I’m going to try something new this week, given all the series that are sort of hanging around on the edge of being blogworthy.  We’ll see if it works.

Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!! – 03

The best thing Majikoi has going for it is random.  None of the three episodes aired have been at all alike, and there’s no attempt made to explain the bizarre circumstances on-screen.  I’m not sure if that has curb appeal for 13 episodes, but it’s fun in its own way, and the series is competently animated and directed.  While the third ep dealt mostly with the amusing and failed attempts by Miyako and Mayuzumi to get into Yamato-kun’s pants, what struck me was the presence of two seiyuu I hadn’t realized were part of this cast.  Mayuzumi and her talking horse cellphone strap are played by Goto Yuko, whose voice was nagging at me until I realized who it was – she delivered one of my all-time favorite seiyuu performances, as Kate in Sketch Book.  We also have the legend that is Yamaguchi Kappei as Fukumoto, who periodically pops up to engage in some extraneous sex-crazed behavior.  Seems like Yamaguchi-san is working a lot more recently, which is a wonderful thing.

Kimi to Boku – 03

I had pretty well decided I was done with this series, but I wanted to check out one more episode because I knew the great Miyu Irino would be popping up as Chizuru, the last member of the quintet at the heart of the show.  And wouldn’t you know, the ep was actually pretty decent.  It was interesting hearing Miyu-Miyu in a genki role for one thing – it’s been quite a while. And the show finally has a character with a pulse, plus it acknowledged that Shun is rather, well… Girly.  I found the episode entertaining, for the first time. Admittedly most of it was Miyu-Miyu’s performance, but his character is an order of magnitude more interesting that the zombies we’ve met so far. It wasn’t great by any stretch, but it’s always nice to hear a great seiyuu lift mediocre material above itself. 

Tamayura Hitotose – 03

I searched for any connection between the lineage of Tamayura and Kamichu, because it was that series that really sprang to mind for me this week, but there doesn’t seem to be any creative staff common to the two series..  It finally hit me just how much Fu looks like Yurie, for one, and the adoring imagery of small-town Japanese life was very reminiscent.  On balance the episode was much as the first two were – unbelievably slice-of-life (forgive me, but it fits) focusing on extremely trivial events with a gentle touch.  To piggyback on the cooking theme of the ep, this series is like a recipe that desperately needs a shot of lemon juice or vinegar before serving – something acidic to cut through the sweetness.  It’s nice, and I like nice, and I like Tamayura – but my goodness, I think I developed 4 cavities in 22 minutes.  It was cute watching Komachi and Norie iron Chef over little Kou-chan’s heart, but with diabetes already on the upswing among young people this show really ought to come with a warning label.