Joshiraku

"Which do you prefer? Left or Right? Me...I prefer down...I like to look down." Kukuru. Joshiraku was my surprise hit of the 2012 season and honestly I'm surprised that I have not seen more love for this series. This show isn't about being a politically correct melodrama that'll make you shed a few tears for the beautifully crafted characters...It's just FUNNY! Kouji Kumeta's stories are supposed to be taken with an open mind and if you are willing to come at this series willing to make fun of anything then this series will have you looking at the world in a whole different light. Story:The story really isn't linear whatsoever and is more like random pieced together small stories (as it was in the manga), something that I would say is akin to Nichijou's story. I find it hard to really judge how to review the story other than by looking at each 1/3 episode as an individual story. From this perspective every mini story has an effective tale that never feels cut short (unless the humor is that the story is cut short) and everything in them has a purpose (even if that purpose is to have none). 9/10 Art: My only complaints that I really have with the series is that it is obvious that J.C. Staff didn't put a lot of effort into the artwork of this show. Which makes sense because with Little Busters! coming out the next season (A show that could literally make or break that company) the logical conclusion is that this show was just put on the back burner. It's not bad per say, it just doesn't have that same artistic flair that the other Kouji Kumeta's adaption had (although not every show can be animated by SHAFT). 6/10 Sound: I thought that the OP does it's job, in that every week I heard it at the beginning of the show I got excited to watch the show. It doesn't necessarily have the stand alone value as a good song that I'd put on my iPod , but it is catchy nonetheless. The ED is also hysterical if you know the story that is behind the lyrics of the ED. If you don't know I'd suggest that you go look it up (Valeraku, gg's translator for the series, actually has pretty good translation notes). Finally the backdrop music throughout the show seems very fitting to the series and at times can add to the comedic depth. 9/10 Characters: The main pinnacle of any of Kouji Kumeta's work, beside the sea of references, has always been his characters and the characters of Joshiraku are only a brilliant illustration of that. Kukuru and Marii are both two characters that I feel have absolutely no character archetype I can pin them to and it helps solidify their originality. I thought that Kigu was just there to actually be one of the "cute girls" at the beginning of the series, but the depth that gets added to her later in the series (listening to death metal music and going on malicious explicit rants in her head) made her one of my favorite characters of the Summer 2012 season. And that perfectly illustrates what makes these characters so fantastic is that they are so unpredictable that their humor can get you from literally anywhere. 10/10 So you're not Japanese: One of the biggest problems that many people have had with this series is the fact that if you aren't from Japan then most of the humor will go right over your head. And to be honest that isn't a false statement because Kouji Kumeta's audience is Japanese and he doesn't really care to internationalize his work (and why should he?). However if you feel like you're getting lost then just pick up the translation notes that Valeraku posts and learn them. This isn't a series that you can come into without willing to put in a little work, but I guess in today's anime community people are too lazy to do that. I think it's kind of like reading Beowulf, even if you speak English you'll still need a comprehensive study book just to be able to understand half of it. I really am thankful to gg for making this great work accessible to other people, but if you want to have the full experience you have to put in a little bit of work. The reason that this series is rated so high for me is the simple fact that it is so incredibly entertaining. Every week I got this show onto my computer I was literally splitting at the seams from the humor. I wouldn't suggest this show to everyone because frankly not everyone will like Kumeta's offensive style of humor, but people who are cynics like me will absolutely love it. If you're reading this review wondering if you should watch this show, then I highly suggest that you at least give it a try.

