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- BirthdaySep 15, 1996
- LocationOxnard, California
- JoinedMar 12, 2016
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Sep 21, 2019
It's always been rare for me to come across a good comedy show. I've tried the most notable ones like Nichijou and Nichibros for a few episodes, but they just weren't my cup of tea. Typically, the Japanese style of comedic delivery isn't all that great: there's often overuse of a straight man who's always compelled to explain the joke, drawing out a joke's length for too long, or over-the-top reactions and shouting. Either the joke is ruined, or it probably wasn't funny to begin with.
Joshikousei no Mudazukai (Wasteful Days of High School Girls), or "JK" for short, does a better job at joke delivery than most other
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comedy anime simply because it generally doesn't incorporate any of the norms that I've described. And there's more than just that: there's character development, heartwarming moments speckled here and there, as well as relatable times when you'd think, "That's literally me."
JK generally revolves around a main trio: Akane ("Wota"), Shiori ("Robo"), and Tanaka ("Baka"). Their chemistry together is wonderful: they frequently argue and mess with each other, but the understanding and commitment that they share makes them inseparable. In addition, the show manages to juggle with a wide variety of lovable side characters quite well: each has plenty of screentime, is unique in personality, and has every chance to interact with all the others.
Despite being mostly a comedy, JK likes to stop abruptly with its shenanigans and keep it real for a few seconds. Sometimes we get a glimpse of Yamamoto wasting away in her room. Whenever Akane's passion for writing manga is brought up, Shiori and Tanaka chime in with their support. And Saku is seen crying into her grandma's lap after failing every attempt to look more mature. I applaud these moments, as it's always great to remind ourselves of the important, meaningful things in life. Fortunately, these moments aren't intrusive at all, and the jokes always roll in at a good rate.
With that said, there are some hefty complaints I have with JK, which have to do with the last two episodes, where the usual high ratio of comedic to serious tones is flipped. Apparently, in episode 11, the author of the manga felt the need to represent her relationship with her husband, and it ended up feeling shoehorned. As for episode 12, there was plenty of unfunny/recycled jokes, as well as times where I simply wasn't sure if I was supposed to be laughing or not. Both episodes don't have enough prior build-up for the drama to be effective, and the attempt to mix in some comedy with the drama doesn't help either -- it only undermines.
The rest of the show, however, is consistently hilarious and cute, and not much else can be said without spoiling any of the jokes. You'll just have to see JK for yourself.
8/10. Also, I can guarantee that you'll never skip the OP. It's wonderful.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 28, 2019
First, let me get one thing straight: the first season was a goddamn masterpiece. The characters were awesome, the plot was heart-wrenching, and the art/sound design was beautiful in spite of its unfortunately low budget. I love the game too, but I'm only a fan of Popipa after playing for 2 years; the other bands are meh. Biases aside, season 2 is by far one of the worst shows I've ever seen. People who are fans of the franchise tend to say they love it, but I can't. For the most part, it's unoriginal and lazily produced.
Let's start with the plot. The show starts off
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with some vague exposition that doesn't really go anywhere, and the conflict ends up being dropped for the next 4 episodes or so, where instead the other bands get obligatory (and completely irrelevant) screen time. In the end, Popipa just keeps doing what they've been doing as if there wasn't a problem in the first place. Next arc. Time conflicts happen, questionable choices are made, and then easily avoidable drama occurs. Normally I'd be okay with this, but the motivations behind everything were so lackluster/unsubstantial that I couldn't possibly buy into any of it. Furthermore, the drama is gravely serious (the betrayal, friendship-ruining kind), yet it's grossly undermined when all is forgiven in an instant. It's nonsense.
The characters? Oddly enough, Popipa sort of merged to become a single, incredibly dull character where whenever they have dialogue together, they just blurt out ideas one by one without really responding to each other; there isn't any sense of five unique individuals having a conversation. In fact, the entire cast can be easily described as gimmicky, soulless, and irrelevant, nothing more. PasuPare is an exception; their episode is a good example of what I expected from this season. As for RAS, they're rather uncomfortable to watch: we don't really know how and why its members chose each other to form a band, and they fill some kind of awkward, antagonistic role.
Art-wise? Decent CGI, by anime standards. However, the fact that the show is in full CGI limits its potential for variety. As a result, everyone wears the same crap for every off-day and every performance. I can understand the limitations of creating models, but they could have at least made original costume designs (or even the newer, less exposed designs from the game!). Instead, we'll have to suffer watching everyone wear the same crap they've worn in the game for 2 years. Now, some nitpicking: everyone's eyes shine so bright that they glow in the dark. I'm not kidding, it's very unsettling. Also, RAS looks like a freakshow; they really don't fit with the minimalism that the rest of the designs adhere to.
The sound can't be bad, right? Doesn't everyone like Bandori music? Thing is, most of the songs are copy-pasted from the game and onto the performances, and none of it was re-recorded live in a room. Consequently, everyone sounds like they're faking it; many of the songs aren't plot-relevant, and they feel obligatory. There are also performances of songs they've already performed before; it's ridiculous. The OPs and EDs are okay, nothing too special. The OST is disappointingly generic/nonexistent; it really lacks being emotionally-driven and thematically-consistent, like in season 1.
Season 2 is really just a crappy game advertisement. Most of it isn't new, and the content that is new is simply absurd. I can kind of understand why people like it, but I can't just turn my brain off to something that's part of a franchise that I love (a lot less now).
1/10. Do yourself a favor and don't watch this; give season 1 a chance if you haven't. It's far more genuine, charming, and real than this crap.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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