Yeah, the overarching theme I see in reviews in descriptions is "cute girls doing cute things in cute ways". PRETTY much sums up the entire show in that simple statement. It's hard to really comment on the story, because even shows like Lucky Star or Azumanga Daioh have them progressing through high school whereas Ichigo Mashimaro is pretty much just "4 Elementary School girls, older sister, annnnnnnnd go!". It's definitely lighthearted and very easygoing, you need to be patient and relaxed to really enjoy this anime. When you are in the mood for intense action, this is not your go-to. Given that, the stories are simple slice of life (this show epitomizes that statement, IMO) and stick to it. Nobue gets a job, the girls go to the beach, everyone goes to a bath house...don't expect FMA: Brotherhood or Kuragehime style storylines here at all. That having been said, it's sweet seeing all the stuff they do and want to do together. You have to look at kids and go "Aww, how cute" to really "get" this anime.
I'm no expert on art, but the show seemed well done. The girls were drawn well and looked very cute. Nobue kind of had a strange look to her, but not many other adults did, it could just be her expressions though. The environments looked good and everything was smooth, it was an easy anime to watch and looked realistic enough. Nothing mind blowing as there weren't many visuals to highlight, so this got a good but not perfect. It didn't take any risks, but at least it looked good doing it.
Now let me preface this by saying I typically judge an anime's "sound" rating off how good the dub is, if one exists. The theme song and the sub version is what saved this anime BIG TIME. I don't care how lazy you are, avoid the dub at ALL COSTS. It was terrible, ill-timed, and just downright annoying. I was 2 episodes in and switched to the sub, sooo glad I did. Even though I don't speak a lick of Japanese, I could tell the cadence of their voice acting in the Japanese version was way better. That part aside, the theme song was cute and really catchy. I have it stuck in my head soooo often. Ichigo Love!!! :-)
Usually it relies on the characters to make a slice of life enjoyable and fun to watch. Classic archetypes were present here, but I feel some of them just had the volume turned down on them. Miu was the loudest and most outgoing character by far. She is comical and a necessary part of the genre to give it movement, but sometimes you want her to shut up for just a minute or two. She has a purpose and definitely asserts her place in the series. Chika is the straight man, which is fine, but she just comes off as grumpy as opposed to just being the regular do-gooder. I kind of wish she had more character development outside of yelling at Miu and calling her sister a bum (even though she is). We had one episode that delved a bit into her psyche, but I feel she deserved more than one episode. Despite popular opinion, Matsuri was my favorite for a few reasons. She is the adorable, helpless one and her gentle spirit make her an ideal character for this genre and setting. Her shy nature was very cute and it was nice to see her go and do everyday stuff (especially with John!). Ana was another character that didn't get much screen time like Chika. She kinda came off as a crybaby and didn't get much development done for her. There was some OTHER "development" they mentioned, but I'll come back to that later. Nobue was well...kind of a drag. I get that her personality is blase and lazy, but sometimes she felt like a weak plot point that wasted time. The diner episode was a great setup though and couldn't be done without her. She is an ok character, but one I felt could have been better written or developed. She "got her kicks in" on the final episode, which was cool...plus the constantly knocking out Miu is pretty funny.
So enjoyment, yeesh where do I start? I did enjoy this anime a fair amount, but I felt there was some fan service and NOT in a good way. If I'm watching a show about little girls in elementary school, I get REALLY uncomfortable and upset when they try to do any sexualizing of them. Nobue is in college, I could understand some fan service concerning her (the beach episode prank with Miu), but the girls are too young and it's really messed up to do something like that in my opinion. Seeing them do cute everyday stuff and just enjoying life is a great thing to be a part of, if you have nieces or something of that nature, this could remind you of them. I had two girls that they reminded me of and it was kinda funny seeing all the activities and such play out. It's a lighthearted storyline so don't expect massive excitement in any way, you need to be in the right mood to watch this.
So overall, this got about the same rating I gave Tenchi Muyou. This had a lot of potential that seemed to be missed by lack of character development, SOME weak plot premises, and inappropriate fan service that just creeped me out. With these things fixed, this could have easily gotten a 9. I know some of the story tropes are staples for SoL (beach, bathhouse, etc.) but some of the content needed to be toned down on the sexual tangents. For Pete's sake, they are ELEMENTARY AGE GIRLS for crying out loud...can't we just let them be cute and innocent without trying to add perverted content in there? All in all, if SoL is your thing and you like genuinely cute little girls doing cute things, this seems like a great one to watch. Skip the dub, just trust me, and try to overlook the pervert stuff.
