Mikakunin de Shinkoukei

I have watched 47 anime shows (completed) and I never really bothered to write reviews. However, Mikakunin de Shinkoukei lit a spark in me. Inspired me to write about it, I suppose. ~Story~ (9/10) Nowadays the typical idea for manga is that the characters suddenly meet. I got used to that and honestly, that was what I was expecting. However, in this case it is different. 16 year olds Hakuya and Kobeni find themselves caught in an arranged marriage. It was set up by Kobeni's deceased grandfather. As some shows do: Hakuya moves in with Kobeni. He hasa sister named Mashiro who tries to act grown up (despite being ten years old herself) and a crazy sister-in-law named Benio who's more then a little protective of Kobeni and has a little bit of a complex. There's more then what meets the eye for this show. In the beginning it stole my heart when they hit it right off the bat with a romantic moment in episode one. (Under the first ten minutes, too!) I'm a huge fan of fantasy and shows that involve magic. Especially the light-hearted kind. I was highly amused when little Mashiro managed to score herself a spot in high school. I won't say why but I know you can connect the dots. The story had much promise and it turned out well but I felt they rushed it at the end. No "I love you", no visiting your in-law's house. I was hoping for some hilarious situations and maybe even rings for Kobeni and Hakuya. (They are engaged, right?) Besides that, I felt it was amazing and deserved the 9/10 I gave it. ~Art~ 8/10 I'm a pretty honest person. So I'll admit that when I noticed Kobeni had a bust, I groaned and looked down at my own chest. The story followed with Kobeni having issues with her body and her allegedly "good child bearing" hips. All in all, they drew the women pretty decently and it made sense. (Though for Kobeni's mom, I felt a little envious of her bust. That's all I'll say.) There's only one boy as Kobeni's father nor Hakuya's is drawn in. Hakuya is drawn (dare I say) a little better then Kobeni. He looks a little older, and he is taller. He looks a little better and to me it seems the animators were a little more diligent. It seemed they tried to fulfil the whole highschooler who's a boy = good looking idea. The backgrounds were stunning (especially trees and some buildings) and even the background characters caught my eye. The animators seemed quite diligent there too. (I've seen animes where the background people are lumps coloured in odd colours. It's great to see that they tried. ~Sound~ 7/10 Don't get me wrong, I loved the opening and ending. The songs were adorable and light hearted. I just felt that sometimes they could have tried a bit harder. (Fine, I just wanted a "DUH DUH DUH" like in the horror movies for when Benio got shocked.) ~Character~ 7/10 I loved each of the characters. From Kobeni's mother to Nadeshiko (Benio's student council friend with the brown hair.) I felt that they were all well developed, all had good attitudes. The only issue I had was how they interacted with one another. Take Mashiro and Konoha (one of Benio's many adoring fans and a student council member) for example. Their fighting was repetitive and really the same. I never really liked their fighting because it never really contributed to the story. Also take Kobeni and Hakuya for an example. Throughout the story I felt the spark but never much to confirm it. Sure, Hakuya did something romantic in the last ten or so minutes of the last episode for Kobeni but that's it. I had hopes for those two because he'd done something sweet in the first so I wanted that to progress. It did emotionally but I'm a fangirl and I need something to squeal about. I loved the story but they never even held hands or kissed. It hurt me a little bit. ~Enjoyment~ 9/10 As I mentioned before, it was hilarious all the same. Funny moments to moments where I fell over laughing. I loved the show's lightheartedness and I was shocked when I got to the last episode. It had just zoomed past me and left me aching for more. I loved it. ~Overall~ 8/10 Sure, it had some issues but I did truly enjoy it. No show is perfect and it's great that this one came close. I hope this was helpful! If you like comedy, a touch of fantasy and romance, this is the show for you!!

The story is dumb, half the characters are unbearable, and the scenarios presented throughout the show are mind-numbingly stupid. 7/10 because I'm a f***ing idiot In all seriousness though, this show managed to keep me smiling through most of the run time despite its shortcomings in general entertainment competency. The presentation is very "cutesy" which made it hard for me to hate the show as much as I should. The opening and ending songs and animations were also very warm and fun to watch. The problems with the story can be forgiven if you just want to turn your brain off, however, the characters cannot and are themain issue here. The problem isn't even with the dialogue, but more that a lot of the characters in the show are just downright unlikable (Benio and Niko being the two worst). Also, the show's representation of high school life is so bad that I honestly couldn't tell if it was attempting to be a parody or if the someone actually thought highschoolers acted like this.

