the misunderstood shows. It’s faced constant backlash and slander from people who based their entire judgement of the series on a few small scenes or a character design. This is not lolicon bait, CP bait, whatever you want to call it. Onimai is a genuinely well written and wholesome story about self-acceptance, growth and developing interpersonal relationships.

Studio Bind’s second anime project could not be more different from Mushoku Tensei, yet it retains the same attention to detail, directorial prowess and film like artistic quality we’ve come to expect ... from the studio. The series follows Mahiro, a shut in Neet who has nothing really going for him other than his video game skills. He’s turned into a middle school girl by his mad scientist little sister and given a second chance at life. While it may seem like a wild premise, the show is extremely mild and focuses on Mahiro developing and strengthening relationships with her sister, new friends and coming into her own socially. It’s one of the best examples of the reborn story trope because it presents healthy solutions to social anxiety and depression in a surprisingly mature way.

Yes, there are a few moments of fan-service throughout the series. It would not be anime without it. However, the fan-service never overtakes the importance of the story and these moments are fleeting throughout the series lasting a couples minutes at most. Of course, some would like to only focus on those moments instead of all the wholesome and cute moments in the show, which is a shame. I enjoyed seeing Mahiro grow up right in front of our eyes every episode. Seeing her go from just staying home all day and being depressed to taking the first steps of personal improvement like enrolling in school, hanging out with friends, opening herself up and becoming vulnerable to others, etc., it was a joy. By the end of this season it was like I was not even watching the same person anymore with how far she’d come. But it wasn’t just her. You could see the impact she had on those around her, even her little sister and that was the best part for me. It’s a shame that people got so caught up in a few moments of fan service in this show and allowed it to define their experience. There’s so many valuable life lessons in Onimai and I think we can all learn a thing or two.

Like I said before, Studio Bind did their thing here. Every episode was so well animated. It’s nice having a studio working on this that doesn’t have a crazy work schedule for its staff. Every episode has so much vibrancy and the care that went into it is palpable. Probably some of the best booba physics mechanics I have seen in the medium as well. Great art style, consistent animation and solid direction. Can not ask for more.

I could probably write a dissertation on Onimai, in fact I probably will in a video or something one day, but suffice to say this is a very heart warming story about coming into your own as a persona and opening yourself up to other people. It’s a scary feeling, but a very rewarding one like this anime shows us.

Onimai gets 10 out of 10.

DO NOT WATCH THIS IF YOU:

-Don't like Gender Bender, Cross-Dressing or Trans works
-Don't like satire about sexuality and gender
-Are sensitive to fanservice and find it in all its forms disgusting
-Are a NEET who has been living under the tutelage of your younger sister for 2 years and does not wish to be represented on this show
-An idiot who doesn't get jokes

This is WRONG, absolutely WRONG. But in a discreet and provocative way, firstly uncomfortably funny and later cutely funny, but it's a story about getting another chance at life.

Okay, so the story is that after two years of living a hikikomori life, Mahiro Oyama, an ... eroge-loving NEET, wakes up one day as a girl. All this coming from a drug made by her younger sister, Mihari, through an unethical experiment. Without his consent, Mahiro is now forced out of his bubble to live a new opportunity as a girl, act like a girl, dress like a girl… yes, anyone reading this will immediately notice something wrong going on there and I don't blame you if you find it repugnant at first, but sometimes one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and trying to explore something out of the ordinary can bring unexpected results.

Onimai is basically told as a Slice of Life, but with a bit of unreality and humor as the character's sexuality takes a major role in the development of the show. However, don't expect a serious and in-depth story from this, but rather a whole range of jokes and problems that Mahiro is going to have with his own self, be it from having to hide his masculine past in front of his friends to dealing with his menstruation periods. All these types of jokes can offend many who go to see this show. Fortunately I'm not one of those and I like when humor has its mischievous tone.

The animation is its star point of the show, with the details and settings too vivid. Similarly, the rather colorful environment and flashy/moe character design is an appealing point for an audience that has been following Studios Bind's Mushoku Tensei for some time, even though Onimai is only his second work to adapt. The creative freedom taken by the production means that the program also bothers to make cultural references, especially video games, at certain points in the episodes. There's even some Titanic and Space Odyssey parody, plus a mahou shoujo transformation sequence, not entirely new to any parody, but quite elaborate - ironically its director, Shingo Fujii, had been a part of working on the Precure franchise before.

