Joshiraku

[solidbatman]

-Details-
Genre: Comedy, Slice of life
Company: J.C. Staff
Format: 13 Episodes
Dates: 6 July 2012- 28 Sept. 2012


-Visuals- 8.5/10
What can I say but solid visuals. Each of our characters is well animated, though because of the whole premise of the show, there isn't that much to animate (something that is mentioned early on in the show). Despite this, the visuals are often times the jokes with trivial matters getting thrown way out of proportion. One line really sticks out about the visuals though...

"This anime is full of ordinary dialogue so that the viewers can fully enjoy how cute the girls are."

Yes, this show fufills the moe requirement, but fails to explicitly use fan service unless its for the sake of a joke. Once again though, the visuals do what they need to do and don't really wow you.

-Characters- 10/10
Can you say fun? Joshiraku's only characters are 5 rakugo (story teller) girls and each one of them has a very distinct personality. Marii is the loud one who is always bullied, Kukuru is the quiet depressed one, Kigurumi is the cute one, Tetora is the relatively normal one, and Gan is the strict bullyish character. What makes this show so fun is how the characters play off of each other, especially Gan and Marii who essentially act as sisters. Through each episode, we somehow learn a little bit more about each girl, which was a pleasant surprise to me. In an another surprise, not one character brought down the show. Thats a rare compliement as most shows have a more "annoying" character (speaking of which, episode 13 plays off that idea). Each character fills her role to perfection and all get equal screen time.

-Story- 8.5/10
There really is no story, yet things that happen in previous episodes are carried over and the characters acknowledge previous events. The story is basically 5 rakugo girls talking about everyday life, though the end results of these discussions are usually blown way out of proportion or way off topic for hilarious results. Each episode is divided into three parts. The first part is usually a fairly normal discussion that gets mildly overblown and out of hand. The second part takes place at a notable Japanese landmark and we are treated to the girls commentary of the landmark. The final part is usually the insane, wildly out of control discussion (such as Marii being kidnapped by a rabbit who then flies to the moon with her).
Fans of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei may recognize a certain satirical style that pokes fun at the Japanese way of life. After all, this was adapted from a manga by Kouji Kumeta, the author of Sayonra Zetsubou Sensei. That right off the bat discounts this show as being a typical moe-blob show. So while the story on the surface appears to be cute girls talking about ordinary things, it certainly goes deeper than that instead being a unique subtle social commentary.


-Overall- 9/10
Joshiraku is just a fun show and a great comedy. The jokes fly at you left and right, and nearly all hit their marks. I want to give a shout out to gg subs for their wonderful subbing of this show. With all the references and word play, this show could not have been easy to translate.