HaXXspetten

Shomin Sample is one of those rare ecchi harems which actually feels genuinely original and refreshing to watch. Not just because the setting is somewhat unusual, but also because its ecchi elements feel perfectly natural and that it's actually really funny. It's even got a likable harem protagonist for once, just how rare is that? The idea of having a sheltered all-girls high school for rich young ladies and then letting a lone male student transfer into it is nothing new to the world of anime. But for the ladies to be completely and utterly clueless about how the world of ordinary citizens works, and forthem to have a misconception that the protagonist is actually gay and has a serious fetish for muscle men? Yeah I don't think that one has been done anywhere else before. That is to say, our main character Kimito is one day kidnapped and forced to enroll in the school in order to help the female students to learn how to interact with not only a commoner, but also a person of the opposite gender for the first time. And I dare you, do *not* underestimate just how unbelievably ignorant these girls are about how the real world functions. In their eyes, ordering food at McDonald's is equivalent to the second coming of Jesus. That's how disconnected they are from reality in this series, and it's also the main source of the comedy that Shomin Sample has to offer. It's incredibly silly, but that's also what makes it so charming and original. This is also emphasized a lot by the fact that Kimito is, in lack of a better phrasing, quite simply a huge troll. Since the girls are not only clueless but also about as gullible as it gets, he time and time again tricks them into learning things about commoners which are complete nonsense, and then watches them make fools out of themselves before springing the truth upon them a bit later on. It might be considered rude, but it's done in a very light-hearted and comedic fashion, and it rarely fails to make you laugh as a result. Of course seeing as this is a harem, the anime still hinges on the likability of the main heroines. There are primarily 5 of them in Shomin Sample. First we have Aika, the so-called "Tsun-pure" girl of the series. She is a loner who has a very hard time making friends with the other students, but desperately wants to be popular on the inside and she therefore asks Kimito to help her. She is also mind-bogglingly easy to trick as she believes literally anything Kimito tells her without a second thought. Secondly there's Reiko, one of the most respected ladies in the school and pretty much your stereotypical Ojou-sama character, albeit a lot less haughty. For what it's worth, she's probably the most generic and least interesting character of the show. Thirdly we have Karen, a beautiful black-haired woman who carries around a katana. More unexpectedly though is that on the inside... she's also a pretty hardcore lolicon of all things, which becomes very noticeable in the presence of the fourth girl: Hakua. She is the emotionless loli of the series who is supposedly 14 years old but looks quite a lot younger than that. She's also a genius who has her own laboratory in the school where she helps resolve serious issues in the fields of math, science and engineering. And fifth, there is the school's head maid: Miyuki. She is... also quite emotionless as far as her facial expression goes, but on the other hand the words coming out of her mouth are incredibly blunt and rude. Out of obligation she comes to wake Kimito up every morning, but instead of politely greeting him, her catchphrase would rather be "I wish you had never woken up." There's also a sixth girl called Eri who is Kimito's childhood friend, but we don't get to see her too much in the anime as she is not a student in the school, however she works as a voice actress and you can see Kimito playing games starring her sometimes. So overall, the character cast is a very mixed bag, but there ought to be someone for everyone in there at least. Personally I think Hakua is irresistibly cute, but Aika's gullibility and Karen's incorrigible behavior are certainly treats to see as well, and let's not even get started on Miyuki. That, and I also have to say that for a harem protagonist, Kimito really deserves an honorable mention here. He's honestly one of the better ones I've seen. He knows what he wants and he's not afraid to show it, he's not shy in any way when dealing with the girls, he's got a great sense of humor and he's just a very friendly person in general. Now it should be stated that at heart, Shomin Sample is primarily a comedy anime, and the ecchi elements are only secondary, not the other way around. That being said, there is still a decent amount of ecchi in it, and what it has is actually very tastefully executed. It's not just half-assedly slapped on as it is in so many other anime out there, but rather it generally stems from the characters' personalities. First of all, although the girls may incorrectly believe him to be a homosexual with a fetish for muscle men, the truth is that Kimito is most certainly hetero, and more so he actually has a pretty serious thigh fetish instead. He doesn't particularly care much for tits or asses; instead he's all about the legs. Many times throughout the series, we get to hear Kimito having an unbelievably rich and detailed internal monologue about just how and why the girls' legs in front of him are as beautiful as he believes them to be. Meanwhile, Hakua has the tendency to sometimes get flashes of inspiration which causes her to start writing down complex mathematical formulas all over the walls and the floor, and for some reason she also subconsciously starts stripping while she does so. This is also much to the joy of Karen who then really can't keep herself from panting like a dog in heat and having nosebleeds all over the floor as she greedily ogles Hakua's naked body. And there's plenty of eye candy starring the other girls as well. The production value is... well probably the weakest part of this anime. Especially the animation, made by Silver Link, is quite clearly a very low-budget production. It looks pretty rough around the edges a lot of the time and it's not exactly pretty to look at. But at least it isn't straight-up ugly, and it doesn't really hamper the enjoyment of the comedy or ecchi scenes anyway. The soundtrack is about what you'd expect it to be, in other words barely noticeable. I like the OP quite a lot though, it's pretty catchy. What perplexes me the most is just how much lower rated this anime currently is compared to its own light novel and manga versions. I have not read the novel since it's not translated very far, but I have read the manga since quite a while ago, and honestly I don't think the anime is any worse at all. Apparently a lot of people seem to say otherwise but I personally don't see why at least. Either way, Shomin Sample was something I did not expect would ever get an anime adaptation just based on the fact that unorthodox ecchi series like this rarely do, but I'm so glad it did. Compared to the abundance of magic academy ecchi harems we normally get (this season included), Shomin Sample is better in just about every category to me. It's funny, it's cute, it's original and it doesn't feel forced at all. And for an anime of this type, that's about as much as you can ever ask for. Gets!

