Just as Pokemon’s super-talented villains that always fail to capture Pikachu, the Poverty God, Momiji, invariably fails to take Sakura Ichiko’s “happiness energy” despite her godly powers. The anime gets repetitive after a while because every episode pans out almost the same way, just with different settings and minor characters. Seeing the same pattern unfold over and over wasn’t all that great an experience for me.
That said, episodes 10-13 take an entirely different turn from the usual, though I’m not sure if that was any more successful. For an R-rated fare (in Japan anyway), the anime felt strangely childish, despite the all-too-often gratuitous nudity and sexual jokes.
The story had potential, and it could’ve no doubt benefited from being told in a more subtle and mature way, which is why the anime’s approach was disappointing. There’s a teenage girl who is spoiled and selfish because of her excess wealth and beauty. In comes a god, who wants to take away the girl’s good luck. The girl resists strongly and seemingly manages to keep all her good luck to herself, but through her time with the god, she slowly and gradually becomes a changed woman, one who is able to share her luck with others when need be. You could say the god is an anime-style interpretation of a girl’s inner growth.
I realize that I’m not the anime’s target demographic. I rarely ever watch animes (no worries, the irony of me joining this website certainly didn’t escape me), so I’m not familiar with a lot of the numerous other animes it pokes fun at. The more you know, the more you see; so perhaps those who are well versed in Japanese animes may find this enjoyable. For me, though, it was pretty mediocre.
p.s. I wish the anime had spent more time on the Poverty God, Momiji, because I liked her character design and felt she had too little screen time of her own.
