2014-11-02

The week is at its end and we all know what that means – another Otaku Digest! This week’s line up is Shigatsu WA Kimi no USO, Bounjour Koiaji Pâtisserie and Grisaia no Kajitsu.

Shigatsu WA Kimi no USO

First up is Shigatsu WA Kimi no USO a drama, romance, music and school based anime that aired on the 10th of October. Centring around our main protagonist Arima Kosei a piano prodigy who used be a dominate competitor. His world is turned around after the death of his mother that was also his instructor, he breaks down during a recital and results in him not being able to hear the sound of his piano although his hearing is perfectly fine. He lives for the next two years in monotone – until a new girls comes into his life. A young free spirited musician in particular the violin named Miyazono Kaori. With her guidance Kosei embraces music in a new way.

First off that opening theme is a work of art – the use of still animation and traditional is utilized to perfection! The colours pop, the back grounds are interesting in their simplicity and the characters are interesting in their own right. I have to say I was not hugely excited to sit and watch this anime as it felt like just another school drama but this time with music.

I was actually pleasantly surprised, the characters although young are developed in particular Kosei who has the illusion of being just the average middle school student but in reality is suffering in silence after the death of his mother. The animation here is flawless – it is bright and colourful where it needs to be and dark and monotone in particular in the flashback to Kosei’s mother – the cruel wagon she was. I loved the near sense of reality in this anime – a child with an overbearing pushy parent and the after math a parent like that can have on a child future. Kosei now hates the piano because the pressure his mother put on him to be perfect. Lastly the small inserts of comedy are genius placed within the episode breaking the flow nicely.

Will I Continue to Watch: Yes, the characters are interesting and the story flows well.

Bounjour Koiaji Pâtisserie



Next up this week is actually considered an OVA anime called Bounjour Koiaji Pâtisserie – which is a slice of life, romance and harem anime. Another game adaptation much like an earlier anime “Girlfriend BETA”. The first episode of the OVA aired on October 11th. The original story was based around a girl named Sayuri Haruno – she attends an elite confectionery school on a scholarship (anyone else feeling the Ouran Academy feels here?) in order to follow her lifelong dream of opening a pastry shop or as we know them, bakery. In turn she meets several very attractive young men. Let the romance ensue – seriously though Ouran much?

Since this is an OVA split across episodes the episodes themselves are very short but luckily this was done right and each episode does put across the story and the characters to the viewer. I know I have already spouted that there are similarities in this anime to Ouran High School Host Club and do not get me wrong there are and it annoyed the hell out of me. Weirdly enough though this anime did manage to hold its own – it is at its essence a cute, colourful and romantic anime. Although it would not take a rocket scientist to figure out the narrative and this is just going by the five minute first episode which only introduces characters and the school. Pretty girl attends boarding school where there is a rule forbidding relationships with any of the attractive male teachers or attractive male students. I can smell the romance already.

Will I Continue to Watch: I am 50/50 on this one but I may give it a go despite already knowing the plot. Also short episodes are a win.

Grisaia no Kajitsu

Lastly there is Grisaia no Kajitsu – ANOTHER school, drama and romance anime that aired on the 5th of October. We are being “spoiled” by these genres as of late. This anime is based solely around a prison like school named Mihama Academy. Within these walls live five female students who each have their own reasons for enrolling in the prison like academy. It is only when the first male student enrols in the academy that the order is disrupted.

One thing this anime did really well was making use of both traditional animation within the characters and surroundings while also using CGI for different moving objects for example the surroundings as they are driving. This is a weird anime in the sense that all the girls are very feminine and colourful where as the one male character is hard and built like a tank.

I was also pleasantly surprised that this is an equal opportunities offender in terms of fan service. Not only was there fan service for male viewers buy quite a bit of man service for female viewers, giving that there is only one male character it does seem only fair. As far as plot goes this anime does seem to be solid enough – the dark and mysterious main character, the six individual female characters and the prison like fortress of a school they all dwell in.

Will I Continue to Watch: Yes, they all have their own individual stories and motivations and I look forward to seeing more.

What’s your thoughts on this week’s anime? What have you been watching? Let us know in the comments!

Show more