Reviews Anime / Genji Tsuushin Agedama

An excellent series that can be viewed so many ways

Let’s start with how to enjoy the series. The standard way to watch this is as an episodic comedic action show for kids, and it's perfectly enjoyable that way. If you know the references, you might enjoy it even more.

However, that would miss out on the social commentary / parody and school series elements, and the abundant miscellaneous detail of this world. Law of Conservation of Detail is weak here, so have fun exploring. If one can see this as a series with detailed & dynamic surroundings, then you can get the fullest enjoyment out of it. Certainly I did - just look at three subpages born from scratch for this series.

Our tempo has changed. I've recently given up rewatching several childhood "kiddie" anime fast but this is a rare oldie that stands the test of time and doesn't even feel old - no smartphones though :-)

As a series, there are 5 arcs to the story:

1. eps 1-4: intro for the 3 main characters and also the state before the protagonist shows up
2. eps 5-24: Ibuki starts to move and the school begins its transition. Near the end she develops further.
3. eps 25-35: Ibuki has completed her growth and is enjoying her renaissance. The last few episodes put the class through a trial and finishes their growth.
4. eps 36-45: Raizo tries to grow Rei here, but fails making this filler.
5. eps 46-51: The Finale.

Most of this is excellent. It's heartwarming to see Ibuki and the class grow. while there aren't any belly-splitters, and the action is frankly unspectacular (not what the show's about), the humor is sufficient to keep one attracted and tempo is kept brisk.

I liked the finale overall, but it’s weakened because of the Kukis. The plot was working towards the Karma Houdini end since episode 1, and I’ll feel uncomfortable if they were imprisoned. But they relied too heavily on Freudian Excuse, Informed Kindness and last minute Character Derailment instead of giving Rei actual worth (ironically, they did better with Raizo). So I can’t be satisfied that she's let off, either. At least they made Ibuki a good successor and the last scene of Agedama and Ibuki hugging was very sweet.

OK, bit about the characters. I had been diplomatic when writing the Character page. Here’s some honne:

• Agedama: Vanilla but serviceable and OK he deserves Ibuki. The expansion card concept is pretty neat. He would be better if he matured a bit in his year on Earth.
• Rei: Typical anime middle-schooler in appearance & I forgot all but her blue hair until the rewatch. Personalitywise she's small, obnoxiously loud, boring and static. Her cheats are uncreative, cheap and despicable. Her popularity is frankly a mystery.
• Ibuki: has a design so memorable I remember her outfit 25 years on and a multifaceted, dynamic personality. The story’s needs make many of her best moments low-key, and the time spent on her development is short, but I think the viewer who finds them will love her all the more - check the subpages for examples.