Wakaranai

Kiddy Girl And is just another entry in a long line of anime series that I’ve hated and dropped after the first episode only to have my impressions reformed into enjoyment after being prodded to pick it up again. This anime in particular already had a few strikes against its name for me because it was a sequel to a series I had never watched, and because, let’s be honest, it just looks dumb. After casually checking out the first episode, I observed its unapologetic silliness, its cliché, forced-moe characters, and the annoyingness of some of its cast. I think many people will agree that a couple of seiyuu are instantly grating in these roles, namely, Aya Uchida as Ascoeur and whoever voices the whiny transvestite character. Overall, including the visual style of the show, everything felt very generic and this premier episode had the misfortune of trying to sell the series based on of its most shallow and least entertaining scripts. No plot in sight, annoying characters, and a very low entertainment value, those were my first impressions for the series. That was then.

Now, whether it’s simply because I’ve honed my ability to shut off my brain and just enjoy the sugary entertainment it offers, because I’ve become adjusted to the annoying aspects, or because it’s actually improved, I find myself really having fun with this series. I’ve seen a number of comments describing similar experiences, the general gist of which is to watch the first two episodes before brewing up a judgment of the series. Somewhere along the line I went from hating the light-hearted frivolity of this series to really liking it. But be warned, this epiphany won’t happen to everyone. A brief analysis of viewer responses led to the conclusion that opinions on this series are widely varied. On episode 6, for example, comments for it vary from “I haven’t laughed this hard in ages!” to “one of the worst filler episodes I’ve seen”! People are praising it and dropping it left-right-and-center. Most negative comments tend to be coming from people who are expecting plot and getting pointless nonsense, and who are generally fans of the more story-driven first series, Kiddy Grade. Personally, I’m somewhere in between, but I have to admit I’m enjoying the transparent silliness of this series and I’m actually not looking forward to it trying to take a more serious route and introduce a plot. I mean, if I wanted to watch a series for a good plot I wouldn’t have touched this show at all!.

This is by no means an entry-level anime series. Its appeal will strike accord for those anime fans who have reached the endgame and had their standards eroded by years of increasing saturation into the world of moe, bishoujo and fanboyism. Such fans might find entertainment, as I did, in the endless stream of super-moe maid costumes, the mild fanservice, cute girls, loli-kissing, hilarious references and parodies of the anime industry, unsubtle nods to the otaku audience, bright and colourful animation, and even its well-executed action moments. For those not expecting originality, captivating drama or sophisticated plot, and who already have already been swayed to the pleasures of otaku-oriented anime, this should prove to be a really fun light-hearted series. The series is helped significantly by its strong animation production, and by the masterful costumes conjured up by the art team. I obviously can’t say for sure whether you will like this series, but I can say that it is not essential to have seen Kiddy Grade to watch this.

Much like Kiddy Grade, it follows the lives of two female partners. This time, they are aspiring towards membership in the ES. In the meantime, Ascoeur and Q-feuille work in a distinctly maid-themed café in the gigantic headquarters building. They have an interesting working relationship and a sometimes strained friendship, Ascoeur’s shallow and airheaded attitude often clashing with the more serious and intellectual work ethic of Q-feuille. While their characters aren’t anything really new, they eventually become somewhat endearing. Ascoeur is interesting because she can be really annoying one moment and then extremely cute the next. Well, I’ve always been partial to pink-haired anime girls, and her character design is really nice. Q-feuille also looks stunning, and her mature personality is a vital relief from loudness of the other characters. Before long they are given their first mission as ES members: to look after a loli named Dia, who’s cuteness is extraordinary, and whose origins are unknown. What we do soon find out about her is that she has the ability to “charge up” other people’s abilities when she kisses them on the lips. Together the girls work at their waitressing job and tackle a series of ES missions errands. And it seems that this will soon lead them into a larger story..

Because the assets of this series can largely be pinpointed to a number of elements, I’ve compiled a quick list of the highlights of the series so far. Please, read on…

The best thing about the girls working at a café is the elaborate and gorgeous maid-style waitress uniforms they get to wear! They spend a good amount of each episode dressed up and it means the show is always great to look at! What’s really awesome is that, not only are the outfits really cute and well-designed, but we actually get to see new costumes every episode. This place has gotta be the ultimate café! Unique & stunning costumes every day! These outfits ensure that the series never fails to invoke a moe appeal or show off the attractiveness of its female characters. The picture above shows all of the costumes featured so far (as well as hinting at my love for these kinds of things ^^). Was it Cardcaptor Sakura that started my costume fetish, I wonder? I think my favourite has got to be the short-sleeved pink and white outfit from episode 2. So fetching! And the fantastic costumes extend to eye-catching pyjamas, battle-oufits, and just about anything you care to name. You could say that the director, Keiji Goto, has a history of making memorable costumes. One of his series, Uta~Kata, was a magical girl series that had a different costume each week, contributed by a different popular artist.

