As such, while Blade mostly showcased Samura’s skill as an artist, Wave is the work that showcased not only Samura’s skills as an artist but more importantly, also as a writer, what his sense of humor is like and what are the influences on his works.
In addition to the little details that go into the world of radio production, the charm of the series lies in its character interactions; Samura did well in crafting a gang of interesting characters as they muck around and generally just trying their best to do their job and lead their lives. In that regard, much of the humor in Wave is centered on a mix of mundane, everyday elements and absurdist scenarios like some of the hijinks the protagonist, Koda Minare gets into plus whacky ideas being used for the radio broadcasts - in particular people who have read Samura’s other more comedic works like Halcyon Lunch or Sister Generator would likely already have picked up that Samura does seem to like throwing in some surreal sci-fi themes.
However, the series is not all just silly shenanigans, as it also has some poignant moments such as addressing the role of radio even in the days of the abundance of multiple entertainment media being available and why it still remains important even right now. Which leads me to my next point; I've noticed that when people say 'mature/adult oriented' works, there's a tendency to refer to works with lots of violence, sex and/or raunchy jokes. Unfortunately, people end up ignoring that works can be mature without relying on sex and violence or that having said themes doesn't make for a mature work. And this is one of the reasons I like about this series; it is adult oriented in its very literal sense of the phrase. A lot of the themes, humor etc are much, much more relatable for an older audience - in particular, the little scenes between Mizuho and Kureko where the latter talks about being an aging creative still trying to, not only remain relevant in the industry, but is still fighting for his passion. And then there's the topics such as dealing with terrible exes, bad breakups and of course, the workplace.
Anyway, Studio Sunrise has always had a solid record with adaptations, especially when it comes to comedy, so this is no exception. To that end, the choice of VAs are perfect. it certainly is delightful to be watching and listening to Minare boisterously barging through things, ranting her head off and bantering with the other characters in the cast. She’s loud, brash and spontaneous, which often leads to her screwing up and get into trouble but that’s also what makes her so lovable and engaging. Sugiyama Riho absolutely nailed it in delivering Minare’s energy, while it’s always nice to hear Mamiko Noto as the soft spoken Tachibana Makie and Ohara Sayaka as Madoka Chishiro. Of course, one also cannot forget Fuji Shinshuu providing that smooth and chill voice to Matou. In addition to the stellar cast of VAs, the direction and delivery of the jokes, the music and the art are all on point, which all serves to amplify this little gem of a series.
In short, while Blade of the Immortal may be a good samurai series, Wave, Listen to Me is what I’ll call a great Samura work as it's the one that brings out more of the mangaka's personality and style.
