If you can imagine a situation in which Schindler's List knocks up Kill la Kill, and the subsequent child is raised primarily by a nanny called Spongebob Squarepants, then it's entirely possible that you're imagination is just a little too active for your own good.
Sorry, sorry, serious face now. I have to confess that I find it incredibly difficult to gauge exactly what kind of show Yoru no Yatterman is trying to be. On the one hand, it's set in a bleak dystopia where a combination of fabricated history and rule by an iron fist has led to the creation of a society where simply existing is a crime sufficient to earn you a lifetime in a concentration camp that would make even the most rampant Nazi sympathiser blush. On the other hand, it's main characters are 3 costumed goofballs who go travel the country being unashamedly silly at people while being beset upon by a bunch of utterly incompetent costumed supervillains who fight using colourful animal-themed mechs. It's not above including talking animals, toilet humour, casual ecchi fanservice and downright bizarre battle scenes. It's also not above depicting the horrors of genocide and having the main characters indirectly slaughter large numbers of thinking, feeling, squishy humans.
Fun fun fun!!!
The totally overbearing nature of Yoru no Yatterman's rampant inconsistency makes me wonder if the series might actually be making some kind of point. It's relatively dim view of the conventional hero archetype and the apparent conflict between its gritty setting and goofy style could very easily be interpreted as a criticism of the hypocritical way that more conventional high fantasy attempts to impress upon its audience the importance of heroism while simultaneously shying away from images of "true" villainy. However, to assert this interpretation is to imply a degree of sophistication in a series that also incorporates (among other things) exploding poop bombs, a man with a fish fetish and a chimpanzee who can drive.
It's not impossible, but something about the thought just doesn't sit right.
Besides, if Yoru no Yatterman is working to dispel conventional notions of heroic and villainous archetypes, then it's doing a bloody weak job of it. I actually quite liked the fact that the central protagonist is established as a young female character with very limited fighting ability, but Galina's more straightforward heroic arc and Doronjo's growing affection for him as the series goes on (paired with the fact that she hasn't really achieved anything in 9 episodes and repeatedly has to get rescued by her male companions to a slightly suspect degree) does undermine any notion that the series is trying for a touch of irony. If it is, it ain't taking that self-awareness far enough.
OK, quick disclaimer, given that we're several paragraphs in and I haven't really answered the crucial question of whether Yoru no Yatterman is good. It ain't bad. The comedy is a bit hit-and-miss, the action scenes are overblown to the point of being incoherent and the story is largely predictable despite its pretension towards defying convention. There's a severe lack of actual character development after the relatively strong first episode and any sense of overarching tension is undermined by the protagonists' apparent invulnerability and the conspicuous absence of the central antagonist (who has yet to make even a single appearance, to the point that it's a little suspicious). [That said and having finished the series, I was write to think that the absence of the main villain was suspicious]. Aesthetic is good, but actual animated movement is shoddy.
In short, Yoru no Yatterman is entertaining, but I hesitate to say that I'd recommend it in the same way that I might enthusiastically push Magi or Kill la Kill in front of you. The above flaws (including that troublesome inconsistency issue) hold it back considerably, but it also has some impressive novelty value and I certainly prefer it's more creative style over a number of the more straightforward shounen anime of recent years.
OK, so let's get back to the problem of determining exactly what Yoru no Yatterman is trying to be, for only then can we hope to determine whether it is successful. If I were a cynical man (I am, by the way), I'd call it an attempt to capitalise on the recent success of over-the-top shounen stuff while simultaneously reviving awareness of a franchise that perhaps isn't as popular as it used to be. Never seen the original series, so this is difficult for me to judge. I'm more inclined to say that it's a show that's aimed at a slightly younger demographic than the one I fit into, and that would explain why it gets away with such a dark subtext despite its relative silliness. A younger child is, after all, more likely to overlook such things in the face of goofy comedy and flashing colours.
Yeah, I don't like kids. Clearly.
My conclusion is that Yoru no Yatterman lets itself down as an unfortunate result of its very strong first episode, which paints an image of a compelling character-driven action series that the show itself just isn't. It's fun but shallow stuff to be half-watched and then forgotten within a few hours as you search for the next big distraction. It's got some neat ideas that, in the right hands, could inject some life into a deeper series, but in this case all they achieve is to make the exact intent of the show a little difficult to determine. [Nevertheless, I do recommend this series purely based on its virtues as a simple and sweet time-killer].