But Ascoeur and Q-feuille are more than just pretty faces, most episodes, for one reason or another, entail them having to put their abilities to the test in live combat. The action sequences are well-animated and choreographed. It’s especially interesting seeing how Ascoeur puts her teleportation ability to use, jumping around the battle scenes. I also really like her light-sword. I certainly wouldn’t call this an action series, but the battle are very well done and sometimes have a cinematic feel to them. Along with all the dressing up and moe antics, the fighting is also an attraction of Kiddy Girl And.

The stern and adult demeanor of Q-feuille is instantly thrown into question when, after finding a rare merchandise item from a popular magical girl anime, her heart is set ablaze with a collector’s passion. Of course, the magical girl series that is that target of her adoration is fictionally titled ‘Card Getter Sakura’, but is an obvious reference to the ultimate mahou shoujo anime, Cardcaptor Sakura (explicitly shown by the parallels to the first OP). The little parody clip they showed was of formidable cuteness, with the wings and nekomimi an ultra-moe combo. But of course, it has nothing on the REAL Sakura. This is one obvious instance of that otaku appeal I mentioned that show was batting for. There’s nothing better than seeing our passions shared by cute girls on screen! This was all made more potent for me due to the fact that I’m a big fan of CCS, and, in general, share that same collector’s lust that Q-feuille was trying to explain to a cynical Ascoeur. It’s a big role reversal suddenly having Ascoeur lecture her partner on child-like hobbies! Normal people just can’t understand how an anime can capture one’s heart like this XD! The win escalates when we learn that the even more outwardly mature Troyes Jeanne is a fellow fangirl of the CG Sakura persuasion, and sparks fly between the two enthusiasts, quickly reaching a proposed cosplay photoshoot at Jeanne’s place. Oh God I want to see that! Two girls getting together to fangirl over a moe-moe magical-girl series – has there ever been a more genius idea? This could be the start of a beautiful friendship. I hope this comes up in a later episode. For now I guess I’ll be content with seeing Jeanne’s epic collection.

And what otaku-oriented series would be complete without a contentious yaoi episode? I used to have allergy to yaoi fangirling and yaoi in general. I’ve never had anything against it, but I always found it hard to stomach. Well, that episode of Genshiken season 2 well and truly desensitized me to the softcore world of yaoi parody, so I was able to enjoy this episode a lot more than some might. Personally I found it really funny, and, as usual, I’m intrigued by the fantasy-driven fujoshi whose subculture has begun to rival that of the male moe following! In episode 6, overly passionate BL fangirl, Alisa, takes her friends to a butler/seiyuu roleplaying café (does such a thing exist, really?). Many lolz are to be had with the ensuing BL gags and anime references (such as “wa-wa-wasuremono”, pictured above). I got a kick out of hearing so many veteran male seiyuu playing unemployed voice-actor wannabes. Even Minoru Shiraishi was in on the action. But of course, all these pretty-boy seiyuu were trumped by the thunderous, god-like voice of Norio Wakamato whose seductive utterances of “tama!” were almost enough to make me squee alongside his female adorers. Even better, he got to sing the ED! It may be the first time I’ve heard Norio Wakamoto sing before, but damn it was fun!

General fanservice makes the world go ‘round, and this series gets its fair share. What I like is that there only a few precious moments of such service, rather than a sustained bombardment. It makes it feel a lot more like traditional fanservice than in a series that is designed for ecchi purposes. It’s a healthy thing for an anime to have some nudity and panty-shots every so often, though.

And the obligatory loli makes her appearance as the young charge assigned to our two heroines. She’s so innocent and sweet you can’t help but feel wall warm and fuzzy whenever she appears or does something childish (which is very often). It’s adorable the way she always corrects someone when they refer to her as “this child” or some other fashion that isn’t just calling her by her name. She has a mysterious past, insisting that she has neither mother nor father, and her special ability is to level-up others’ abilities with a kiss on the lips. Chuu~ This makes for some lovely loli-kiss moments XD.