Himouto Umaru-chan was an anime I downloaded some time ago, for I was swayed by the hype (and the memes) surrounding its titular character, and one I was deliberately putting off from watching for quite a long time. I knew I wasn’t going to like it, yet in the end, I had no choice but to see it as I was running low on space on my HDD and had to delete something. You can see from my score that I didn’t like it quite much (as I had expected). After I finished watching the second season, I was torn between giving it a 5 or a 6. In the end, I gave it a 6 because I appreciated the animation, and the sound wasn’t half bad. Were it for the characters and plot alone, the show wouldn't have gotten anything above a 4.
::: Story :::
The story of Himouto Umaru-chan is repetitive at best. When it comes to plot, it is nonexistent. Or maybe it was me who couldn't grasp it. Yet, after going over the other reviews, I came to realize that most of the negative ones come from people with the same opinion as me. One can argue the plot is about the titular character, Umaru, overcoming her inner identity and revealing it to her friends. However, this never happens in the course of the series (I haven't read the manga). There is even one episode (the second one of the Specials), where the revelation of her secret identity is teased, but the episode ends rather anticlimactically and this revelation never happens, as Kirie stops Umaru just when she is about to tell them. Talk about convenient.
::: Art :::
I have to admit that the art of this show was decent, to say the least. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, mind you, but it wasn't disastrous either. The colors were vivid and the animation was smooth for the most of the show, and I didn't even see the Blu-Rays - just the regular TV release. The art isn't getting more than a 7 though, because the character designs weren't anything original and memorable, except maybe Umaru's inner self, although I understand they were probably trying to stick to the original manga art.
::: Sound :::
Usually, when it comes to sound in an anime, I can only think of songs (OP/ED songs, insert songs, maybe some soundtrack). I don't know how people judge VAs in anime. I can't. I mean, when it comes to this show, I didn't find any of the voices grating or sounding out of character, but that's it. I don't even know what a voice must be to sound out of character. When it comes to the songs and the soundtrack though, I have an opinion. Generally, the OP songs of both seasons were annoying at best. They were both sung by Umaru's VA and described how much Umaru likes to lounge around, eat junk food, and exploit her brother. Yeah, I'm not kidding here. The EDs, especially the first season's, were okayish. Nothing spectacular or eargasmic again. Yet, the 6 goes for the soundtrack, as there was one particular score I really liked.
::: Character :::
I think it's fair to say the characters were this show's worst aspect. I could put up with everything else, from the repetitive story to the annoying songs. Yet, the characters were what made the experience unbearable for me. I'm writing this review mostly to express my utter disdain for them. Well, mostly for Umaru. Honestly, after all the anime shows I've seen in my life, I've never before come across such an irritating character. My irritation grows even further when I see that many people actually liked her and even RELATED to her! I mean, WHAT?! How can someone such as Umaru be relatable in any bloody way?
The thing about Umaru is that she is sporting two different identities that, when combined, make her the most irritating person in the whole world, anime character or not.
When Umaru goes out, she is a model student with perfect grades (always gets 100 on tests), outstanding at all kinds of sports (she can beat the captains of all school sport clubs), and with fine manners (she is generous and kind, and simply the perfect human being when it comes to personality). Not only that but she is so exceptionally beautiful and perfect that all boys swoon over her and all girls admire her and want to be her friends.
However, when she goes home, she dons her favorite hamster hood and transforms (yes, and no one but her brother can recognize her) into a 40-centimeter-tall orange blob of a sluggard, who doesn't do anything but watch anime, read manga, play games, eat junk food, and drink cola. A lot of cola. And this continues for the rest of the day before she goes to sleep. If you think I'm exaggerating, go watch the show and see for yourself.
The thing is, her outer and her inner self are in total discord. For instance, I don't understand how a person can constantly lounge around, eat junk food and not gain any weight. Umaru doesn't only not gain any weight - no, she has the most perfect body of all girls her age. Not only that but she is exceptional in sports. I mean, seriously?
After watching the show, I did my research and found out that Japanese students spend at least two hours per weekday on homework, and even three hours on Sundays. Yeah, right. Throughout the show, I didn't see Umaru study for her classes at all (except that one time before the finals), let alone do her homework. From the OP of the second season it becomes somewhat clear that her brother Taihei is doing her homework, but when I thought about it, it didn't click together entirely. Because what about when Taihei works overtime and comes home late at night and is so exhausted that he goes to sleep right away? Or when he goes on business trips and doesn't come home for days? It would mean Umaru goes to school without homework. And she still maintains perfect grades. Right. You know what, if I go to school without having done my homework even one time, I'll get a straight F. No excuses. No compromises.
However, what irritates me the most about Umaru is her childish personality. The spoiled brat would cry for trifles, and would always get whatever she wants by crying and throwing tantrums. Honestly, every time I saw her rolling on the floor and crying because she wanted a particular game or magazine, I wanted to turn into an anime character, get into the show, and kick her snotty ass out the window. And the worst part of her character is that she never changes. Yes, she makes a few friends throughout the show, but she never musters the courage to tell them about her inner self. So in the end, her story becomes pointless and never teaches you anything (except maybe that it's fine to pretend to be who you are not, and then to be a total drone when no one sees you).
