"Comic Girls" - a show about cute girls doing cute things. Oh, and also drawing manga. Surprisingly, I thought it would be one of those generic cutesy anime that have been flooding the industry as of late but it turned out to be pretty funny and likeable. With that being said, there are certain elements that stood out as being rather weak, which leads me to give this anime a lower score than I want.
Story - 6
A high school girl joins a mangaka-only dormitory in order to develop further and grow into a fine mangaka. Easier said than done, as this particular high school girl is rather bad at manga, receiving the worst possible reviews and having zero fans. To add salt to injury, her manga skill isn't the only thing that's underdeveloped. Still, she is determined to make it and with the help of her very colorful party of fellow dorm companions, her journey into the world of manga has just begun.
Sounds good, right? It would have been even better, had there actually been any significant development/improvement in her skills. Or her character. Or anything for that matter. While the story does include her to a certain degree, it's pretty episodic and I felt that more attention was paid to the issues with the other tenants. In the final episode, she miraculously manages to, seemingly over a short period of time, draw a coherent manga - something she hasn't been able to do in years. Only to fall back down the path of rejected manuscripts during the outro.
In short, the story starts somewhere and goes nowhere. It was nothing more than a sweet experience of a year in a manga dorm.
Art - 8
The art was pretty solid. I think anyone, who's in it for the visuals, will be left satisfied. It is very colorful, very pleasant to watch and it really brings out the characters to life. The choice of color for all the characters - from the cool-looking tomboyish Tsubasa with her dominant blue, to Ruki, with her purple image of a grown-up and mature woman, to Koyume, with her radiant yellow/orange signifying her playful and energetic persona, and Kaos with her pink childish style. I'd say the art nailed the tone of the anime pretty good.
Sound - 7
Let's face it - the soundtrack in most of these cute anime is something not many people would listen to outside the actual anime itself. Still, it's pretty chill and relaxing. It sets the mood quite nicely and works well with the overall tone of the anime. Nothing mind-blowing but nothing bad either.
Character - 6
Another low score. But hear me out.
All the characters go through some sort of development. Tsubasa was portrayed as this cool-looking tomboyish girl but she was also shown to have a girly and cute side to her, and also went through a bit of development. Koyume, who was, at first, the filler character for me, quickly got her spot in the show and had a pretty nice episode dedicated to her. Fuura-senpai, the creepy stalker girl also had a bit of spotlight, although only briefly. But, most of all, Ruki was, for me, the character with the most development. Going out from being extremely embarrassed about her *cough* work, to actually taking pride in it due to the support from her fans. It was truly beautiful.
Did I miss someone? I think I mentioned everyone. I' sure I did...
Oh, Kaos-chan. Relegated to a side-character for the most of the anime. Truly a pitiful soul. I mean it - the amount of dirt thrown at her throughout the anime made my heart break. It was too much - such a pitiful creature cannot exist (if you don't believe me, just read her 2nd career choice). For me, this was overkill. Extreme overkill. This anime did NOT need to spit so much on poor Kaos-chan. In my mind, this was the worst part of this anime - the over-demoralization of this otherwise extremely pure and kind girl. I barely managed to sit through a few hours of her being shat on (pardon my french) by pretty much life itself, let alone actually being in her shoes. It was.. so sad. Couple that with her lack of development through the majority of the anime and you get the picture.
Enjoyment - 9
Still, I enjoyed this anime. Damn, did I enjoy it. It was pretty funny, pretty cute, sad at times, scary at times (Fuura-senpai). It was all. And it could have been even more. If only... IF ONLY!
Overall - 7
Sadly, the average from the above prohibits me from giving it a higher score. Please forgive me!
Final words: Do give this anime a shot. It won't win the "Anime of the Year" award, nor will it blow your mind. It won't make you cry tears or laughter, nor tears of sadness. It won't leave you full, nor empty inside. But what it will do is give you a couple of hours well-spent, which you won't regret - something that a lot of anime fail at.
