First Impressions – Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka??
Is Your Order Diabetes?
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Oops, almost forgot about this show! It may not be the most exciting show out there, but it’s absolutely worth talking about. Actually, to be more accurate, it’s worth fawning and cooing over. |
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Yay! Cocoa, Chino, Rize, Chiya and Sharo are back to refill our coffee cups with their extreme cute-ness to help us relax after all the crazy anime this current season and I guess if you saw the first season of Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu Ka you probably are already watching the second season or maybe you haven’t? I think you should if you like cute girls doing cute things. |
Better than Starbucks
Overcooled// It’s difficult for me explain the appeal of Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka (or Gochiusa for short), because it sets out to do many things and doesn’t completely succeed at all of them. It only hits my sweet spot in one very particular way. As a comedy, it’s a failure since I never laugh or even smirk in acknowledgement at a clever joke. I giggled about twice during the entire span of the first season. So I’m clearly not here for the jokes. The characters have their charms and I’m happy to see them back…but they’re really not much more than walking tropes. It doesn’t help that Rize and Chiya eerily resemble Kurumi and Yuuri on the recently aired Gakkou Gurashi, except with less depth, further detracting away points in originality. They’re fun to watch, but nothing is really special about them and we never really see anything past surface emotions. We get the rare moment between Cocoa and Chino bonding as “sisters”, but that’s about as deep as the show is willing to go.
Then what’s so great about a show with characters I could find anywhere and jokes that fall flatter than Chino’s chest? It’s the atmosphere. Intentional or not, Gochiusa became a iyashikei type of show that dissolves stress. It’s so relaxing. While it’s not quite as effective as Non Non Biyori (which is aided by superior comedy and characters), Gochiusa does a good job at healing. Instead of healing through nature shots though, Gochiusa heals through cuteness. I feel like dying of moe whenever Chino is onscreen, just effortlessly exuding enough sweetness to give me a mouth full of cavities just by watching. It’s like “cute” factor of cute girls doing cute things was taken into overdrive to make up for everything else.
Although the OP (and trailer before it aired) promise new characters, I don’t think this will really change much about the show. It’s going to be an incredibly light-hearted and fluffy romp full of inoffensive jokes. It never really goes for any deeper meaning, but that’s okay. Sometimes I crave a show that just has cute things rolling around doing nothing for 20 minutes, with some minimum structure to keep it all reigned in.
Bring on the Cute!
Foshizzel// So do you like your picture taken or would you rather be the one behind taking the pictures? I think we know plenty of friends and family members who rather avoid having any pictures of them because of various reasons, but Chiya on the other hand simply loves to have her picture taken! The others not so much like Rize who was easy to tricked into it, Sharo was being super shy until she was bribed by Cocoa and Chino was doing her best to avoid it altogether unlike Chiya and the other girls; however watching Cocoa try over and over again to get a cute picture of Chino smiling was really cute to watch and at the end of the day she finally got one! I guess her persistence finally paid off in the end and it looked like it might have triggered a happy memory about Chino’s mom especially with that lion err I mean sunflower picture frame. I just hope it isn’t something super tragic, but when it comes to the world of Gochuumon I don’t think we will go down that road or will we even see any more stuff about Chino’s mom? I am very curious to see what road they decide to take on that topic.
Final Thoughts
Wow this episode was easily a ten out of ten with it being easily the cutest thing I’ve seen all season and the ED? OH MY GOD what? Have you seen it? I almost died from all the cute, but I guess we all find different things to be cute from anime. Sure this second season might not be anything but a copy paste of the past season, but the team behind the series knows what and what doesn’t work for them; however I always love watching Cocoa trying to be better friends with Chino and the other girls. Now I was surprised that we got a peek into Chino’s past with her mom so maybe we might actually get something this season? Either way I don’t mind or really want a super serious story anyway with a series as fluffy and fun as Gochuumon.
