Nanaraki: Seven Lucky Gods

The premise of gods and yokai trying to become popular with humans in the modern world to increase their power levels is interesting and could be very fun, but this just isn't it for me.

The animation is off-putting, and the humor is both crass and dry. The birthday bit in episode 5 feels like they let Ikuto Kanemasa loose to improvise in the studio and then just didn't bother to cut it down for the final product, and there are plenty of other "jokes" that drag on just like that one. Whenever this miniseries DOES try to be a little clever, it mostly boils down ... to Japanese wordplay and very specific pop culture references that don't always come across to a foreign audience. Watching each episode feels like being an unwanted third wheel in someone else's conversation where you are only occasionally able to pick a single reference out of the onslaught of in-jokes flying right over your head but don't understand enough to really contribute.

The monologue style in episode 1 CAN work, but there isn't much happening on the screen to pull in any interest, so it ends up feeling like it's an hour long because it drags so much. Episode 2 onward at least has conversations between multiple characters, but there's only so much "creepy old men lust after young women" bellyaching I can stomach in between the one predictable gay punchline and the tired "pretty lady has a boyfriend who is NOT conventionally attractive" joke anyone could see coming a mile away. The finale tries to subvert our expectations, but it winds up failing by playing into the same old jokes anyway.

To its singular credit, the voice acting is pretty on point and the unexpected rap battle was almost entertaining if only because it came out of nowhere to break up the monotony of the "creepy old man can't get a girlfriend" narrative. Also, the ending credits feature a "spot the difference" scene, which is pretty neat.

If any of that sounds cool to you, the one positive is that the episodes are short, so you'll only have to feel like you're in hell for 10 minutes at a time. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable about the Japanese language and culture will find the writing funny enough to laugh even once. But to anyone like me, I can't recommend it.