Clean Freak Aoyama-Kun Episode 6: It’s Dangerous Trying to Please Everyone

Posted on by Karandi

Review:

This week the episode focusses on Ozaki, who is apparently writing a manga. He introduces a character based on Aoyama but becomes upset by that character’s popularity when he’d tried to make him the villain. As he attempts to sabotage the character, the manga loses popularity and he is forced to try to turn things around even as his overall dislike of Aoyama continues.

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I actually really enjoyed this episode. I found Ozaki’s frustration at the audience reaction to his story quite amusing and the way he interpreted the world around him and translated it into his stories was also kind of entertaining. Though, the most amusing thing is that by the end of the episode, despite watching Aoyama for a large part of this episode, Ozaki still doesn’t understand Aoyama. Admittedly, most of the school doesn’t as they all kind of project their own ideas onto him and Aoyama is too detached to either notice or care, but in Ozaki’s case he has seriously caused a problem for himself by trying to write a character based on a person he just doesn’t get.

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So not so much cleaning or soccer this week (though both make a brief appearance just so we are reassured the writers did not forget their own gimmicks). I remain pleasantly surprised by how watchable this is but it still isn’t all that great.

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Karandi James.

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Clean Freak Aoyama-Kun Episodes 2 + 3: Cute Bat, Crazy Girl

Posted on by Karandi

Review Episode 2:

Part of the reason I don’t like comedy all that much is because jokes get progressively less funny with the retelling and when you can see the punch line coming. Aoyama-Kun hits us with some gags that you can see coming from a mile away and, in one case, the near half episode that they dragged out the joke until the inevitable conclusion was kind of painful even if there were some interesting parts along the way.

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Despite many of the jokes not really working for me, I still find this show kind of interesting even while I’m mostly just kind of marking time and waiting for it to get to the next thing. Aoyama-Kun is an interesting enough protagonist, though perhaps calling him the protagonist is wrong in this instance given he’s the least active participant in the story. The action revolves around his existence and he is more a spectator upon the weirdness that surrounds him.

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I kind of liked the inclusion of the female manager and at least she’s openly stalking Aoyama now instead of hiding in the background. That was kind of getting old and I’m only two episodes into it.

Review Episode 3:

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The first part of this episode bored me to tears. Partly because guy who likes to show his abs off from the first episode showed up again and then there was some random food eating contest while Aoyama sat and polished the cutlery. It was all so incredibly pointless and even the other characters admitted that so it just felt like filler and not particularly inspired filler.

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The second half of the episode we got to watch another match and Aoyama is really kind of cool to watch. Completely unrealistic, but cool. You can almost understand his horde or fans when you see him on the field. This second half was much more entertaining even if it was pretty predictable what the outcome of both the match and Aoyama’s team-mates attempt to hug him at the end.

That’s probably another thing I need to mention. Three episodes in and I cannot remember a single name other than Aoyama’s and that’s because it’s in the title and someone screams it almost every five minutes. Every other character is just kind of there. So, still watching this but it really is a forgettable experience all up.

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Karandi James.

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Clean Freak Aoyama Kun Episode 1: This Is Going To Get Old Fast

Posted on by Karandi

Overview:

Aoyama kun is a hot, young soccer prodigy who plays midfielder for the National U-16 Soccer Team. But he’s also an extreme germaphobe!

– From Crunchyroll.

Review:

I’m thinking the only reason I didn’t drop this the third time a girl gushed over Aoyama’s classroom cleaning was because I tried this after two other shows that I dropped mid-episode 1. By comparison this was watchable but hardly what I would describe as good.

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While there are some moments that made me smile and a couple of moments on the soccer field that are kind of cool, so far Aoyama as a main character has left me feeling rather indifferent due to lack of any apparent personality other than not liking germs and wanting to play soccer and the other soccer players just seem to have one note personalities so far. Maybe this will all get fleshed out and this might become something  that is kind of okay but I kind of feel like this one is going to set into a fairly standard routine of what will become increasingly stale comedy.

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I’m not dropping it yet but I don’t see me sticking out a whole season unless there’s a serious improvement.

