(L) Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru

[KROMEangel]

Oh my, SHAFT pulls off another one XD

Well that was a riot and a half. The off-kilter characters have a ton of flair, and the dialogue moves along at a brisk pace. Coupled with the visual presentation that SHAFT has made their own, there was not a dull moment in what is essentially a conversation between 2-3 people.

Another comedy for me to watch out for.

[KariOhki]

I only watched this because I liked the opening...it was so worth it. Funniest show of the season so far for me.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Just watched the sub, and found the show even funnier. The combination of the manga's verbal humor and the anime's primitive slapstick is totally hilarious, for me.

I even got over the harshness of Omigawa's voice and just enjoyed the humorous way she uses it.

Among fields of praise for Yuuki Aoi, the odd weed of criticism is popping up on 2channel. She has now hit the big-time, with the creation of an anti- thread. The first poster said that excessive praise by her fans prompted him to do it. Only two more posts so far -- one praising her and one laughing at him.

One valid criticism I've seen is that her voice is "unstable." I think it's true that she can slip and slide a bit, but in shows like this she is a performer more than an actress, and her wildness increases the humor, for me. She and Omigawa make quite a pair. Sugita-san is doing a nice job as the not-quite-straight teacher, too.

[Guardian Enzo]

Omigawa and Irino as the main couple is quite a value-added for me. I guess her work is very polarizing, but I've loved her in almost all of her roles so far.

I can definitely see the Natsu no Arashi comparisons - the classic Shinbo look, set at a cafe with oddball characters, Omigawa in a major role. I don't like this as much as I liked the first episode of that one - it feels more self-consciously clever while that one felt more emotionally authentic. But there's potential - Shinbo seems to be relatively restrained so far and there were some pretty good laughs in the first episode.

[Dist]

Ok wtf .. Is it like this in the manga too, or did Shaft try to make one the girls as ugly as possible ? ... I really freaked out when I saw her .. like WTF.

So freaky, that Ill probably drop this.

[omimon]

Originally Posted by Dist

Ok wtf .. Is it like this in the manga too, or did Shaft try to make one the girls as ugly as possible ? ... I really freaked out when I saw her .. like WTF.

So freaky, that Ill probably drop this.

Not everyone has to be moe. And yes she is like this in the manga.

[wingman32x]

Finally, I've been waiting to try this out. This was pretty damn funny. Arashiyama is instantly likeable, she's a really funny character. I also really like her voice. It really fits the character well. Tatsuno is a pretty cool character, too. She's really passionate about maid cafe's lol. The other friend kind of made me cringe at first. She got whacked with the ugly stick, but I found the stark contrast kind of funny in away. Plus she seems like an interesting character. The teacher stole the show though. Sitting Arashiyama down and lecturing her about mistaking soda for coffee lol. Overall, a good episode.

[Malkuth]

Kind of standard SHAFT show, so haters will hate it and vice versa. For me it worked with Bakemonogatari and Maria+Holic, but failed with Arakawa and Arashi. I think for those not biased against the studio, the source material plays a bigger role, since SHAFT have during these last years minimized their creative bursts.

On Hotori's VA, I also agree that she sounds kind of annoying and does not fit the character; as was the case with Maka@SoulEater. She used this voice to a better effect with Jun@Arashi and Nazuna@Hidamari (since it was a better fit for the characters). What I find strange is that if she acted as she did as Mitsumi@Yakuindomo would have worked better, or maybe having a smaller role there did not make the problem prevelant.

Anyway, for the rest I liked both the cast and work they did, and I am waiting for Futaba (blond/short haired maid in the ED), her VA sounded good at singing, but that's way different skillset than acting. Is this her debut?

Oh! and to whoever found this similar to Arashi ... except for the maid cafe setting and overlapping cast and staff (since it is the same studio), there is absolutely nothing else even remotely similar!

PS: Finally, an anime with ugly characters in major roles

[Master_Yoma]

There are some ugly characters here but this show is funny

[MeoTwister5]

Am I the only one who thinks that Hotori actually looks attractive?

[KROMEangel]

Is Hitori the Old Hag or the High schooler that got pummeled by the ugly tree?

But seriously, that should not be a detractor at all; I'm sorry if you thought all the girls in anime were moe-injected blobs of cuteness.

[MeoTwister5]

You referring to me? Hotori is the main character, and while there is an overabundance of Tatsuno fans, I'm a Hotori fan, even if I only ever liked Omigawa as Mutsumi.

[KROMEangel]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

You referring to me?

Oh of course not at YOU ; "you" as used in the general term, and directed at anyone who has a problem with the attractively-handicapped part of the cast. Sorry for the confusion.

Hotori is the main character, and while there is an overabundance of Tatsuno fans, I'm a Hotori fan, even if I only ever liked Omigawa as Mutsumi.

It...takes me a while to get names down; probably another episode and I'll figure out who's who.

[Tamad]

Eh, I always have a hard time watching an episode of these strange SHAFT adaptions in one sitting, much less actually finishing the series. I have nothing against SHAFT (they've produced some really great anime), but I guess I just can't get into these bizarre series that they seem to love so much.

Though now I'm going to be completely biased and say that Hotori was the best thing about the first episode. She's cute, she's funny, and it was a pleasant surprise to find out she is voiced by one of my favorite seiyuus. A lot of people find Chiaki Omigawa annoying, but I've always found her voice kind of charming oddly enough. She's not always given appropriate roles, but she always tends to end up making comfortable with it by the end, so I'm guessing that the same thing is going to happen here.

And no not every character has to be moe, but I don't really see any humor in the characters being so hideous either...

[Kakkou]

So far it seems that her appearance isn't being played for jokes seeing how the cast seems perfectly fine with her around. No "you so ugly" or "holy crap a horse!" type of reaction. Imo if they can refrain from doing any of that then the casual acceptance of her looks amongst the cast would be a refreshing experience amidst this ongoing moe boom.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Here is the main cast (l-r) -- Yazawa Rieko (light-haired girl who has yet to appear), Yuuki Aoi (glasses girl), Omigawa Chiaki (clumsy girl), Shiraishi Ryouko (toothy girl):

The irony is that Haribara "horse" Harue's VA is the most attractive on that photo, while Hotori's and Toshiko's VAs are ... well, I will refrain from putting it into words to avoid flames and bad rep

[Cirocco]

A wonderful surprise! I love the maid-cafe premise, the off-center/slapstick humor, and the contagious warmth, giddiness, and charm of the characters so far.

Omigawa's quirky-cute voice fits the character Arashiyama like a velvet glove. She reminds me of Lucy in "I Love Lucy." No complaints, just more please. Tatsuno brings order to Arashiyama's chaos. Or at least she's the high-strung torchbearer of perfection.

I like all the characters that have graced the screen. It feels like a dysfunctional family, but in a good way. SHAFT, with its signature style and direction, has an offbeat winner here, at least for me.

Maid-jutsu!

[Deshwiran]

Wasn't expecting this show to be so awesome:love the OP,love the humor,love the ED.And the fact that the old maid is voiced by none other than the same guy who usually voices characters like Faldio from Valkyria Chronicles only makes it more hilarious.

[BarbecueSauce]

Haribara is the new face of kawaii. *uguu*

[StudioJC]

No offense to gays but no thanks. I'm not going to be gay.