Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken

Literally you can get this show done in an hour. The plot of "I can't understand what my husband is saying" is about Kauro, an office lady, and her husband Hajime, an otaku who makes money as a blogger, and their lives as a married couple. The show has decent humor in it making it very enjoyable. Not only that, it's kind of interesting how the show tells their lives as a couple in only about three to four minutes. If want to watch a quick and very enjoyable anime. I recommend "I can't understand what my husband is saying".

It can be quite easy to let your prejudices get the better of you. Opening your arms to something new, only to encounter the same things time and time again. Your expectations become lower and lower, until they become so low they no longer justify the effort of trying anything new in the first place. The reliance on the same old ideas and lack of creativity becomes so frustrating that even reading descriptions of new things annoys you. You have become a cynic. If there were ever an anime to be cynical about, Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken would be it. The seriesis about an office lady married to an otaku, and explores the conflict between these lifestyles in a light hearted and humorous way. There are quite literally no stories about otaku which do not deal with this conflict; it is the only thing which distinguishes them as a group from the rest of society. In practice it amounts to little more than perpetuating stereotypes now so sharply defined that any variation from them would subtract from their authenticity. There is nothing more that can be done in Otaku parody, and nothing about it that has been left unsaid. If that were not reason enough to be cynical about Denna, this isn't even the largest obstacle that it faces. Denna is not a full length tv series, or even an OVA: it is a series of thirteen five minute shorts. The limitations this creates are rather more intrinsic than the subject matter; producing something genuinely worthwhile in this format is an exceptionally difficult task, as is evident from previous examples. Most abandon all hope of telling any overarching story, and focus instead either on single scenes or random batches of gags. Productions in this format never amount to anything more than a minor distraction. Who'd have thought that being proven wrong could ever feel this gratifying? Denna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken achieves more in its short running time than many full length series do across their entire run. It begins with an introduction to our leading characters, office lady Kaoru and her otaku husband Hajime. We expect that much will be made of their imagined lack of compatibility, and while not entirely wrong about this, there is evidence that there is more between them than meets the eye. That they are not paired for the sake of comic effect but there is a real connection between them. The next episode introduces Tadashi, Hijeme's ambiguously gendered sibling. He has an incestuous attraction to his brother which brings the series a significant step closer to the dreaded otaku parody genre. His character appears again throughout the show, primarily as (unwanted) comic relief but also as a source of character development, providing an important link to Hajime's past and an overseer of their entire relationship. As the series progresses, more and more time is focused on developing the relationship between Hijeme and Kaoru, which is interesting for a number of reasons. Romance stories about established couples are somewhat uncommon, as are those concerned with people in their late twenties and early thirties. Melodrama is sidestepped and instead we can examine the less often discussed process of two formerly independent people living together and eventually becoming a family, where far more is at stake and so much more can go wrong. This isn't the only sign of a more mature romantic outlook in Denna. It would be incredibly temping for an anime like this, featuring a relationship between an 'otaku' and an ordinary person, to depict it as one sided. There is no shortage of anime which depict relationships as 'long suffering woman takes pity on unappealing male' or Hijeme as 'Almost unbearable man with a heart of gold'. While perhaps these scenarios provide some potential for comedy, they are completely removed from reality. Few people would consider marrying someone unless they believed they were in love with them. Denna recognises this and takes the time not only to explain what Kaoru sees in Hijeme, but the equally important question of what he sees in her. Because Kaoru has faults too. She smokes a lot. She drinks too much. She experiences loneliness. This focus on the emotional bond between Kaoru and Hijeme continues as the series edges toward its conclusion. Then something completely absurd happens. Something so unbelievable, I find myself struggling to even write it down. What happens at that point is basically this: a thirteen episode series of three minute long anime shorts taking a humorous and light-hearted take on the relationship between a hardworking office lady married to an otaku, presents a more mature, emotional and real portrayal of love than most works of fiction ever do, and a fully grown man to start trying to fight back the tears in his eyes. Though Denna's brilliance was not something I would ever have expected, fortunately it is something which can be explained rather easily: it treats its characters like people, and its audience like adults. The more these principles are followed, the more we shall get to enjoy those blissful moments. The human ones.

To establish a believable story is a difficult feat and yet this show manages to pull it off rather effortlessly. With a mere 3 minutes per episode, Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken manages to accomplish what most other slice of life shows do not. While the premise, at first, seems tired and tedious the palpable chemistry between the contrasting protagonists leads to one of the most sincere representations of modern married life in anime. Their interaction feels real and wholesome, without being forced and unnatural. The characters have a sense of development, which helps give purpose to their lives, resulting in a surprisinglyimmersive experience. Now while the majority of the show can be thought of as an episodic endeavor, there are several over-arching narrative themes that are portrayed rather well, with an extremely gratifying conclusion. The show manages to remain comedic, without having to resort too much on tacky slapstick humor. There are several elements of drama which are presented, without hindering the overall tone, that keep the show interesting. Otaku culture is also a prominent theme and as such there are several references to other real-world shows, which further enhance the experience. The art-style and soundtrack are about average at best, however, considering the scope of the show it seems appropriate. The show’s simplistic premise and execution make it extremely enjoyable, and while the comedy might not suit everyone’s tastes, it’s definitely one of the better shows the slice of life genre has to offer.

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