Marika Kouno (Mahiro) and Kaori Ishihara (Mihari) return to reprise their leading roles, now in the TV version of Onimai. They had previously provided their voices for the Drama CD, released years ago. They both manage to capture the sisterly dynamic, especially Mahiro whose lazy and childish nature comes off quite well. Although the casting cannot be generalized as one of the most memorable, they fulfill their role in giving all the characters cuteness and personality.

Both the opening and the ending are quite good, a standard electronic J-pop music style. But what really catches the eye is its video sequence that generally places too much emphasis on Mahiro's cute appearance; especially the OP, which is a fanservice fest, where at the beginning they show us some shots of her dressed in a sports uniform and school bathing suit - all this to give the viewer an uncomfortable but funny feeling that the person on screen was previously a boy. Or that comic “symbolism” where Mihari directs Mahiro on a banana boat to the Moon where a couple (one of them with a female figure) of rabbits make mochi. The ED, on the other hand, is a little more relaxed except that Mahiro is dressed in a bunny outfit and performs an improvised choreography inside her house with the rest of her friends, while the animation style is quite smooth and different from the rest; with a resemblance to the manga design.

And speaking of fan service...

As a reader of the manga, this draws attention to the great difference between the adaptation and the original material, with the character design being one of his main points, adding more color like Mihari's purple bangs. However, the most notable change is that of Kaede who receives a "buff" on her physical appearance, appearing to be much more gyaru and sexy than she is in the moeism of the manga. To all this, it is likely that manga readers feel that the anime places a lot of emphasis on fanservice - like Kaede's breasts, for example - but this is because the show seeks to extend some holes that in the manga it is reduced to dialogues and scenes quite short. Fortunately, unless you're allergic to a second of Mahiro in a cat suit, this mostly fades into the background and doesn't deviate from the original manga material.

It is from there when the Oyama brothers begin to fulfill their role as protagonists of the comedy.

All subsequent situations to the first episode give a different impression to the viewer that what is shown at the beginning is not as one might think. A bait to generate moral controversy. What at first is an unwanted forcing begins to show the results of Onee-chan's experiment. Although superficially, Mahiro begins to carry out certain activities that he did not do in his previous life as a boy, and if you take the premise with a certain amount of humor, you will be able to enjoy Onii-chan's evolution with joy.

The rest of the characters, although they have a minor appearance than the Oyama sisters, are there to usher Mahiro into his new life. You've got onee-san Kaede, her tomboyish younger sister Momiji, yuri's shipper Miyo, and her spirited best friend Asahi. You also have Nemu, the class sleepy girl who makes certain appearances to a lesser extent. It's not the first anime where you've seen these character archetypes, and the show makes good use of the characters in every juicy situation with Mahiro, especially when her pacing is relaxed and doesn't rush to introduce all the characters in a combo.

Perhaps the biggest problem that Onimai has, especially if you are a manga reader, are the risks taken by the production to adapt its content to the screen: from aesthetic changes to the characters to slightly rearranging the chronology of events. Likewise, those familiar with the manga will notice how the anime takes a slightly different tack by using fanservice to engage the viewer. But am I honest? This seems really entertaining to me. The few seconds where you see Mahiro being teased with her physical appearance or Kaede and Miyo's breasts are nothing compared to the rest of the content where the girls go out to have fun or share moments of school life - And more when this series is not oriented to being an ecchi, although I guarantee that someone who considers themselves a fan of it will enjoy it.

Also, with this tendency to adapt works related to gender change (Fabiniku, Kendeshi, Reborn to Master the Blade, Ayakashi Triangle, etc.), Onimai is another one on the list for an audience that is looking for something even slightly different from the normal thing. You shouldn't feel guilty about enjoying every bit of the show, because the least you'll see is over-the-top fanservice. Yes, you will see Mahiro and other characters taking a bath, or showing Kaede and Miyo's breasts (one episode is literally titled "Mahiro Ponders Boobs and Identity"), but it works to push a more rebellious humor than usual from a moe comedy.

