cute

How To Keep a Mummy Series Review: So Much Cuteness In One Little Package

Posted on May 14, 2018May 20, 2018 by Karandi

There’s a mini-mummy, a back-pack sized dragon, a tiny oni and a whole bunch of other pint sized monsters all in one adorable anime package. What more could you want?

Review:

When Sora received a coffin from his father who was travelling through Egypt, he suspects the worst and apparently with good reason. His recounts of previous gifts certainly lead one to presume that nothing good can come out of the coffin. Don’t even ask why it is clearly an English style coffin rather than an Egyptian sarcophagus or how the mummy eventually breaks out given he never demonstrates that kind of feat of strength ever again; these are questions that should be asked of a show asking you to take it seriously rather than one that seems to excel at being cute for cute’s sake. For this story, it is all about how adorable the cast are on screen and the main goal of most episodes is to put the cast into cuteness inducing moments for the audience to tilt their heads and go ‘aww’ to.

If that sounds like I’m being condescending, I’m not. I actually really had a great time with this anime given just the opening theme could start me smiling and any episode that Mii-Kun (the titular mummy in question) barked was enough to leave me grinning for the remainder of the day. There’s just something so soothing and cute about a barking miniature mummy and to be honest I don’t think I’m ever going to get over that. I think I need a gif on an endless loop of that just for days that go badly and then I can simply cheer myself by watching it over and over again.

What works even better are Sora and Mii as a team. Sora by himself would be a pretty bland protagonist, but when coupled with Mii the two are a duo that would be hard to beat. The success of any episode in this series for me depended on the screen time these two characters were given. The other characters work, but all have diminishing returns in terms of cuteness and particularly the oni-child really don’t replace Mii as an adequate focus – or at least they don’t give me quite the same bliss out on over-cuteness.

Still, cute really can’t be enough to carry a series. This anime manages to find enough interesting situations to stick the cast in a back-drops for their cute antics that you don’t actually get overly bored (though I suspect that binge watching this could become a bit of a problem). Still, the characters visit each other’s houses, the school, a temple and finally a mountain with a range of activities and interactions to sell each of the characters.

Basically, there isn’t a lot of rewatch value in this and there isn’t a lot of depth, but if you are seeking the cute and fuzzy feels, this anime will succeed admirably.

Episode Reviews:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

Consider supporting the blog by:

Becoming a patron
Buy the ebook ‘Thoughts on Anime 2017‘
Use the affiliate link to shop Play-Asia

How To Keep a Mummy Episode 12: Cheesy and Yet Pulls It Off

Posted on April 1, 2018March 30, 2018 by Karandi

This anime continued to play to its strengths all the way through and while it also pulled a family/friends beat all kind of ending it did it with the kind of earnestness that allows you to smile and just accept that is the kind of show you were watching. To be honest, it is the kind of anime that just makes you want to indulge it as it pulls out the super cute card over and over again.

It is also the kind of show that makes you casually dismiss that the villain this episode is probably going to be killed off screen which could be sort of horrific but we’ll distract both the protagonists and the audience with adorableness so they don’t let that throw away line sink in. It might disrupt the cute bubble this anime has built.

Still, it was a pretty good final episode. This series has been pretty even in its delivery from start to finish so if you wanted a show about a cute mummy, here it is and I’ll give a series review soon.

Previous Reviews:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more great content on this blog, consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

Another way you can support the content here is by buying a copy of ‘Thoughts on Anime 2017‘ as an ebook. It contains a selection of reviews, features and top 5 lists from 2017 and while the content is available free on the site, this is a great way to give a one off show of support for the blog. It is available for $3.99.

Finally, you can use the affiliate link to shop at Play-Asia.com if you are interested in anime, soundtracks, figures or games. Should you use the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

How To Keep a Mummy Episode 11: Part of Me Wants To Say About Time

Posted on March 25, 2018March 23, 2018 by Karandi

How to Keep a Mummy has been a super cute anime but with the promise of curses and problems with monsters raised in the first episode and then very seldom thought about since, it is nice to see the show bring that back in for the penultimate episode. Sora and friends inadvertently trespass at a solstice festival without invitations leading to a moment of genuine tension in the usually sickly sweet show and later we meet a collector before setting up the cliff-hanger that will drive us into the final episode.

However, if you are watching this show for the cute mummy, you will definitely get your fill this episode as the anime pulls out all the stops in delivering Mii and his most adorable, including barks, helpful hugs, and genuinely being a life-saver. Also squishy.

