Teekyuu 3

Teekyuu is what you would get if you took a "tropes in slice-of-life" textbook and ramped the pacing up to light-speed. Watching all thirty-six short episodes in a row is not advised, as doing so will set your brain into meltdown mode. It is difficult to remember anything that happens in Teekyuu... because, hell, how could you? There is no time to think or process anything beyond "I like that girl's ponytail!" or "Huh, I guess that just happened." Teekyuu is an experience that can be likened to a nasty hangover; the kind that results in your memory being a foggy mess and your dignitybeing, maybe, just a tiny bit damaged. Teekyuu can best be described as a show wherein high school girls talk like chipmunks and occasionally (okay-- never) play tennis. If you came here for the sports, look away. Look very, very far away. Nearly every episode involves the four girls doing something inane and often nonsensical- a two minute joke leading up to a single punchline. The humour is passable in the sense that it is inoffensive, although I don't imagine anyone will be laughing unless they are incredibly bored or incredibly stoned. Maybe both. So what about the characters? What about them, indeed. After thirty-six episodes, I don't know any more about them than I did at the start. The girls can only be differentiated by their single defining trait: ponytail-chick, freaky-loli-chick, blue-haired-chick, and Nasuno-- wait, who was that again? That said, it's unfair to expect profound characterisation from a short comedy series. The problem is that they have /no/ characterisation. The girls are not even defined enough that their personalities can play off each other, which severely hampers the comedy as a direct result. I think the only instance where there was any kind of chemistry was when the blue-haired-girl (I am purposely avoiding proper names here) experimented with different hairstyles, eventually finding herself with a ponytail which then results in ponytail-chick accusing blue-haired-girl of stealing her character. Oh, wait... that's playing on a single trait. Again. Oops. The animation is mediocre at best. It's clear as day that the studio had very little budget to work on. The characters look stilted and occasionally inhuman when in motion, although the animation is often removed in favour of static scenes wherein the girls scream at whatever nonsense is currently happening. It's difficult to even tell what the hell is going on from the visuals since it will cut to a new scene after about two seconds. It is insanity in motion. Teekyuu's sound is slightly better, although that isn't much of a compliment. The theme song is catchy but takes up a valuable thirty seconds of screen-time. The background music on the other hand is hardly noticeable in the midst of all the craziness that occurs. At least the voice acting is decent. If nothing else, Teekyuu is a decent way to pass a few minutes whenever you find yourself especially bored. It's almost charming in how ridiculous it is. Whether you find the notion of "cute girls who talk really fast and (probably) take drugs" amusing is up to you, but I do suggest having a bucket beside you while watching. There's a deep sense of seasickness that comes after prolonged contact with Teekyuu.