Yet what really makes Onimai soar and take off is the production value and creativity. Despite not being the best comedy that exists, works like these show how important artists are in the media, who can write, draw and give life to the characters as they see fit. Some may have a different impression of Onimai, but if it had a standard generic CGDCT animation and design, and not an "unnecessarily" sakuga style of colors, it would at best be a disappointment and fade into utter irrelevance - Especially in the West where we tend to forget that a good part of these anime are aimed at the Japanese market.

So what would you do if you changed your sex overnight? Would you change your lifestyle? Would you stop doing the same activities? Or would things be as usual? What would be your decision?

For Mahiro Oyama, all of these and more, he had to answer in this brilliant, provocative, and cute show like Onimai.

Don't listen to the people who said this anime is only for pedophiles and lolicons. The extreme fanservice is only present in the first episode and the opening. Skip the opening if you don't like it. Read the manga instead. It's worth it.



This anime is a feel good slice of life with cute moments and you can feel happy watching Mahiro grow as a person. The animation is great and feels so fluid and the art style is just eye candy.


The story is your normal slice of life stuff after the first episode after Mahiro gets turned into a girl. It's heartwarming to see Mahiro ... go from a shut in to a person with friends and socialize with others and making memories from it.

It is true that there is some slight fanservice sprinkled throughout the show and I understand why people wouldn't enjoy that. So I recommend the manga of the anime if you really want to get into onimai but can't stand the fanservice. It's way more tame in the manga.

Overall I really recommend this show if you want a feel good anime. It will melt your heart.

Thus far this show has been a definite mixed bag. Whilst it keeps a lot of the wholesomeness and cuteness that the manga has it also adds a lot of unnecessary fanservice. Not only does the anime constantly sexualise Mahiro, whose body is that of a middle schooler's so yikes, but it also manages to change several parts of the manga through the fanservice.
It feels as if the anime is often putting the comedy on the back burner in favour of having the newly added fanservice be the main selling point.

Kaede I'd say is the worst off at this point, she feels like a different ... character because of the way the anime presents her. Her movement being animated in a fairly lewd way, her breasts being several cup sizes bigger than they are in the manga, and the jiggle physics; it all leads to her feeling less like a reliable onee-san who Mahiro comes to respect and more like a Lucoa like character whose main selling point is just being sexy. There's nothing inherently wrong with a Lucoa like character (as long as she doesn't go after children) but when Kaede in the manga feels like a subversion of the fairly common "lewd gyaru" trope it definitely feels wrong for her to be so different in the anime.

Yet at the same time the anime manages to surpass the manga in some ways. The menstruation talk Mihari and Mahiro have at the end of episode 2 is so much better than it ever was in the manga. In the manga Mahiro getting her first period is treated as just a moment for a couple jokes. The anime on the other hand uses the moment for some really nice bonding between them that would work so well with the overall tone of the manga. It elevates what was originally a fairly weak chapter and extra into a really wonderful scene that does such a good job at showing their sibling bond properly for the first time.
The anime is also more expressive in many ways. While I personally prefer the art style of the manga the anime's style allows for much more variety in facial expressions, though it doesn't always use it; Mahiro's reaction to seeing Kaede in a bikini for example is much better in the manga than it is in the anime but this is because the anime didn't really focus on her reaction the way the manga did.

So I can't call the anime complete rubbish at the moment, though that might change depending on how they'll handle the rest of the show. For now at least, it has its value. It's just that you have to shift through a lot of bad changes to the overall feel of the story to find that value. I'd say the anime is best enjoyed alongside the manga with full awareness of what the source material is like so that you can spot the changes both good and bad.

Extremely cute and wholesome... but not made for hysterical puritans.

Originally, early complains about the show made me skip it. I actually tend to like _some_ fanservice, but not in combination with somewhat "childish" animation style.

Then, my daughter (8yo) had seen the first two episodes and enthusiastically recommended the show to me basically as a "must watch".

