wehner.vincenza - 2015-08-04 22:42:55

ANIME REVIEW #1: Koufuku Graffiti (or in English Gourmet Girl Graffiti)

Well I never expected myself to make a review for a show like this. But oh well, let's do this:

Premise:

Ryo Machiko is a second-year middle school student (aka 8th grade) who has been living by herself since her grandmother passed away. However since then, Ryo has felt that her cooking hasn't been tasting good despite having an exceptional skill in cooking. That is until she meets her second cousin name Kirin Morino, who comes to stay with her on the weekends to attend cram school in Tokyo and shows her the key to eating great food.

Well that was the premise of the show and to be honest, it is not a bad premise.

STORY:

The story itself is non-existent since it is mostly a slice of life series but it is just mostly them cooking, and eating delicious food. But it is not really much of a story and it is the weakest part of the show (in my opinion).

ANIMATION & THE ART:

Well this is one area where this anime is great at. The anime was done by a famous anime studio known as SHAFT. And to be honest, they did a really nice job with the show. The character designs do look really nice to look at and aren't really distracting (unless you really don't like these kind of character designs...).

The food in this anime is drawn really nice and the way it is animated it kind of looks delicious. 

But I would like to say that at the time it came out (winter 2015) it was one of the better looking shows though then again there were a lot of other good shows airing at the time it was airing (like Akatsuki no Yona, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, Death Parade, etc., etc.) though I do adore the art and animation in this show.

SOUND:

The OST itself isn't really that memorable to be honest. Though the opening theme itself is pretty good and Maaya Sakamoto did a wonderful job doing the opening and combining it with Shaft's visuals, it did look nice to look at.

The ending theme is just decent to be honest. Though the visuals change every episode and mostly show what happened in the episode.

Overall the music is pretty decent.

THE CHARACTERS:

Ryo is a good lead in the genre (though I could think of better leads than her but at least she wasn't generic). But however I did like her because she seemed to be a good cook despite her doubting herself that she can't make tasty food. Though to be honest, she wasn't my favorite character in this show...

That would be her second cousin Kirin. She does really like to eat and I can relate to her and I did like her personality and the fact that she taught Ryo that food can be enjoyed by a lot of people -like family for example- seemed to be really nice. 

Shiina really had a nice personality and I did like her though she would be my 2nd favorite character in this show.

The supporting characters are okay but I like the three girls more. I could think of better slice-of-life casts that this show but the cast was good enough for me to enjoy this show.

MY ENJOYMENT:

I really enjoyed this show a lot. Seeing the food actually made me hungry (and I feel like you shouldn't be thinking that while you are watching the show but it just happened anyway). The opening theme and Kirin made me want to go back to finish this show. (Well I could talk more about my enjoyment but it seems a little hard to say more about the type of show it is).

OVERALL:

Do I think this is an underrated gem in the slice-of-life genre?  Not really. Is this the best show of winter 2015? No, not really. There are better shows from winter 2015 that you can watch. Did I enjoy this a lot despite of what I said? Of course I did. 

Would I recommend this show to everyone? No, not really. Though if you like the slice-of-life genre then go ahead and watch this.

Overall this show gets an 8. If you like this show, try out the currently airing (at the time of this review) show known as Shokugeki no Souma. 

At the time of this review, this show has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in the U.S & (I think) Canada. This show is available to check out on Crunchyroll (and I am just stating these for no reason).

Well that is it for me (hope this review isn't that bad...).

okihn - 2015-04-20 16:39:11

Story: Ryou Machiko is the quintessential minor who's living alone (ain't it always?). Her parents left her on a business trip when she was eight, entrusting her to her grandmother. But after Ryou's grandmother's recent death, she has been living and cooking on her own, and compares herself unfavourably to grandmother's cooking. Despite having exceptional skill in cooking, Ryōu has felt her cooking hasn't been tasting good. That is, until she meets her second cousin, Kirin Morino, who comes to stay with her on the weekends to attend cram school in Tokyo and shows her the key to great tasting food; eating together with friends and family.

So as you can imagine this is basically like a comedy slice of life with cute girls, lots of food, and also development as the main character understands the true meaning of eating food (its not about the looks, textures, or eating it in different ways, but about eating with the people that you care about) and teaching some other people about this, whether its the people they come across or the audience themselves (Hopefully you don't mind a little fourth wall breaking in this, it does not happen too much thankfully but sometimes it feels like a cooking show) which is actually a pretty good idea for a show.

As a slice of life, its great. As a comedy, its ok. Let's get that part out of the way first. Some of the jokes have been done before already, and some are just not that funny in execution. There are some good moments but there isn't much to be frank. Now with that being said...

Each episode will throw in something new whether it'd be a new food to eat, a new character to interact with, or even have them go to different places. The pacing in certain episodes is just right and gives us just enough screen time for specific things like setting up the mood for scenes (episode 2 is a great example of this). However, some episodes are really slow and feel they go on for way too long, kind of like maybe if they were split into two parts (like they did with episode 11), then maybe they could have been stronger, but that's just a nitpick of mine, there wasn't really any episode I disliked because of the pacing, not even episode 6, which was the most clichéd one of the bunch. 

The character interactions all feel genuine and believable, and the ending (with the exception of the graduation scene cause it was pretty rushed and glanced over, Azumanga Daioh and Sakurasou's ending it wasn't.) was really satisfying and indicates that there might be more of this show (and I hope so).

Animation: The animation is simply gorgeous. The background art is beautiful and breathtaking, every scene in the show looks amazing to look at and is pure eye candy... uh, no pun intended? Actually I don't think there's any candy involved in this aside from candy apples, if that counts. The character designs look really cute, even the guys in this don't look too bad, which is saying something considering that most shows like this would usually have ugly or bland designs for the males (or not show them at all) so that's nice.