"Dust in her eye? I'm gonna kill it!" - Hakuya Mitsumine. Over the last few years, Rom-coms have become stale; the violent tsundere, a harem, the childhood friend, unrequited love, all of the shows seem to have these itsy-bitsy things. As such, the comedy becomes stale, they become increasingly dull to watch and you automatically know what is going to come next. But not with Mikakunin de Shinkoukei. I repeat, you will not be able to predict what will be coming next in this little anime. Mikakunin de shinkoukei is REALLY unpredictable. It drops the bomb on huge things like it's no big deal and makes a big dealout of things that are of no importance. Not only that, the way it handles cliches is completely ridiculous. Almost all of the normal cliches are present in Mikakunin de Shinkoukei, just in a different way. It leads you into preparing yourself for the cliches, but the opposite happens instead ( I will refrain from giving an example not to ruin your enjoyment in this series. You will know EXACTLY what I mean when you watch it) Speaking of enjoyment, the kind Mikakunin de Shinkoukei provides you with is the happy and refreshing kind. Mikakunin de Shinkoukei makes you have fun WITH the characters. It will take the weight of your shoulders and make you happy from watching the everyday life of Benio, Mashiro,Kobeni and Hakuya. You will laugh at their eccenticities of each of the cast members, and I assure you, you will get a lot of laughs out of them. What about romance? Well, Mikakunin de Shinkoukei has plenty of offer on that matter too. Usually in a romance series, The main couple must overcome misunderstandings, difficulties, rivals, and all those annoying stuff. Mikakunin does none of that.(It will make you think otherwise though) Granted, it doesn't make you go "D'awww" out loud most of the time, but you surely feel fluffy inside from seeing the two innocent teenagers, Hakuya and Kobeni grow closer and closer. In a Rom-com series, proper and strong characters are a must. How does Mikakunin fare in this area? VERY WELL. Benio and Mashiro are the ones that carry the humor in this series, and they do it very well. Say anything you want if Beino's ridculous sis-con antics don't make you laugh even once. Slap me through the internet if you don't laugh at Mashiro's eccentric actions. Do the two main characters get overshadowed by those two then? Of course not. Hakuya seems like your average male lead. Dense, stupid, timid. Oh, how wrong you must be. Granted he's dense, but he's a billion times sharper than some *cough* Orimura Ichika *cough* idiots, and that's because he comes from the mountains. And believe me, looks can be deceiving, he's not the gloomy guy he seems to be. How happily he reacts to Kobeni's actions will make you see him in a new light (He sometimes shines when he's happy) Of course, let's not forget, the main girl, Kobeni Yonomori. The sister of Benio, the sister in law of Mashiro and the bethrothed of Hakuya. It's obvious that this whole show revolves around her. Her role as a straight man to the antics of the rest of the cast works like a charm. And it's really nice to see how she slowly turns "dere dere" towards Hakuya. The sound department of this anime deserves a mention too. Mashiro's voice acting is really good (even though this is her VA's first role). The same can be said for Benio's voice acting too, she wouldn't be as funny if the voice actor wasn't this good. The OP and the ED of this anime is addicting. The OP, Tomadoi Recipie, is an upbeat song that will make you want to listen to the first parts again and again (a youtuber made a 10-hour loop of it) And the ED, Mashiro World is one of the cutest EDs of this season. In short, Mikakunin is a must if you want a decent SOL-Rom-Com. Or rather, don't take my word, take your judgement. Go watch it. See if you like it.

