Minami-Ke

Minami-Ke
みなみけ

Status: Completed
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Type: Series

Synopsis:

Minami-Ke is a story about three sisters, Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki. It revolves around their extraordinary ordinary lives at home and at school.

Plot:

Minami-ke is absolutely true to its genre. It revolves around the normal lives of three sisters and their hilarious moments. This means there is no serious progression in the plot-line. It does not develop in any significant manner nor does it insinuate any possible plot twists as we might see in the Drama genre. All-in-All what Minami-ke offers is a very casual and enjoyable watch. Each episode is filled with the unique personalities of the Minami family and are carefully interwoven to offer a very warm and natural feeling in every fans' heart. There is very little to critique about Minami-Ke's storyline mainly because of how open ended it is. There is no sense of direction nor any prodding from side characters to steer the series into any abrupt change. Instead the Minami sisters synthetically push the plot of each episode themselves and the audience is left to watch and enjoy rather than ponder and critique. Absolutely brilliant, it is a true show of how a Comedy/Slice of Life is done.

Plot Rating: 4.0
Many funny moments in the series. True to its genre, viewers are relaxed and laughing. Lack of precious memorable scenes is the only downside.

Characters:

The Minami-Ke family is brimming with life. Each sister sports their very own unique personality seldom seen in any other series to date. Although yes there are similarities that can be drawn to Haruka, Chiaki and Kana on the other hand are unmatched, and are widely famous for their antics. The two sisters are nearly polar opposites within their own realm of thoughts. Putting these two together in the same room every episode creates a splendid recipe for comedy. From Chiaki's "Bakayarou!" to Kana's poses, fans thoroughly enjoy these two spectacles each episode. Aside from the comedic exhibits of Minami family we also have the interactions between the sisters and their friends that come over nearly every episode to visit. Just because these characters aren't part of the family doesn't mean that they won't be as well made. With careful examination and comparison to other series, the side characters of Minami-Ke are certainly much more colorful than most. By colorful I mean how they contribute to each episode in order to make you laugh. Characters outside of the family such as Touma can be easily be taken as one of the main characters because of how involved she is. However, keep in mind that the title of the show is Minami-Ke, and it is very apparent that the sisters are still running the show. So to be able to create such a colorful cast and weave them together so well, it is something that deserves a real good pat on the back. Good job 童夢.

Character Rating: 3.5
Awesome assortment of characters. Each with their own well-made personalities and they all strive to play a role in the series. Unfortunately the sisters and their friends haven't made that big of an impact on the Anime fanbase.

Production:

Let's face it. If you were looking for a high-end, fast paced, intensely detailed animated experience, then unfortunately for you this is not the place. Minami-Ke animation wise is about average for its time. Although this is appropriate for its genre, it would still benefit from better animation. In fact any series can benefit from better animation, and for that I can't let Minami-Ke slide for a mediocre job in animation. There were several titles at the time of its release that displayed intricate and creative directing styles. This adds flavor and fine finesse to their series, which in turn helps them to take a step out of the crowd and stand in the spotlight for all anime fans to praise. Many would still argue that it's an issue of genre, but that is not true at all. That mindset will only build up new cliches and close out any new possible ways to animate shows in unorthodox manners. Besides the animation work there is also the design to consider. In this area I believe Koharu Sakuraba did a very fine job of designing the characters and the series as a whole. Notice how the smoothly the character design works in conjunction with their personalities, and also how well the characters blend in so well to the plot. Whether it be natural innate talent or careful thoughtful planning, the creation of Minami-Ke is truly an elegant work of art.

Production Rating:  3
There is nothing impressive about the animation work. However the character and storyline design completely serves its purpose.

Conclusion:

Sitting on your couch, at a table, a desk, or on the floor with a cup of tea and some crackers - or whatever you do while you watch anime. You'll probably see the same thing done in Minami-Ke, but with a sprinkle of comedy to brighten things up. Minami-Ke is a great show to watch after a long stressful day at work,a tough day at school, or even just on a rainy day. So sit back and enjoy.