I have to agree with Fosh that this was so cute I felt heart palpitations coming on (and that you need to watch the ED dear god please listen to him). To be more expressive since it’s hard to gauge my excitement over the internet: IT WAS SOOOOO CUTTEEEE!!! There really isn’t much to Gochiusa except for cuteness, friendship, bunnies, and cafe food. As a girl who loves food, tea, and all things cute (just ignore that I’m blogging all the dark mystery shows this season for now!), this is an obvious win for me. Gochiusa may not be perfect, but it has a special place in my heart for being such a relaxing show that I look forward to every week because it puts me in a better mood. Not all shows can do that.
She’s about to tell you that your favourite anime is shit
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Aww, OC, I think this show is very funny. I mean, it’s not expert pacing and punchlines, but it’s still a very natural form of humour. I mean, you’re grinning from ear to ear watching the show right? But like you say, it’s the atmosphere that counts, and it’s doing the job better than most, and it’s a welcome return. If I had to rank them, I would place Non Non on top, this show in the middle, and Kinmoza as last. But that’s all still fine company.
…and yah, from both of you it looks like they are going to explore more of Chino’s past. That might be something to look forward to, so long as they don’t Break the Cutie.
DAT ED! I nearly died!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Given the strength of KinMoza‘s second series, which was unexpected, Gochuusa is gonna have to do a lot better than this first episode to stay ahead of it, imo.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
poooo : p
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I feel all fluffy inside from the cuteness but naw man, the jokes just aren’t working on me. But I’m ok with that.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Well you know how it goes with comedy in anime Sky either you get the case of the giggles from x anime or you don’t! I know some people that never found things like Nichijou funny at all.
Ranking of those moe shows? Mine are
#1 Non Non
#2 Gochuumon
#3 Kinmoza
I hope they explore more of Chino’s past without it dipping into Clannad or AnoHana cry-fest, but it might be handled completely different than what I am assuming.
BEST ED~
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
But they all get along KiraKira MAX!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Speaking of treats, I suggest looking in the last Zwei! Herz post for yours that was promised. Since it actually belongs there. 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Cocoa got a bit too tiresome with the camera this episode. Maybe I’m confusing it too much with KinMoza and Non Non Biyori, but I don’t remember her being *that* tenacious and pushy before.
This show also seems to get bogged down in things that just aren’t that interesting to me. Any time it’s Chino and her shougakusei friends, bleh.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Lol yeah I remember saying the same thing like whoa calm the fk down Cocoa! that is until I remember that is just how that character always was around Chino.
Why you no like Chino’s gang!? JK sometimes they do get a bit annoying around her lol…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh, just in case anyone didn’t ever notice (or maybe even care. The character names follow the
EdibleDrinkable Theme Naming trope….Also, it’s sorta blink and you miss it, but:
these are a riff on the April Fool’s Day joke the official website played this year for Gochūmon wa Mahō Shōjo desu ka? (Is the order a magical girl?). A fake spinoff, which I think deserves a special episode like Nisekoi got this year, or at most an OVA series?
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
…
…
…
Kemonomimi! Do Want!
Although my impression of gochuumon has been permanently scarred by the existance of an AV parody… X_x
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yeah on MAL they have whatever drink each girl represents on their bios.
Id love a silly magical girl OVA for this 😀
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Overcooled surprised me so much with helming the First Impression of last season that I was dumbfounded. Since I had a feeling she’d tackle the second season’s FI to maintain the streak, the impact has lessened considerably. However, what I was expecting this round was evidence of a mythical flying creature doubling as a LOLi Defender on the post and to my amazement, this isn’t a single trace. What gives? 😉
This… this is a series I’d say it’s so sweet it can give you diabetes. The opening was an alright refresher because in spite of watching the entire first season, I must confess to not being able to remember at least a quarter of its happenings. The most I can recall is Cocoa’s overly chipper self and Chino being the polar opposite with her bunnified grandfather keeping her head warm. Rize (Really close to the name of her seiyuu Risa Taneda), the pistol loving tomboy was difficult to forget in comparison, though. Was the grandfather’s transformation explained already? It feels like I missed something.
