darkj25

Before watching this anime, you should know the definition of "omnibus format". The omnibus format main purpose is to dismantle harem genre anime such that the protagonist is able to have romantic developments with the multiple different chosen candidate without having a dispute between each other. One famous example would be the Amagami SS. Amagami SS was the first anime that adopted the style "Omnibus Format". Each heroine had 4 episodes arc in which their romantic confrontation was completed. By each confront's conclusion, the universe would reset to the initial world for the next heroine's romantic confrontation to begin. All memories of moments that happened duringthe 4-episode arc are also wiped. Photokano was successful in doing the same style. However, Photokano which was aired in an omnibus format, used a different approach compared to Amagami SS. It used an introductory arc to let the viewers know more about the characters. Then, it approaches to appeal the viewers using the omnibus format. Many would think that one or two episodes for each character may be too short. I might have to disagree with that. The few episodes duration was enough. Even with the short duration, they've managed to deliver a well-developed character progress. Each heroine has drastically improve their relationship with the protagonist. Remember, at the end, the anime only has 13 episodes, with about half has been taken off for the introduction arc. If you're looking for a fully developed romantic anime, this place is not for you, please leave. One thing I would like to mention which is the introduction arc. It's not very appealing and is superficial in expressing the show to its viewers. When I began watching this show, I was expecting this show might not produce great results. Although the omnibus format truly surprised me, the introduction arc didn't cause a great impact on me to continue watching it. In the end, one would think it's just an introduction. If the introduction were juicy, will it affect the main story and the climax? Ultimately, the decision lies on the viewers. For me, I'm fine with the advancement they used. But again, this anime doesn't have many advantages. The only think I like is that they surprised me with using the omnibus format and the acceptable character development within such short duration. Other than that, I wouldn't say I'm very interested in the most other areas of the show. In a nutshell, this anime is designed specially for people who are looking for an omnibus format style anime. If you like Amagami SS , this could be a wonderful gem for you. However, if you prefer a fully detailed romance anime, I suggest you drop this anime immediately. Please note: You're suppose to give your feedback whether this review is helpful or not. Even if this review has its flaws but is helpful, you should choose the appropriate answer. Well, I'll leave that up to you. Good day, peeps!

Stark700

Well, what do we have here. It's PhotoKano, a series based off the dating game of the same name. The series focuses on this young boy named Kazuya Maeda who happens to be a high school student enjoying the youth of his life. Perhaps he is enjoying it too much though with that little toy of his. It's a camera and used to capture memories through its lenses. With imagination, you can discover magic through a camera. But that's just all an imagination because in PhotoKano, magic doesn't exist. Rather, there exists many girls who wants to pose for you in lascivious positions just wantingto capture those 'memories'. Honestly, this series is definitely something that I don't want to be part of my memories. Now for starters, the anime series is adapted from a dating sim developed by Dingo and Enterbrain. The way it structures its series is a bit bizarre as rather than a linear storyline, it focuses on our lucky protagonist-kun who is involved in several arcs each with a different girl whom gets acquainted with him. But hey, that's just high school life right? It's all about teenagers getting involved in romance angles and creating drama. Well, the thing here is that Kazuya, the protagonist becomes the chick magnet who somehow is not only be able to attract the various girls in this show but also get them to do pose in seductive positions. Talk about having a lucky life. Well, there are some basic merits to this show. For instance, there's the Photography Club who invites Kazuya to join as a member. The club itself is made up of guys who likes nothing more than capturing those seductive photos of girls and making them worth a thousand words. Kazuya on the other hand seems to be the easy-going guy who is able to make friends with both guys and girls like a day in the park. The catch here is that as a bonus, he is able to take pictures of girls with his camera. It's making friends, taking seductive photo-shoots, and striking relationships all in one package of this lucky guy. For some reason, the girls of this show only allows Kazuya to take pictures of them in those seductive poses. Why? That's probably a magical question beyond what I can comprehend. Perhaps it's because of his easy going personality. But wait, the guy doesn't seem to have a clue what to do with the girls he hangs out most of the time. Rather than just 'hanging out', the girls of this show all seems to be interested in the boy for reasons beyond just 'taking photographs'. Kazuya on the other hand plays the follower and goes with the flow. Sometimes, this lands him into trouble as he is accidentally labeled as a 'pervert'. Despite Kazuya trying to negate these situations, they just happen to come by like pouring rain with the compromising positions, accidental kisses, and even other situations where he doesn't want to be in. Ugh. The series falls under many of the cliched themes of an ecchi/romantic romance. There's the childhood love, the beach episodes (more than just one of them actually), various confessions, and the obvious fan service. Speaking of which, the fan service of this show is thrown at your face literally every episode. There's the panty shots, the suggestive poses, the swimsuits, and camera angles. The OP song even focuses this as if it''s some sort of art. Then, there's the camera shots that focuses more than just painting a memory. Rather, it points at the various angles of the camera at suggestive body parts. Again, Kazuya is having the fun of his time. At some point, I just decided to watch this series for the sake of a possible deeper story to develop. Unfortunately, the plot of PhotoKano is more dry than sands of the beach. It doesn't progress and makes little sense. For whatever reason, Kazuya is like a bachelor and whether he likes it or not, he gets the attention of the girls through his charms. At many points, the boy isn't even trying and girls are allowing him to take suggestive photographs of them. Then, there's the love confessions and lovey dovey scenes that follows. Oh and no one is safe either. Whether you're a class president, an athlete, a school beauty, an imouto type, childhood friend, or the shyest girl on Earth. No girl is safe from Kazuya's 'charms'. NO ONE. Once you're part of the route, expect romance to pop out of nowhere. Well at various points, I try to dig out something out of this series. I mean, there has to be something that can attract the viewers right? The artwork might be part of that from what I originally thought but it's nothing at all attractive. Rather, it's generic, standard, and poorly constructed. The school uniforms are all generic and nothing stands out. It's not even unique in the sense of being attractive. Rather, it's typical and hardly memorable. The soundtrack isn't any better as the OST itself hardly makes an impression. The OP song "Koisuru Lens" by Kaori Hayato clearly matches the theme of the series through those lens of the camera. Only problem is that it seems Kazuya isn't getting any highlights in it. Rather, the girls are the main course of the dish and gives those delicious poses. To conclude, this series is something crafted out of a weak plot, with weakly developed characters, and a lackluster premise that makes it a dull experience. The main male protagonist is dull anyways so nothing else new to see there. It doesn't help with the lackluster soundtrack or the artwork. On a positive note though, the series does have a variety of characters to watch and see how they interact with Kazuya. Unfortunately, it all ends with predictable results that spells out what a cliched series this is. I can't recommend PhotoKano to anyone, not unless you enjoy photography or something in animated form. But then again, it makes fun of that in a lascivious way of an attempt to spark interest. It tries too HARD and this was one series that I had a HARD time getting through. But if you really want to try this out, then the ball's in your court.