Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Mini-review: Mangirl

     First off, this is not Suede, but Suede's other half, so to all you interneters our there, just call me Jessica!  I'm going to try to post mini-reviews as often as I'm able, so I hope you enjoy!  Leave a comment below with any suggestions, general praise, or what you'd like on your pizza.

     We're kicking off the winter titles featured on Chrunchyroll.com starting with Mangirl! Now, get your mind out of the gutter, this isn't about a man stuck in a girls body, (though heaven knows that plot must exist somewhere) but is actually a pun on the word Manga (japanese comics) and girl, because… there's lots of girls. That one you did guess right.
      It's been increasingly more common to have an anime that runs under four minutes per episode, rather than the traditional 22. I both like and dislike this for various reasons, depending on the anime itself. The pros can be that it keeps my short attention span happy and has a good fast pace about it. The possible cons are that ending comes way too soon, and a lot of four-minute-rs try to abuse the short time by stuffing in WAY TOO MUCH, be it humor, plot, or just plain no time to for the viewer to breath or get the joke. *CoughcoughTeekyucoughcough* But all that aside, let's dive into Mangirl Episode 1!

       The Opening: The opening is good, a nice and short introductory to the characters. The vocals are… ehhhh… they don't sound BAD, per say, but to me it sounds like a room full of excited kindergartners belting out their souls during song time rather than a practiced tune.

We painted the logo with the blood of our enemies!

Sasayama Hana is starting a manga magazine, which is kind of a refreshing plot. I've seen a ton of anime about characters wanting to break into the world of making manga, but not about the process the editors and publishers go through.

 Only anime can make a fang look cute.

While showing her friend, Torii Aki, the new office, Hana breaks the news that Aki will be joining the magazine staff. Dispite flatly refusing, Aki joins anyway since apparently Hana has some dirt on her.

 Good friends always know you well enough to blackmail you. Best friends always do.

Next we meet the rest of the staff.  First is Haraki Tsugumi, the obligatory foodaholic.

This is how I end up whenever I go to the grocery store for just one item.

And right behind Tsugumi comes Nichijima Ringo, a lover of manga who is cheerfully pessimistic.

Who knows what sick plots are stirring behind that smile?


Food makes excellent bribery.  Plus Aki's expression. 


First things first, they discuss the finances of the magazine, how large it should be, the price, etc.

Aki, stop using my personal budget for your lectures.

The next step is gathering Manga-ka.  To meet their goal they need fifteen ongoing series, but despite all their contacting, they cannot find even one.  

Wouldn't it be frightfully ironic if some plot device were to cause conflict right now?

Overall:  This is a series that does short episodes right. It's well paced, with  plenty of time to breath, while still filled with good humor and the plot not only exists, but is actually interesting.  It's great to see what goes on in creating and publishing a magazine, even if we are just getting the bare bones of it.  Head on over to Crunchyroll and check this one out. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome review =) Am I the only one who thinks the logo in the opening looks like the one from Azumanga Daioh? Also, I have to agree with you...I always end up buying way to much when I go shopping. Specially when I'm only going shopping for 1 thing. Odd how that works out XD

edmg7 said...

firstly Jessica congratulations. secondly this seems like and interesting idea for a show, maybe i'll check it out if just to see how they can fit that idea into four-minute episodes and still pace it well. pretty good mini review. thirdly I like sausage and green olives on my pizza.

AMVP said...

My main problem with many of these short episode series is how detrimental standard streaming services are to enjoying them. Often, I'll find myself locked into viewing as much (if not more) advertisements as I do the actual show, and when you consider opening and closing credits, the whole process just becomes incredibly frustrating. Still, I try to give good shows a fair shake, and this one may be worth putting up with the tangential headaches.

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