Here’s a story about two things which are equally part of the Shibuya experience.
It’s fitting that the guy who plays Onoda Sakamichi stars in Tonkatsu DJ Agetarou, because this series is definitely not a mass-produced model. Either a show about a tonkatsu-ya or one about a club DJ would be somewhat unusual in the current anime environment – do a mash-up of the two of them and you have something really unusual. Throw in one of the most famous directors in anime and a highly unusual animation style reminiscent of Ping Pong and you have an out-and-out odd duck on your hands.
The director in question is Daichi Akitarou, and the really interesting thing about his involvement is that this guy is known almost exclusively for shoujo – he’s done some of the most iconic examples ever, including Fruits Basket, Bokura ga Ita and Kamisama Hajimemashita. But he has shown the occasional yen for odd projects, like the thoroughly delightful cat short Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki. Tonkatsu DJ Agetarou is a short too, at ten minutes, and as a shounen quite a departure for Daichi. But if the first episode is any indication, he has a good handle on the material.
The plot here is pretty simple. Young Katsumata Agetaro (Yamashita Daiki) works at his family’s tonkatsu restaurant in Shibuya – a job which he finds boring and stifling. One night his father (who for some reason appears to be Saddam Hussein) sends him on an after-hours delivery, which turns out to be the doorman of a local dance club. Agetarou being 16 or 17 has never experienced the inside of a club before (as elsewhere, some clubs in Tokyo are adults-only, some all ages – I didn’t see any indiction which was the case here) and the doorman lets him in as thanks for the delivery. And Agetarou is immediately entranced by the world inside.
I’ve always been more a pub than club guy myself and I’d never seen any indication that this subculture was of interest to Daichi-sensei, but somehow Tonkatsu DJ Agetarou really works. Agetarou’s wide-eyed wonder at the club scene – dancing, pretty girls, and a real-live African-American DJ named Grand Master Fry (Chafurin) – given the premise it’s hilarious to try and guess which English word they were going for here (maybe both) – is communicated very effectively. And things get really interesting when Agetarou sees the similarity between what GMF does and what his dad does, and decides he’s going to become a master of both. I kind of wish this show was full length (I was really bummed when it ended so fast) but I think it has a chance to be another Spring sleeper.
Brian
April 11, 2016 at 11:55 pmIt’s not a departure for Daichi in the slightest. This is what he does. This is what he is best at.
His first directorial work is the silly Elf Princess Rane. You can go back to 1998 to find the first time he created shorts based on a goofy shonen property, Sexy Commando Gaiden. He worked on Prince Mackaroo/Ojarumaru for years. He works in gags about his older works in later ones, even managing to get Sexy Commando references into his Naruto OP. Most recently he directed the two DD Fist of the North Star series.
His greatest work is the 4 series of Gag Manga Biyori, which is where he started pre-scoring his shows to get a show that is animated to the rhythm of the performances, rather than performances that have to match the animation’s pace. He even forgoes storyboarding some shows when the manga is good enough to use as the storyboards. Which probably tells you what he thought of Fruits Basket given how different his version is to the manga.
If you look up images of the Tonkatsu DJ manga, Daichi has pretty much transferred the comic straight from the page to the screen.
Passa
April 12, 2016 at 12:36 amI LOVED this series! Really liked it, but I love funky mash ups of stuff especially when music is involved. This one is right up my alley and even the animation does it for me but then Ping Pong is one of favs so it comes at no surprise.
Chrysostomus
April 13, 2016 at 5:42 amWell, I’m sold. Picked up.