Ahh, Comical Psychosomatic Medicine. This show was truly an underrated gem for the Spring 2015 season, and a real shame that not many people know about it. As a five minute and thirty second short that aired each week chock full of psychology tidbits and factoids with two main characters spitting lines out faster than the brain can process the first slide of the first scene, Comical Psychosomatic Medicine is definitely "out there".
While there's nothing in the way of a story, each episode is dedicated to a different malady, disorder, or mental illness such as pedophilia, schizophrenia, panic disorders, fetishism, social anxiety, stages of grieving, seasonal affective disorder, stalking, and more!
The episodes generally share a similar layout- the main characters Ryou and his nurse Asuna (along with her super dysfunctional family, sisters Himeru and Iyashi, and their BDSM addicted pervy grandpa, Sukizou!) explain a different condition very rapidly, then go through different methods of real world treatments, medications, and therapies for them. Other characters make an appearance throughout the series, including some cameos from Ladybeard!
What was particularly striking about the anime was how well the writers did their homework. They give legitimate and accurate analyses and explanations of real psychological (and psychiatric) topics, including real life medications and therapies prescribed to persons affected by them. They also quote from well known and scholarly sources, such as the DSM IV (curiously the 4 and not the 5, whatev) Kaplan's Pocket Handbook of Clinical Psychiatry, and various studies that have been done.
While this sounds boring as waking up at 4am to watch a Congressional filibuster on CSPAN, it's actually really funny- they don't call it comical for no reason, afterall. The jokes typically stem from Asuna's airheadedness and her sisters' weird fetishes where they misunderstand what Dr. Ryou says and mistake it for something sexual or strange. They even explain why everyone seems to love the tsundere girls - the cognitive consistency theory by Deutsch and Solomon! CPM is full of puns, so if you want to punish someone for them, stay away! Look out for that 4th wall coming down on your head too!
The wacky characters, and the informative, but fun way of presenting info on many illnesses is a great formula, and it consistently made me laugh with the crazy antics, particularly of the BDSM grandpa character. While no masterpiece, CPM definitely is a hidden gem of an otherwise pretty lackluster season, and a definite recommendation for anyone who wants to learn a little while they laugh.
"So quit watching this anime and go get some sun to improve your mental health!" - Asuna
