First Impressions – Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru!
The start of something great!
This anime is a heartwarming tale about a young man trying to achieve his dreams of creating the ultimate 2D waifu! Or something like that? Sounds like a hilarious adventure.
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Well, during the Summer preview, I say I’m convinced that Fosh introduced me to this one,and he’s still convinced that I introduced it to him first. But after watching .feel’s absolutely wonderful first episode, I’m going to amend my side to “it hardly matters, the show is awesome
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Art is hard yo!
Subaru must be a fan of Nichijou! That elf looks familiar.
Art clubs are really strange places I remember being in one for middle school and high school, but I only joined those clubs thinking that maybe I could learn some skills to improve my artwork; however with all of my art club experiences we never did anything dealing with anatomy or drawing someone doing pose work. I did draw lots of fruit, random objects, did paper mache, made a kite, created some erasers and worked with oil pastels, but it was fun being in the same room with other people with similar interests in art. The art club in Kono Bijutsubu is so tiny with only four members and oh my god I can so relate to Subaru! While the other students were following the assignment to draw fruit for a still life painting I was off to the side drawing anime characters or creating my own DBZ characters. I got in lots of trouble for doing that! I do have to ask is Subaru getting credits for being in the art club? I assume Japanese schools are the same as American schools? As in joining clubs or taking electives gives you credits towards graduation? I could be wrong I have no idea! Also I don’t think he will achieve his goal of creating the ultimate 2D waifu because if Subaru is anything like real anime fans you know our waifu or Husbando picks change with every passing anime season.
Usami brings the important stuff for school.
Besides the art side of things I liked Usami and Subaru‘s interaction and boy are they crazy together! I know for the most part it was Usami kicking the living crap out of Subaru or destroying his paintings, but we should be used to that right? Also its clear as day to the audience that Usami has a thing for Subaru and of course what romance-ish anime is complete without the dense as a brick wall MC?! I know it’s not really Subaru’s fault since he happens to be written that way. That said he also clearly states several times that he has zero interest in 3D girls so maybe hes not dense just not that interested in girls right now? Wow I feel so sorry for Usami! She definitely has a hard road ahead of her if her true goal is to win Subaru’s heart, but I think that’s the point? Seeing her struggle to win him over plays right into the comedy! As for the other characters I know Collette the token LOLi won’t be appearing for a while because in the manga she didn’t officially appear until the 4th or 5th chapter? I can’t remember, but she was technically in the first episode if you managed to catch her. Rounding out the main characters we got the lazy-ass-does-nothing-president! Besides being lazy he was fun in his own way so I don’t mind him that much.
Usami is great!
Dat smile.
You know, besides a very lovely touch in it’s character artwork by original mangaka, Muru Imigi, I really do love Usami’s earnest nature. To be quite honest, there is very little that the audience can find in Subaru. He doesn’t even see her, bringing up that “doesn’t even realize I’m a girl” trope very fast and hitting it for all it’s worth. It’s not quite known if he is hiding behind his otaku habits, or if he’s generally no interested in the attention. But it’s the dynamic that has always held my interest while reading the series. It isn’t too much a romance or love story as it is one about what makes us tick as people…and possibly as artists? Or what makes us dudes that sleep on a couch? Yes, that’s it…These will be the hallmarks as the series progresses.
Maybe Subaru does care a little bit about Usami?
But unlike the main girl, Yuki, in Momokuri (which I subtitle Why Did My Girlfriend Steal My Sweatsocks The Day Before Laundry Day?), Konobi’s main girl doesn’t get over-excited about it for prolonged periods of time. Yes, it flusters her, in the way that thinking about the opposite gender fluster’s anyone that age. But her common sense and perseverance see her through. She’s a practical girl, after all. So even when you add up all the eccentricities of the rest of the cast, Usami is always in the lead, and I like how this first episode presented that. She’s the order that gives the artistic chaos some meaning. Which isn’t to say that it can’t wear her down a bit. I’m also glad to see how things can help her pick it back up
Extra Art
Rip cute cat eared waifu.
As Joseph Joestar would say! Oh my god!
Nooooo! My heart can’t take this…
What a cute she-hulk <3
2D sharks are the best.
End Thoughts
Wow this was great! I loved seeing Usami and Subaru’s interaction which was played up for laughter for the most part, but at least we got one emotional scene with Usami crying on the bridge! I gotta hand it too Ari Ozawa for doing a good job during that bit. Besides all of that I loved the opening and ending! So far they are easily my top favorites of the season due to the great visuals and the high energy levels. So what did you like about this first episode? Do you plan on sticking around for more or did you not enjoy it all that much?