Engaged to the Unidentified generated very little hype coming into its season, being an adaptation of a relatively unheard of manga. So how exactly did it catch my attention when one glance of the line-up for the season had other shows I could of better invest my time with? Was it the cover image of three adorable looking girls in seifuku which called to me? Possibly... Actually, that was most definitely the case. C'mon, let's be honest; what other reason could there be and please don't tell me the synopsis had you brimming with optimism. I'm willing to give anything a chance as long asthere's cute girls I can ogle at and I particularly wasn't looking for something to test my wits or to get me on the edge of my seat. Thus Engaged to the Unidentified was quite the inviting choice for somebody who just wanted to loosen up and let the calm sweep them away. Story: Is this still your generic SoL rom-com you see rolling in every season? For the majority it is. Nothing screams mundane more than the synopsis of this show so as you can imagine, expectations were pretty low at the point of starting. The first few episodes are mostly spent building characters and observing Kobeni after saying farewell to living peacefully as a normal highschool girl when the Mitsumines join the household. For 1/2 of the show, it's standard fare in terms of a SoL rom-com; a large chunk of comedy of the moe kind but a pea sized amount of romance. The latter half is where the show begins to peak when we learn the Mitsumines are far from ordinary folk and the connection with Kobeni linked to a long forgotten accident, leading to the reason behind this engagement. Personally, I thought the new turn of events were weird for this show (not shocking) but even so, it still never strayed far from being a normal SoL rom-com. From what I gathered, it was only a means to advance a stagnating relationship so don't go hoping to have your mind-blown expecting a massive change when you learn of this new revelation. To conclude; a simple premise of girl forced to betroth boy with an innocent yet unusual twist half way that sets the romance into motion. Art: Surprisingly, the art is very attractive. The animations for each character are smooth and slick and fits very well with the show's direction. It isn't short of cute or funny moments that would send you on a GIF making binge. Extremely pleasant to the eye and has a certain charm about it that causes you to break into a wide smile. Nothing to really complain but nothing to really highlight as being revolutionary or rousing though. With the atmosphere of what the show was going for, keeping it light and cute was the right direction. Sound: A mostly unknown cast of seiyuu but fulfilled each of their roles nicely. Personally, i'm not too picky when it comes to this so I wasn't dejected when peeking at the list. However, I was very surprised to see this was a first time role for Mashiro's seiyuu who did a standout performance you wouldn't anticipate. The OP and ED are very upbeat and catchy; I don't think I ever skipped past them before or after an episode yet felt it was a little dishonest because whilst watching this show, I noticed there was a startling lack of BG music which is very rare for this genre. I'm not usually somebody who pays close attention to it but having noticed myself, it may disappoint other people who do care. I do think this may of been a choice of direction rather than negligence as it emphasised the down to earth nature of this anime. Character: A generic story can be carried by a strong cast of characters. In this case, i'm not sure which department wins. There was nothing wrong with them; more like there was nothing special about them that would convince me to add them onto my favourite characters list. Kobeni, the main female of the story, is indeed pretty, considerate and candidate for perfect waifu but wasn't strong enough to really shine above the others and felt somewhat muted. Hakuya, the main male (and the only one) of the story, I even forget existed in the first half of the show. However, both are as meek as eachother so there is a balance in the relationship that I enjoyed. Mashiro, the impulsive and immature chibi (likely will have the most fans), and Benio, the severe siscon honour student, provide most of the comedy and steal the show. Altogether, a charming but unoriginal cast which could of been better if the central leads held a stronger presence. Enjoyment: Now for the main question; is it enjoyable? If you're a big fan of this genre then certainly yes. If you aren't then you'll most definitely feel that time was wasted. Engaged to the Unidentified does not offer anything new or exciting but still delivers well for its kind. One complaint i'm sure many people have voiced is the pacing. For the first half, almost nothing happens in regards to advancing the story. Confusing it for a cute girls doing cute things anime wouldn't be confound at all. As for the romance, it hints here and there as the show progresses and doesn't really blossom until very late. It's cute, awkward and pure but it won't get your heart racing. People who have seen plenty of SoL will be accustomed to the turtle like pacing but those who are romance veterans that delight in more passionate relationships will probably find themselves bored stiff. Overall: Engaged to the Unidentified is a very solid series. If you're not looking for anything serious and just want to chill out to something cute (did I forget to mention that?) and dainty then absolutely give this a try. Compared to other shows of this type, there wasn't much about it that stood out apart from the twist half way but that couldn't save this series from being just a regular SoL rom-com.

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