Story - 6/10
Himouto: Umaru-chan is slice of life comedy anime about a girl who would be perfect on the surface. She has a nice personality, has good grades and is beautiful at the same time. But when she comes home, she is a complete trash monster. Meaning, she just likes to laze around all day, playing video games, looking at anime and manga and eating junk food, especially chips and cola. All doing this while wearing her iconic hamster hoody.
Now although Umaru, is nice to everyone else, there is one person who knows her true personality and that is her brother Taihei. Usually how the story goes is that Umaru is doing something that really annoys Taihei, which forces him to do what Umaru does and so goes many enjoyable moments from the brother-sister duo. There is not really an overarching story throughout the whole show, its more broken down into segments. I’m kind of disappointed in this, because there are moments in the anime, where they try to go through with a more story orientated plot, but by the end of the series, those story plots never really play another part. Like example, why is it only Taihei and Umaru, living together. Why does Umaru, act the way she does at school, compared to how she acts at home, and many more. It annoys me, because at times it would look like they’re trying to progress the story, but they don’t capitalize on it.
Characters - 6/10
Umaru Doma, is our main character of the show. All gentle and nice on the surface, complete trash underneath. Wait a minute, she’s an anime equivalent of me, well maybe not that extreme. Basically she has two personas. In her outdoor mode, she’s a perfect role model student. In her indoor mode, she’s going to be the most annoying little sister to you. Throughout the show, she’ll consistently annoy her brother, and actually be nice whenever her friends are around. There is very little development with her character, as only at times, it’ll look like she’s questioning herself on why she puts on a façade, but then comes back wanting to keep her identity a secret.
The other main character of the show is Umaru’s older brother Taihei, who constantly puts up with her shenanigans. She is pretty much a nice guy, he can do pretty much do everything well. But he is a bit of a pushover, due to Umaru’s bratty-ness always getting the best of him. For his development, same goes, he doesn’t really have much development, as he just plays constant victim to Umaru and he’s a bit oblivious too.
As for the rest of the cast, same goes, there is rare development in any of them. But the main reason for that is, this is mostly a sketch show, and it’s a slice of life, so don’t expect too much. But all these characters are very likeable, because they remind us of us sometimes. Even though there isn’t much development at least there is some signs of development, and the fact you can see when the characters start showing some care to the other characters once in a while. Some characters will be annoying to some people, due to the fact, they could remind you of someone you kind of hate.
Animation and Sound - 6/10, 6/10
The animation and art style is rather light. Nothing is really detailed, and you can clearly see that when you look at some of food Umaru’s eating or some of the games she’s playing. Also there are some scenes that the animation doesn’t match the action. Such as when Umaru’s playing an FPS and she’s just mashing buttons on the controller, but that’s just me nit picking. Obviously one thing very noticeable is when Umaru’s in her chibi mode. Now this not the change in art style, but this is more an actual disguise as no one, but her brother of course seems to recognize her. Of course when she’s in her outdoor mode, she’s all sparkly, representing the perfect girl. The art style and animation is really simple, nothing really stands out, besides Umaru’s chibi mode and one scene, showing us the glory of how to watch a movie.
For the soundtrack, I’m going to lie, it sounds like ‘The Sims’ when you’re in build or buy mode. It’s very upbeat and bouncy. Even though, I like the soundtrack, I feel like nothing really stands out. They re-use the same tracks quite often for a lot the scenes, so nothing really stands out for me. The opening is catchy, but not to the point it’s really great. Same with the ending, it’s mellow and slow, but nothing great. However I do like it that they go the voice actors the sing the opening and ending songs.
Enjoyment - 9/10
Despite not having a progressive story, character development and a soundtrack that seems too oddly familiar, I found myself enjoying this show a lot because I can relate to the characters. They are all really likeable, and there are some very nice moments in the anime that’ll leave you laughing or leave you heart warmth. Not once did I feel bored, while watching this show. Every character interaction brings a lot of fun unique dynamics the show and I had blast seeing how they react and interact with each other. It’s also a show that makes you feel good, because it’s really light-hearted and filled with great comedic timings.
Verdict - 6.5/10
For the story, I give it a 6. There is not really an overarching story and unfortunately, it felt like some stories were cut off early, which never went full circle. But I do love the concept, and how they build the world around the characters.
For the animation and sound, I give them both a 6. The animation and art style is nothing special, it’s really simplified with some pretty cool moments here and there. However I do like the changes in Umaru, because it really sticks out to show her both her sides. The soundtrack, sounds too familiar to be called original and also it doesn’t really stick out, but’s ok. The OP and ED are a little catchy.
For the characters, I give them a 6. All the characters don’t really get that much development, if any at all. But I love their interactions with each other, because every moment with these characters are really entertaining. And they are very likeable as well.
For the my own personal enjoyment, I give it a 9. I love the light hearted nature of this anime and the comedy is good to as well. I like how it makes me feel at home, due to the fact I have characters I can really relate to. Not once was I bored watching this.
For the overall score, after rounding it up, I give Himouto: Umaru-Chan a 6.5/10. As for the quality of the anime, it’s not really that great, it’s just slightly above average. But by good, is it really entertaining and hits close to home. I recommend this anime for comedy lovers and for those, who think they live the life style of an otaku, you may feel at home as well.