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Karandi James.

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Days Series Review

Posted on by Karandi

Overview:

Tsukishi Tsukamoto doesn’t really have friends and doesn’t really have much going on but he’s a nice guy. One day, after starting high school, Kazama invites him on a whim to play and soon after Tsukamoto decides he wants to join the Seiseki Soccer team. Problem is, they are a really good team and Tsukamoto has never played before. Can raw enthusiasm and determination really help him overcome his weaknesses and allow him to become part of the team? I reviewed this week to week if you want to check out those thoughts.

Review:

I’d be lying if I said the story of Days isn’t trite and overly generic drivel that’s been the basis of about a million stories before. I’m not even a fan of sports movies and shows and even I know the one about the loser who becomes the star player of the team. Something about hard work overcoming all difficulties or some such nonsense that writers seem to think is inspiring. Not that some people don’t have their hard work rewarded but there are plenty of others who will put in the time and effort and still get a big fat nothing for their efforts.

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Despite this set up which sounds like it should make me want to roll my eyes right outside of my skull, and a main character who normally I would call a pathetic doormat and find truly irritating, and being based on a sport I could not care less about, I really enjoyed watching Days. I found it genuinely charming and at times vaguely inspirational until my usual cynical self kicked in. That didn’t stop me wanting to call out with Tsukamoto as he cheered on his team mates and it didn’t stop me smiling when he finally intercepted the ball or realised what he should be doing on the field and it didn’t stop me nearly crying when he failed and felt the utter and complete devastation of that failure. It also didn’t stop that big cheesy grin spreading over my face when he got right back up again and continued to try his hardest.

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It would be great if  I could say that there was a single concrete reason for this show working for me and yet that would also be a lie. There are pacing issues, animation issues, at times characterization is an issue as someone we barely know is suddenly important and you’re left rummaging through your head for any information you remember about them (large cast of soccer players from main team and competitors). From any objective standpoint this show is average at best.

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But maybe that’s enough. It’s a story we all know so they don’t waste time trying to be clever about the premise. There are no real unexpected twists and turns in the story and while there is a large cast this works in the show’s favour as we never really get sick of any one character and even those with obnoxious personalities aren’t around long enough to bring down the overall show.

Besides, there are some fun characters in this show. Mizuki (the Captain), the other first year players, Kimishita, the manager, and many of the opponents really shine in their moments before fading back into the background. This is Tsukamoto’s story and we are seldom allowed to forget that but that doesn’t stop us learning about these characters and falling in love with them as Tsukamoto really wants to be included in their world.

The animation isn’t amazing but were we tuning in to watch animated soccer or were we watching Tsukamoto and how he develops as a character. There’s a clear correlation between his improvement on the field and his mental state and yet even at the end he is riddled with insecurities about whether he ‘deserves’ to be part of the team.

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Probably my real criticism of this show would be Kazama. He is the one who leads Tsukamoto into the world of soccer and at times it looks like his journey should be significant as well but we get so few glances at this other side of the story. Kazama is talented and confident but has some real issues with trusting a team. He’s the opposite of Tsukamoto and giving their stories equal time so the moments where they intersect and help each other could have had more meaning. Instead Kazama ends up almost like a fairy god-mother hovering around the edges of the story and giving Tsukamoto the tiniest of pushes when needed. The one moment of conflict between the two was resolved almost instantly. This is probably the weakest part of the series in my opinion.

So if you want to watch a trite (wondrous) journey of a wimpy (driven) character going from nothing to vaguely competent but still developing this first season of Days will probably be a fun watch. It’s full of warmth and heart and by the end you really will support this team in their push for Nationals – which of course we still need season 2 to find out what happens next.

Yep, season 1 leaves us without even knowing if they got to Nationals. I expected them to qualify and then if we got another season to see the Nationals but instead we still have the finals to qualify to go before we get there. Fortunately season 2 has already been announced and this one I’ll be continuing because as much as this review probably seems needlessly critical, this show made me smile and made me care about whether the ball went into the net at least for twenty minutes each week.

