Do it... yua serufu?
Yua Serufu is starting her life as a high schooler. Carefree, clumsy, and laidback, she doesn't think much of what will come... until she finds her path crossing with a club devoted to DIY crafts.
Do It Yourself!! is a Slice of Life original anime by Pine Jam which aired in the Fall 2022 season. The series is directed by Kazuhiro Yoneda, of Yona of the Dawn and Gleipnir fame, and its head writer is Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, from Encouragement of Climb and Is the Order a Rabbit?. The manga debuted the same year in Square Enix's Manga Up! digital service, written by IMAGO and illustrated by Beru Koyubita.
A Live-Action Adaptation of the series aired in 2023 on the Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) channels.
Some of the tropes constructed by the DIY Club include:
- 20 Minutes in the Future: While the year isn't stated, the series takes place in a time where package-delivering drones, self driving buses, and high schools teaching 3D printing and other technologies are considered normal. Depsite this technology such as cellphones, computers and tablets seems to still be kicking around at that age.
- Actor Allusion: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu is also the head writer for anime juggernaut Is the Order a Rabbit?, which stars Ayane Sakura, and he slips in a few references to her other role.
- Serufu coos "Cocoa...", the name of Sakura's character, while staring at Yasaku.
- In the second episode, Serufu suggests opening a cafe. It segues into an Imagine Spot where Serufu twirls around with a tray of coffee like Sakura's character from that show, while Sakura herself stands stoically behind the counter pouring coffee like her character's little sister Chino.
- Battle Cry: The D.I.Y. Club uses "Do It Yourself!"
- Beach Episode: Episode 6 focuses on the DIY club (plus Purin) going to the beach to find materials they can use for handicrafts to sell.
- Bittersweet Ending: Jobko has to head back to America and the DIY club doesn't have enough members to receive official support, but there is still interest in the club and Serufu and Miku have gotten their friendship back together.
- Cliffhanger: Episode 9 ends with the girls finding that the materials intended for their treehouse are missing, implied to have been taken by a truck.
- Club Stub: At the beginning of the series, the DIY club only has one member, which places it on the chopping block if it can't find new members.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Appropriately enough, "Dokidoki Idea wo Yoroshiku!"note is sung by the voice actresses of the DIY club. And like the episode titles, it has D, I, and Y in the song title.
- Double-Meaning Title: While Do It Yourself could mean simply DIY in general, given how the main character's name is a corruption of the word "yourself", it could also mean "Do it, Yua Serufu!"
- Expy: Yua Serufu is blatantly based on Yui Hirasawa from K-On!, right down to the spacey accent and the way she squeezes her eyes shut and smiles whenever somebody expresses doubt.
- Famous-Named Foreigner: Double Subverted. When Serufu tries to guess Jobko's real name, she rattles off a list of American presidents. Takumi immediately calls her out on it. Jobko then reveals her name is Juliet Queen Elizabeth VIII.note
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each Episode has "D", "I", and "Y" in its title somewhere.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Jobko strikes up a tight bond with Miku, who'd be several grades ahead of anyone Jobko's age, when they're properly introduced to each other. Said episode ends with them rooming together as a homestay for Jobko.
- In The Future We Still Have Roomba: Miku has a robotic jellyfish that works like a vaccuum machine, it's also appears to be a bit "sentient" as it's tries to have conversations with her. Miku always ignores them though.
- Japanese School Club: The show is about the "DIY Club" of Gagagata Girls' High School, a group of like-minded girls interested in everything hand-crafted like furniture, glass art and architecture. They're also incredibly short on numbers at the beginning of the show and need five members total in order to stay active.
- Let's Meet the Meat: Serufu's 3rd and closest pet is a pig actually named "Meat". He looks nervous whenever Serufu has pork to eat.
- Meaningful Appearance: The contrast between Serufu and Miku's hairstyles say a lot about them, Serufu having a messy, dust-colored mop of hair and Miku having a sleek bob cut dyed purple; Serufu's represents her clumsiness and affinity for hands on building while Miku is focused on efficiency and thinking ahead towards what's in the future.
- Older Is Better: Played With; the theme of old vs. new is a recurring theme through the show, contrasting the hands-on and rustic DIY club with the vast and high-tech setting the characters live in. While characters like Miku argue that DIY would become obsolete in the future due to construction tools improving, it's reinforced that the process and accomplishment of building is what matters most to the club, as well as the community the characters build through it. Noteworthy too is that a fair number of high-tech tools are used to aid the club like UV ovens or 3D software for making blueprints, showing that neither "old or bad" beats the other and both of their tools can coexist for different purposes.
- One-Gender School: Gatagata High School and Yuyu Girls' Vocational High School are both all-girls high schools which are located very close to each other. Serufu, Takumi, Jobko and Rei go to Gatagata, while Miku and Kokoro go to Yuyu.
- Punny Name: Several.
- Yua Serufu = Yoo-ah-se-re-foo = Yourself.
- Suride Miku isn't, but her nickname, "Purin" from Serufu is. "su'ree-dee pu'rin-tah" - 3D-Printer.
- Takumi means "artisan."
- "Shii" is a complicated one. Kouki Kokoro is her real name; koukishin means "curiosity" and "shi" is death. So "Curiosity Killed the Cat".
- Robot Buddy: Miku's house has a semi-sapient robot, something like a cross between a sea jelly and a mushroom, that does chores and provides Miku daily info.
- Running Gag:
- Serufu inevitably injuring herself in the DIY shed followed by a trip to the nurse's office. The nurse even comments on her "perfect attendance."
- Meat's nervous reactions whenever Yua and her mom have food, even when it's not pork, Meat clearly keeps an ear out to see what they're having.
- Miku's jellyfish robot practically begging her for attention and being ignored.
- Schoolgirl Series: The cast primarily consists of female high-schoolers all engaging in club activities together, and what few male characters exist are all in the background.
- Slice of Life: The series is a low-key and relaxed story about a group of high schoolers running a home improvement club.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Serufu and Miku's mothers look almost like grown-up versions of their daughters, and even carry similar attitudes like Serufu's lax energy and Miku's professionalism.
- Teen Genius: Well, not even a teenager yet. Jobko is more than capable of keeping up with the advanced curriculum of Purin's school, even secondhand.
- Title Drop: At the end of the first episode, Yasaku explains what DIY stands for after hearing Serufu's full name for the first time, tying her name into the acronym as a Double-Meaning Title.
- Token Minority:
- Jobko is a White American girl attending a school mostly populated by Japanese students. The reality of that makes her feel isolated when she first arrives.
- Shii is implied to be South Asian from a flashback of life outside of school.
- Tsundere:
- Miku acts angry and gruff towards Serufu ever since they didn't get into the same school (never mind they are right next to each other), but clearly misses her friend.
- Jobko spends all of episode 3 antagonizing the DIY club in what's obviously a bitter way to vent her frustration. Once she actually gives them a chance, she's still too embarrassed to actually muster any nice words, despite appreciating finally having company.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Jobko-chan supposedly has an American accent, but she sounds like a diminutive Japanese grandma constantly putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable.
