hgoodwin - 2015-02-01 17:37:28

Story: Sunao Moriyama is just a regular student injunior high school. One day, he finds a strange but cute creature insideof his refrigerator. He names her Potemayo after eating some potato andmayonnaise (don't ask) and they become good friends almost instantly.

Potemayo starts to follow him everywhere, usuallyriding on top of his head. His discovery about this becomes the center ofattention in his class at school.

Soon after, a similar creature appears, and is named Guchukoby one of Sunao's classmates. However, unlike Potemayo, Guchuko doesn't seem tobe as good-natured and is a bit of a trouble maker. Things won't ever be thesame for these high school students as hi jinks and mayhem ensue.

Now of course considering that this is of course a comedy (forthe most part) the show is not going to be taken seriously and it'll have someweird stuff in the show that'll make you question things but chances are willnot get answered.

Already questions are probably popping up in your head. Whatare they? Why were they in a refrigerator? What are those things on Guchuko'shair? Well they aren't going to answered sadly if you came into this show forlogic, especially since its a comedy. Ok yeah that's not a good excuse I know,and normally I would get a bit uptight on the subject matter myself, but Ithink I can let this pass because:

A) The explanations would probably confuse us more

B) You're probably going to be so engrossed in the humor andcharacters that you won't even care

Actually it might have required more episodes for that,though now that I think about it, they could have made some jokes centeringaround that also (they make a joke about Guchuko destroying the fridge and thenpatching it back up... I guess) but they might not have thought up anything...creative I suppose.

Now, normally that would be all there is to show in astory-less anime, just throw in some comedy and interactions and call it a day,a lot of shows do that, but they do a surprisingly good job at drama in someaspects. Yeah, there are some heavy topics in this, and they actually work.

It's only brought up in the last few episodes but I feelthey did them pretty well. Stuff like puberty, growing up, losing someoneprecious to you, etc. are all present and talked about and they're handled verywell. It's not forced or has anyone out of character just to move the plot likeother 'comedy slice of life' shows (I hate melodrama so much if you couldn'talready tell).

About the only things I didn't like about the story wasthere were running jokes constantly which were cute the first time but got unfunnieras they kept repeating it, the pacing would be weird sometimes, and alsothey add these two new characters in the last minute of the show and they donothing but pad. I'm fine with characters showing up in the last episode aslong as they are likeable or, ya know, do something, but the very last minute!?They don't even look that cute to be frank X_X

Animation: The animation is pretty good. Sure the characterdesigns are very basic and dull looking all with different colored hair colors(even Potemayo looks ok, I like her expressions and her actions are for themost part are cute, I don't know why, maybe its the hair, maybe its thefact that she acts jealous easily), as are the backgrounds (though there aresome nice scenes), but they move pretty fluidly, Potemayo and Guchuko movegood in the OP and ED but in the show they sometimes jump cut and move aroundquickly like some time frames got skipped and it looks pretty choppy.

Characters: While most of them are one noted and areentirely personified by lame running jokes, a lot of them are still prettylikeable.

Sunao I feel is a lot different from other MMC's in anime.Sure he hardly shows emotion but he still expresses it with his words and thetone of his voice (when it doesn't sound like he's tired). And believe it ornot, he actually has a reason for not showing much emotion. Ya see, Sunao'smother died when he was younger, and since his father is almost never home,Sunao has become very self-sufficient. Ok its not original but its stillhandled pretty well. His dad isn't unlikable either, he's got a childishpersonality and does care for his son, as well as have a reason for going out alot (its hard for me to explain though).

Potemayo is a happy care free creature who loves to eat andacts like Sunao's guardian and protector, but she's not so good at it.

Guchuko also came from the fridge and is named by KyōTakamimori shortly after she ran into Guchuko at school. The name Guchuko isderived from a small chocolate ball called a guchu which Guchuko likes to eatand in return she gives Kyo some carcasses (because... funny? O_o). She's alsoself sufficient and is more aggressive than Potemayo but has a bit of a softside to her, mostly.

