Joshi Kousei
Only in Japan... "Girl's High", as my fansub was entitled, is a startling example of the differences between what can be aired on TV in Japan versus the US. Lots of crotch shots in the first episode made me uneasy and left me wondering where this would go. Even more shocking were the jokes about... girl problems. The language was sometimes blunt ("That bitch has such a tight asshole!") and the humor got kind of scatological. But it really was funny at times (and the succeeding episodes are less controversial)! What I found most amusing about episode three was the slapstick violence, which comes out of nowhere, reminds me of City Hunter, and cracked me up. There is an "Episode 0", which is basically the first half of episode 1 minus the OP sequence--some sort of extended teaser, I guess. I loved episode ten, which dealt with the belief in Japan that girls who wear glasses are cute. A running gag is that Ayano, possibly the most shy and ordinary looking one of the girls, has somehow attracted an ideal boyfriend to herself, which annoys the others to no end. Each episode opens with a brief parody of some other genre, and when I saw this one, I could only LOL and exclaim "Nice!" The plot sort of reminded me of American situation comedies of the past. The ED sequence is kind of neat--the animation that is, where the character's faces reminded me of counterparts from "Kite" or "Mezzo DSA" for some reason. In short, Joshi Kousei is dumb, silly, and kind of risque. There never was much of an ongoing plot, yet this show had an inexplicable charm to it (at least that's what I thought). Therefore, I liked it, and was always looking forward to more episodes. Indeed, as I waited for the list of newly available fansubs to appear on my computer each morning, I would frequently say to myself "Girl's High! Girl's High! Girl's High!"...
P.S: I've rewatched Girl's High a second time, which might suggest how much fun I found it to be. Ah, yes--camera angles that have the effect of shoving the viewer's face into a girl's crotch... not your parents' situation comedy! This show would have definitely been better if the makers hadn't resorted to such a cheap form of fanservice at times. Not quite as funny the second time around, but still a goofy, fun show, as long as you are not offended by hijinx of this sort. It was definitely a mistake to go doramatiku for episodes five and six, but thankfully the show soon gets back on track (and Momoko reappears in a more amusing manner later on, so the episodes do serve a longterm purpose). The colors could have been chosen better; they seem to bright and garish for my tastes. There are some pretty popular VAs in this show, like SHIMIZU Ai and YUKINO Satsuki. The six girls are likeable because they are neither sleazy tramps nor brilliant, flawless paragons of virtue--they really could exist (except maybe the wacky Kouda, but she provides the bulk of the comedy). The ending wasn't exactly on a heartstring-tugging level like Azumanga Daioh, but still I'm sorry to see these girls go. This is one of the few shows which I even ordered a copy of the original manga (and if you think the anime is suggestive, guess what...).
P.P.S: I'm currently rewatching Girl's High a third time! Though the jokes aren't reliably LOL funny, the cast has an endearing goofiness to them which always leaves me wanting more.
My favorite line: "You're a bio-hazard for wearing so much perfume" --Himeji
Last updated Tuesday, February 19 2008. Created Friday, April 21 2006.
|
