Girlish Number Episode #06 Anime Review

So...what are we going to do about the second season of Kusure?

What They Say:

No one wants to get stuck in a boring profession, so when college student Chitose Karasuma storms into a voice acting training facility, she thinks that her future is poised for awesomeness. However, this bad-mannered beauty is in for more than she bargained for as she gets accepted into the talent agency “Number One Produce.” Together with her coworkers, including a girl with a Kansai accent and a cunning airhead, Chitose charges into the competitive world of professional voice acting.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of this review may contain spoilers)

This week, Girlish Number has decided to adhere to the industry standard of incorporating at least one beach/waterpark episode in a multi-heroine series. That being said, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be some slow-motion splashing and some good, old-fashioned fun in the sun as our girls unwind after a long [unsuccessful] season of Kusure. And even though we didn't get to see our heroines in the swimsuits Kuzu picked out for them (SIGH), we've still got a solid first-time fanservice scene for Girlish Number, albeit an incredibly tame one. But I'm not going to complain. Any amount of Momoka is enough Momoka for me.

Apart from the swimsuit montage (Which was only shot to provide "Bonus" material for those who purchased the blu-ray), we get to see a bit of the aftermath that follows ending an anime series. This aftermath, of course, includes new auditions, new faces, and enough alcohol to kill a horse. Not just a small horse either. Like, a full grown horse-sized horse. Regardless of several specific heroines sloping down an ever-increasing path toward alcoholism, this episode is honestly a ton of fun. We learn more about several of the girls as they begin to open up to one another. Kind of. Koto has a conversation with Shibasaki about how she was going to give up and head home if she wasn't able to land a protagonist role. On the other side of things, the weight of the world on Momoka's shoulders becomes apparent as she is simply living in mother's shadow. In the latter half of this episode, Momoka actually receives an offer to work alongside her mother and, instead of graciously accepting, she gets caught in a rut between real happiness and the facade that she's been working in for years now.

It's not all sadness and frowns in this episode, though. (And no, I'm not flashing back to the swimsuit montage). We get the pleasure of witnessing a couple anime wrap parties! These parties, however, are pretty damn bland in comparison to the ones we got to see back in Shirobako. Hell, in Girlish Number, the Kusure wrap party basically consisted of the girls doing the same thing they did during their stay in Okinawa -- sitting together and drinking away their sorrows. In the midst of this, Shibasaki's problems begin to show up through frequent, ignored phone calls from her mother. All throughout this episode, it's apparent that Shibasaki is pushing away...well, pretty much everything. She clearly has problems with her confidence and this is punched in even harder when she basically says to Chitose, "I have problems with confidence". Gee, you don't say?

After the Kusure wrap party...wraps up...(sigh)...we're brought back to the bar with Kuzu and friends where it is revealed that the second season of Kusure will once again rely on Towada doing literally everything. Poor Towada. Hang in there, man.

In Summary:

If we take all six episodes of Girlish Number and separate them into two baskets (One being the better half, one being the worse half), this episode would be in the better basket. And without transforming this review into a third-grade math problem, I think it's safe to say that Girlish Number has established somewhat of a consistency in what we're going to be getting from it. Character development is actually prevalent and, as the story inches further every week, we're learning more and more about not necessarily the anime industry, but the attitudes and feelings of those who work within it, albeit in an incredibly sarcastic manner. Regardless of the show's tone or even the story itself, every key ingredient that goes into the recipe for fun is located within the confines of this series. I've been reminded why I love it each week so far and will continue to look forward to it over the next month and a half.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Girlish Number Episode #05 Anime Review

Let's make more fans and become popular voice actresses!

What They Say:

No one wants to get stuck in a boring profession, so when college student Chitose Karasuma storms into a voice acting training facility, she thinks that her future is poised for awesomeness. However, this bad-mannered beauty is in for more than she bargained for as she gets accepted into the talent agency “Number One Produce.” Together with her coworkers, including a girl with a Kansai accent and a cunning airhead, Chitose charges into the competitive world of professional voice acting.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of this review may contain spoilers)

Now that Kusure is finally airing, the only real conflict for our seiyuu should be sticking with the series and supporting it all the way through. Well, for Chitose, this is a slight problem. Considering the platform she's placed herself on is around the size of the Empire State Building, it's safe to say that her ego has grown to be a little too much for her body to contain. So, as always, she begins to act like she's a big deal when, in all actuality, Chitose is still nothing more than an amateur voice actor.

After the girls have their CD debut sell over 10,000 copies, Chitose and the other newbies wind up making a huge deal out of it. But when Chitose confronts Momoka and Kazuha about this, they have essentially no idea what she's even talking about. Of course, Chitose takes this as a sign of what professionals do and, when it comes time to hand out merchandise for the series at Comiket, she [expectedly] comes off as cocky and uninterested to all of the fans that waited in line. Koto and Yae, on the other hand, are extremely gracious and seem to be pretty well-received all around. Another example of Chitose's ego explosion comes earlier in the episode when she full-on disguises herself before going into and anime and manga shop. This girl needs to settle down.

When Chitose is finally done with Comiket and whatever else she's been up to (Nothing), she decides to kick back and watch the video of the hand-out event she was in with the others. To her dismay, almost every single comment on the video was an attack on her persona, which we all know was well-deserved after every other girl was so much more congenial than her. Of course, Chitose throws a temper tantrum and says that everyone is singling her out and she didn't do anything (Which is exactly the point). So now, not only is the anime series itself being bombarded with hate, so is the main actress. Even with all this, though, a second season still manages to be confirmed. Luckily for everyone, the Blu-ray sales at least seem to be doing well.