But if you also want some tension between Sora and Kamiya, this episode gives us a watered down drama between the close friends fuelled by misunderstandings and lack of communication. Really it is the best we could expect from this show at this point and it is truly pleasant watching even if it isn’t exactly deep.

Previous Reviews:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more great content on this blog, consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

How To Keep a Mummy Episode 10: A Return To Adorable Formula

Posted on March 18, 2018March 16, 2018 by Karandi

After last week’s average but not particularly bad episode of this anime, How To Keep A Mummy strikes back with an incredibly adorable return to the formula that made the first episodes of this season so irresistible.

And in saying that, what I mean is they introduce a new player into the group who at first seems kind of scary but turns out to be a big softie. This one is a statue of Anubis that speaks and can turn its head but is otherwise unable to really move and as it hasn’t shown an inclination for curses is so far pretty harmless and mostly helpless.

And this time the attempt to inject a tiny bit of drama into the episode worked beautifully with the title character being the one in the spotlight (right where his cute-self should be). That said, if I thought a barking mummy was adorable, the whole crew of creatures suddenly imitating someone with the hiccups is off-the-charts in terms of how cute things can be. A fairly solid episode from a show that really only has one draw and managed to get it just right this week.

Previous Reviews:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more great content on this blog, consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

How To Keep a Mummy Episode 9: The Oni-Child Crosses The Line

Posted on March 11, 2018March 9, 2018 by Karandi

Review:

Anime has a lot of heart breaking moments that really capture the spirit of what it is to be human, to be alone, and to suffer loss. How To Keep A Mummy doesn’t quite manage to land this lofty emotional goal but still delivers something that is cute in its very gentle and obvious dealing with emotional baggage.

With Conny in trouble again for stealing pudding (gasp), Kamiyagives him a talking to but of course with his rough and direct way of speaking goes too far. In the morning Conny is gone and after a night of being missing the rest of the gang decide to look for him but Kamiya stubbornly refuses claiming it isn’t his responsibility. A facade which lasts for all of about three seconds.

Part of me wishes they’d at least pretended at this whole conflict thing for a little bit longer, but the reunion was pretty adorable. Still, essentially we’re back to business as usual as we roll into another episode.

Previous Reviews:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more great content on this blog, consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

How To Keep a Mummy Episode 8: It’s Monster Day Care and It Is Soooo Cute!

Posted on March 4, 2018March 2, 2018 by Karandi

Review:

I will admit, my interest in the story this week was a bit hit and miss. The kids realise Connie has been wandering during the day and decide that the monster children need supervision while they are at school and so they turn to a local shrine god to babysit. It is as cute as you would expect but it kind of doesn’t amount to all that much more.

Still, Mii-Kun manages to get outside of the shrine and runs into another Oni-Child who thinks Mii is lost and leads him away from the shrine. After a series of misunderstandings, Mii gets back, safe and sound. And that’s really all there is to it.

If you are watching this show for the cute, this episode really hits you hard with the adorable. If you were hoping for something more, there’s not a lot to be found.

Affiliate Product Link:

For those who want to see the adorable Brendan Fraser take on a less cute Mummy. Though I suspect there’s a decent YouTube mashup in their. Brendan Fraser vs Mii-Kun.

Previous Reviews:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more great content on this blog, consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

How To Keep a Mummy Episode 7: Barking Mummies and Dream Eating Baku

Posted on February 25, 2018February 23, 2018 by Karandi

Review:

Last week I commented that the growing cast were so cute together. This week adds what I believe to be the final little creature, throws the dog in and actually gives us a photo op moment. Kind of perfect.

I love it when a show knows exactly what its selling point is and doesn’t try to pretend it is something it isn’t. This show is cute and they deliver cute. They deliver it pretty well in most episodes, and they know when a particular moment of cute is worth revisiting (another round of barking Mii nearly did me in from cuteness overload).

This episode brings Daichi into the mix. He’s in the same grade as Sora and we have seen him around the school before, but this episode looks at how he is isolated due to his violent sleepwalking and horrible nightmares. Of course, Sora being Sora decides to get involved and eventually we have the four humans and the four monsters all playing nice at the end. It isn’t particularly deep, but it doesn’t really need to be. This episode was just great fun.

Previous Reviews:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more great content on this blog, consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

Help Spread The Word:

Like this:

Help Spread The Word:

Like this:

Help Spread The Word:

Like this:

Help Spread The Word:

Like this:

Help Spread The Word:

Like this:

Help Spread The Word:

Like this:

Help Spread The Word:

Like this: