Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menko – 01

I’m not going to be looking for Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menko on the next Manga Taishou list or anything.  But I gotta say, for what it is, I thought this premiere was pretty decent.  It looks to be a harem (though those are often first past the post), which is no draw for me.  And the whole gal subgenre never held any particular appeal either.  But this was occasionally funny, and generally speaking seemed to be pretty good-natured about the teasing side of the equation.

The setup is a cliche, no denying that.  A 16 year-old Kidd from Tokyo winds up in Hokkaido (and in Kitami, which is real Hokkaido and not urbane Sapporo) thanks to his dad’s transfer.  He has no clue about the distances in a place like Kitami or the true punch a Hokkaido winter lacks, and gets out of his taxi three hours walk from the family house.  A local gal comes to the rescue(well, sort of), and hijinks ensue.

The kid is Shiki Tsubasa, and he’s the social outcast you’d expect in this scenario.  The gal is Fuyuki (heh) Minami, and she’s the outgoing tease her role demands.  But while Minami does tease the hell out of Tsubasa (to be fair, he could hardly be an easier mark), she’s not especially mean or cruel about it. One gets the sense Minami may not be as socially adept as it appears on the surface, so you could almost see her going for an unassuming, unthreatening lost lamb like Tsubasa.

I quit enjoyed the Hokkaido side of things.  Like floor heating (as close to Heaven-sent as an invention could be), and the fact that Hokkaido houses are actually a lot warmer than southland ones in winter (because most of Japan has no central heat and insulation is basically non-existent).  And local lore like katsugen (a weird yogurt drink) and Seicomart (the beloved Hokkaido-grown conbini dear to the locals’ hearts).  That and more or less liking the main couple and their chemistry was enough to keep me solidly entertained for one week at least.   We’ll see if Hokkaido Gals has any staying power from here.

Himesama “Goumon” no Jikan desu – 01

More comedy, this time taking on a fantasy theme.  We have a warrior princess being held captive at the castle of the demon lord- wait, haven’t we already seen that show?  Yeah, this sounds an awful lot like Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (with the MacGuffin changed from laziness to gluttony).

Sleepy Princess never did much for me – it was okay, just didn’t find it all that funny.  Himesama Goumon is a little more to my taste, maybe, though still nothing especially memorable.  Shiraishi Haruka (showing her range yet again, once more a long way from Asirpa) is very good as the titular Hime, which is probably the best thing this show has going for it.  It has a fun energy and a lot if it comes from her.  But I found the hook was already getting pretty repetitive by the end of the premiere.

That said, I am a sucker for bread (and tiny crowns).  And a nice hot loaf to scoop up the juices and burnt edges from a crock of beef stew?  Yeah, I’d spill too.  And late-night ramen is a pleasure that hardly needs embellishment.  So that side of it could be fun, and the supporting cast is also full of good actors.  No one is going to be taking this too seriously I shouldn’t imagine, so neither will I – it may have a few amusing laps in it as long as the joke stays fresh enough.