Meanwhile, back in the production sector, things don't seem to be going all that well. Not only is the series not bringing in the money it needs to remain financially stable, the author seems to have completely erased the series from his mind altogether. And as if that wasn't enough, the director and his staff are losing faith in the project. Hell, his production assistant even recommended quitting. Can all of these things be remedied now that the second cour is coming up?

Probably not! But let's keep watching!

In Summary:

Girlish Numbers remains as consistent as ever in this depressingly Momoka-less fifth episode. Chitose's ego is still managing to increase despite the popular belief that she couldn't be any more self-centered even if she tried. While Koto and Yae do their best to stay under the radar and incessantly work toward improving themselves, Chitose remains in a non-existent spotlight growing dimmer each week. If anything, it's definitely going to be interesting to see how Kusure recovers from its underwhelming first cour. As for our main heroine? Well, I guess we can all hope that she one day learns that she isn't as great as she thinks she is. But hey, that's why we love her. Right?

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected Vol. #02 Manga Review

Die in a fire, youth.

Creative Staff:

Original Story: Wataru Watari
Art: Naomichi Ito
Character Design: Ponkan8
Translation: Jennifer Ward
Lettering: Bianca Pistillo

Cover Design: Hiroyuki Kawasome

What They Say:

Hachiman Hikigaya may be in a club with two hot girls, but this isn't going to turn into a rom-com. He may have given out his number, but his phone will remain untexted. Besides, the only true cutie around here? Yeah, it's a guy.

Hachiman the loser, Yukino the ice queen, and Yui the bimbo have to find some way to put the "service" back in "Service Club" -- but so far they've scored zero points in the game of high school life.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

After completing their first real mission in conquering the kitchen difficulties Yuigahama faced, the service club inches a step or two closer toward being more than just a quiet room where loners read books and shoot condescending remarks at one another. Now that the club roster has grown to an ever-impressive three members, the requests start pouring in. Kind of. Okay, not really -- but at least our main characters have something to do.

The first of these requests comes from Saika Totsuka, who is totally a dude. (You probably won't understand that if you haven't read this yet). Totsuka problem is a little heftier than Yuigahama's, however. Instead of just wanting to figure out how to make a passable batch of cookies, Totsuka want's to essentially save the school's tennis club from an encroaching state of disrepair. According to him, all of the club's older members aren't all that good, and with that in mind, the younger members are beginning to become demoralized and lose interest in improving. Totsuka, noticing the club's shortcomings, figures that the service club may be able to help him in some way or another. And so they do. Or, at least they try to until all of those damn popular kids show up.

Wanting the keep the tennis court for themselves, the popular kids wind up challenging Hachiman and company to a doubles match: Hayama and Miura vs. Hachiman and Yui. The winner of said match will be able to hold the court and the loser will walk away. And while this match is initially in favor of Hayama and Miura, it takes a dramatic shift when Hachiman starts harnessing skills he picked up during his depressingly lonely middle-school days. To make a [kind of] long story short, Yui winds up getting hurt, Yukino steps in, and the service club wins. Totsuka, even though he has barely cooperated in any of this, winds up walking away at the end of the day being magically better at tennis because that's how practice works.

Our next problem comes from good ole' Hayama, himself. Apparently, there have been text messages circulating around school detailing rumors about three of the guys from his group of friends. Hayama, being a textbook 'lawful good' character, wants to put a stop to these texts and restore order to his clique. However, considering how lawfully good he is, he wants to do this without exposing who has been sending the text messages in the first place. Yukino, not wanting to touch this with a ten-foot pole, sicks Hachiman and Yui on the task and the two get off to a rocky start in determining where this is all coming from. Fortunately for everyone, Hachiman has the superhuman ability to read any and all situations and winds up deducting that none of the three guys involved in these text messages are actually friends with one another. Instead, their social lives revolve around Hayama and how he is basically the glue keeping everyone together. After Hachiman reveals this, Hayama decides it is in everyone's best interest if he does not pair with any of the guys in the upcoming class trip and essentially forces them to bond with one another. Really, though, what a great dude. Right?

Just as things begin to wind down for the service club, another request makes its way to Hachiman and 'friends'. Initially brought up by Komachi, it is revealed that Hachiman's classmate, Saki Kawasaki, has sloped into a state of delinquency -- not showing up at home until almost 5:00 AM some nights. This request, initially stemming from Saki's younger brother, Taishi, is gracefully taken on and each member (As well as Zaimokuza for some reason) gets to devise their own plan on how to tackle it. While our main members' plans wind up crashing and burning, Zaimokuza's gets off to a decent start. Somehow or another, the service club winds up linking the word 'Angel' to a location that Kawasaki allegedly has started working at. Being a super-otaku, a nearby maid cafe jumps out of Zaimokuza's memory and the service club makes its way there. In a cliche example of comedic timing, our club members arrive at the same instance that Kawasaki is leaving -- and they manage to do this without even noticing her. DUN DUN DUN.

In Summary:

While this manga tailors beautifully to pre-existing fans of the Oregairu series, it doesn't hit nearly as hard as the other adaptations (Anime/Light novel). That being said, it really isn't bad by any means. There are a few inconsistencies in terms of general artwork, but thanks to an immensely lovable cast and a plethora of modern philosophy from Hachiman, this manga adaptation is still one that I'd go on to recommend to all fans of the slice-of-life genre. Even though it does have a few minor setbacks, the manga is very clearly progressing -- and it's doing so at a pleasant, enjoyable pace.

Content Grade: B+

Art Grade: B-

Packaging Grade: B-

Text/Translation Grade: A

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: September 20, 2016

MSRP: $12.99