Kyo is a pretty athletic tomboy who is great at cooking andalways sees the bright side in everything, rarely feeling sadness or pessimism.

And, about everyone else is just joke character with unfunnyrunning gags. Mikan fantasizes about Sunao and wants to be with him cause shelike him and stuff, but he does not notice. Mudo likes Potemayo but can't getclose to her, he also ends up being a slave to another girl named Nene(because... funny? O_o) because he accidentally confessed to her. His friendKaoru watches over in fear (I... he shows deep concern for him; its kind of sad).

Eh, they may not do much in the story but I at least find themto be pretty... tolerable... which is more than I can say for two certaincharacters I really don't like. First is Yasumi, Mikan's older brother. He getsannoyed easily when her sister is around Sunao and tries to break them upbecause... he is infatuated with her? He also acts pretty dang cold hearted toher in some scenes also. I know he probably doesn't mean it but its just sohard to stomach and it makes me feel bad for Mikan. Thankfully he doesn't showup all that much.

Which is more than I can say for my least favorite characterin this show: Nene. Oh my god, I freaking hate her. Worst part is she didn'thave to be so terrible! I mean sure, she looks kind of pretty on the outsidebut on the inside, she's a cold hearted monster. She treats all her friends andfamily around like crap, calls them names totheir face, and even hits hermother and brothers! What did they ever do to deservethat? Maybe they pamper and spoil her too much? I have no idea... and like Isaid above she treats Mudo like he's her own slave, always pushing him around,forcing him to carry her stuff, and never giving the poor guy a break. Andnobody questions and stands up to her! Maybe they keep there mouths shut anduse her as a means to get her huge swimming pool (ya know, cause she'srich and all) I don't know what people's opinions on her are, but to me,she is just despicably unlikable.

And believe it or not, I have not even gotten to the worstfeature about her. No, the worst part about her in my honest opinion is hervoice. It is nails on a chalkboard ear bleeding annoying! I have no ideawho did the casting for her but I would not want to meet them in real life, oranyone who sounds like Nene! It's like a mixture of those squeaky high pitchedgirls you'd see in countless anime mixed with old lady voices you'dsee in countless anime and also add in a bucket of ANNOYANCE AND SCREAMING THELINES OUT LOUD SO PEOPLE CAN-! I'm sorry about that. But in all seriousness, Ihate her so god damn much. Her cute appearance annoys me, her personalityand cruelty annoys me, not to mention her voice is super annoying.

Sound: The opening is pretty cute. No wait scratch that itsreally cute. The singer makes it sound cute, the chorus is cute, in fact I knewthe song would kick ass- I mean be awesome when I heard the bridge (after theverse and before the chorus) to it. The song is upbeat, catchy, andcharming. and cute. The ED is calmer and is not as upbeat as the OP, but it’sstill pretty nice to listen to, though is a bit more forgettable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qop9X-UrarI

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v1005878PMwwRRYf?h1=Potemayo+Ending (sorry but I couldn't find the Youtube version of this)

And then comes the voice acting. I find it to be ok. It'skind of sad when the best voice in the show is Potemayo herself and for themost part all she says is 'Honi Honi'... trust me its a lot cuter than itsounds. Everyone else sounds either bored, annoying, or both. Now sometimes thevoice actors can make a pretty funny delivery but that's only in the first fewepisodes.

And of course, need I mention Nene's voice again? No? Oh, okthen.

Enjoyment: Well despite some pretty big flaws, I do stillenjoy the show for what it is. It's definitely not perfect but the stuff that'sgood, I can consider worth going through the bad stuff, just have the mutebutton in handy for when Nene shows up and starts talking.

Overall: It's flawed, but it’s still a cute little distractionfor when you want to watch a short anime.

Pros: Pretty good story, surprisingly deep in the lastepisodes (save for the ending), great OP, hilarious first few episodes, somenice character interactions and mostly likeable characters, pretty good animationand background.

Cons: Most characters are a joke, unfunny running gags,bland character designs, nice but sadly forgettable ED, unnecessary characters in the lastminute; Nene.

Also recommend: Bottle Fairy

Thanks for reading my 71st review~