Long story short, we both enjoy it very much and consider it one of the best shows of this season. It is extremely cute (the ending sequence is possibly the cutest thing Ive seen in recent anime) and wholesome, and occassionally funny, with some Dragon Maid meets Yuru Yuri vibes. ... Unless you have a fetish in obsessing about such things, the fanservice is pretty much non-existent - besides the opening, there are only a few scenes that are borderline fanservice in the show itself.

So, If you like fanservice, go watch Dragon Maid or Guild of Depravity instead.

However, if you are oversensitive about fanservice, go watch Velma or some other modern American trash instead.

At first this anime made me question my sexuality, and it had a questionable story but the more episodes I watched I kept getting hooked in and it's likely be the same for you too.

Studio Bind overkilled the animation of Onimai, which is a Slice of Life anime, and they did not have to do this, but they did it anyway, 'cause why not, and I am so happy they did, because out of all the 90-ish anime I've seen this has the best animation. How? Well you can literally calculate the physics of a ramen noodle, and it would be 90℅ accurate because that ... specific ramen noodle alone is like 300 Frames long, and that's just only the ramen noodle, and not just the ramen noodle moves alone at that scene. The art-style is also so unique, it has a wholesome vibe to it, but the reason this is a must watch it's because they mess up the protagonist's hormones and because of this the anime creates a wholesome loli tomboy lesbian couple.

Yes, you read that right. Nobody did anything like that before, and I maybe end up in hell or something, but it will worth it because I am just so happy that they did this.

When I rate a Slice of Life anime a ten, I don't give it a ten, as a ten like Death Note, Banana Fish, Attack on Titan, no... A slice of life anime does not need action, it just need to have a good, and wholesome vibe and I don't know how else someone can make a ten out of ten anime with a story like that, if it's not done the same way as Studio Bind did it, and I am completely aware that the author created the plot and not Studio Bind, but the way they bring justice to this series it's unbeliveable.

I highly recommend this if you want a unique slice of life anime, because you sure watched the same school animes, or the same buying clothes, playing games, sleeping all day at home type of slice of life animes, but you did not see a project like this I guarantee you. I needed this fresh piece of meat. Animes like this is what makes me love watching animes again. I will watch everything that Studio Bind made from now on. I found myself a new favourite studio.

There is a SHIT TON of unnecessary sexualization of the main characters (as well as one-off characters) in this anime that does not appear in the manga, kept seeing comments saying the manga was 10x better, and I'm gonna have to agree, there is not an ounce of sexualization from what I've seen, an example is a scene in the latest episode (Ep 7), where the teacher has MASSIVE breasts for no apparent reason (which wouldn't be an issue, if not for the fact the show has already terrible rep. at this point in the show) while still she appears to look like a child, ... despite being a teacher? After a brief flip through the manga, SHE DOES NOT EXIST, they made her solely to go "boing boing" in one of the transition scenes.

One of the main characters, (Kaede I think her name is) has breast twice the size as they appear in the manga, the producers had a scene (that took up maybe half a chapter of the manga), take around 6 minutes of an episode, wanna know which scene that is: The swimsuit scene! Where they proceed by sexualizing Mahiro (who appears to be in middle school) for a quarter of the scene, while the other quarters of the scene focus on pointing out how large Kaede's breasts are, in comparison to his own sisters? The fuck?

In short, go read the manga, it has literally the exact same content, if not a few extra bits the anime did not include, while also not sacrificing the humor for "haha big boobie, me monkey brain go oo oo aa aa."

Better yet, go watch Azumanga Daioh, some peak comedy slice of life anime right there.

Don't believe other reviewers out there trash-talking this show, this is a good anime. if you don't like it then it might not be for you.
As a manga fan myself since it came out I'm not one bit disappointed with this adaptation. the animation is nothing but superb, Studio Bind is just showing off at this point that they can deliver god-tier animation like Mushoku Tensei on any show they touch upon. sure some might not be fond of the fan service of this show but hey, if you don't like it then go watch the censored version. They got 2 versions for a reason ... you know?

Onimai has finally Oshimai...

Onimai has got to be one of the best success stories this generation. I remembered reading the original when it was still a Pixiv manga all those years back, and seeing it animated with such high quality animation is simply stunning.

