somaisbatman

Orenchi no Furo Jijou is a 4-minute-per-episode anime about a guy who finds a merman, and their completely heterosexual adventures that all take place in a bathtub. Story: 5/10 As minimal as it gets. Each episode has some central problem or event and it's always something very light. Nothing special, but this setup is pretty normal for shorts. You can watch it all in under an hour! Art: 7/10 Decent but never astounding, not too much to talk about. Although, they did a good job animating and drawing the merman's muscles, those stand out as quality parts of the show. Sound: 6/10 There was background music? I hate to keepplaying the nothing-special card, but this really applies to the sound. The OP sounds nice but feels completely out of place. Characters: 8/10 Now we're talking! The main character looks like a yellow eyed messy hair edgelord, but is actually a pretty nice guy, just not very talkative. His merman buddy is far more outgoing and flamboyent, creating a classic comedy duo. The merman's also got some monsterboy buddies that show up in a few of the episodes, they're all diverse and enjoyable for the brief times they appear. The one character I dislike is the MC's sister. She fits every annoying little sister trope imaginable, has a gross onii-chan fetish, and just adds loli to a show that doesn't need loli at all. She's only around for 2 episodes, so it's tolerable. Enjoyment: 8/10 Sometimes the show is funny. More often then not the attempts at humor fall flat or just don't seem to exist, but the show always ends up being absolutely adorable, and it's never a chore to get through episodes (partially because they're so short). Overall: 7/10 Orenchi no Furo Jijou ends up being an absolute fluff-fest starring some extremely straight characters. It's not groundbreaking, but hey, there's nothing wrong with cute boys doing cute things together. You can get through the show in less than an hour, so it's a pretty low-risk investment even if you're not the biggest fan. Did I mention how heterosexual this show is?

uchiha-hime

I had been looking for an anime like this for a very long time, something with a wonderfully soothing and calming vibe, so I was very glad when I stumbled upon this gem of an anime. If you're someone like me who's also looking for a quick pick-me-up that's not plot intensive but nevertheless has the capability of making you feel the most relaxed you've been in quite some time, look no further. Orenchi no Furo Jijou is a slice of life comedy with episodes that span for only 4 minutes each, featuring the life of a boy who has a merman living in his bathtub(quirky, right?) Story: 9/10 In all fairness, this is NOT a plot-based anime so there is no plot progression and definitely no plot twist. Each episode features the main characters (and their friends, who're introduced in subsequent episodes) going about their daily life and facing small, mundane day-to-day issues. It is very common to come across overused tropes in slice of life shows, so I was pleasantly surprised at the absence of any boring, cliched tropes. Then again I guess it is pretty hard to use the generic slice of life tropes in an anime with a story as unusual as this one. Art: 8/10 Keeping true to the manga, the art of the anime adapts the same dual style, seamlessly switching between its normal realistic style and its cute chibi style. For an anime that has a bathroom as the main backdrop, the color palette is pretty warm, which goes a long way in adding to that idyllic, soothing vibe the anime gives off. The chibi forms of the characters, especially the merman Wakasa, are incredibly cute and I kept wanting to see more of the chibi style than the actual normal style, which is a first for me (lol) Sound: 8/10 Considering this is an anime with episodes that span only 4 minutes, it would be tough to establish a recurring musical theme/background score. The OP is very dramatic and intense, and feels a little misplaced in a slice of life anime, but I have to say that I actually grew quite fond of it by the 4th or 5th episode and didn't feel like skipping it. The voice acting was very consistent, with each seiyuu's voice perfectly fitting the character they played. I personally loved Wakasa's VA the most, it was the PERFECT casting. Character: 10/10 The main reason why this show shines, and why I loved it as much as I did, is because of the characters and the characterization. Due to the brevity of the episodes you don't really get any deep background story for the characters or some kind of astonishing character development but somehow none of that matters because you still get attached to them anyway. I don't think words can express how LIKABLE the characters are. All the characters - starting from the VERY lovable and cheerful merman Wakasa to the somewhat quiet but very thoughtful guy Tatsumi whose bathtub Wakasa lives in, to Wakasa's buddies who show up in some episodes - each and every character is very distinct and very original and very funny. Wakasa and Tatsumi have a dynamic that's very refreshing and somewhat reminiscent of The Odd Couple. They're the perfect foil to each other, and the hilariously funny situations resulting from their attempts to learn to live in harmony together is what makes the show what it is. The only character that I somewhat disliked is the MC's sister, who fits into quite a few of the annoying little sister tropes, and is also pretty annoying herself. Thankfully though we only get to see her for 2 episodes, and she's so forgettable you won't even think of her for the rest of the episodes which she doesn't show up in. Enjoyment: 10/10 With slice of life anime, more often than not, there's a huge chance of the jokes falling flat or failing to hit the mark, but Orenchi no Furo Jijou has none of those issues. Not once does it feel like a joke is put there for the sole purpose of trying to draw out a laugh from you. All the humor in the show is completely organic, and it flows so well it actually feels like there's zero effort to try and get the audience to laugh, but you end up laughing anyway. Overall: 9/10 Orenchi no Furo Jijou is a very light-hearted, feel-good show that by the end of its 13th episode will, no doubt, leave you feeling a lot calmer and a lot de-stressed than when you started watching it. I kept wishing the episodes were longer, just so I could have kept feeling happy for a little while longer. 13 episodes didn't feel like enough, and I sincerely hope they decide to make a second season someday. So if you're looking for a quick, light-hearted show to cheer you up when you're down and/or to unwind after a long day, look no further than Orenchi no Furo Jijou. Oh and if you're wondering if it's BL/shounen ai-ish, then all I have to say is that this does have BL-ish undertones, but that's only if you squint :)