|”I’ll Start Working Hard Tomorrow“|

Shaft and Kyoto Animation probably rank among the top animation studios, if not THE top, in Japan, yet the are so completely different in terms of style. Both excel in top-notch quality when it comes to animation and music. Take KyoAni for instance: their offering this season is the lovely Tamako Market, a light-hearted slice-of-life about a girl, a talking bird, and mochi. The animation is great, the story is easy to digest, and the music is memorable. Naturally, in a medium that’s more and more being flooded with over-done cliches and poor production values, it’s tough to find something that stands out.

And then there’s Sasami-san@Ganbaranai.

Where do I even begin? With the eponymous Sasami Tsukuyomi (Kana Asumi), a hikkikomori who spies on her brother with her “Brother Surveillance Tool”? Her brother Kamiomi (voiced by none other than Jiraiya himself, Houchuu Otsuka), whose face is perpetually covered and whose overenthusiastic love for his little sister borders on the extreme? Or with the three Yagami sisters: Tsurugi (Chiwa Saito), Kagami (Kana Hanazawa), and Tama (Ai Nonoka), who all seem to have strange powers and may be more than meets the eye? Or perhaps how this episode is giving me super diabetes?

Director Akiyuki Shinbou is well-known for his offbeat and downright strange productions. Shinbou-san is to Shaft like Shigeru Miyamoto is to Nintendo, in that the public most associates his works to the company. The Monogatari series had unusual architecture, a distinct lack of people in the world other than the main characters, and strange imagery. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica had trippy witch fights and a very dark underlying theme. Arakawa Under the Bridge is probably one of his more normal works, but even that had ridiculous situations and a colorful assortment of characters that just screams of a Shinbou production.

So it’s no surprise that this first episode is totally wild and confusing. No lengthy explanations or monologues here about how mundane the protagonist’s life is, and this is obviously not a set-up for another romantic slice-of-life comedy (KyoAni’s got that covered). Nope, what we’re treated is a half hour of borderline incest, voyeurism, a mature-looking woman with the mind of a child, and a whole lot of chocolate-related puns. I’m sure by the end of the episode, you’ll be scratching your heads, and you’ll either be laughing at what you just watched (me) or frustrated at what you just experienced (Will).

Of course, considering that this is Shaft, there is obviously something big going on underneath the surface that this first episode only hints at. The OP is clear evidence to this, with glimpses of a shrine and people in old-fashioned clothing. My guess is that this has to do with spirits or even gods, but just from this first episode alone, we don’t have clear answers just yet. But as always, Shinbou has me intrigued yet again, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this series has in store.

Lingering thoughts:

• How many references did you catch when Sasami was reading the chocofied anime titles? I only caught Love, Elections, and Chocolate.
• I can’t get Jiraiya out of my head.
• Sneaking in the Hare Hare Yukai dance in the middle of a Shaft show? Shinbou, you sly dog.