Outbreak Company

Whoever thought being an otaku can come with so many responsibilities? For Shinchi Kano, his responsibilities just skyrocketed after being set up and sent to a fantasy world. Sounds fun right? Wrong. It seems that some higher powers wants this young boy to spread the otaku culture and expands the Japanese culture in their world like never ever before. Being otaku is often considered a negative influence due to its pure nature. But in Outbreak Company, it plays on different trope. In fact, it’s being an otaku that allowed Shinichi to gain stardom in this new world where his life changes forever. Outbreak Company isan animated series based off the light novel of the same name written by Ichiro Sakaki. The full title of the series is actually Outbreak Company: The Moe Invader that emphasizes the spread of Japanese culture as an allusion to “invasion”. Shinichi plays the role of the main character and otaku life becomes a pivotal role in shaping such a fantasy world. It almost feels like a dream for Shinichi but that might not seem to be as easy as he thinks. Shinchi quickly realizes that he gets more than what he bargained. It’s an otaku’s wet dream coming true. The story of Outbreak Company is quite simple. Shinichi is your average high school boy whom has a crush on a girl. After rejection, he tries to find a way to replace that deep hole in his life. Becoming an otaku isn’t exactly the best way to get over a rejection but he chooses anyways. After he does manage to get a job, it’s here where we find out his in-depth knowledge about various anime, manga, and Japanese culture. In many ways, the show takes this idea and twists it around in a way that is fun and entertaining. The fact that Shinichi plays the role of an otaku can be stereotyped as a boy who spent a lot of time in front of the TV. And in fact, he does but not only in front of a television but also on the web with his knowledge of various anime/manga and even eroge. As this series plays fun with the otaku culture, there should be unsuspectingly a lot of references to various anime and manga. Almost every episode has posters or merchandise from other popular animated series with modified artwork. It also makes fun of the otaku culture by having the main male protagonist become a type of instructor to his students. His way of teaching can seem absurd but he has fun with it. His students also seems to enjoy his teaching methods despite its obscenity on several occasions as the product he tries to present tends to be any otaku’s wet dream. Part of that dreams comes with a package including an adorable maid named Myucel Foaran. She plays the role of a typical maid with an addition of elf ears and overly politeness. As one of the most innocent characters in the series, she always puts others above herself. This is proven later on when her friends’ lives are in danger. Her action speaks louder than words as she faces on danger straight ahead rather than looking back. But besides her gentleness, Myucel is able to make friends and her relationship with Shinichi is one of the more dynamic pairs of this show. For starters, Shinichi originally sees her as a fantasy fulfillment come true. After all, Myucel refers Shinichi as her master. Surprisingly enough, Shinichi doesn’t abuse or treat her indiscriminately but instead befriends her as if she is a human being. He even goes as far as to teach her about the otaku culture as well as Japanese language. It’s an odd relationship as Myucel is constantly trying to please him and apologizes for any behavior she interprets as misdeed. Surprisingly she is a girl not to be underestimated. Mycuel has astonishing skills in magic and fighting capabilities that can accomplish superhuman feats. Like an old saying goes, “dynamites comes in little packages”. Throughout his time there, Shinichi also gets involved with other affairs. This includes his encounter with the monarch of the Eldant Empire, Petralka Anne Eldant III. Unlike Mycuel, she represents more of a brat that is initially seen as selfish, stubborn, and only wants things to go her way. She is the perfect example of how an immature child would behave like despite her similar age to Shinichi. But because Shinichi seems to the first person to stand up against her status, she takes an interest him. This lands a “rivalry” with Mycuel as she sees her as competition. This competition often comes as a backlash and jealousy against Mycuel because Petralka sees her getting in the way. At first, it might seems harmless but there are various times when the tension gets heated and Shinichi has to step in to settle the bounds. Later on though, she learns a bit more from her mistakes and starts treating Mycuel with more respect due to certain reasons. The trio of these characters makes up the main course of the series but to other characters do come into play with their parts. Most of these characters are direct parodies to the culture of anime such as Minori, a woman with a fujoshi fetish. She is also an otaku and often formulates absurd fantasies in her head with BL tones. Bulk, a lizard man, is designed to fit the role of a fantasy beast