(may contain minor spoilers) YOSH! Slice of Life Comedy review here we go! Joshiraku is an anime adaptaion of a manga from the same creator of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Now now, I found this anime by chance but as an avid fan of comedies I couldn't ignore it. Joshiraku is quite the interesting and funny anime. Be it the interactions between the characters, the parodies or the "breaking of the 4th wall" thingy. Let us begin Story: As a slice of life comedy anime, it doesn't have a specific plot nor anything serious. It does, though, have continuity. Meaning that what happened in an episode will "affect" the future ones, whichis good. Personally, I find the comedy throughout the show quite good and enjoyable, although it may not be for everyone. Even so, it will definitelly find a way to entertain you and make you laugh. With all that said, the story gets an 7/10. Art/Animation: The art is quite good and fitting. Each character is easily identifiable by it's characteristics/colours and are drawn nicely. Same with the colourfull backgrounds (not that there are many but still xD). The animation quality is definitely good. All the characters move fluently and I failed to notice any moment in which such quality dropped. Art/Animation gets an 8/10. Sound: Woo! Great! The Opening and Ending are great and I got addicted to them >.> Besides that, the bg was fitting and I didn't notice any problems with it. Sound gets a 9/10 Characters: The big point of the show, as it focuses on the interaction between these. Joshiraku has a small cast of characters, each with it's own traits and characteristics that complement each other nicely. Nothing special to say about them, the characters are not at all unique but good and each of them is important for the show as they are. I can't imagine Joshiraku without any of them. Characters get an 8/10 'cause quite like them and I can. Enjoyement: Hell, did I have fun watching this. I sure did! I watched some of the episodes more than 3 times already. What can I say, personally it was one of the best comedy shows I've seen. Enjoyement gets an 9/10 Overall: Joshiraku is a quite entertaining anime. The art and animation was good and the OP and ED will get stuck in your head for a while. It's not the best comedy out there but surely enjoyable and worth the time spent watching. One title I would recommend to comedy fans out there. That said, and Overall classification of 8. Hope this is usefull Thank you :)

Man always strives for a challenge. Climbing Mt. Everest, landing on the Moon, and finishing Joshiraku are some of the arduous accomplishments ever achieved. The show is mislabeled as a "comedy". If puns and cultural jokes are all you have to lean on; hire a writer. Don't be so proud that you can't dismiss your own faults. The only thing more revolting than the jokes are the dorks that pretend this is funny because they want to be weeb level 1 million. I understood a couple of the puns in Japanese and they weren't good. I pretty much have a PhD in Dad Humor. Timing anddelivery is everything in these types of jokes. The words themselves don't make it funny. I think this is a type of "going outside simulator". This is appealing to people who are incredibly bored and are not happy with life because they choose to do nothing with it. This is saying a lot because nothing happened; EVER! This may be used as a way to waste time. There was an ever looping joke(?) that was a screenshot to tell us that "This anime is full of ordinary dialogues so the spectator can really enjoy how the girls are cute". There is enough source material to make a second season; do you know why they didn't make one? Because it is poorly constructed and it wasn't well received in Japan because the Japanese didn't even find their own cultural jokes funny. This show is a 2 because of 3 reasons. Kigu is a palatable character and she made me smile a couple times. I like how she is borderline clinically insane. The dark thoughts and rock jokes got old, but that is par for this show anyways. The music was decent. I like the opening and closing songs quite a bit. I downloaded them and I blast them at the gym. The last reason this isn't rated at a 1 , even though the first word I would use to describe it is "appalling", is because I hate Girls und Panzer and I wish for that to be my only 1 and dropped series. Hooray victory by default! The floating bare ass in space is symbolic for what this show is. I recommend this show to people who want to cut themselves, but are aware that cutting is socially unacceptable. Dear contemplating cutters, now you can hurt yourself equally while no one will be none the wiser.

What to say about Joshiraku, this is a tough thing to answer. It's basically "Translators note" the anime. -Story is what you expect from an SoL comedy. -Art is basic fair with basic character art and pretty good backgrounds. Nothing less from J.C. -Sound is great. I fucking love the OP, if that means anything...-Characters are characters -I enjoyed this series as much as a baka gaijin such as myself can. A lot of the humor is the miss due to culture differences. It's the type of anime that doesn't really need popularity outside of Japan. Overall I can recommend this anime to anyone and I can highly recommend it when you have some actual knowledge of japan outside of using choice words like "Kawaii" and "desu" and only really knows what they do from anime and dramas.

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