Days Episode 24

Posted on by Karandi

Review:

Well, if you made it this far through Days you won’t come across anything surprising in this final episode of season 1 (let’s all say thank-you that season 2 has already been confirmed or this would be a very different review about a lack of resolution). Basically if you have enjoyed the ride to here you will smile, reflect, remember the journey the characters have been on and generally just be happy to be a part of the Seiseki experience. There’s no added depth here, no surprises, no last minute twists in the story. Days, as it always has been, played this last episode straight focussing on the characters we’ve come to love and then it left us wanting to see how they go in this final game and whether they go to Nationals. Thanks. I’ll do a final review of season 1 of this soon.

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Days is available on Crunchyroll.

Days Episode 23

Posted on by Karandi

Review:

So Days continues to surprise me as it makes me care time and again about the outcome of the game even if it feels this week like it was a foregone conclusion. The ride getting to that final goal was definitely exciting. Of course, once again, we spent the entire episode watching the game and in honesty I didn’t much care for the other team and those characters so those moments were a little less than satisfying. Looking forward to next week and how this season concludes.

Days is available on Crunchyroll.

Days Episode 22

Posted on by Karandi

Review:

After two full episodes the game still isn’t over and I must point out that the animation definitely took a downward turn again this episode. Normally that doesn’t bother me but the sheer number of still images this week, plus some really terrible faces on background characters, kind of ruined the overall tension of whether or not they’d win this game. I like how the benched players are still being kept involved in the game and are offering their thoughts as we go. I like that most of the players on the team, even those that usually take background roles, have all been involved. However, this week offered a lot more on field bickering for both teams than what we’ve been used to in Days and it was a welcome relief when Usui (as acting Captain) got Seiseki back on track.

Days is available on Crunchyroll.

Days Episode 21

Posted on by Karandi

Review:

The game from last week continues and we see both sides make some mistakes and we also get to see the team’s first years struggle to deal with the pressure of suddenly being forced into a high pressure game. At the centre though is Tsukamoto who has finally genuinely found a love of the game and not just of being included as part of the team. For once we see him playing with a smile on his face and not crumbling under the pressure or fear of letting the team down. This is a fantastic step forward for his character and it was great fun to watch. I also liked the commentary from the characters who’ve been sidelined in this match. All and all, a fun episode in this series but nothing really amazing. Of course ending the episode with a ball flying toward the goal but not knowing if it lands or not is just kind of annoying. We’re 21 episodes in, we don’t need bait to come back next week.

Days is available on Crunchyroll.

Days Episode 20

Posted on by Karandi

Review:

Days continues into the tournament and we injure yet more players before the semi-finals. Of course, we only make it into the first couple of minutes of that game before it is episode over.

So what did we do for the rest of the episode? Well, we spent a lot of it with the team they are facing in the semi-finals and I still haven’t figured out the point of that choice. Either they are about to win and knock Seiseki out, in which case that’s the end of the road for Seiseki. Or they are about to lose, in which case we won’t really see these guys again so why do we care about them starting up a soccer club?

So yeah, I didn’t see the point of a lot of this episode but generally I’m still enjoying Days and I’m looking forward to the last few episodes this season.

Days is available on Crunchyroll.

Days Episode 19

Posted on by Karandi

Review:

Days doesn’t do all that much this week and yet kind of does what it needs to. The summer camp ends (and amazingly Tsukamoto and Kazama are just over their conflict so that was a plot thread that went nowhere) and they are now in the preliminaries fighting for a spot at nationals. Events kind of blip past and we don’t spend a lot of time on the field but more watching how the players are getting read to deal with this new challenge. Of course we spend time watching Tsukamoto freak out and question his own abilities. We end the episode 1 game into the preliminaries with preparations for the next game but of course its pouring rain so there’s our new challenge ready to go. It isn’t that this wasn’t fun to watch but it is definitely a bridging episode so by itself doesn’t amount to much.

Though, if you ever want a lesson on how to have an awkward conversation with a parent, just ask Kazama. He’s nailed this as an art form.

Days is available on Crunchyroll.