But to be frank, let's backtrack on the one series that I felt that was a miss on the mark, the black sheep of the author's many works, and that is this show right here: Kunoichi Tsubaki no Mune no Uchi a.k.a In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki. This is the only series that Souichirou Yamamoto has deviated from the classic school-based rom-com that Takagi-san (and even the upcoming Soredemo Ayumu) is known for, and trades it with an all-female clan of kunoichi (a.k.a female ninjas) living in a village where there is a strict code that everyone must adhere to: women are not allowed to have contact with men, for like the enemy, they are dangerous and not wholly to be trusted should they win the females over to their side. Both AniManga forms have a huge character cast, but a female MC that guides the story along: Tsubaki of Team Dog, who's at that age where she is curious about men, and presumably, wants to know more about them because of her unequivocal heart-pounding and beating feeling, and the more she knows information about men, the more she gets flustered easily. Yeah, this is the adage of "curiosity kills the cat".
If there is an area where credit must be given where its due, is in its naming conventions that hides deeper meanings. I will admit that the kunoichi of the female-only Akane Class clan that ranges from mere young children to teens, they have some of the skimpiest clothing that can be easily mistaken for the sexualization of minors (say Team Dog's Sazanka and Team Sheep's Benisumomo) that's a bit unsightful to see. But, this leads to the next point that if you haven't already figured it out yet, the Akane Class is made up of teams that are representative of the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac, with each team having 3 students (or kunoichi, rather) being either fully Senpais, Kouhais, or a mix of both (Teams Dog and Snake are the exception with 4 and 2 students respectively) with everybody's own unique Jutsu. And this is a crucial one that will be glanced over: each and every character's single-name-only given names have a symbolic floral theming that translates to different flowers, plants or both. Take for example: the central Team Dog's Tsubaki, Asagao, Sazanka and Rindou. While Asagao and Rindou both represent their main flower family respectively (morning glory and gentian), Tsubaki and Sazanka are in a close sisterly relationship because their names stem from the Camellia flower family (of the common Japanese camellia and Sasanqua camellia). So rather than just pick out rando names, Souichirou Yamamoto going the distance to literally pluck out flower names and adapt them to his work (this is a huge lot of characters spanning 30 to 40 names), this is what I feel separates him from many authors due to the creativity of his talents, and this talent is IMO simply unrivalled.
The female-only Akane Class clan is taken care of by two teachers: the head of the clan Hana and her No. 2 counterpart Konoha. Both are stern teachers taking care of Tsubaki and the many kunoichi students, raising their lives to rise to the conduct of not having a fear of men. But, this is an abstract lie, and Hana-sensei knows it, because the truth is that both the women (Akane Class) and the men (Aoi Class) were once learning together in tandem, when this thing called "love" breaks all fear for potential kunoichi and shinobu to be in relationships together, to the extreme case of eloping altogether from their clans, forcing the hand of the clan's extinction so much that they blocked all interaction amongst one another, only to isolate themselves and never to interact again lest this hard-and-fast rule is either broken or violated by one of the students, which can bring consequences.
For a large character cast like this show, it can be hard to follow who's what and how, so this is the full breakdown of the Akane Class:
- Teachers Hana and Konoha (literally meaning 'flower' and 'leaves'), stern teachers whom cherish their students in a stoic manner, that by themselves, removes their acting facades of a base foundation towards tutoring the students in a proer manner.
- Team Dog: team leader Tsubaki, with members Sazanka, Asagao and Rindou. Tsubaki's the star character of the Akane Class with skills unparalleled; Sazanka is the short-tempered and short-statured girl whom was a recluse until Tsubaki came to brighten up her life (and the only person calling her "Nee-sama"); Asagao is the food-crazed glutton; and Rindou is the Aoi Class's transfer student, but as a girl being raised by men before they raised her as a girl to be transferred out to the Akane Class.
- Team Sheep: team leader Benisumomo, with members Mizubashou and Touwata. Benisumomo's the next equal when it came to comparing her brains and brawn against Tsubaki; Mizubashou being the team's bookworm and trap master; and Touwata being a hard-working girl, sometimes too hardworking for her own good.
- Team Horse: team leader Hinagiku, with members Kibushi and Oniyuri. Hinagiku's the self-proclaimed beauty of the Akane Class, the prideful and egosticial girl of the bunch. Kibushi is the member to help lift her spirits up, while Oniyuri acts more like a bodyguard due to her stature.
- Team Monkey: team leader Mokuren, with members Housenka and Tsuwabuki. Mokuren is easily the kindest and sweetest girl of the clan, the Akane Class's go-to medic nurse. Housenka, like Team Dog's Sazanka, is the team's prankster, and Tsuwabuki...don't call her 'stupid' or 'dumb', or otherwise you will piss her off, she's the brawn-over-brain person.
- Team Rat: team leader Tachiaoi, with members Higuruma and Hagi. Tachiaoi is a bit of a clumsy girl, and even if she sees how others (like Tsubaki) lead their own team, it's better to keep it at one's breadth. Higuruma is the yellow-haired optimist while Hagi is the grayish-blue-haired pessimist.
- Team Ox: team leader Shion, with members Suzuran and Ajisai. Shion is the big sister character to Ajisai, while Suzuran is the same but being the mother character. Also, Ajisai is about the closest to a Takagi-san character cop-out (that's similar to Chi from the spin-off) as you can see.
- Team Tiger: team leader Fuki, with members Itadori and Ume. Fuki is the nice girl that's a stark comparison to the manga counterpart when she is a no-nonsense individual, making her more adult-like than her team members Itadori and Ume whom are both childish and mischievous.
- Team Snake: no team leader, but members-only. Uikyou and Kikyou may look like splitting images of one another, but in they are essentially the same person, sharing a tight-knit, almost sisterly dynamic, complete with having the same exact abilities. However, they actually aren't related, but rather simply best friends.
- Team Dragon: team leader Higiri, with members Suzushiro and Hasu. Higiri is the reserved girl that isn't known much; Suzushiro is the direct opposite being boisterous and more open; and while Hasu may just be like Higiri, her deception Jutsu is quite useful.
- Team Rabbit: team leader Kagetsu, with members Mukuge and Hototogisu. This team is essentially the idol group of Akane Class, with Kagetsu backing vocals as the lead singer and song composer, Mukuge supporting in instrumentals (drummer) and Hototogisu supporting on percussion (flute).
- Team Rooster: team leader Sumire, with members Azami and Tanpopo. Sumire can be seen as a wilful leader going along with both members' tactics, but also tends to interpret things too seriously that spirals down to detriments. On the other hand, Azami and Tanpopo are the free-spirited girls, one that many can refer to that of the gyaru a.k.a gal culture.
- Team Boar: team leader Dokudami, with members Aogiri and Shakuyaku. If you thought that Team Monkey's Tsuwabuki was bad enough, wait till you see Dokudami rip people to shreds. This is the same for Aogiri and Shakuyaku, whom also blindly follows their team leader into endless ways to reach to their destination.
Whew, never thought that this would be a huge chunk. I also noticed that while the members make the teams, the team dynamic of which they're called, also plays into the particular animal's properties as well, so that's something.
I can never fault anything when it comes to the production side of things. This is storyboarder-cum-episode director Takudai Kakuchi's directorial debut, though for a show of a calibre such as this, really doesn't seem like much more than a small and notable side gig. As for CloverWorks, the A-1 Pictures' sister studio definitely has seen better days not rushing and taking things slowly, and the overall production does look nice, as we should expect it to be.
The music though, is another selling point of the show. Although the peggies' OP is just decent and sounds fine (nothing like the sort of "Centimeter" for the KanoKari dumpster fire show), the ED is where it'll have a small surprise. For the entire show in a row, each respective team performs the same ED theme, but in their own versions that in all, provides 12 different iterations of the same song. Honestly, the show doesn't honestly need to go far in this, but also, you have to give credit where credit is due that this is intentional effort that might be just a Souichirou Yamamoto thing, but the same rhetoric that Takagi-san has actually done in its anime adaptations. As for my favourite ED version, Team Dog (Episode 1) is the best IMO, though Team Tiger (Episode 6) is a close 2nd being the Rock n' Roll equivalent of that.
All in all, you can take Kunoichi Tsubaki as a CGDCT show of sorts (since it's an entirely all-female cast), but it prides mostly in its Iyashikei, slice-of-life setting of the playful and comedic interactions despite the romantic subtext. Either way, I can see why nobody ever talks about this series that's a complete deviation to Souichirou Yamamoto's tried-and-true school-based rom-com formula that has always worked for the general audience. This is more like a 'if you have ample time on your hands, watch this instead" kind of show that has its audience, but nothing more. A decent series, but nowhere near the acclaimed mangaka's magnum opuses of works that are more appealing.
