Subculture Anime Blog

OP: “Lyricure Go Go! (リリキュアGOGO!) ” by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue and Ryōko Shintani - Can we have a Zetubou Shoujo-tachi mahou shoujo spin off? Why yes we can! This OP was well….amazing. I need not say more.

Summary:

When Nozomu arrives at the school, the girls suspect that he is not their usual teacher. He then reveals himself, making the girls transform and prepare for battle. When Nozomu visits an office, an employee there laughs at the word his name makes. Nozomu states that although the man believes this is funny, he has had to hear this a million times. This isn’t just the case for Nozomu, as many others in the world have had this experience. Nozomu begins choking the man, demanding that he apologize. Nozomu begins finding others that have had these types of experiences in the city, eventually reaching the school to scold students for their actions. He begins giving many examples of dialog where people have heard things for the millionth time, falling into despair as usual.

Harumi suggests that there should be photos of boys in a magazine with the label shounen on it, bringing up similar magazines. She apologizes for this probably being the millionth time someone has said this, but the class denies this fact in their disturbed state. Even after she attempts to give other examples, the class denies that the things she describes have been said a million times. Putting Harumi aside, the other girls of the class describe the experiences they’ve had with being told something a million times. When Kiri tells how she has been told that she might have an older brother, Kafuka appears to state that something that has been said a million times cannot be wrong. An older disgusting hikikomori then appears, putting Kiri in fright. The Itoshiki brothers have had their own experiences with these statements, disturbing themselves.

A variety of shows are then shown on the Zetsubou Channel. There are contests, singing, mahou shoujo anime, cooking, and even drawing shows. A new type of anime is then shown. Nozomu is forced out of a building after a boy becomes angry with him. The manager states that there’s no helping it, as the boy is a jukensei (exam taking student). Nozomu thinks about the various times that this has been used as an excuse, coming to a conclusion. When he arrives at the school in the morning, Chiri scolds him for being late. Putting a band around his head, Nozomu states that there is no helping it because he is a jukensei. After Nozomu begins describing the many great types of studies, Kafuka asks which test Nozomu is studying for. He announces that he is studying flower arrangement, but soon finds that he is no longer able to do so. Wondering if there are any alternative things to qualify for, he begins looks for some with the girls. He has difficulty finding anything he can qualify for, however, wondering what he should do.

Impression:

Acid trip? Episode of Zoku Sensei? Same thing! ….Oh man. I’m now playing the Ramone’s “Now I Want to Sniff Some Glue”, because like Aroduc, I felt like I probably should have been high watching this episode. And by my books, trippy means awesome. I was already wide eyed when the beginning of the episode built up the mahou shoujo opening sequence, full of loli zetsubou girls and its own little mini plot. I want some OVAs, for real. The first part of this episode was about little sarcastic jokes that are told way too much. I’m sure everyone has had this experience at some point. From my personal experience, I’m an Azn American that hangs out with a bunch of white guys. My last name is also Wang. Do you need any more of a description than that? Even my persona “Totali” is easy to make fun of!

The Zetsubou Channel was an absolute riot, as it basically ran through a lot of the other shows that typically air on Japanese television. You almost forgot that they show more than just anime over there, didn’t you? The highlight of that section was probably Kaere’s worrying about her other self coming out. I’ve been constantly disappointed that this has only happened in her first episode, and I really want to see it happen again. Chiri’s horrible drawing was pretty funny too though. The last part of the episode about jukensei was great too, but it was totally overshadowed by the way SHAFT decided to present it. I love this production team. I really do. The flip book was probably my favorite, but watching Nozomu get slapped by a green clay blob was also genius. Looks like the quality of these episodes can only go up from here, and I’m starting to feel the magic of the first season return to me.