Oh, yeah, you didn't think I would forget about the food, right? I mean after all, that's what's the main focus of this show: the delicious food that each episode presents you with. And what can I say? They all look delicious and different from each other which gives it its own identity, the show makes a great job in making them look appetizing especially with the girls actually eating it, which you may say its kind of orgasmic, and I can see why, so much time is dedicated to seeing close ups of their lips, and the food, and them eating the foods while talking about it in a slow quiet toned voice. Its pretty lengthy and also quite... interesting to say the least. Happens every episode by the way.

The animation on the characters are quite standard, its good. The animation on the food is very fluid and smooth, like butter :P

Sound: Voice acting is spot on. Opening song is pretty good, song sounds nice and bubbly, and it tells and shows us what the show will be about. I also love the animation on it (its like a food version of Alice In Wonderland). Same goes for the ending song though they do repeat words at some points which may or may not sound weird.

Characters: I don't any of the characters in this, in fact I like them all, however every character is just like the ones in other comedy slice of life anime, but they do have some things that kind of make them stand out.

As for main characters, there's not a lot to say about Ryo. She's kind, outgoing, and loves to cook for the people around her. She's not very good at sports or exercising so at least she's got a fault and is not a Mary sue. Ryo misses her grandmother a lot and does start off a bit pessimistic before Kirin arrives to change her perspective, however she doesn't truly get over the death of her grandma (whose also pretty likeable as we learn more about her as the show goes on) until the end of the show.

Kirin is Ryo's second cousin and plans to go to the same school as Ryo and stays at her house every weekend. She's shy and has a somewhat childish side, but is extremely polite and well-mannered, especially around adults. Kirin is short, but contrary to her appearance, is a powerful woman and is a big eater. She's also really athletic, unlike Ryo. Kirin is bad at housework and cooking, but somewhat knowledgeable about them and tries to do better at cooking to repay for Ryo's kindness.

Shina is Ryō's friend from middle school. She is one of the students of the art prep school both Ryō and Kirin also attend and lives with an old family in the metropolitan area. She is physically fragile, but is a beautiful girl who is cool and has a mysterious atmosphere. Thanks to her cooking skill, she builds up a circle of friends besides Kirin and Ryō.

The last girl I want to talk about is Yuki, a girl who lived below Ryo in the apartment complex. She's incredibly shy and has a lot of inner monologues with herself uncertain of what to do or how to get closer to people. I know shy people have been done before in these types of shows, but here its done really well that I can relate to her, even though its kind of self conflicted. Also helps that she's in college and loves pizza :D Shame she rarely gets any screen time at all and doesn't even show up at the end D:

The other characters I still like as they are all done well, though I think they could have been stronger, better, and more developed like the others.

Enjoyment: Very high, I knew when I heard about this show that'd it be one of my favorites, it just seemed like it would, and it did not disappoint.

Overall: A recipe for success, this may leave you hungry for more after watching, but it will probably fill your tummy and leave you satisfied after trying it out... depending on your taste buds. Ok I'll stop the food puns now :c

Pros: Gorgeous artwork, fluid animation, flawless voice work, good music, great character cast and developments, the food.

Cons: Pacing is slow in some scenes, those food eating scenes can be pretty distracting and lengthy depending on the food, fourth wall breaking seems unnecessary.

Also Recommend: Is The Order A Rabbit? And probably some other shows that center around food...

Thanks for reading my 78th review~

olen.kerluke - 2015-01-14 08:53:13

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zemlak.donnell - 2015-01-13 18:23:22

this anime is more slice of life than anything i will not hide it thats can be pretty boring for some people because nothing soo special happen during this anime this is more about food so if you like food i think you will like it (thats not guarranted) so lets begin !

About The Story
i question myself if this anime have really a story LOOL dont worry i joke really the story begin with a girl who like food and eat in a erotic manner (i do this too dont judge her) but the story dont have a goal... this is just food or making food and this is very Slice of Life so this is relax and you will see they talk about food the large of the time.. this is a anime for gourmand i think... thats not bad but i cant say i dont have liked it.. i like the story just a little

About The Animation and Sounds
the animation have nice graphics and the food graphics... is the most realistic and great graphics without forget about the scene who the characters eating in their erotic manners.. so for the sound they are pretty relax but i very like the last ending "JUST TABERU" this is just nice LOOL anyway i leave u the links but they have make great work

Opening

Ending

The Last Ending i fking like just after the Ending

About The Characters
thats a lot of pretty nice lovely characters but lets talk about him right now

Ryo Machiko / thats the gourmet girl who prepare awesome food and eat in a sexy erotic way if we can this like that.. this is a real big eater but thats a cute girl too who have lost his grandma but anyway this is a nice mature main character i like her

Kirin Morino / because of his mentality i dont like her soo much v.v .. she think everytime about food only and she gonna bother you im sure.. she is too much energic but she have a good side too and she can eat in a erotic way too but anyway...

Shiina / she is rich but she like food too this is the Best Friend of Ryo she is calm and mature but... she eat in a erotic way too.. i like this girl just because she is calm and because of his personality too

About The Enjoymentthats can be fun to watch but i have watched this anime at his release and eating at the same time so thats fun to watch when we eat i think xD ? but i want to advice people thats can be boring for some people because this is very relax and 100% Slice of Life but i have liked it because of the tranquility we have in it

if i can recommand that ? watch it when you eat ur dinner or just eating or if you very like Slice of Life and Food if this is not ur genre thats can be very boring for you i have warning you !