DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyGokushufudou
ONA ComedyGokushufudou Part 2

REVIEWS

• 

  inAtus

  60/100
  As disappointing as it is, it's actually not that bad.

  I wouldn't blame you if, at first glance from the trailer, some skepticisms arise. There's no need to point out that yes, the animation is hilariously bad. And I wouldn't hold it against you if you realized J.C. Staff was in charge of it, and make a subconscious effort to pretend this adaptation of this otherwise fantastic manga does not exist. Despite that, I'd suggest lending an ear as to why you should give this ONA a shot.

  First, let's talk about the runtime. Five episodes with a runtime of about 15 to 20 minutes doesn't seem bad, right? It's completely bingeable in a single sitting, and it's a saving grace amidst all the other criticisms I have of how the adaptation was handled.

  Right off the bat, I'm not a fan of the OP and ED. Credit is due in capturing the chaos Tatsu embodies through thrashy metal and raspy singing. Maybe you'd find it your cup of tea, but the fact that it's skippable makes it a lesser concern.

  The animation is bad. I'm highlighting the word bad just so you know I'm absolutely serious when I say this. If you told me they started work on this back when the anime adaptation was announced, I wouldn't doubt it at all. I shudder whenever I think of Miku's zoomed-in face that is clearly unfinished, and I can only laugh at how low-effort each character's movement is. I'm sure many of you would love to tear it apart, but I actually didn't mind it that much.

  And it's thanks to the source material it adapts that I can even consider this a show worth watching: the manga is great, and I think most people can agree with me there. I cannot express how disappointed I am that it didn't get the treatment it deserves, but the voice acting and the pacing of the show is enough to merit a chuckle, to say the least. And they did have the decency to animate the cute-ass aprons most of the characters wear, so at least give them that.

  Even considering that, I can understand the criticisms some people might find after watching the first episode, and I can't blame them. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, and there are better ways to spend an hour of your time with, like reading the actual manga (which is, just to reiterate, great) or watching the bajillion other anime shows and movies available on Netflix.

  Here's a piece of advice I want to give to anyone pondering on whether this show is worth watching: go into it leniently. It's not the type of story that takes itself seriously, and it seems unfair to go into it expecting some outlandish adaptation (trust me, I would've loved it if it got this kind of treatment). What you'll get is a genuine laugh-out-loud show that you can turn your brain off to, to say the least.

  "Aren't you just saying we should lower our expectations?" Pretty much. But I'd reckon you'll find it as enjoyable as I did.

  ★★★

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• 

  DFG3

  55/100
  The only reason to watch this over reading the source material is for Kenjiro Tsuda's phenomenal voice acting.

  There's one feeling that comes to mind when thinking of these few episodes, disappointment.

  Let's start with the elephant in the room, the animation. It's bad.
  It's hard to even call this an anime as most of it are still frames with little animation. It follows the manga artstyle very closely which could be seen as a plus, but offers little more than a fan-made motion manga, the sort of thing you can find for any popular series with a simple search. Visually, there is nothing that is an improvement to the manga, with many moments instead losing detail. How it got to this point I have no idea.

  As for the music, there's nothing special, but nothing poorly used either. The opening and ending aren't something I'm interested in personally, but fit the theme of the show so there's no complaints there. Now the voice acting on the other hand is the one part of the show that truly shines. Kenjiro Tsuda is amazing as expected, but a few of the other voice actors were able to compare quite well to his great performance. A couple years ago, Tsuda stared in a live action PV for this same material, it was smart to bring him back to reprise that role. This is possibly the only time where a live-action felt more promising to me than an anime for a manga adaption. I wonder if there is still any chance for that?

  I've already mentioned it before, but lets talk about the source material a little more. The manga itself is amazing and worth a recommendation to anyone looking for a good comedy manga. In every way this anime is a very faithful adaption of the manga, because of this, the material holds up quite well. This paired with the voice acting makes the anime still quite enjoyable even if the animation may detract from it.

  So if it's only the animation that's bad, why am I so disappointed? Because the manga deserved so much more than this. The only thing that would be a reason for watching this instead of the manga is because of the voice acting, and even then you'll end up missing out on some of the great aspects of the manga. It was difficult to determine how to rate this, it's still enjoyable but it's only enjoyable because it's supported by an amazing manga. The anime is balanced between two extremes, great VA performances and horrendous animation, making a mid-rating seem like the perfect solution.

  Therefore I must say, if you want to watch this, just read the manga instead. If you have a reason for not reading the manga, then go ahead and watch as it's still better than nothing, just don't expect much. There isn't much reason for watching the anime instead of the manga, and the only reasons for doing both is because the anime is short being only an hour of content and because of the voice acting.

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• 

  paleorobot

  50/100
  A miserable adaptation of a great series

  There are expectations that people have whenever an anime adaptation, whether it be for a light novel, manga, or video game, is announced. For many in the anime community, the shows are a first glimpse into the source material, and with that knowledge, there's an expectation that there's effort put into utilizing the full potential of the anime medium to portray the characters, world, and plot beyond what the original source was capable of doing. This rings especially true for manga adaptations, where the drawings and dialogue already exist, and the anime can use its animation to bring these characters into motion; everyone who looks up a show based on a manga is expecting this going in, and it's understood that the studio will follow these unwritten expectations.

  Unfortunately, and rather bafflingly, Gokushufudou doesn't do this. Gokushufudou decided, instead of being an animated adaptation of the source manga, to be a motion comic with an animation budget akin to a YouTube fancomic reading.

  In every review, in every forum post, and in every conversation regarding this show you'll read, this point will come up because of how egregious it is. The animation is one of the worst I've ever seen from a professional studio, if it can be considered that; there's a ton of still frames where the only things that move are mouths, and most of the motion in this show comes from camera panning. Why anyone would want to make an anime where it emulates reading a manga, I do not understand, especially considering a manga already exists.

  Outside of the art direction, the show does have its highlights, but many of them you would get from the manga as well, with the exception of sound. Kenjirou Tsuda particularly stands out in this regard, with his voice bringing Tatsu's character to life. The rest of the cast does their jobs well, able to pivot through the rapid-fire subversions of expectations that make up a bulk of the show's comedy with ease. As for the music and sound effects, they're rather passable; I wouldn't consider them the greatest, but even if the show were animated well I wouldn't consider it the low point of the show. It's almost as if the original plan for this was to make an audio drama and they decided to "animate" it so it could get on television and reach a broader audience.

  However, outside of the sound direction, and because of the artstyle direction to emulate manga reading as much as possible, a lot of this show depends on what's been provided by the manga. Considering that this is Gokushufudou, which is an incredibly hilarious manga, I can see where they were coming from; the humor is very much there in the show as well, and this is an incredibly faithful adaptation, and many defenders of the show will say that if you ignore the animation, then the show is honestly very enjoyable, and I'd agree with them.

  But why on earth am I ignoring the animation in an anime?

  Many, many people, myself included, came into this show expecting so much more because of the quality of the manga and they wished to see the characters come to life through the magic of animation. The anime provided everything but that. The show subverted expectations, but unlike in the manga, it did so in the most unflattering way possible; disappointment was inevitable. This show is one of the very few times where it's clear just how much the anime is clinging onto its source material instead of expanding out and becoming its own thing, where it had the potential to be greater than the manga. Yet, I'm only grading it as high as I am because of things that already exist in its source manga.

  Just read the manga. If you're watching the show, you're basically doing that anyway.

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