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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | AstroNerdBoy | # | |
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I first became aware of Minami-ke thanks to this GIF image.
Well, that was enough to get me interested. The series very reminiscent of Azumanga Daioh. Like that series, Minami-ke is not about anything. It follows the lives of the three Minami sisters starting one summer and ending that New Year. The three sisters are Haruka (high school) who takes care of the family (no mother or father are ever seen and only briefly mentioned). Kana is the middle sister (think Tomo from Azumanga Daioh) who enjoys causing trouble. Chiaki is the youngest sister. She has little patience for idiots, and she sees idiots everywhere, especially with Kana (whom she often refers to as "bakayarou," a strong form of the word "idiot"). However, Chiaki worships Haruka, referring to her as "Haruka-neesama." The series has a huge supporting cast. There are various friends for all three girls, their cousin Takeru (who looks in on them from time-to-time), another Minami family (three older brothers and a tomboy youngest child named Touma, whom Chiaki adopts as her younger brother despite Touma being a girl). Each episode contains four to five short stories, usually with a connecting theme. Said stories focus on a particular slice of life for the Minami sisters or the supporting cast. As such, the humor is derived from these otherwise normal (or even odd) events, thanks in no small part to the characters involved. That said, while I got many laughs from the series, they were somewhat different from those I got from Azumanga Daioh. I think Minami-ke gets a bit stranger than Azumanga Daioh at times and as such, will be an acquired taste for some. Still, I cannot deny that I really enjoyed watching this series. Indeed, as I would blog about the individual episodes, I would find myself giggling or laughing harder at the memory than I did when I first watched it. In that regard, the series is like a food or drink that initially you think, "Yeah, that's pretty good" but then after you swallow, the aftertaste makes you think, "Wow! That really was good." With that, I would eagerly head into the next episode. Bottom line: Its not going to be for everyone, but if you enjoyed Azumanga Daioh, I think you'll enjoy this one. I know I did.Last updated Friday, January 25 2008. | ||||||||
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| Buy | Forbin | # | ||||||
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Analysis : 12 Fansubs Watched
I know this is from the author if Today in Class 5-2 but damn do I feel like Miyu from Strawberry Marshmallow just spun off into a show about her and her 2 sisters. Funny and weird at the same time. This has to be the best show of the season! Consistently funny without going completely unrealistic. Each girl is very real, each girl has their little issues and problems and each acts exactly like a real sister should. You see competition, different personalities, skill sets, and even Cross Dressing! You gotta see cross dressing! My favorite? The legend of the Bancho and the New Bancho! My not so favorite? The volleyball guy, everytime he opens his shirt I just shudder. Last updated Friday, January 11 2008. | ||||||||
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| Rent | Stretch | # | ||||||
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(Rent+, to be exact) (All episodes watched): The episodes begin with a warning to the viewer that he or she should not expect too much from this slice-of-life sort of show. The OP sequence is goofy and fun and gave me a good vibe. We meet the three sisters: Haruka, the eldest and most calm and responsible; Kana, the middle sister and a lazy, sloppy one; and Chiaki the firey little sister. The station breaks reminded me of Azumanga Daioh; as did perhaps the fact that this is an all-girl show. Likewise, it also reminded me of Lucky Star, in part because it involves sisters and Kana (sort of) reminds me of Konata. There are some clever and unusual "camera tricks" (for want of a better term) here, resulting in Matrix-like animation at one point. No apparent fanservice. Episode two struck me as inferior to episode one; did I speak too soon in strongly praising Minami-ke? One unusual thing about this show is that whereas many series use the tactic of making characters go into superdeformed mode (a simplified charicature of the usual character design) at the moment of a joke's punchline, Minami-ke reasons that the same tactic can be taken in the opposite direction, i.e, when the character gets angry she becomes more detailed and realistic. Episode four was great, however, back up to the standard of the first one. Some episodes are just better than others. The weird video game the sisters played was especially hilarious. There's not much of an ongoing plot, about all you need to keep track of are the boy who poses as a girl, the girl who poses as a boy, and the same girl's three brothers. The makers of Minami-ke needn't have worried that viewers would expect too much; I found it to be distinctly above average. This is a genuinely funny show, and I was always looking forward to the next episode. Apparently the sequel series, Minami-ke Okawari, is ready to run without interruption, which is definitely good news. My favorite line: "Entertaining me, worshipping me, and making me happy is what you're supposed to do as my younger sister!" --Kana Last updated Saturday, January 05 2008. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese (Language) Series Web Site | http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/minami-ke/ |
| Wiki entry for the anime series | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minami-ke |
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