Is it possible for one to become desensitized to the perversion inherent in society? Is it possible to hear about one's fetishes, their opinions on voyeurism, and whether they think your waste is premium content for a feces farm and look at them the same way afterwards?
Nanako has dealt with this dilemma ever since she joined the Abnormal Physiology Seminar, headed by the eccentric Kenji Meshiya. In this select group, she is among people doing various deeds of illicit sorts for Meshiya. Surprisingly enough, hilarity ensues.
The characters are a very large component of what makes it uproarious more than once, Nanako's naivety providing many of the laughs when coupled with her classmates' perverse natures.
Hen Zemi was a show that I didn't expect to be any good. Normally, ecchi is synonymous with fanservice flaunted with reckless abandon and every other quality suffering for it. Hen Zemi, unlike other offenders, keeps the fanservice to a more subtle level, mostly present in speech.
It's very much like Lucky Star, if the girls were all studying and talking about abnormalities in human sexuality, in that most of the action is interaction based.
As an ecchi OVA, there are flashes of titillating (Pun intended) bits, but they don't steal focus from Nanako's squeamishness, or her crush Komugi's utterly casual approach to discussing sex. This is how fanservice should be, even in a series that rotates around it: Present, but not show stealing, and not letting the other qualities suffer just for the sake of its inclusion.
Visually, Hen Zemi is very moe, which makes the content all the more amusing when juxtaposed with the character designs. It's a very warm series, colorful and vibrant, and the animation is more than satisfactory. While it doesn't excel, there's nothing to really mark down with the visual quality.
The sound is much the same, being well above average, but not anything worth mentioning apart from the astonishingly catchy chant that plays over the ED.
What's odd about Hen Zemi, is I feel that I walked away having learned something. That those around me are more depraved than I think them, that I'd be shocked and likely repulsed by their fetishes. It's a very startling realization, and it blew me away that an ecchi-based OVA could lead to such a revelation of what should've been obvious.
Hen Zemi is a fascinating, if utterly deranged and depraved, study of the human psyche and human sexuality. It's funny, without pointing out that it is. And really, what more could you ask from one short OVA? It definitely had me eager to watch the actual series, which I can only hope will maintain the zany, yet down to earth appeal of the OVA.