Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko [Review]
Hello minna-san! Here’s the review for anyone who’s interested. If you’ve forgotten how Tofu’s reviews work, basically I will provide a brief summary of the story, my own thoughts on the series and overall rating out of 10. At the end, you will be able to vote whether or not my final rating was too high, too low or just right. Other than that, let us begin!
The...
Story
Starting off, Makoto decides to move into his auntie’s house named Meme who houses her daughter: a self-proclaimed alien named Erio. As Makoto fits into his new life slowly, he comes across two girls named Maekawa and Ryuushi. Ryuushi loves eating fruits and vegetables and plays for a basketball team. Maekawa is surprisingly tall and has a habit of dressing up in weird costumes.
Throughout the series, Makoto accomplishes in proving to Erio that she is not an alien but a human. He also accomplishes his own obstacles during a baseball game with the help of a self-proclaimed esper named Yashiro. With heavy E.T references, Denpa Onna mixes in its slice-of-life genre with sci-fi giving you a small, yet fun set of cast to react with throughout the series and to learn more about each one of them.
...four...
Rating
Art
(7/10)
What pulled me into this series was the art. There was something about it that appealed to me and I don’t regret being pulled in because Denpa Onna has some great art. Sure Erio might sparkle a bit too often but those sparkles add effect and I really don’t mind it. There were times when Shaft decided to degrade the art during those not-so-special scenes which was fine by me.
Although, during a certain episode, the art was so deformed it looked half-assed. Overall Shaft sure does some good close up shots and we’re talking about the guys who did Bakemonogatari here! I’m happy to say that I personally think it deserves a 7 out of 10.
Music
(5/10)
Talk about the most dreaded OP I’ve EVER heard! Maybe I’m exaggerating a little but I really didn’t like that opening at all. The notes in the singer were going everywhere and being a music student, I couldn’t really take it. I will admit it was catchy but it’s just not my type of music. As for giving the series 5 out of 10 for music, the OP was only a part of it.
The ED was nice to listen to, but it doesn’t fall under the ‘like’ category. This also goes for the BGM in the series which also didn’t fall under the ‘like’ category. With the use of BGM’s, you want to try and add more emphasis to the certain scene. At times Denpa did execute it well but most of the times it wasn’t anything special.
Story
(6/10)
I don’t think Denpa was originally supposed to have a strong story line to its slice-of-life feeling and because of that I was lead to disappointment. With all the alien references, I had hoped for the series to take a deeper dive into the sci-fi but considering I haven’t seen Arakawa Under the Bridge, I didn’t really know what to expect from Shaft. I still enjoyed the series even though there’s still one more episode left (episode 13) which explains why episode 12 didn’t feel like a finale at all.
Bouncing off each character and giving each character individual episodes did help in character development but at times it felt as though some characters should of appeared in certain scenes but just didn’t. There were some plot holes left unanswered in the story as well which is why overall; Denpa Onna deserves a 6 out of 10 in my opinion.
Flow
(6/10)
The flow of the series seemed on par with the story. As stated, there were plot holes and some characters just disappeared after a nice build-up of events leaving a very blended flow going up and down. There were times I liked some episodes and there were times I didn’t. An example of this was Shaft leaving the proclaimed esper near the end made me wish she was introduced earlier.
Another example included the cow tag man being spoken of but was left till an episode or two later for him to actually get introduced and Elliot was never heard of after we saw a child version of him. Of course, it’s not all so bad because if it was then it wouldn’t deserve a 6 out of 10. If you think any of these ratings deserve a higher or lower score, comment below or vote in the poll.
...main...
Results
Overall rating
(6/10)
Other than being filled with heaps of moe moments and maybe some fan-service, it wasn’t as interesting and enjoyable to watch as I thought it would’ve been. Erio deciding to take on star gazing and a part-time job wasn’t what I expected for her social comeback towards society and the other characters had some lack of importance too in certain scenes. As I’ve said, the music wasn’t that great, the art was nice to see but there wasn’t an actual solid story to this series.
