One word to describe WATATEN is adorable. Seriously, if you don’t like moe or cuteness in anime and are one of those that think it is a blight to anime as an art form, this would be their antichrist. This is one of the most cutesy, moe anime shows I have seen in a long, long time. Not just from the character design perspective, but the voice acting in the episodic stories. There were moments when I would go crazy from the cuteness displayed by all the cute little girls. So this is just a fair warning for those who may not be prepared for something like this. Then again, look at the poster, and you can probably already guess what is in store here.
In the first episode, we are introduced to the main heroine, Miyako, or Mya-nee. She is introduced as someone infatuated with one of her little sister’s friends, Hana-chan. Many have interpreted Mya-nee to be a pedophile based on how she shows her affection from the first episode. That episode is probably the most “creepy” interaction Mya-nee shows in the entire series. Again, this is sort of a thing with many writers these days to make the first episode absurd and crazy to entice people to keep watching. However, as WATATEN goes on, Mya-nee’s antics do not go far into pedo territory as it comes off more as that adult that can’t help but love how cute a child is and would want to protect it. Wanting to dress Hana-chan in cute cosplay clothes makes Mya-nee have a hilarious charm to her that never struck me as creepy. Maybe it’s the fact that the show has a shoujo-ai tag to it that might throw some people off, but it never comes across as too lovey-dovey like other anime of that genre.
Mya-nee herself gets better as a character that is adorable and hilarious to see in what she does and says to the girls. We learn more about her as a character, making her less two-dimensional than what you would expect of a protagonist in these types of anime. The interactions with her little sister, Hinata-chan, are hysterical, and a few of them almost feel real to how I know some friends with little sisters interact. What gives Mya-nee her adorable charm is Reina Ueda's performance as her. She sells this character from her frantic embarrassed voice and how wacky she inflects her voice whenever Mya-nee goes crazy.
The rest of the girls that make up the quintessential cuties (Hinata, Hana, Noa, Kanon, Koyori) all have their unique personalities that brighten up the show. Hinata is the energetic little sister that you both love and hate if you were her sibling, just like every other little sister. Hana is Hinata's best friend that Miya-nee loves unconditionally of how cute she is. Her calm/stoic demeanor does change ever so slightly when she sees something sweet or eats pudding; that way, she won’t seem like a one-note character. Nao is the funny, energetic blonde child who always gets perturbed whenever Miya-nee doesn’t think she is the cutest, resulting in hilarious moments. Kanon and Koyori do have their moments, but they barely get enough screentime for me to remember much about them. That is not to say they are bad; they just could’ve added more scenes with them, including garnering any memorable ones, unlike the previous three.
Many people compare this to UzaMaid because another little girl character is in a platonic onee-chan relationship with the female protagonist. However, unlike that anime, WATATEN does not feel as tedious with its jokes about Mya-nee being all lovey-dovey with Hana-chan. They don’t just involve one girl to another but preferably multiple ones. On top of that, they aren’t just the same joke pulled repeatedly from every episode. Each episode goes into different scenarios where all the girls go through a different situation and don’t feel tact on. The cuteness factor only goes up all the way through, which made me feel giddy with anticipation every time I start an episode.
With a studio like Doga Koba, you know you will be into a visual treat of cute goodness with titles like Himouto-chan, New Game, and Gabriel DropOut under their belt. While WATATEN does not stand too far off from its comfort zone, its art style has a pastel color scheme to the backgrounds and the character designs that give it its distinctive look. Unlike the previous anime I’ve mentioned, WATATEN‘s designs look more fluid and less conservative in the line drawings. It makes everything look a little elegant. The OPs and EDs fit the anime perfectly with its lively singing in your usual cutesy tone. However, they’re nothing too substantial for me to download on my PC, unfortunately
This anime was the season’s palate cleanser. In other words, something that you can watch without thinking too hard about it. If I were to make a comparison, it would be Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka. Something to make your heart warm and fuzzy, nothing else. We all need at least one or two in every anime season and hope they are good at their craft. Maybe not another one where there might be contention to debate whether the protagonist might be a pedo. Whatever gets people talking.
Grade: A-