Better it doesn’t go that way, not even in moderate force. A quality like that would feel out of place in a setting like this. I’d get a whiplash equivalent to what was had with Gakkou Gurashi.
That’s what shattered my reality seeing your name as the writer on last season’s FI! You had a reputation for blogging mostly those types of series. 😛
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…mythical creatures find they have other things to do sometimes, or that when a Fosh and an OC are already there, that his beak and claws would be to many barista for the cup…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I actually like slice of slice shows but I hate blogging them because I feel that whatever I would have to say would be terribly boring to write and have others read. But FIs are all good because there’s more to talk about for just one episode.
But yeah, consdering the first shows I blogged for Metanorn were Shiki and Highschool of the Dead I can see why suddenly doing an FI for Gochiusa would turn heads for those paying attention lol
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Writing for SoL is a challenge. I don’t think I could do it for this show, or for something like Non Non. But….Barakamon had thematic hooks every episode, so it was much easier than I thought it would be going in. And, it made it fun to write for each week.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think Karakuri usually ends up blogging the slice of slice shows… 😉
Nobody likes blogging straight slice-of-life shows episodically. There’s just nothing to write about. Same as trying to write about referential comedy shows: “Hey, did you see that joke about the thing? That was great, wasn’t it!” Fosh and I learned our lesson on that with Nyarlko-san.
But there are lot of shows that people label as ‘slice-of-life’ that just aren’t. Just because a show doesn’t spend every second advancing some overarching plot doesn’t mean it’s “slice-of-life”. But Gochuusa is pretty much all fluffy slice of life. 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Oh gosh, that’s one too many slices in there lol
True. Nyarlko must have been so, so hard…Even straight-up comedies can be hard if there’s not much of a story. I can’t imagine how I would blog something like Nichijou.
I probably fall into the sin of calling anything with daily life portions as slice of life…So the shows that are only borderline slice of life are probably a little easier to work with since they have more plot to them.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Nyarlko-san ran out of anime references to pull from after 6 episodes which is what I was mostly writing about on that series LOL
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…and the Lovecraft references became few and far between, the part I liked best….
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Cyclone!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
No way I’ll ever forget those two series. You can count on that. That’ll happen when you break your own mold after a long streak. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Sometimes we all want to try something new and Sky is probably feeling the FI burn xD
It depends if they take it nice and slow with the past and Chino’s mom I don’t think it’s something they can talk about in one episode it has to be at least two or three.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
BB and SoL? Impossible! Who is this imposter! 😛
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hey, now… It didn’t occur to me that it was SoL. Mistook it for something else solely because OC, of all people (I’m still feeling the shock, though a little dissipated), got roped in so I checked the show. It actually had things going on. Clever deception. Hmph…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Gochuumon is well-known to be SoL.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Well, a foul-up on my part because not only did I follow someone else into this show, I didn’t pay as much attention to the genre tags back then as I do now.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
I like the humor in this series just fine. Humor is subjective, so I object a bit to you declaring the show a failure at humor just because the humor isn’t working for you. The humor doesn’t fit your taste, apparently, and it isn’t what you come to the show for, but there are plenty of folks who find it funny.
Objection! Kurumi and Yuuri are the ones who resemble Rize and Chiya. Please get your order of origination correct. Gochuumon predates Gakkou Garashi, both in anime airing dates and in original manga publication dates. If anyone’s stealing from anyone you can blame the zombie show.
To make my objection clearer, you have no right to mark down this show because someone else copied their character designs. It’s that other show that is wrong and cheap for doing so, not this one.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yep, it’s impossible for a series to objectively have bad humour. For First Impressions posts, I like to give my general opinion so no need to take my word as God. Unless you really want to~
Oh man, sorry it’s so upsetting to you that I got the order of creation incorrect. I didn’t think that would be a controversial issue. I still stand by my opinion that the girls really don’t differ much from the usual archetypes we see in most anime. Just replace Gakkou Gurashi with…almost any any that aired after Gochiusa and we’re good!
