If you're reading this, there is absolutely no way that in 2020 you would stumble upon this OVA series by accident without knowing or watching SZS. It was how I came across it and while it did color my expectations to a fair degree, the show is still enjoyable and immensely familiar as it morphs into proto-SZS. Shaft's attention to detail is to be commended. Everything from the character designs, to the backgrounds, animations, even Kumeta's in-universe depiction (going from a normal mangaka to some bitter loser), all gradually evolve elegantly from its initial dick joke-ridden chaotic mess into something more focused or at the very least more consistent with Shaft's adaptation of SZS. The style of the last 2 episodes especially don't look out of place from the rest of the SZS series, what with the freeze-frame gags, the spoken sound effects, and the obsession with lists. Umi's transformation from the tsukkomi to proto-Chiri is hilarious and really fitting.
I know I mention SZS a lot in this review, but honestly it can't be helped. If you were to watch this on its own it would still be enjoyable, but you wouldn't understand why Shaft would have given this otherwise forgotten manga a short adaptation. As a fan of SZS, if you were to look at it as if it were a spin-off OVA (even though it really is the other way around), you would definitely derive a ton more enjoyment out of it.
8/10
