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Apr 19, 2025
Sometimes, an interesting, culturally complex world doesn’t need to be educed from the mind. The islands of Okinawa are strange and fascinating enough to mainland Japanese (and us gaijins) that inspiration can be taken from reality. However, this can be a problem. Be prepared: instead of the standard exposition you’d find in a fictional story, in OkiTsura, you’ll be inundated and interrupted by the overt narration of real-world facts; by subtitles that take up half the screen so poor old Takeshi in Tokyo can understand half the shit people say in this anime. But look at it from a different angle and you may find
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these aspects fun and educational.
This is a genuinely hilarious show. Admittedly, the premise is quite gimmicky and the writers really hammer that titular gimmick home, but only for the first few episodes, which is understandable. As the series progresses, the language barrier seems less an opportunity for toddler-level humor than for something educational. The true humor of the anime comes from its sharp and dry delivery of punchlines, the exaggerated reactions to them and the natural eccentricity of the prefecture that forms the base of most jokes. Additionally, there are references here and there to popular anime which caught me off guard and made me chuckle. Finally, the RomCom aspect: it’s neat. Clichéd, but sweet nonetheless. Personally, I don’t care which girl gets with the MC, but if you’re passionate about this sort of stuff, go ahead. There’s enough ammunition (screen time together) supplied, though it does seem to lean heavily in the blonde’s favor.
While it can feel like an ad for the prefecture at times, the anime is informative. We experience Okinawa somewhat vicariously through the MC. But he is so often in a state of culture shock, he may as well be culture paralyzed. What I like, however, is how the shock is felt by both parties. That’s realistic, and it leads to some hilarious situations. Overall, you can feel the fondness and love the author has for his Okinawan experience. I learned a lot over the course of just 12 episodes and no doubt most of those trivia came from personal anecdotes. It’s stuff neither Mr Wikipedia nor Chatbot #253 would know—it’s local knowledge. That’s insightful. And when most new anime seem to be a soulless regurgitation of what’s past, it’s refreshing to see one every now and then that speaks from the heart.
That being said, if you’re expecting some highly emotional and nostalgia-inducing anime—no. This is a wacky, light-hearted RomCom through and through; it just so happens to be educational too. The characters are nice but nothing special. Same goes for the animation, aside from a horrible CG festival. All in all, if you aren’t irked by the vague sense of being tricked into watching a commercial, and are open to learning about potentially useless information on an island you will probably never visit in your life, this is a good watch. Who knows? It’s not fiction. Maybe one day you’ll actually find your way there. And when you’re there, you’ll be ready to flex your whistling and kachaashii skills like a true weeb.
6.5/10 needs more American presence
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 14, 2024
If you got to know this anime through the memes, I beseech you to look a little deeper, because this is one of the best directed shows in the past year. And if you're an idol anime or im@s fan, there's plenty of cute girls to root for to warrant a watch.
But firstly, the animation is really good. Considering it's done by Cygames Pictures, whose parent company is a mobile game producer, it was a pleasant surprise. Honestly, it looks better than what A-1 did in the other im@s installments. However, the dance scenes specifically, of which there are only 3, are done with a
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bit of CG. It doesn't look horrible, but I wished they took a page out of A-1's book and did it completely hand-drawn.
The anime enhances its already great animation with excellent shot compositions. Episode 1 is a good example. The scene with Arisu and the Producer deserves a complete in-depth analysis, but essentially what the show does is play with position and the space each character takes up in shots. It uses a staircase as a metaphor for one's passion for a dream. The Producer is higher up initially and after a typical speech on hopes and aspirations or whatever, Arisu climbs the stairs to join him. She had been inspired by the Producer to pursue her dreams, made clear by the rising motion. This isn't just a one-off thing. The metaphor returns with the same context in a later episode and with a twist. It's beautiful storytelling.
It's not just themes that get emphasized though. Through clever visual language, characters feel more real and relatable. The anime is episodic and character-driven; there's no overarching plot or villain. The structure is similar to the other im@s animes, showcasing one main idol per episode, though other girls do get to share the spotlight. I would say the success of the show depends on how well it presents its characters. Unfortunately, with only 12 episodes, it's doubtful anyone would feel attached to every single idol, without first being familiar with them from the games/manga. However, there are definitely a few stand-out characters who you will love. I find the better crafted episodes correlate to the more memorable characters.
And a quick word on the girls: Yes, they're middle-schoolers. Yes, they're cute. But it's actually plot-relevant! It's not an anime featuring 'lolis' for no reason other than to appeal to lolicons. The central theme is the idea of growing up and it can only work because the idols are so young. But if you were attracted to the show because of lolis, you'd still be satisfied I think.
The music is nothing to write home about. The songs aren't as impactful as the main CG songs, much less the 765 ones. I did like the opening and Momoka's song though. To add on, I noticed a little motif in the score with a ticking clock that would play during stressful or pivotal moments that I thought was interesting. Apparently it's from the main CG series, but it just disappears from later episodes, so...
Anyhow, U149 is a fantastic anime. I think it's a good gateway to the idol genre if you're new to it (you don't need to watch the other im@s animes before this one, though if you watched CG you might enjoy it better). However, it also works as an excellent standalone piece with great direction, art and characters.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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