I knew I was in for a treat when the OP first played. Such fluid animation that blows everything else from this decade out of the water, with a flair you haven't seen since the 2000s ended, all wrapped up in a beautifully directed package by the always great Watanabe Akio. No rotoscoping, no 3DCG, no cheap stills, what you see ... is what you get. And this high level of quality continues on with the rest of the show.

Indeed, Onimai, despite the manga being from 2017, feels like a long lost series from the good old days of 2007, where shows with similar themes were much more common than it is today, where you'd get actual varieties in genres and not Isekai A and Isekai B all the time. Hell, this wouldn't feel out of place next to all time greats like Lucky Star or Zetsubou Sensei. A non-ironic non-otaku pandering GB show is so refreshing these days, and I'm glad Bind put in this much effort into making this show into what it is.

One aspect of the show, albeit minor, is the depiction of Mahiro's hobby. I just love seeing the attention to detail paid to depicting the parodies of the various manga/anime/games he owns (along with that one episode where they actually got the rights to show the actual manga covers). If anything, when it comes to Otaku culture, Onimai does serve as a time capsule for the future in preserving how things are in the late 2010s/early 2020s, similar to how Oreimo was for late 2000s/early 2010s.

Compared to the original manga, Onimai has several changes that make it really different from the original source material. Notably the fanservice has been jacked up considerably (the original was a purely wholesome manga, making this even more surprising). I didn't mind this however, if anything it was oddly nostalgic to be harkening back to an era where fanservice heavy shows were dime a dozen without heavy cuts to pander to an overseas audience. Even more surprising is how the show still maintains the essence of the original source material in spite of this, and can get genuinely heartwarming, nay, even more wholesome than the original manga ever could thanks to incredible voice performances and as always, the incredible presentation and directing that binds the show together. Comedic timing is nearly perfect. While some scenes can't be replicated 1:1 because an anime is fundamentally different to a manga when it comes to pacing your scripts, the anime takes advantage of the medium and reimagines scenes to fit the format better.

Mahiro is just so adorable. He's everything you'd want as a little sister, and Mihari's playfulness complements him very well. Not just them, but all the characters have incredible chemistry with each other. You can (and the show often does) mix different characters together and get interesting scenario after scenario out of them. My one minor gripe is Kaede's redesign. She never was that busty or slutty in the original manga, which did put me off a little. I suppose it fits her gyaru personality more, but her gyaruness was never really her appeal in the first place.

My praises above may make the show sound like it's nostalgia pandering, and it's not. Onimai is a show that can easily stand on its own without needing to do so, and believe me I have my fair qualms on nostalgia pandering in general. No, I get the feeling Nekotoufu always wanted to tell this story, and we are blessed that the best studio possible was tasked in making his vision (or some fanservicey version of his vision) a reality.

Mahiro is cute, and the show is very funny. I don't think there's much more you can ask for. It's great entertainment that's very easy on the eyes, and the emotional core is enhanced with the adaptation. Shows like these don't come often, and we have to appreciate what we have.

9/10

(Also eyecatches in a modern cute girls do cute things show!? This show really has captured my heart)

Whether you like it or hate it due to the themes it has, Studio Bind has crafted another masterpiece of animation in their relatively new hands as an studio even if not really fully new animators, giving us animation so good that would put MAPPA, Cloverworks and A-1 Pictures to shame in every single episode. Filled with “questionable” scenes that I couldn’t give less of a fuck if people complain about them or not, the series is about the NEET Mahiro who one day finds himself waking up as a girl due to a experiment from her sister who has been very worried about him, ... as she is basically searching for him to stop being a NEET, and what better way to do it than making him girl? There’s obviously no better way, right? Well the series won’t bother to answer you that question, but it will show you the way it plays out.

