Yup, this is happening: The Glorio Blog’s anime shorts coverage is going weekly as we share some thoughts on Aiura, Sparrow’s Hotel, and Muromi-san. This week’s episodes feature alliterated nicknames, big boobs that bounce but not in the way you’d think, and pop idol mermaids saving Japan from Mongol invasion. How could we NOT write about that?

Aiura

Recap: Ayuko has trouble reaching her new shoe locker. Kanaka tries to give her a weird nickname but her plan backfires.

Jel’s Thoughts: Maybe I’m crazy and reading into things too much, but I’m kind of buying into the Aiura concept. Rather than 22 minutes of padded out fluff you’d normally find in this particular genre, it chooses to deliver arguably the same amount of plot in a finely crafted, beautifully animated, 3 minute dose. It’s kind of like the slice of life anime equivalent of haiku: the impressive part is not the amount of content, but how well it delivers the content under such tight restrictions.

This week’s fix had some really nice shot choices during the shoe scene and I thought seeing Ayuko give as good as she got with the nicknames was pretty sweet. But I suppose I’ve already written more words than there was dialogue in the entire episode, so I’ll just shut up for now. I probably won’t have much to say each week beyond impressive technical details, but I kind of like that sort of thing. Is anyone else with me on this or has the logic part of my brain finally been destroyed from watching too much anime?

Lifesong’s Thoughts: The cool thing about this short format is that never becomes tiresome to keep up with the antics of these school girls. The big problem is that so far the most memorable thing about Aiura is Steve Jobs. Actually that probably won’t change, but there is some charming slice of life here if you are okay with a 3 minute dose.

Sparrow’s Hotel

Recap: Tamaki recalls interviewing Sayuri and introduces her older brother, the Hotel’s business manager.

Jel’s Thoughts: Dear god this show is stupid… and I kind of love it. Is this how people that like Inferno Cop feel? While I do think this is significantly less intentional than Trigger’s “masterpiece”, I think the writer’s do have at least some idea of what they’re doing. I still love the casual, no questions asked attitude towards the fact that Sayuri is some kind of super powerful ninja assassin, particularly in this week’s flashback to her job interview. I also like that they don’t try to make us believe Sayuri is a teenager and that she probably graduated from High School. Hey, it’s the small victories, right?

Lifesong’s Thoughts: I am currently attempting to make a genuine attempt at appreciating the stupid that this is. So far… NOPE.

Muromi-san

Recap: Muromi exchanges phone numbers with Takurou. Later on, she introduces him to her old friend Levia-san.

Jel’s Thoughts: I can’t believe I’m saying this but Muromi-san is shaping up to be one of my favorite shows of the season. If you haven’t noticed from my thoughts on Sparrow’s Hotel, I love the kind of humor where the characters are completely non-plussed by extraordinary things. I laughed quite a bit at Muromi and Levia-san casually reminiscing about changing the course of history, and even with Takurou’s occasional outbursts of disbelief he just keeps on fishing. Possibly my favorite joke of the episode was his reply to Muromi’s elaborate, amazing text about being in the Maldives (racy photo included) with a simple “okay.”

I also love the fact that all the crazy stuff happening in the OP seems to be quite literal, and that the mermaids are actually more than just humans that happen to live underwater. The fact that Muromi may or may not be hundreds of years old kind of puts an interesting spin on her friendship with Takurou. There’s that special kind of fictional loneliness I think I last saw with Holo in Spice and Wolf, and while there’s no way I’m making a direct comparison or saying Muromi-san is the same level of quality, it’s certainly a great example to imitate. At the very least it adds a warm, sweet undercurrent to the hilarious insanity on the surface of the show, and I’m all for it.

Lifesong’s Thoughts: I am again surprised by how much fun this show is. History and mythology are a weakness of mine. Many of the jokes in this episode revolve around mythology and I loved them for it. Takurou’s reaction to Levia-san’s true form was one of the best laughs I’ve had in a long time. Levia-san drinking a beer while she watched the “fire works” of the Trojan War also got me pretty good. I feel just a little strange saying this, but Muromi-san, something I should hate, is one of my favorite new shows.

Muromi-san is making me reevaluate why I usually hate stuff like it so much. There is something laid back about this humor. Like this anime knows it’s funny and doesn’t need to force the point. When they pull out the picture of Levia-san’s past, she just acts like it’s no big deal. When the two mermaids trash Takurou’s hang out spot with fireworks and make him angry, they apologize and clean up. Jel also made an apt comparison to Holo’s loneliness. There is something smart about these characters despite their goofy nature and I hope that element will continue.

Marlin’s Thoughts:  Well, I am certainly surprised I’m still watching this. I enjoyed the bits with Levia-san way more than I felt I had any right to, and if that awful anime of the same name hadn’t come out this season I’d probably had appreciated the pun even more. This show is quickly proving the tried and true idea that well placed absurdism can really drive your comedy, with some occasional gags to fill inbetween.