Snugtrition's Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Seitokai no Ichizon: Hekiyou Gakuen Seitokai Gijiroku

This review is under renovation. Please excuse the bad writing =(.
Plot: Renovated
Casts: In progress
Production: In queue

Synopsis:

The series, which is also called Hekiyō Gakuen Seito-kaigi Jiroku(The Records of the Hekiyō Academy Student Council’s Activities),revolves around a private high school whose student council is chosen entirely by popularity vote. Because of this, Ken Sugisaki is the only male representative, in the otherwise all bishōjo student council, that may enter the “sacred sanctuary” of the council’s meeting room. At the behest of Council President Kurimu Sakurano (pictured at right),Sugisaki records the minutes of the council meetings, which devolve into daily conversations about the students’ lives and interests.

Type: Series

Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Parody, School, Harem

Status: Ongoing

Plot:

 

Seitokai no Ichizon is an absolute blast to watch. If you're looking for a series that will make you laugh and reminiscence about past shows you've watched then look no further. Seitokai no Ichizon holds a straight flush hand of genres: Comedy, ecchi, harem, school, and parody, and they play this hand very well. As you can see in the picture above, Seitokai no Ichizon as a series has fearlessly released several episodes where they have danced along the lines of copyright infringement. Very few series have ever come as close to copy infringement as the Seitokai has and the fans absolutely love it. For casual anime fans watching anime to pass time, they will find themselves laughing through each episode. On the other side where we have the more serious anime otakus, they will be delightfully entertained by how daring the series is. The plot consists of the typical scenes from any comedy/harem anime. You should expect the usual teasing, dirty humor, and slow progress between the protagonists and the girls. Although it may sound like any other unoriginal harem series, Seitokai no Ichizon actually pushes to be as unoriginal as possible to the point where characters have gone out of their way to mention old overdone anime themes. This is truly what separates the series from others and it is what makes it so enjoyable to watch.

Plot: 3.5/5
Hilarious comedy and parodies that heavily caters to seasoned anime fans. However, it remains to be just "decent" rather than "Outstanding".

Cast:

Character design and development. Ah yes one of the greatest things about anime, their memorable characters. The studios certainly had a fun-time playing around with the character designs. For one they weren't pressured to create extremely unique and charismatic characters. Instead they must have been strongly encouraged to create the stereotypical designs and personalities for the Seitokai. You have the Moe girl, chibi loli, strong girl, the tsundere, and the perverted male haha. Each of these characters do not hide or cover up their true-to-heart personalities at all. Instead they let it all out, showing the usual interactions between those types of characters, except it is done in fine quality. Especially the male character, haha; sometimes I feel ashamed of having to watch the pathetic male protagonist, but this guy is strong, funny, VERY blatant about his love interests, and he certainly does not fall victim to the usual weak mentality like other male protagonists. As a result this causes very mixed feelings with otakus who take a real close look at anime. Typical cliche character designs are being used, yet its very well-done so it doesn't ruin the show.

Cast: 3.5/5
Very Creative use of cliche personalities. It was well done and given a finishing touch with their own unique traits 

Production:


In this show in particular the style of the artwork and animation is quite often overlooked or in other words, forgiven. The reason for this is because the viewers have so much fun watching the cast poke fun at old popular shows and remembering how much they enjoyed the classic harem personalities. However, style is the Seitokai's weakest point =(. Although yes they probably wouldn't have been able to the pull off the classic harem genre and the typical cast design without a revolutionary way of directing; the fact remains that the way the series was animated and drawn out is very old-fashioned. When it comes to style, series like Bakemonogatari are simply bombshells of new style. The Seitokai lacks most in this area, but it probably was for the best.

Production: 2/5
The only major downside of this series is the typical Production work put into it. It would certainly benefit from creative directing and animating.

The Conclusion: 3/5
I believe that Seitokai no Ichizon is a series that officially (fans determined this years ago) marks the end of the classic plotlines, character designs, animations, and that it is now the time for some fresh ideas.