but with surprisingly gentle nature. Then, there are also the half-elves, wolf girl species, and even dwarves who doesn't match their age. I wouldn’t say this series fits within the drama category but there is certainly a lot of tension going on throughout various parts of the show. Among some of the tensions includes a rivalry between the races of elves and dwarves. They have contrasting views on Japanese culture that often results in insults thrown back and forth with nitpickery debates, This is even presented in a more extreme case when both sides decides to settle it in a sports competition to see which side is more dominate. More importantly is the fact that humans are treated as seemingly superior beings. Fortunately, Shinichi often plays the role of a normal human boy and doesn’t take advantage of certain situations. Despite the fun that Outbreak Company throughout each episode, there are various problems with the show that can turn viewers away. The initial premise itself might cause some heads to turn. After all, the theme of a human being sent to another fantasy world to help others isn’t exactly a new idea. Series such as Dog Days, Problem Children, Familiar of Zero, and Ixion DT also plays on these tropes. Shinichi’s initial introduction can be viewed as a clichéd and stereotypical character as comparable to harem leads. Although he doesn’t technically have a harem, Shinichi is oblivious to the female characters around him. Shinichi does have the behavior of a typical harem lead though with the typical nosebleed upon witnessing any beautiful character of the opposite sex and getting excited about a loli (Petralka) during their first initial meeting. Speaking of Petralka, her tsundere personality can also be hard to endure on various occasions with her constant bickering. The way she treats others (especially Mycuel) is based on greed and jealousy like a spoiled child that can be frustrating to watch. Some of the other characters’ races also makes little sense with dwarves’ ages, the werewolf girl that hardly resembles what she looks like, or the repetitive BL gags. Unlike Genshiken, there’s hardly any realism to it but rather just played out as a ridiculous and senseless fantasy. Finally, the story itself jumps around a bit. Shinichi might be the main focus of the show but some episodes’ ideas becomes larger than himself. There’s no any ongoing plot or arcs but mainly focuses on its main theme of otaku culture spreading. If you get bored of this type of theme then this show will likely not be for you. Artistic wise, Outbreak Company brings out the fantasy to its greatness with its character designs. Shinichi is probably the only main character designed with human characteristics. Almost every other recurring character has bits of a fantasy touch added to them like Myucel’s elf years, Petralka’s overly made dress, Galious’ knight armor, or Elvia’s wolf-like ears/tail. The castle that Shinichi is bought upon also gives a feeling of fantasy with its internal design. The landscape outside is absent of technology but instead is replaced with fantastical architecture and nature. Feel (Da Capo, Fortune Arterial, Nagasarete Airantou) are known for their production in series involving fantasy/supernatural elements. For Outbreak Company, they definitely delivered a handy dandy job. Sound production might seem off balance a bit. The comedic scenes has an odd theme played most times when there are awkward moments. Because this show isn’t about magical sword fighting, there’s a minimal amount of intense OST. Instead, they are replace with lighthearted soundtrack that tends to bring out a more fun side of Outbreak Company; namely the tone of the ‘Da, da, da’. The OP song “Univer Page” by Suzuko Mimori matches its style quite well with its fantasy elements. The same applies for the ED song that brings out fantasy to a level of credibility. Shinichi’s voice also is performed well that ranges from his otaku craziness to his occasionally maturity during appropriate moments. Regrettably, I find Petralka’s voice to be a sting to my ears that symbolizes the tsundere that she is. As a girl with a bratty voice, I find it not just annoying but also the fact that she herself seems to not even notice it. So, how do you plan to watch Outbreak Company? If you’re in for some fun, then definitely watch it that way because this show is floured with silliness. But if engaging story is a factor you’re more interested, then this show could be quite a disappointment. Instead of a deep story with complex elements, Outbreak Company likes to make more fun of the typical otaku culture and community. With an outbreak of references to anime and manga, expect many ideas to be wheeled in from your favorite series. The main character Shinichi can also take quite a bit of time to get used to and some people might not like him even until the very end. With its silly premise comes a long way to bring about the otaku culture in story form and I think this show pulled it off in the right direction. Outbreak Company will bring forth a charming experience of the otaku culture where you’ll learn more than meets the eye.

