Atasha Kawashiri Kodama da yo: Dangerous Lifehacker no Tadareta Seikatsu

I understand this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but O how I wish this was a full length series. Either way, it's short and sweet and perfect for me. There is just something that's so comforting and satisfies a deep part within myself. I am in love with the art and color palette. The humor is just my type, I can't complain, it was love at first sight. The story is quite literally just a young artist living life... that's it. There wasn't really a plot, nor a character arc. It's almost like little funny skits on everyday life.

The character Kodama and the visual representation of her philosophy as depicted in this series is one of the more intereseting approaches that I've seen in modern series. The story and each episode starts of with the opening theme, which I think is one of the key parts of the experience when it comes to the series as a whole and what it represents. In the opening theme we can see how the character (Kodama) starts off her day and does what I would call things that represent her daily routine. This is emphasized in the series as the opening theme plays in every episodeand it lasts over half of the episode duration. After the "routine" it is time for the "hack" where Kodama is depicted as "breaking from the mold" and you are able to gain glimpse of the world through the lens of her philosophy. As far as the character goes I'd say that it is one of the key points when it comes to this series. The character Kodama is presented as someone whose philosophy and "routine" when it comes to her daily life have what I would call a visible "conflict of interest". This "conflict" is brought into the light during the "dangerous lifehack" segments of the episodes, while it is also presented that "the routine" doesn't fall apart because of these "dangerous lifehacks". Another way of looking it is that "the routine" is more of a metaphor on how she sees herself as from the eyes of "the society" and "the lifehack" part is more related to her own philosophy and how see sees herself as when she is free from the shackle of "the society". The art and audiovisual presentation in the series I'd say enhances the "duality" of the series when it comes to "the lifehacks" and "the routine". Visual approach also takes influence from the philosophy of the "character" and "the world" is mainly presented in a relatively abstract manner that I would say plays out nicely when you look at the series as a whole. I'd say this two segment approach that is utilized in the series is done in very creative manner and the series is filled with small visual cues and metaphors that I would say help to represent the philosophy of the "character" in a relatively abstract but still direct manner that can be understood even if you miss some of the visual cues and metaphors. Overall if you're looking for something that is able to present a "human experience" in a relatively abstract but still surprisingly relatable manner I'd say this series manages to do that, and leave a good impression on top of that.

The most simple way I could sum up my viewing experience with Atasha Kawashiri is that, at least in the format presented, it has no reason to exist. Every episode starts with a 90 second OP, following by one minute of the actual anime. This might even be an acceptable format, if not for how hideous the show is once you get past a deceptively decent looking intro. As for the content of AtaKawa, every episode is just her daily NEET-esque life of getting drunk, eating junk food, and otherwise being a disgusting slob. That isn't to say even this is unappealing, there are characterslike Tomoko and Gabriel who are really popular and are similar characters, but there are more to them than there is to Kawashiri. If I had to find something which was supposed to be the "hook" of the show, it's the attempt to present mundane daily life in a humorous way. I chuckled here and there, but a lot of the observational humor fell flat, even aspects I could relate to. I tried to find some of the manga to read online to see if that was funny and it was just a poor adaptation (which it almost certainly is, if even just from an animation standpoint), but alas, I could not. Circling back to my original thought, there is no reason for this anime to exist in the form it was presented. Throughout the season, there are 24 total minutes of content, so why couldn't the money be found to create a decent one episode special? The world may never know... or care, to be honest.

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Студия