Should you watch it? You might be hesitant to watch it after a score of 6 out of 10 but this is to appeal towards a wider audience. If you enjoy moe, sparkles, slice-of-life or nice occasional art then I’d recommend this show to you.
Till next time minna san!
...girls of the series? *trolled* :P
Poll
Wow, this pretty much nails my thoughts exactly (although you could probably take down a point for all the categories but art). Nicely written, too.
I liked the series much than you did though I'm not a huge fan of moe. And man, that OP was grating.
You liked the series more than me but you'd take a point down for all the categories? XD
Thanks Renn, and I'm glad I don't need to listen to that OP any more (until ep 13 comes out…)
Lmfao, I mean to write "much less than you did." I forgot a word in there. xD It's not an awful series, just not my thing. :p
Nice review, Tofu! :3 I have to say I pretty much agree with everything. ESPECIALLY the OP.
My recent post Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko [Review]
Nawh~ Thanks Elyon! :3
I would have agreed with you about the OP in the 2nd week of the series, but surprisingly as time went by I grew to love the OP and ED. It may have just been stockholm syndrome but after actually reading the lyrics to the song, I felt like it was perfectly tailored to the series hehe (and surprisingly catchy)
I'm really surprised that you rated the show so low, I would have expected at least a 7. Personally, I think it's around the same area as my own valuation. I rate it as a 6.5 but since MAL didn't have a .5 scale, I gave it a 7 instead :P
My recent post Ano Hana 11 [END]
Nooo~ You've fallen into the dark side Bass! Come back! D:
I don't follow the MAL scale and I should probably let others know that a 5 is alright for me since it's middle while as a 6 is good ;D I did want to give it a 7 but I wasn't sure if it deserved a 7 considering Kore wa Zombie was given a 7 and I found Kore wa Zombie better than Denpa.
Yea, I'm with you on the scale. MAL rates 5 as average and 6 as fine, so it's similar to yours. The only reason I rarely rate shows lower than 5 is cos I don't ever finish shows that are shit enough to warrant a sub-5 rating haha.
My recent post Nurarihyon no Mago 2/Nyanpire [First Impressions]
Oh serious? I've been following MAL's unconsciously!? O___O oh snap well I've got a few under 5 xD School Days is one.
Wow…6 out of 10.
Hmm, well, kinda saw that coming. The first episode didn't really leave an impression on me and reading the reviews, the whole story seemed a bit weak.
However! Regardless of all that, i'll still watch it just for the sake of it. Prob when i get a new computer which can play 720p. :D
Great review, Tofu! ;D
My recent post Happy Birthday Shouko!~
a 6 out of 10 means it was a good show but not great ;D Quoting Baku and TSRL, like Arakawa, Denpa doesn't really need a story for it to be enjoyable which did help change my mindset about it half way through the series and thanks Yvoon! :3
From a show about why a strange yet adorable girl wears a futon to a harem show about adolescence with a slight supernatural mystery aspect, depending on whether you believe it or not. It would have been nice if it focussed on Erio a bit more but I think this show still ended up being all right. I’ll also admit that I didn’t like the opening theme at first either, especially for a SHAFT show but it really grew on me.
You really should have expected that lack of consistency outside the close up shots though, aside from subtle fanservice it’s pretty much SHAFT’s style to throw about detailed shots/well animated segments with a good dose of QUALITY. However they are the type to redo things for the BD release, so perhaps that thirteenth episode won’t be like that as much.
I would of loved the show a bit more if they focused on Erio more actually ;3
I'll make sure to expect that lack of consistency in the future. I've heard of Shaft but I wasn't that familiar with it that I'd know what they do (besides the close up shots) to be honest. As a young writer I'm still learning and I'm grateful to you for giving me a thumbs up about it Fab :3