Stroy The story is about bringing Japanese culture, name it VN games, anime, manga and other things to a fantasy world that the goverment discovered, so that's why our protagonist is sent to this place, because he has the knowdlege of all these things, Shinichi will learn how different this fantasy world is. The thing is that everything was well paced until the last 3 episodes where they throw a lot of content too fast and too much for 3 episodes, so it was ok but a little disappointing. Art & Animation The art style was good, the characters were a little simple but still well made. Sound The soundwas good, the OP and ED song were good and it matched the theme of the anime, the songs in the comedy parts made it even funnier, overall it was good. Character The characters were ok, nothing special. -Shinichi was funny and he was likeable and his facial expression were hilarious, specially his poker face. -Petrarka was annoying at first but a little likeable later, maybe. -Myucel the elf was sweet and light hearted, in this world shes seen as a low class. Overall the characters were mostly ok with good moments. Enjoyment Mostly enjoyable, funny from time to time, helped by the songs to make them funnier, enjoyable charachters to some extent, an average anime but still enjoyable.

At the beginning of this fall anime season, I wasn’t planning on watching Outbreak Company. The synopsis for this anime wasn’t anything exciting nor was it intriguing. However, I decided to watch it anyway, for it was on Crunchyroll and there weren’t too many other anime I was hyped for this fall. After this show finished airing and I finished watching, I, unfortunately felt like I had wasted my time, tuning into this show every Sunday. For the most part, the plot of Outbreak Company is nothing special. Our protagonist, Kanou Shinichi, is a reject who hides in his house all day. The reason forthis is silly, but we can’t blame Outbreak Company for it because it was clearly meant to be a parody anime and you can tell right from the beginning. The show then immediately tosses Shinichi into a fantasy realm (the Eldant Empire) in which he unintentionally starts developing a harem. The harem part was a strange inclusion, as the beginning of this show led me to believe this would be a romantic comedy. Outbreak Co. is, indeed, a comedy, but it occasionally attempts to be serious and it fails miserably. It has plenty of ecchi elements and fits the definition of harem very well, which prevents it from blending well with “plot.” This could direct the focus of the anime towards comedy, but it may bother you when the show tries to be serious. Thankfully, Outbreak Co. does try to be funny for the majority of the time and that is what you should expect when jumping into this anime. Much to the chagrin of many, however, the jokes in this show heavily rely on references and parody. This is awful for new viewers of anime and non-hardcore viewers because it’s hard to understand the jokes without prior knowledge or thorough research. Either that or the show throws around cultural-specific Japaneses terms so it can create a gag that might last until the end of the current episode. Comedy is really all this show has going for it, yet the entirety of Outbreak Co. involves Shinichi trying to teach the residents of the Eldant Empire about “Otaku Culture,” which creates comedy that, again, alienates new viewers. Don’t watch this anime for the plot, and only for the comedy if you’re a hardcore anime lover, or for some reason, striving to be one. The animation is fine. Though, like many anime today, the art style makes everything shiny (hair, vehicles, skin, etc.). If you watch for a long time, your head may start to hurt. Don’t marathon this anime; not that I would recommend it otherwise. I do like how fantasy elements, such as dragons and magic are drawn, however. There’s also some ecchi so that might also be a reason to avoid Outbreak Co. By the way, every character tends to have this lower case u-shaped smile as their “default expression.” That annoyed me and may annoy you. I have no complaints with the audio for the anime. The music was fine. The opening and ending may be sort of catchy, but nothing exceptional. I do have a problem with a lot of the dialogue from the characters Shinichi and Myucel, but that is more of an issue with the story, or characters. The voice actors could annoy you since their character roles are all generic archetypes, but they’re bearable, at least to me. The characters are what really and truly mitigate my enjoyment for this anime. Outbreak Co. does what many anime do and builds characters directly from unadulterated tropes. I can summarize my problems with the characters in one sentence: Everyone is unoriginal and possibly so annoying that it’s lethal. The unoriginal characters may not be an issue especially if you anticipate the harem aspect. Plenty of harems are not plot-driven, or very much creative, but they can back-up their quality with comedy, or even quirkiness. Outbreak Co. does not have this leisure and it worsens because of Shinichi and his gang. All the people (and even other creatures) are absolutely obsessed with anime and manga. This could actually be funny if: 1. the show could allow people not familiar with Otaku culture to get its references, 