Story (8/10): After a sudden incident that led to the disappearance of their parents, Yuuta, the main character, chooses to take care of his 3 nieces that lost said parents. With a set of conspiring events that lead up to the anime's rather satisfying ending, Papakiki is an emotional rollercoaster with fun and wonderful little bits in between. The story itself has almost no flaws, in my opinion. The story is told through the perspectives of Yuuta, and his 3 nieces, Sora, Miu, and Hina as they live out their lives together, in a small, one room apartment. It's because of this storyline, that the anime itself proves very well in terms of execution. It focuses mainly on the problems, trials and tribulations, as well as the fun and happy times that they have together, which, in turn, creates a wonderful real life feeling in this extremely unlikely scenario. While yes, the anime did go on several tangents that seemed a bit pointless at times, I never once felt like I didn't like how the anime was going. It all came together wonderfully, with little to no time wasted to convey its storyline.
Characters (9/10): For the most part, I really enjoyed the characters. Yes, there were some really strange side characters, (really strange), but for the most part, the cast was a very likable group, most of them. First is Yuuta, a first year college student. Yuuta is a very hard worker, and has shown many times that he never gives up. Though this is a bit generic, Yuuta seems different. His reasoning and attitude don't seem too cliched, and his personality actually fits in with the story really well. Though he doesn't get much screentime towards the end of the series, he does play an extremely important part as shown through the girls' perspective. Next is my favorite of the 3, Sora. Sora, as the eldest of the 3 sisters, is a very interesting character. Though she does have the stereotypical tsundere attitude towards Yuuta, (hint hint), she has shown to be very hard working as well, and extremely considerate towards him and her siblings. She shows a lot of growth, as she grows to understand her uncle more and more, slowly becoming more mature and grown up as the series goes on, such as making sacrifices and taking responsibilities for certain actions. Next is Miu. As the middle sister, Miu possesses a very sly and childish personality, constantly teasing her older sister, and being all around mischievous. Just like her older sister, she grows to take in more responsibilities, and becomes a bit more mature. She, like the rest of her family, love each other dearly. And last, is the youngest of the 3, Hina. As a little toddler that hasn't reached preschool yet, Hina is very childish. Her personality is portrayed as an innocent child, unaware of some things that go around her, while at the same time, being just one of the most adorable things you will ever see. While the individual characters are good in and of themselves, it's how the 4 of them function, which really makes this anime. Because the 4 of them care and love each other so much, there is almost no conflict between them. Because they share such a bond, the storytelling itself exceeds greatly into a very heartfelt story. Other then the main cast, there's a good chunk of side characters, most of them are normal, and some of them are not. Especially the one called Sako. -__- (No, just no.) The side characters add to the story in a very good sense, providing the main character some knowledge, and adding to the anime as a whole.
Art and Sound (8/10 and 7/10): Personally, I like the art. The art isn't too complicated or detail, and it's very pleasing to the eyes. It's very natural feeling, and all around good to look at. Yes, there are unnecessary fanservice scenes included with this anime, but it doesn't really impact too much on how nice the actual scenery looks. The sound is something I'm a bit on and off on. It's opening titled "Happy Girl", is a very bright and well, happy, sounding piece of music that I found myself enjoying time and time again as I moved onto the next episode. While yes, it does sound somewhat generic, I did enjoy it thoroughly. Aside from that, there are only 2 more tracks that I think deserve a mention. One is the ED, which, I'm not a fan of. Personally, I don't like the dotty, techno music, so I'm not a fan. The other one is a track that is played by the soft piano and violin on constant repeat. The anime literally only has this one track playing in the background, and they use it in the way similar to how Elfen Lied plays its theme. The theme itself is played in many fashions, like happy or sad, and overall sounds good, but it's actually quite forgettable most of the time.
Personal Enjoyment (9/10): To me, family is important. I see my own family as a personal safety net for me, and I treasure them dearly. Looking at this anime, I could see just how strong their bond was, and it warmed my heart. The anime throws many problems for the main cast, essentially, testing them on how close they are to each other, and how they would react/change to the problem at hand. As the series goes on, the characters start to change and grow, adapting to their new lifestyle, and having fun with it. It proves that no matter what, through thick and thin, family will always be there for you. (The characters do face a lot of hardships. A lot.) While the series to me, ended on a really nice and touching note, I felt like I needed a bit more. The animators skipped through a pile of images to a conclusion that one could figure out easily, but I felt like I needed an actual anime scene in order to get the full emotional feel of it. Whatever, I'm a sucker for these kinds of things; it was good enough. All in all, Papakiki is a wonderful little series about a very unlikely, but touching set of circumstances, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to see a nice and touching family story.