Which brings me to the other main character I didn't like - Umaru's brother, Taihei. It seems the trend in modern anime is for the male characters to lack backbone. Throughout the whole series, I just wished for Taihei to man up and give a good lesson to his younger sister. However, instead of doing it, he kept on spoiling her. He would buy her anything she wanted, from games and anime DVDs to a new car! Yes, in the first season, Umaru saw a commercial for a car, told Taihei she wanted it, and he immediately agreed to buy it. And if it weren't for Taihei's fear of driving, he would have actually purchased it. Just so Umaru can use it to lounge in the backseat. Because that's why she wanted the car in the first place.
Some people may argue with me and say that Taihei loves Umaru and that's why he spoils her. Well, guess what! Spoiling a child out of love is the worst thing a parent (or an older sibling in this case) can do. If the child never learns to accept failure and denial, what is their life going to be when they grow up and have to live on their own? I mean, Umaru isn't planning to always live with her brother and rely on him for everything, is she? That would be pretty savage of her. But knowing her, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what she is thinking.
If it weren't for his backbonelessness and inability to stand up for himself, Taihei would have been a likable character. He is smart, and we even see some of his backstory at school, where he was a model student with perfect grades. However, unlike Umaru, he actually spent his days studying to be on top of his class so that he didn't do anything else and didn't nurture any hobbies of his own. And he wasn't admired for being the most handsome boy. On the contrary, he had average looks.
Now, I'm in no way saying that having average looks is crucial for a character to be relatable. However, what is crucial is for the character to make sense. We never learn about Taihei's lifestyle out of school, so I can't say for certain that it fully corresponds to his looks, but judging by his obsession with studying, he couldn't have had a lot of time to think about his appearance. However, Umaru deliberately doesn't care about her appearance and at the same time she looks stunning. Moreover, she doesn't study at all, but still somehow is the top-grade student at school. This is what doesn't make sense and makes her an annoying character. I mean, if such a person existed in real life, they would live without a single care in the world and would be always happy and contented with their life. Therefore, such person shall not exist.
Anyway, moving on to the rest of the cast, I can only say they were as bland and unimaginative as any character in a low-profit anime these days - cardboard cut-outs sporting stereotypical personalities (although, as far as I know, the show did well in sales). They contributed to nothing and had no goals of their own except for befriending Umaru. Yeah, that's right. Both Sylphin's and Kirie's objectives in the anime were to befriend Umaru (Kirie even wanted to protect her, wtf?). Kirie actually had a goal of her own, but she barely pursued it in the show and it still involved (surprise!) Umaru. Both Kirie's and Sylphin's brothers were stereotypical characters as well, although they got so little screen time I even forgot to mention them at first.
Ebina was maybe the most realistic character in the anime, but she was extremely downplayed and turned into a stuttering laughingstock so that even when she had good moments in the show, they weren't able to erase the damage her character had already taken. For example, near the end of season two, we learn that Ebina's bad grades come from her panicking during tests and being unable to concentrate. Once she managed to get rid of her panic, her grades majorly improved. However, since this happened almost at the end of season two, her one instance of being smart wasn't able to make up for the shame of a dumbhead she had been before. Yet, since she wasn't constantly fixated on Umaru, I would say she had some charm that made her tolerable for me.
The show even introduced another character in the middle of the second season - Hikari. Honestly, when I first saw her, I thought she would be a very good character - a formidable opponent for everything Umaru was. However, being introduced so late in the show, she barely had any screen time and when she did, she was mostly doing one and the same thing - trying to claim Taihei for herself (she even called him 'Onii-chan'). Her lack of screen time really disappointed me and I hope the studio releases a third season where Hikari's character is better explored. But please, don't make her lose to Umaru in any way. PLEASE!
::: Enjoyment :::
After my ranting about the characters, I think it's time I continue with the next part of this review. All in all, I didn't enjoy this anime, and Umaru was the primary reason for this. However, I can't deny the fact that I marathoned the series in one night (as I always do with 1-cour shows), and was almost unable to feel the time that had passed. This means the show didn't drag on and although the story was repetitive, each episode had enough stuff going on so that I wasn't bored before I had finished it. Anyway, the show being a comedy, I can't remember many moments that struck me as particularly funny. I think I only managed to laugh two or three times for both seasons, and it was a half-hearted wry laugh. Seriously, I couldn't find anything FUNNY about Umaru and her relationship with her brother, but I managed to find many ANNOYING things about it. With that said, at least the show managed to squeeze some emotional response from me, be it a negative one.
::: Overall :::
To wrap it up, I didn't like Himouto Umaru-chan, and was constantly pissed off at the titular character. I wouldn't recommend the show if you're looking for a good comedy. However, if you are looking to ride the hype train (which seems to be gone already at this point), I advise you to watch the anime, as it is one of those shows that spawn endless discussions (or at least memes) for a good period of time. So, if you want to have a common topic to discuss with your friends (and if you want to better understand the memes going around), this show is for you.