The premise of the series probably goes a little weird, but the way it plays out isn’t the big deal, and it is actually quite endearing and funny, and it’s not difficult to get attached to Mahiro, and with this I mean that it’s pretty easy to relate to Mahiro. As a guy, he turned into a NEET ever since he left high school and definitely had some kind of low self-esteem seeing how much his little sister improved and can live going without him helping her, after all, their parents are basically never around the house so he is left as the “man of the family” and you can even see when he tuns into a girl that he’s still fixated to that, to being the one around in charge even though he can’t, because his sister is more proactive than him and is so good that even goes to the university while being younger, and since he doesn’t have any big capacities, he feels as if he was left behind. His, or now, her social anxiety kicks in when she has to go outside and even return to school, to talk to people and make friends! You know, all of that complicated stuff that you are supposed to do. So we can see her struggle with it, but getting used little by little, while still retaining some of her antics that came with her being a NEET. I mean, this girl still has her room fully decorated with hot anime girls’ posters and figures without any kind of shame whatsoever, it really tells you when she was a guy he probably didn’t even come out of his room.

Stuff like when she watches the trailer of a movie and goes “oh, I can’t wait for it to be available online” hits pretty close to home, as I mostly watch movies months after they premiere, specially if they are anime movies, since no movie theater has screened anime movies in my country for years and the last anime movie I remember seeing at the cinema was Dragon Ball Z: Fukkatsu no F, so these are the kind of little moments that really draws you close to Mahiro, as is not difficult to feel in a similar fashion to her and seeing her reactions to everyday stuff. There is also one episode where some guys give her back chocolates for White Day, since she gave them chocolates for Valentine’s Day before, and then trying to take advantage of the situation, she asks them if it was only going to be one gift, and holy, I know this sounds weird, but I’m sure more than one person has asked themselves “how would I be if I were of the opposite gender?” out of sheer curiosity, and I have to say that very thing she did there is something that I have very much imagined I would do and she even left with a similar feel that maybe that would be too rude, but she had the opportunity to do it and took it.

So I can really appreciate Mahiro when watching the series, however, at some point there was this scene in episode 8, and I don’t want to sound like someone that likes to compare series disregarding a lot of stuff, but I have been like this for a long time, and when watching that episode seeing the girls at a sleepover talking and playing with each other I couldn’t help but to suddenly think in K-On! Season 2 episode 4 where a similar scene plays out, and that made me feel a little a bad, not because I think it is copying it, but because when I saw this scene in Onimai it seemed to lack emotion from both the episode and from myself, I couldn’t immerse myself on it no matter what happened, probably because my mind kept returning to K-On!, my best analogy would probably be that K-On! scene would be like eating your favorite food and you love it through and through because of how perfectly made it is, and watching that Onimai scene is like eating your favorite food, but suddenly you bite something hard and when you see it, it’s plastic, half of your food is made of plastic and you kinda just stop enjoying it for a second no matter how well it tasted before or how well done it looks like. So, after watching that episode I had to take a step back, leave Mahiro aside and think to myself: “who the fuck are these people?” And I mean that for Mahiro’s friends mainly, because this scene couldn’t feel fully organic from my point of view. Seeing them more thoughtfully I cannot help but think that they feel lifeless, not in the sense that they have no personality, they clearly have one, but in the sense that I can’t see these people as actual people, so there’s a big contrast between Mahiro and these girls.

There’s a reason why I love shows like Yuru Camp and K-On! so much, and it is because of how much I can relate to the characters and see people around me in them, but I cannot do the same for Onimai, it suffers from the same problem I had with Bocchi the Rock!, incredibly high productions values and the main character is relatable, I would say that Mahiro is arguably more relatable than Bocchi as her social anxiety aren’t being so exaggerated for comedy, but the other characters just aren’t on that same level, and I’m not saying Momiji, Asahi, Miyo or Kaede can’t have eccentricities ,but that’s really all they have to them, and this is one of the reasons as to why I cannot rate this anime higher.

No matter how much I love the series, no matter how much I like seeing Mahiro on screen, no matter how beautiful the animation looks like, no matter how many cute moments there are, the characters are the biggest detriment that I feel on here, and I got to that conclusion from that episode onwards, like they go too hard on them with Momiji literally going chuuni in a couple of episodes, Miyo’s only notable trait is that she seeing lesbians and that reminds me too much of a character from Fate/Kaleid that’s basically the same but with gay guys, Asahi is literally just there as she is dumb and not much more, and while I love every single time Kaede’s big fat voluptuous round anime tiddies are on screen, for Mahiro she is basically just the onee-san. I can give props to Mihari though, since I can actually see how she was worried by her brother and even if her methods of “helping him” reintegrating to society are questionable by turning him into a girl of all things, her worries feel real enough for me, as people around me do worry about me by similar reasons of not even being able to communicate for more than a couple of lines when I find myself alongside a classmate or even being almost incapable of going out and meet new people, her tears of happiness whenever Mahiro comes back after doing something she would have never made before are a really nice touch.

