Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Or just Eizouken for short, is the new work of Masaki Yuaasa, he of Devilman crybaby and a lot of other great shit I never watched, which tells the story of a group of three girls in a school club trying to make an anime from start to finish.

So yes, it's basically a giant love letter to the art of animation, with simple but very likable and well-crafted characters, and should drop whatever it is that you're doing and go watch it (which can be done on Crunchyroll) because it is fucking fantastic.

Oh, and here's the OP:

Edited by HailMuffins on Feb 23rd 2020 at 10:33:23 AM

Today's episode was really good - maybe the best so far.

Started watching this recently and love it!

I had the same impression, although the series has been very good since episode 1.

Man, Kaminari could sell ice to Eskimos, couldn't she?

And Asakusa represents me so hard.

I love how they managed to condense all the myriad functions of an anime production into three characters: the guy who does the characters (and more passionate about the actual act of animating stuff), the guy who does the setting (passionate about bringing wordrous worlds to life), and the guy who keeps the other two's feet at least somewhat on the ground (and the only one who cares about actually meeting the damn deadlines).

For those curious here's a vid about Disney explaining his Multi Plane Camera:

Just watched Episode 8.

Season 2 should be a cyberpunk dystopia where Kaminari rules Japan from the shadows.

Oh sweet, didn't realize there was a thread for this. So episode 9 was great. A flashback to Kanamori's childhood working at a local general store, which is where she first got into business, though she was apparently a very money-minded kid from the get-go. It was adorable.

Episode 9 is a bit weird however, since before the opening Kanamori seems to be in trouble about something, and then they don't seem to address that in the rest of the episode.

Ok, I must have blinked or something. I will rewatch the episode (which shouldn't be a difficult experience anyway).

Edited by gropcbf on Mar 5th 2020 at 12:26:24 PM

They addressed it really quickly at the end. Basically, the student council confiscated the money Kanamori was making from selling the audio assets.

That is addressed further in episode 10. Nice Akira Shout-Out btw.

This show continues to impress. Kanamori really has such a good head on her shoulders.

Hmm, well, the last episode didn't exactly wow me, at least not relative to any others. Admittedly, the show creators walked a very fine line here, making an anime about making an anime - if the Eizouken's products are too good, then it runs the risk of making people feel like the actual studio should have just made that anime, and if they're not good enough, then it's hard to see what the fuss is about. Unfortunately, this last one kind of falls into the latter category... I can't help but feel like I would have had more fun exploring Shibahama with Asakusa, Kanamori and Mizusaki than I did watching their anime.

Still, overall this show was super enjoyable, and it's got tons of heart and soul. I'd love to see more from this team.

Plot twist!

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is not only one of the New York Times' Best International TV Shows of 2020, but also one of the Best TV Shows of 2020 period!

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Dec 2nd 2020 at 7:24:06 AM

It's so surreal to see the New York Times praising an anime.

It happened last year with Jojo, too.

Finished to see this series recently. I quite liked it! It's also interesting to see how the job of actual animators works, including not just the actual drawings but also the research, backgrounds, sound mixing, sound design (that part with the girls on the treadmill, making always the same sounds while treading on different terrains, and Doumeki having a breakdown, was very funny and reminded me that even in RPG Maker games characters make different noises on different tiles...) and the role of producers, investors and social media managers. Quite informative. All characters are well-rounded and likable, even Kanamori, and I usually don't enjoy that kind of trickster blackmailing character (a la Hiruma from Eyeshield 21). Also, making sound effects with your voice will never not be funny to me.

Only thing I liked slightly less was the Absurdly Powerful Student Council: I get that the eizouken needs to have an antagonist, but they were a little too cartoonish in a mostly realistic series, what with the SWAT and drones and scowling faces and pointy teeth; they looked like they came from a wacky high school comedy series.