henkuku

On paper, this one looks like your typical harem series where the male protagonist enjoys (or doesn't) moments with the each of the girls. While I can't deny that this aspect did exist in this series, there was also something which felt a bit different. Lets get right into it, then. [STORY: 8/10] The main concept of Shomin Sample isn't anything out of the ordinary. For those not new to this genre, I'm sure this isn't the first time you've seen a male protagonist somehow pulled into a situation where he ends up being the only male student in an all-girls school. While this set-up issimilar to some other series, it's the progression from that point onwards which I feel differentiates this series from the rest. Instead of heading towards the ecchi and overly fanservicey route, this series chooses to focus more on the development of the relationship between characters. The former route still exists here and there throughout, but the latter covers up that fact well. The episodes tend to be episodic, which the exception of a couple of them, yet we can clearly see how this group of one dude and four girls develop as a team and work together as a team, fighting for one another at times. A pity that this is just a one-cour series, which inevitably hastens that process. [ART: 7/10] Not exactly the best, but still decent enough for you to find a best girl in it. The art style certainly fits a simple RomCom series like this, although arguably for those who are really picky about art there are times when the animation quality can be considered low. But overall, it's still on an acceptable scale for me, who is a sucker for series with bishoujo. [SOUND: 7/10] Really catchy OP that may not sound so when you first hear it, and a good ED as well befitting of a series with multiple "feel trips" here and there. Fans of anime songs will probably enjoy these two. In addition, the background music played during the scenes itself are good, especially during emotional periods. [CHARACTER: 8/10] Like aforementioned, the development of characters is what boosts the rating of this series up for me. None of the characters are perfect. They all have their own fair share of flaws and problems. This is what made them cute and likeable. Also, all four of the main girls have differing personalities and traits, so viewers will surely have a clear-cut decision on who is their best girl. [ENJOYMENT: 8/10] I didn't think I would, but I ended up really enjoying this from start to finish. The jokes they cracked got me good and the few references they made to some other series were hilarious. It was also heart-warming to see the characters interact with each other, helping one another in times of distress and, most of all, have fun with their daily activities for our viewing. [OVERALL: 8/10] Great humour and unexpected feel trips. Shomin Sample is definitely one of the dark horses of this Fall 2015 season. A decent series to watch if you're looking for a simple, school, romantic comedy, slice-of-life series. If you've read till here, I thank you for giving me your time and wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)