The problems being, beyond that, these anime have no savory components. The initial idea is typically very inventive or funny, but the execution is flawed beyond that. Aside from the main lead comes a cast of varied females, the more the merrier (and the more varied, the more male viewers). The plot plods along, introducing new arcs every few episodes to keep the viewer engaged. But, by four or five episodes in, the series has lost the initial pleasure and its’ existence becomes merely arbitrary.
Thus, Ben-To. How can a guy write nine novels (so far) around the concept of battles taking place in Japanese supermarkets for the half priced bento boxes sold before close? Especially when an anime that covers two of the novels overstays its’ welcome? The first episode and the initial revelation that this is an anime about mosh-pit style brawls over half priced lunch boxes is absolutely hilarious and clever. But then it keeps going, introducing gangs and federations that band together to fight for the bento, then twins who are so powerful no one can beat them. That’s the extent of the plot. This weak plot is padded with the prerequisite pool episode that further exemplifies the generic quality. It’s almost like these anime are factory made, though with a small difference in the mold to fit the plot or characters better.This generecism is further compounded with the tsundere, the kuudere, the yaoi-obsessed sex fiend, the lesbian, the incestuous twins, and the dorky klutz characters who round out a cast cut and pasted from many other series of the same quality.
That said, Ben-To can be enjoyable. It’s definitely occasionally funny and the fight scenes are well animated and better than anime with four times Ben-To’s budget. At the same time, the animation is still pretty cheap and generic, managing to make the girls cute as hell but not make anything else stand-out. And while the animation plays to the girls’ benefit, it’d help if the script and character development made these cute girls memorable. Rather than build up any of the characters, it decides to instead subject us to pointless lesbianism, a lot of worthless episodes and fights, and pretty much two arcs that could be resolved in one episode but are instead spread out like a pea sized glob of butter over toast.
It’s the kind of anime I can easily dismiss if I wanted to. It’s an easy target to abuse. But at the same time, it’s really not that bad. In the grand scheme of things, it manages to be entertaining without being very good. It’s funny, it’s cute a lot of times, and it’s a decent way to pass a few hours. Would I suggest it? No. Would I suggest buying the recently released Blu-Ray? No. For certain people, they’ll find a lot of enjoyment in it. But I don’t see a lot of merits within. An anime can’t survive exclusively on cute characters and one good idea. As much as I love cuteness and girls in short skirts and long socks, there has to be substance beyond thighs and boobs. And that substance can come from a well-executed plot, character development, or even good comedy or world building. But Ben-To is exceptionally shallow and average in all four of those areas. It’s a good average, but good average isn’t really a compliment.
I don’t have much to say about Ben-To because it doesn’t give me much reason to say anything. And typically an anime like that can be dismissed as average. If you can’t complain about how bad it is or rave about how good it is, then it’s merely there. And that’s Ben-To in a nutshell, it’s just there.