2. not make it seem perfectly reasonable that their obsession does not hinder their work. Shinichi takes every single chance he gets to boost his ego by acting like mister smarty-pants when it comes to “Otaku Culture,” Myucel misunderstand every statement that may be misunderstood, and Petralka acts like a more serious person than she actually is (considering she looks like a little girl). These traits could allow these characters to be hilarious, but the awful dialogue and unfortunate combination of mediocre setting and bad character interactions prevents this. An example being: the show doesn’t alert us when it changes its tone effectively, so we don’t know if dialogue is supposed to be serious or comedic. To be as frank as possible, the only reason this show is bad is because of the references that are 90% of this show. It actually isn’t so much that they’re hard to get, but more that they’re omnipresent. Without that problem, high points of Outbreak Co. are salvageable. Though, since it’s included, this anime becomes incredibly hard to enjoy. It’s quite possible for you to enjoy it if you are a hardcore anime viewer. I wouldn’t personally call myself that. The show is obviously made in Japan and therefore targeted toward Japanese viewers, but some of the issues I brought up may prevent you from enjoying it even if you live in Japan. You should definitely avoid Outbreak Company entirely. Unless you are an anime enthusiast, it is distracting that every joke in this anime tends to rely on references to other media, or certain cultural elements. It also seems to want to parody, but never goes full force with it. Even if you get all the references, they’re more amusing than funny, and the bad character design and lack of proper storytelling doesn’t give Outbreak Co. much merit. Don’t expect depth from anything in this show and expect a lot of annoying characters as well as the lack of common sense that would be funny if done properly. I wouldn’t say Outbreak Company is a terrible show, but it limits its audience and it tries a little too hard to be what it is not. 4/10

This anime is the ultimate anime lover's dream. I'm just going to start this review by saying that I have a thing for anime that has a message that I can take away from it. Right off the bat, we have Shinichi, a bro that honestly reminds me of a couple of my friends who just sit and watch anime and read manga all day. In the beginning, we see Sinichi's bad luck set in when he gets kidnapped and brought to some foreign world that has magic and loves Japanese otaku culture. Shinichi is brought in to educate this new world of his otakuculture and to ensure that relations between said world and Japan are good. He starts a school where they teach anime and manga that right away challenges racism and class diversity between the elves and the dwarves. His school does more for these students than teach them to be otakus - it teaches them to live beyond their differences and be friends with each other despite their origins and differences. Soon they begin to have arguments about lolis and eroge games rather than fighting because they are dwarves or elves. I thought that this was absolutely beautiful and it reminded me a great deal of Maouyuu, which is another one of my favorite shows with similar themes. The next character that we meet is Miusel, who is my favorite character in the entire show. Miusel presents herself to Shinichi and tells him that she will be the maid taking care of him while he stays in the Eldant empire. As soon as Shinichi sees Miusel, he freaks out at the fact that she is a legitimate maid. This is the thing that I love about Shinichi: Miusel freaks out the moment that he discovers that she is a half-elf, which is something that the citizens in Eldant discriminate against her for, and instead thinks the fact that she is an elf is awesome. This is one of the things that I love Shinichi for: he doesn't discriminate against race, gender, or background because he remembers being outcast because he was an otaku. Miusel at this point I believe begins to fall in love with Shinichi, which wasn't something that the plot synopsis and the genres really talk about. The next character you meet is Petralka, the supreme ruler of Eldant that nearly kills Shinichi when he calls her a little girl. Right off the bat, she takes a liking for Shinichi and develops a sort of tsundere personality that really compliments Miusel's personality. As the show progresses, Shinichi helps change her personality for the better with his otaku ways and even helps her become a better leader. I love the idea that a normal person with the right beliefs and intentions can help change those who have a different social class or background than them. Alright, so for those of you who don't want something as deep or psychologically stimulating as this, this show is very lighthearted and is quite hilarious. I don't have many friends who enjoy anime with deep meaning because most of them don't think about stuff like this like I do. That is perfectly fine and I still think you will love this show if you give it a chance. I would even go as far as saying that this anime is deserving a spot on my top ten anime of the year. So stop reading this and go watch it now!

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