Wakaranai

Rating:    

An art student named Jin Mikuriya carves a statue from the wood of the Kannagi tree only to have the statue come to life in the form of a goddess, who has now taken over the statue. He and “Nagi” work together to destroy the impurities that are gathering in the town.

Kannagi is a polished mix of the magical girlfriend and comedy slice-of-life genres which delivers light, easygoing entertainment without truckloads of cliché and fanservice. A lot of the premise may feel familiar, such as the ‘magical girlfriend’ aspect. Nagi, the female star of the series, who is definitely marketed as the main attraction, enters the story by bizarre supernatural circumstances and, inevitably, ends up living with a flustered male high school student, Jin. Predictably, this leads to a bunch of awkward situations and puts Jin’s embarrassment into over-drive. To make matters worse, the growing number of girls mysteriously infatuated with Jin feel the need to grace his house with their presence as frequently impossible; it sounds like the anime harem equivalent of a bad sitcom. While this scenario can provide a good laugh or two, I think anyone will concede that it is far from original. However, the series uses this as a platform to move onto better things, and what could have been a tepid entry into the already overcrowded genre of lazy harem-comedy has been transformed into an eclectic and fun blend of genres with a focus on humour, and an underlying edge of well-written dramatic content. This transformation can probably be largely credited to the determination of a scorned director to not only emulate, but out-do the moe-comedy appeal of Lucky Star.

For those still perched in the dark: the director, Yutaka Yamamoto, was fired from his position of series director on Lucky Star by an unforgiving Kyoto Animation. It was actually a decision I agreed with then, and Lucky Star gained a definite spring in its step after his replacement. But, either to redeem himself, or to make a tongue-in-cheek retort to Kyoto Animation, Kannagi is very much styled in the successful manner of Lucky Star, even down to the OP. Memorable dance-based OPs could be considered a motif of Yutaka Yamamoto series. I think these two shows really do go hand-in-hand in delivering what could almost be considered a new genre: the moe comedy. This entails a definite focus on carefully sculpting a handful of female characters into having a potent moe appeal. Just as Tsukasa, Kagami, and Konata invaded the thoughts of otaku everywhere, Nagi, Tsugumi and Zange are evidently designed to capture an infatuated male audience. From their intoxicating, cute seiyuus, to their mannerisms and idioms, these three girls have enough dazzling feminine charm to attract any otaku audience and force them to buy associated merchandise. Again, the execution saves this from being a disaster. Often shows try too hard to make moe characters in an obvious way (with a silly moe phrase or trait), but in Kannagi they are effortlessly cute and really brighten up the series. Plus, they are relatively well-developed with real emotional presence, which stops them from being just icons for moe.

But I think this focus really predisposes this show to relating to the otaku audience such that it may alienate less indoctrinated viewers. While I think its characters are more layered and interesting than Lucky Star’s, it does not have the same in-your-face cute appeal or mundane comedic style that can, to some degree, appeal to a broader audience. Much of the humour is derived from anime or akiba-culture references, which may fall short of many people’s radar. The show still has an everyman wit to it and good comedic timing, but I found the funniest moments of the series definitely tapped into the otaku subculture. Akiba and Kimura are two characters that bring in the otaku jokes, and they are absolutely hilarious. But Nagi’s childish inanity produces a lot of crazy antics which anyone can and will enjoy, and the ever more ludicrous school rumour-mill surrounding Jin’s love-life is a riot. Kannagi is accessible, but those of us who subscribe to the moe culture will get a lot more out of it.

So the series, as a moe-comedy stresses cuteness over the non-stop lewdness you’d expect from the old-fashioned harem-style comedy. Which isn’t to say there is no fanservice. Lovers of Nagi are treated with ample (but not excessive!) service of the stunning AA-cup goddess, from a maid cafe outfit to numerous bath scenes. The series does not rely on fanservice, but it is certainly there, and it’s certainly a welcome addition to the mix for males viewers (which, as the show itself notes, will be the vast majority of its audience). Also added to the mix is a real focus on the series’ relationships, as well as themes of identity and love.

Kannagi has just enough sincere emotionality to keep it from feeling dry. At times, it seems to flirt with the notion of becoming a full-blown drama only to fall back on the humour that drives it. The romance is left graciously as an undercurrent which gives the show an extra bit of life but does not take the helm and derail its light-hearted and fanciful mood. And the persistent theme of identity – of Nagi not knowing who she really is – gives the show a purpose and coherent meaning. Some people were confused by the way this series flings itself from one mood to the other, but I found the way it interwove the feel of a free-spirited comedy with moments of poignancy and an affective over-arching plot to be one of its greatest strengths.

It’s other greatest strength is in its visual production. One of the first things people tended to notice about the show was the way it was animated, or the degree to which it was animated. Although it, sadly, did not persist for the entire run, the first few episodes had very fluid and vital animation that gave a lot of motion to characters even just in conversation. By having gesticulation, and body language the show felt a lot more expressive, reminiscent of the amazing animation work done on Kamichu!. This eventually devolved into the typical static animation of most TV anime, but the series was nonetheless consistently well-produced. The visuals were dynamic and well coloured to capture the warm, breezy atmosphere of the series. The only real flaw is in the simplicity of the background art, which betrayed the attractiveness of the cel animation and character designs. The designs are definitely a showcase of Kannagi. Nagi springs to mind as one of the most memorable and attractive character designs of the year. On the whole, A-1 pictures did a good job on this series, and did not fall into the same trap as they did with Birdy the Mighty Decode.

For a charming mix of moe, humour and emotionality, Kannagi is a safe bet. It may not engage at much of an intellectual level, or have a strong plot, but it has a lot of characters and its laidback and affable style is a nice change from the pace of most anime. It’s not a total laugh riot, but it is propelled by a strong sense of fun, especially if you can connect with some of the more otaku-oriented jokes. I think Kannagi succeeds in what it was intended to be, and at the very least it is a worthwhile diversion.