Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan – 01
I'm pretty sure this isn't for me. Just like other comedies of this caliber aren't. Some people find it funny, I don't – that's how comedy works. The approach here is saturation bombing, and a few of the jokes do work because of it. But the overall success rate is too low to think Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan has a great chance of convincing me.
As I mentioned in the preview, I was mostly motivated to watch this series because Oota Masahiko is directing and he's one of the true giants of comedy anime. And that's not even mentioning the production at Wit, although it doesn't have the same cachet it used to. The basic premise is that a deer girl shows up at a high school and immediately starts ruining the life of a pretentious high school idol who's desperate to hide her delinquent (it's always funny that the modern Japanese word for this is “yankee”) past. Of course, there's no explanation for any of this yet, but I guess this is just the kind of show that doesn't give any explanations.
I had a few laughs, I think – some of the background detail was impressive (there are a lot of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it visual gags). And Han Megumi’s work as the deer girl “Nokotan” is generally funny. But the main jokes felt a bit lacking for me, and since they’re repetitive, that’s a bit of a problem. You’d like to think there was something in the manga that made Wit and Oota (who rarely directs these days) want to work on this show. But that’s not immediately apparent. I’ll watch one more episode, but I don’t really have high hopes for it.
2.5-jigen no Ririsa – 01
I actually hadn't planned on doing a post about this one – it didn't make it past the preview. But I heard some pretty good feedback about the premiere, so I checked it out. There are actually quite a few romcoms this season, it turns out. None of them stood out as “it” – and 2.5-jigs no Ririsa certainly not – but this was not a bad premiere. “Inoffensive” is the word that comes to mind, despite the premise. With just a little bit of uncertainty about that premise to keep things interesting.
As a romantic comedy about a cosplay enthusiast, it clearly brings back memories Sono Bisque Doll with Koi and Suru a little bit, but the two series aren’t all that similar. In this case, we have an otaku kid named Okamura who is the only member of his high school’s manga club (which I don’t think was allowed). The club is actually a pretext for him to fetishize Lilliel, his favorite 2D waifu. Having had bad luck with women (including his mother), Okamura has vowed never to show interest in a 3D woman. So naturally, he’s flabbergasted when one shows up and asks to join the club—and shocked when it turns out she’s just as big a fan of Lilliel as he is.
I do have some questions about this – mainly whether there is a purpose behind Ririsa's (the girl) approach to Okamura. Somehow I felt like this might be a scam on her part (or a pursuit), but it's probably legit. Either way, the two are pretty funny together and I can imagine there being some charm to that relationship. There are still a lot of girls to be introduced and I fear this might go the harem route, and overall I doubt the story will stick around for much. But for at least a week 2.5-jigs no Ririsa was entertaining enough and overall quite good-natured.