I really love what .feel has done for this show. The first episode was a great introduction, and it looks like it took a bunch of characterization from the first couple of chapters and condensed it fairly well. The always wonderful and always talented Mai Ostuka (tell me you don’t see Non Non Biyori in this!) is in charge of character design and is strong in a pack of veteran creators . Just what I was waiting for and just what I needed them to do. Of course, Ari Ozawa as Usami is in a class by herself when it comes to voicing these rolls and both the OP and ED are glorious fun. Very good showing, enjoy it.
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: 400-499 with 445 comments
this ep was kind of a “meh” for me. Usami is adorably cute and earnest but aside from that, these characters arent really doing anything for me and the crying scene near the end was more of a miss for me (the blaring OST in the background didnt help either) because there wasnt a lot of context behind it. Yea sure you can argue that you dont really need the context because you should be able to relate to not wanting someone you’ve grown close to leave the sanctuary in which you get to spend time with them; but in the case, that’s not enough. I felt like i did need a bit more context. Why is usami infatuated with this git of an artist? Do they have good chemistry? How far does their friendship go? I guess it also didnt help that i really didnt connect with these characters from the get-go so im less forgiving of the fact Usami and subaru’s relationship is not fleshed out enough to make me care; tsk tsk points off for weak writing. Some of the comedy was a bit hit or miss as well; but at least usamai is adorably cute and earnest…..oh…..i already mentioned that : P.
The one scene that spoke to me however was when subaru drew usami’s expression as he remembered it in his head, and then after thinking a bit, replaced her frown with a smile. It shows that he would go the extra mile to see her smile. It was a poignant scene that reinforced final scene of the entire ep when he decides to stay in the club because he realized how sad it made her. That was some good writing there amongst the generic fluff that was this ep. Ill stay tuned though in the hopes that i get more stuff like that and that maybe the comedy doesnt wear thin.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I would argue that when you say, “It was a poignant scene that reinforced final scene of the entire ep when he decides to stay in the club because he realized how sad it made her”, and you were able to draw that conclusion from the way it presented itself previously…then when you say, “that was some good writing there amongst the generic fluff that was this ep” it makes me thing, “hmmm, maybe it’s not so generic?”. Sounds like you have the right tools to enjoy it…so just do that…
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
yea i guess you’re right; the story presentation is simple enough that the flaws i mentioned dont really obstruct the message of the series too much. And like i said; Usami is adorable (even though she has the typical tsundere violent streak) and she makes conscious attempts to stay honest with herself. It also helps the she is voiced by ari ozawa.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
I tend to feel that the “she loves him, but he doesn’t notice/care” dynamic is not one that is strong enough to carry the entire episode. I was really hoping for other characters to appear and spice things up, especially after I spotted a certain blond creature peeking out from… somewhere (spot her yourselves, folks! 😛 ). Unfortunately she never entered the episode beyond that, so all we got was Usami bouncing off Mr. Oblivious. And that didn’t do it for me.
I’m glad that some of y’all liked it. That’s good, for sure. But a whole episode of this just didn’t work for me. :/
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Uh, he’s going to go between Mr. Oblivious and Mr. Slightly Less Oblivious, so meter expectations going forward.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I agree with you. I also didn’t feel that the dynamic between Usami and Subaru was enough to carry the episode. We learned really quick what that dynamic was and thereafter it was just more of the same. That’s fine to be brought up in every episode since it’s a central focus of the show, but for me it wasn’t enough to make up an entire episode.
When the other characters are introduced the show will have more material to play with and hopefully I’ll find it more interesting then.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 27 comments
I enjoyed this anime but still not too enthusiastic. Still it was charming enough. There are still a few characters to be introduced and maybe then there will be a bit more dynamic interaction. It has enough potential to be more than just a harmless fluffy artsy slice of life anime.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
There will be more characters, and therefor, more dynamics probably by next episode. But the basis will always be Subaru and Usami. Actually I will argue that it has ALL the potential to be IT’s OWN fluffy slice of life anime, and that is exactly what it should be.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
That’s some crazy stalker skills to hide there the whole time and not make a sound. I had to re-watch that scene to make sure I was seeing things correctly, because the president made the appearance instead of who I thought would.
I’m not completely sold, but it turned out to be more slice-of-life than I was expecting, and that is A-OK in my books. Looking forward to see some more (I need more SoL in my life~~).
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Fosh posted the image under “FULL METAL LOLi” on his twitter. I took me asking what he meant like five times for him to spell it out for me…So, don’t feel bad about not seeing Colette-Snake.
SOL RULES!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Sousou!
I saw Colette, what I meant was the next logical step would be for her to jump out, but instead the president appeared behind the couch. And Colette continued to lurk in the background. That totally threw me for a loop that I rewatched it to confirm that I did see her the first time.
I found it amusing that Usami exacted punishment on the president with da bat and then apologized for the aftermath, haha.