Plastic Neesan is an Original Net Animation and ongoing manga both created by Cha Kurii. The series follows three schoolgirls with a passion for making replicas of cars, boats, tanks, and other miscellaneous figures, dedicating their after school free time to their model-making club. With conflicting personalities and quirky behavioral patterns, the girl’s after-school meetings tend to avert from their original purpose of making models and instead shift into some bizarre and outrageous circumstances.
With a total runtime of just under 30 minutes, the 12-episode ONA manages to capture and create the essence of erratic, witty slap-stick comedy that has captured a notoriety across the anime community. Despite its two-minute per episode runtime and what some might perceive as a disadvantage, the series attempt to utilize every second is proven successful as the audience is left grinning from start to finish. With the addition of its eccentric cast lineup, the series manages to layer its comedy flawlessly, with the cast harmonizing exceptionally well together, and matching the identity to the comedy being expressed.
But, let’s briefly dive into the exhilarating cast that makes Plastic Neesan so special. Though much of the cast may appear to be cute, innocent high school students, their actions display quite otherwise. Of course, the center of attention is our comedy trio with the airhead Genma, the hot-headed Okamoto, and the level-headed Sakamaki. Together, the trio displays some of the more vulgar and outlandish comedy that the series has to offer.
Amongst our comedy trio, we also cross paths with some bizarre side characters. Whether it be “Beautiful Person,” a woman too beautiful and perfect for her own good, Uno and Sado, Genma’s freshman lackey’s, or the most infamous Kuniki, our chiseled hero who contains his masculinity within his bra, we, the audience are always given a comedy treat in every episode.
However, despite what I believe is an excellent cast, others find these characters to be severely lacking depth. I, for one, believe that it’s unfair to critique them in this field, as the series is harshly lacking on time. When all things considered, a more balanced character assessment would be that they are deliberately well-defined to prevent a convoluted mess. Displaying the careful, yet brilliant writing strategy Kurii holds. These distinct characteristics help give each cast member a clear role for each episode or joke. At the end of the day, it isn’t what the characters do individually, but what they do together that makes the series so amusing to watch.
It’s clear that the ONA has a well-defined identity it would like to exemplify. That being, a charming, yet technically sound comedy series that captivates its audience within its exceedingly short timeframe. And still, over a decade later, the ONA is still accomplishing its intended purpose, through its positive reception and strong cult following.
Now, we’ve discussed the anime to a degree, but what about the far lesser discussed format of the series? The manga? Well, much of what I previously mentioned can be attested for the manga, as well. However, unlike the aforementioned disadvantage that the ONA is dealt with, the manga does have the luxury of no time restrictions. This allows for a more flourished comedy skit, as one joke can stretch throughout five chapters. The length of each chapter does vary however, with chapters ranging anywhere between 4-to-11 pages.
It’s clear that the manga cashes in on the opportunity of not having any time restraints to expand upon its styles of comedy, while also being more flexible on how situations in the story are presented. This also provided other opportunities to display the series ability and understanding on changing pace in the story, helping generate further originality. This is something the ONA wasn’t able to replicate.
To accompany the new comedy formats being used, Plastic Neesan introduced additional cast members as well. Similar to the ONA, these characters are complementary to the comedy of the series. In addition, almost all existing and newly added characters do receive minor personality growth. While nothing significant, it plays part in expanding the casts ability to touch on different subject matter for future stories and gags down the road.
As the series progresses over time, the quality of comedy has improved immensely. The series commitment to diversifying its methods of comedy and never getting too comfortable in one format are elements that keep the manga from never becoming stale. Additionally, Plastic Neesan manages to have some stellar moments cross-referencing many popular anime and even Spongebob Squarepants, and it’s moments like these that really make the series so much more enjoyable.
Switching gears, Kurii’s writing undeniably is a key success factor for creating such great comedic material. A memorable cast, with a sagacious writing approach, and a clear-cut identity is why the series is so beloved. It goes without saying that the manga is criminally underrated, as I’m sure most were unaware of its manga’s existence, thinking it was just a short ONA one-and-done project. But, in reality it’s still an ongoing work with around 160 released chapters during the time of this video being made.
It’s evident that I think this series is great and underappreciated. If there is one thing I’d like you do after watching this video, it’s to go check out the series, as I think many of you will find the same appreciation that I have towards this series.