I’m making a harsh point on this since I think the biggest part of how to judge a slice of life series is their characters, they are the driving force of the series and the more you can make the audience to feel for them and to make them think of someone they can look forward to see just as if they were important to them, that’s why I loved Yuru Camp so much, that’s why K-On! is one of my favorite anime ever, because I can feel for the girls and feel happy while watching every single one of the episodes and feel very fond to the memories of watching them. This, sadly, and for my own distaste with myself, does not happen with Onimai, you could blame it on me for not enjoying those characters too much, but it is how I see them.

As I mentioned before the animation is always delightful to watch, the really fluid and natural movements of the characters on top of the extremely beautiful and consistent art. The background always look good, with a simple palette not making it too complex, which actually goes well with the setting of the series. There is a really high difficulty in finding fan service as well animated as in this series, as there is always animation bumps every time there are big breasts on the screen, seeing how much effort was put into every single movement was great. There is even this scene in episode 3 where there is a sudden art style change for a single scene and looks completely beautiful to the point of being movie quality, and it was made for a fricking joke of a trailer of something called “Space Titanic” with a Leonardo di Caprio parody included and all, there is also the ending song video which goes more similar to the art style of the manga but the animation demonstrated there is also incredible, you can really see all the effort put into this and how much passion the studio has over their work. I really hope Studio Bind can keep the good job they have been making so far both for this series and Mushoku Tensei, because if they remain on such high quality as they have so far, we’re probably seeing the early days of one of the new best studios in the industry, up there with legends like Production IG, Kyoto Animation, Sunrise and Shaft.

I really liked this series, and even if I think it is lacking in something that goes beyond what I’m seeing on screen, and it goes into something that I can’t put into words since I’m pretty bad at expressing myself, let alone expressing feelings. It is still a very enjoyable series and I’m sure if I check out the manga it will feel like the inferior version, I really doubt it will be as good as the anime because of everything put into it, but I’ll try anyways, the only thing I’m sure is that this series will maintain the status quo for a long time and whether that is good or not, I’m sure at some point of the series Mahiro will have to come to a conclusion on whether he wants to stay as a girl and keep living this life or return as a man, and seeing how gender bend series works, the option seem pretty obvious, but one may never know, even if it will always be easier to go for the cutest option since the other would be difficult to pull off.

Thank you for reading.

Onimai is a show about a man who turns into a little girl as a result of his little sister's science experiment. As the show progresses, the protagonist, Mahiro, starts to learn and understand the lifestyle as well as the body of a girl. At first Mahiro attempts to retain his masculinity but slowly accepts his life as a girl.

Compared to Mushoku Tensei's protagonist (which is another one of Studio Bind's work pieces) and Onimai's protagonist, both of them learn how to stop having unhealthy views about women as the story progresses as well as learn how to adapt to their situation. They both change ... as people overtime and learn how to become more upstanding. So while the beginning might be hard to sit through, the show starts to get better overtime and fun to watch.

I've read other reviews and understand the controversy that surrounds this series. The series controversial topic consist of trans and sexual themes. These did not prevent me from enjoying the show. It might be because I watched the show with my friends or that I am used to seeing this type of subject in anime. If you are able to watch through the show without being disturbed by the themes of sexualization of little girls or sexual themes in general, then the show is generally enjoyable. Find friends who have the same taste as you and watch this with them. It will make the show a lot more fun to watch and funny.

Overall, give this show a shot. Don't drop it after one episode. Try to watch at least two or three before coming to your own conclusion about this series. It is very fun to watch.

