Finished: 3/25/18
Hey babies! So sorry for the delay...my life these past few months have been a complete mess, BUT I am in the process of getting back on my feet, financially, emotionally and spiritually.
Sanrio Danshi or Sanrio Boys was very dear to me because I’ve a HUGE hello kitty fan. I remember the first time I fell in love with Hello Kitty...It was the year 2000 and I was in the Spring semester of my kindergarten year and I was on the bus to go home. I was wearing long, dark brown crochet braids my mom did herself and they were blowing in my face aggravating me. Suddenly, there was a nice older kid about seven or eight years old who leaned over my seat and offered me a scrunchy...but it wasn’t an ordinary scrunchy, it was a blue scrunchy with a cute white cat dressed as a ballerina attached to it that I would later that day learn as Hello Kitty. The same day, my mom took my brother and I to McDonald’s and I was delighted to get a Hello Kitty toy!
Sanrio Boys is a cute show about high school boys who learn to embrace Sanrio characters despite what society says about it. I felt like this show would be a great example of the “Boy Joy” movement, because it’s 2018 and we should all let go of gender stereotypes. I wasn’t completely let down with this show, because it was a pleasure to watch.
Story: I liked the plot, it was a cute one...but I do wish the writing focused more on the social aspect of boys liking “cutsey” things a little bit more, however, I’m guessing that the topic is still a controversial one and producers didn’t want to get involved with, but I still believe their platform would have benefited the movement. There were comedic as well as heartfelt moments, this show had a good balance.
Art: The artwork was great, easy on the eyes. The artists involved in this project did an amazing job with the characters and the scenery. I felt that the subtle visual of each boys beloved Sanrio mascot in their clothing and personal belongings was a cool, non-obnoxious way to show which boy liked what character. Each boy was drawn beautifully, and the Sanrio stores and products looked awesome!
Sound: I wasn’t too crazy about the opening theme, but it didn’t suck. The ending theme was adorable, I enjoyed listening to it. The voice acting was good, and I’m hoping that the US English dub is just as good.
Enjoyment: I’ll be perfectly honest, this show was nothing like i expected it to be. As I previously mentioned, I was hoping that this show would touch more on the topics of “boy joy” and “toxic masculinity” and be a bit more fun, but it didn’t. However, after each episode, I was patiently waiting for the next to be released. Watching this show didn’t make me fiend for it, but I did enjoy all twelve episodes and I felt that the ending was super cute.
Overall: This show is a solid 8. It shows boys (sort of ) standing up against the naysayers who think it’s “gross” for high school boys to like cutesy things. Each boy decided to live their lives the way they want while supporting each other along the way. Also, this show kind of brought Hello Kitty and Co. back into society’s eye in a world full of Pusheen and Grumpy
Cat (I hate those two). I recommend this show to anyone who likes Sanrio or cute boys! Thanks for reading my review! Keep an eye out on my next one: BTOOOM!.