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Rawr. I shall defend this series to the death! Behave or I shall make you watch the ED until you collapse from cuteness overdose! :p
The girls may be archetypes, but the implication that they were directly copied from somewhere else rubs me the wrong way, and can result in me being a bit more aggressive in defending them than may strictly be necessary. My apologies.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
We’re harsh with the ones we love! That love for the show is exactly why the ED is so potent…I probably would genuinely collapse.
Ahhh I see. No problem, Wanderer. I think you just took me too literally because I do not actually think the creator of Gochiusa sat down and copied another person’s work. That would be a very cruel accusation.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
C88 had a lot of coloured Gochiusa stuff…
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I like to think all the overly moe series take place in the same fluffy universe! So the events of Gakkou Gurashi take place while Cocoa and Chino are making coffee while being goofy at work~
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
So…coffee wards off the undead?
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yes!
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Someone club Spammy unconscious so I can post here.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 261 comments
Wow, Looks like the Cute Rabbit People are back.
You know, There is something that doubts to me on this show, Is the Place itself, I was wondering if there is a Little France in Japan or sort
But anyways…Hmm, The ED theme hmmm…well…i was wondering if That Maple Girl Will tell Something about that!
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Indeed! They are back!
I think it takes place in england if I’m not mistaken? I could be wrong…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It might be here……
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
The backgrounds, at least, are from a town in France named Colmar.
For comparison
Google streetview on the bridge in the shot
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…streetview seems to be missing dancing LOLi…
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Well, you know, those people taking pictures for stretview are always missing the key moments when they go by.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…they must be blind to all the kawaii rays given off…
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing!
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Oh come on, Spammy, really?
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Since that doesn’t seem to have been clear, yonder spam filter ate another post of mine back around the time I made the above disbelieving comment towards it. If someone could go make it cough it back up I would appreciate it.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Spammy sez: OM-Nom-Nom-nom!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Sorry, there’s no comment to recover. It’s probable that I deleted it yesterday morning, although I do try my best to check through all of the posts in the spam filter.
I’ll say again that it’s a lot easier to identify and notice posts in the spam filter if one uses a gravatar icon. The spam bots, in about 99.99% of cases, do not. But they do throw up a lot of text, and sometimes scrolling through it rapidly can miss things.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
All of my preferred usernames are already in use by other wordpress users. I’d have to, essentially, change my identity on any blog this sort of thing connects to in order to use that.
The primary purpose of that post was to let people know that I was not the owner of the images I linked to above: someone else relinked them from a blog. I linked to said blog and made a comment I felt was amusing, but that link may have been what provoked spammy to eat the thing, so I’ll leave it out this time.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
All of my preferred usernames are already in use by other wordpress users. I’d have to, essentially, change my identity on any blog this sort of thing connects to in order to use that.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Really? I’m seeing a gravatar icon now. I’m pretty sure it’s only tied to your email, not your WP login. Anyway, that will really help getting things out of the spam filter.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Gravatars are email linked. Not by username. Unless they changed something since I changed my last gravatar… (many, many, many, many years ago.)
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Lemme whack spammy one more time for munching YET another comment. I think I may have put to many manys in that comment… ^^;;;
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Ok, maybe I can get this gravatar thing to work after all… *pokes it some more*
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Well done!
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
It’s a little strange. It tells me to sign up for a wordpress account to use gravatar, and wordpress doesn’t let me pick my preferred usernames. But gravatar also has its own profile settings which let me change my “display name” to what I want it to be anyway.
Odd system. Anyway, I’ll let Hajime identify me for the moment.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Like I’ve said, I have no clue how it works now. It was ages ago when I registered and have not touched anything since. All I know is wordpress bought gravatar.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
@Wanderer: Nice avatar. It’s odd, though. If you had that up for Summer, you’d have been in season while Gatchaman Crowds Insight was airing. 😛
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
@Blackbriar: I only got into Gatchaman Crowds right as Insight was ending, just one episode before the finale, so for me Hajime is new and exciting.