Studio Bind, you guys adapt the most polarizing things, but boy, does this studio animate things well! From the studio who adapted Mushoku Tensei, one of the greatest isekai adaptations ever, to Onimai, a gender-bending, mind-boggling show, that somehow ended up being a very wholesome CGDCT anime. Without a doubt, this show will be uncomfortable to many, and even as wholesome as it is, the initial premise does sadly bring my enjoyment down a little. Did this show have to be so fanservice heavy at the beginning? However, I will admit that as the episodes went along, they did end up very wholesome and at ... points, even quite hilarious. I will say though that if a different studio did this show with lower quality animation, I would not have enjoyed it as much as I did. Studio Bind, you saved an anime! Be proud!

Mahiro Oyama is a self proclaimed “home security officer”, who has been a shut in for years, indulging in his erotic visual novels, games, and anything of the sort. His genius sister, Mihari, worried for his well-being, decides to create a medicine that would turn him into a girl, as part of her “rehabilitation plan” for her brother. This show sounds weird, I know, but I had to remind myself, this is anime we’re watching! Other shows get much weirder than this!

In her newfound body, Mahiro has to adapt to being a girl, and that involves many things that I won’t speak of here, but you can catch my drift I think. With that, comes complete over-sexualization and a lot of of fan service, and that put me off this show, at least at the beginning, with how uncomfortable it can be at times.

I do understand what this show is going for, and that is for the protagonist to go through changes to form better and more healthy views towards women, by putting him in one’s shoes. It makes for some funny jokes that land sometimes, but not all the time. I don’t exactly know why the gender-bender was really necessary to make this show work, but it is what it is I suppose. I guess Studio Bind just likes to have protagonists who are otakus who get reformed in some way, first with Rudeus from Mushoku Tensei, and now Mahiro.

After the first few episodes, the show turns into a CGDCT show with Mahiro going to school, and meeting new friends and creating fun friendships. There were a lot of fun and wholesome moments for sure to be seen, and the characters are quite fun to watch, as expected from a CGDCT show.

The animation is phenomenal, to put it lightly. Very well produced and fluid in its movements, and the OP visuals are a great example of this. This show needed the Studio Bind treatment, or else it would have flopped very hard in my opinion. The music is decent, especially the OP and ED, which embodies how insane this show is at times.

Overall, while this show’s exterior is very unfriendly and weird to the average anime viewer, there is a lot of wholesomeness and friendliness to be found here, but this show would have been much better if it didn’t have the questionable premise to begin with, though I’m not sure how that would have worked to fit the themes of the show around rehabilitation. It’s definitely way less of a degenerate show than I thought it was, and while I did have my doubts at the beginning, I slowly grew to enjoy this show for what it was anyway.

Words cannot describe how great this manga is as a trans person, and let's get this out of the way already: Yes, Mahiro IS transgender, and has had signs of being throughout the entire show, Mahiro herself is what we call in the community "An Egg", or, in other words, a trans person in denial, or a trans person that hasn't realized they're a trans person yet, which is where Mahiro falls in. Notice that never once Mahiro asks Mihari to turn her back into a boy, despite being in denial of her girlish qualities, some things she says feel like it's taken straight out ... of things said by trans people in denial on an Egg subreddit, and there's even more after what the anime is covering in the manga (Also, Mahiro is a great girl of culture, as she explicity says things against incest, pedophily and shipping real people), with out of the way, let's start.

Onii-chan wa Oshimai is a show that follows the struggles of a trans girl in denial to accept herself and become a sociable person, and it does that by showing Mahiro interact with different people, her change is displayed visually by how she slowly starts using different clothes inside home instead of the same oversized t-shirt and uses different hairstyles throughout the show, Mahiro turns out to be a super nice person, and the characters around her are fun to watch.

Visually, this show is breath taking, stunning animation and colors, nothing out of the ordinary for studio bind, huh? The pastel colors fit really well with the show and watching the characters move is hypnotizing, the animation is consistently great.

The music overall is your standard slice of life anime music but sometimes it throws a pretty dang good bgs on your face, sometimes there's soundchip songs and those are pretty good too

Overall, this is an anime for everyone, even taking into account the first episode and opening, which for some reason was much more sexualized than the following episodes (which almost disappears from the show by episode 4), as far as slice of lifes goes, this one is up there, and it's an incredibly wholesome show to watch