Warning! Spoiler alert!
Story
This is the story of Souji Mitsuka, a boy who is obsessed with twin-tails. No, that's an understatement. He's completely consumed by twin-tails. Any girl that arranges her hair into twin-tails will grab Souji's attention, whether it is Souji's friend Aika or the school council president Erina. Souji's unusual but peaceful life comes to an end when aliens invade the world, attempting to steal twin-tails from mankind. Fortunately, aid comes in the form of Twoearle, a woman that gives Souji a bracelet that transforms him into Tail Red, a superpowered warrior that protects twin-tails. The catch? Souji becomes a little girl whenever he transforms into Tail Red. Well, it's not really a catch because Souji now has his own set of twin-tails he can touch whenever he wants. Soon enough, Aika and Erina join Souji's struggle against the forces of evil and become Twintail Warriors as well.
For the lack of a better description, Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! is a fun parody of the Super Sentai franchise, and its American equivalent Power Rangers, and does its best to poke fun at the Sentai genre's elements, such as weapons, secret bases, villains and superhero poses. While the show is not afraid of getting serious and intense once in a while, Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! is mostly a comedy that derives much of its humor from things enjoyed to near-otaku levels Aside from twin-tails, we have characters obsessed with glasses, books, breasts and even effeminate boys. The weird thing from all of this, and the show even acknowledges it, is that by attempting to prevent people from enjoying the things the villains like, the villains are technically destroying the things they like. At least the show is honestly by how corny and ridiculous the villains are, which makes the show so fun in the first place.
Unfortunately, if the show cannot take itself seriously, viewers are unlikely to take it seriously. There is dramatic tension and emotional stakes to be had, but they are so low and insignificant that there is no reason for viewers to genuinely be concerned for the characters' safety and wonder whether or not they shall survive the current battle, because they most certainly will. (7/10)
Characters
Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! features some of the weirdest and most unusual character casts in anime history. Almost every character in the show is obsessed with something, like Souji's love for twin-tails or Dark Grasper's love for glasses. It's always amusing to see the characters express their love for such mundane things, to the point they gain superpowers from it.
Aside from his/her love for twin-tails, though, Souji is a pretty standard anime protagonist. He/she dresses in red, wields a sword, derives strength from his/her conviction to protect twin-tails and earns multiple love interests. Now, that doesn't mean Souji is a bad character, far from it, it's just that when you really think about there is depth to him/her and it's the other, more colorful characters that move the story forward. For what it's worth, though, Souji is genuinely heroic and does worthy of the praise he/she gets from his/her comrades. He's basically Natsuru Senou done right.
As I said before, the emotional and dramatic heavy-lifting of Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! is done by the supporting cast. It's always fun to see Aika, Erina, Twoearle and, weirdly enough, Dark Grasper try to earn the affections of Souji, even if they fell in love with him for entirely different reasons. I also felt a bit of sympathy towards Aika because of her insecurities towards her body and it appears that her love for Souji gives her some kind of validation, not to mention that her violent assaults on Twoearle are fun to watch. Don't feel too sorry for Twoearle, she makes bad jokes about Aika's chest every 5 minutes. One of the most fascinating characters in the show was Erina, a polite and elegant young girl that becomes sexually perverted when she meets Souji and his/her friends. It's so fun to see her act as the most mature and intelligent of the group in one of moment and then indulge in her sexual fantasies in the next.
The villains of Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! have to be some of the weirdest and funniest I have seen in any kind of TV show. Their motivations amount to nothing more than destroying the very things they enjoy so no one else can enjoy them. Even Dark Grasper, the most threatening and dangerous of them all, is a shy and awkward otaku that loves glasses. While they aren't the most threatening or dangerous of villains, they are at least hilarious to watch. (7/10)
Art
The visual quality on this show was amazing. The animators and designers did a fine job in adapting Ayumu Kasuga's art style to life in the animated format. Despite their simplicity, the character designs are pleasing to the eyes and the fight scenes are very well choreographed and animated. Everything, from the weapons and the villains, are excellent references to the toku genre. (8/10)
Sound
The soundtrack of Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! was fine. Not great, just fine. Sure, I enjoyed the opener and closer but they were nothing to write about. Still, I was amazed by the quality of the English dub. Bryn Apprill, Sarah Wiedenheft and Mikaela Krantz did a fine job as the three female leads and I appreciated the comedic performances of both Morgan Garrett and Leah Clark. Talent was to great effect in this show. (8/10)
Overall
In closing here, Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! is the perfect Kampfer repellent. It's everything Kampfer should have been. It has a genuinely badass protagonist, excellent comedic timing and over-the-top fight scenes. I'm very glad I watched this show after Kampfer. While the lack of serious stakes might turn viewers off, it's still fun to see the show poke fun at the toku genre, as well as the perverted love the characters have towards mundane things. I'm disappointed that this show ultimately didn't get a second season, as it would have been a great chance to dig deeper into the source material, not to mention a chance to improve the comedy. This was a fine show and if you like Super Sentai series, you are likely to enjoy it. (7/10)
