Forum - View topicShelf Life - Himouto! Umaru-chan
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4420 |
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It definitely took a few episodes before I found Umaru amusing, but I did come away enjoying the show overall. As it progressed, I became less annoyed at Umaru, and more so at Taihei because he either enabled Umaru's behavior, or eventually caved anytime he resisted. If things like Umaru's demands for steak were met with the condition that she had to help with the cleaning, for instance, then maybe he could get her to change a little.
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Raebo101
 Posts: 793 |
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I got 5 or 6 episodes into this series before I could take no more. Sometimes I found Umaru entertaining, but most of the time I was like, "Big brother character whose name I've already forgotten, DO SOMETHING ABOUT HER! She's getting on my nerves, but at least I don't have to live with her!" Because I'm a big brother myself, I ended up sympathizing too much with Umaru's brother and I was face-palming almost every time she abused his kindness. I decided to check this series out mainly because of Emily Neves. She stated on Twitter that it was the most fun she's had playing a character in an anime, and it shows! Too bad her energetic performance is in favor of such an irritating character.
My favorite character in the series so far is actually Sylphynford Tachibana, Umaru's self-proclaimed rival. I found her antics a lot more entertaining than Umaru's because at least she was being true to herself every time she was on screen, unlike Umaru, who hides her true nature from the public. Also, Christina Kelly did a great job playing her, which added to my enjoyment of the character. Moar Sylphynford and less Umaru, pls! Y'know, now that I think about it, I think I'd find Umaru more tolerable if she had no one to rely on but herself. Make her an adult living alone, where she has a job to pay for her internet, her games, her cola, her potato chips, and whatever else she wants. She can still be herself WITHOUT having to rely on anyone. That could make for a fun series, right? Or does take away the wish-fulfillment aspect? |
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Punch Drunk Marc
Posts: 1742 |
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So essentially Gabriel from Gabriel Dropout...minus the adult part. |
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Raebo101
Posts: 793 |
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Hmm... I'll have to look into Gabriel Dropout later. |
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ParaChomp
 Posts: 1018 |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4074 |
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Horror is by far more subjective as it's quite a bit easier to break comedy up into little bits based on a quantitative nature versus horror's qualitative... cutting the syllables - now... That's just to say while a black comedy, dark comedy or a horror comedy may or may not refer to the same movie, a fear of spiders won't help you with a slasher movie though it'd do wonders with the Incredible Shrinking Man. Horror movies have to be more precise as it's entirely dependent on a single reaction culled from a diverse group of people. On the other hand, a comedy doesn't have to be that funny or even funny at all, it just has to leave the viewer feeling better for having seen it. Even if those things mean "Well, at least I'm not him." And that brings us to Cringe Comedy. In order for a Cringe Comedy, it's not that you have to relate to any of characters, is that you should be glad not to be there yourself. Watamote's original manga was a cringe comedy, a series of gag strips where the main character tries to use her otaku knowledge of high school from manga, anime and games in real life situations. Sadly, the anime itself was a failure as they decided to make Tomoko not only more relatable but more pitiable... what was a stubborn yet noble foolish pride carried from strip to strip became a social disorder, a "I can relate because that was me in High School!" situation killing the source comedy to a feel good "you can do it, Tomoko-chan!" thing. Sorry but if you treated your first day in high school as an eroge like Tomoko, you kind of deserve whatever you got... Which brings me to Himouto, a far more successful cringe comedy, one that had enough courage to leave the cringe in. Yeah, you're not supposed to like her, you're supposed to think she treats others around her unfairly, it's kind of the point... minus the "kind of" part. But where's the comedy? In Watamote, it's watching Tomoko fail spectacularly in making her delusions match her world... or at least, it was; Never made it through the anime myself. In Fawlty Towers, it's watching Basil Fawlty smash his British stiff upper lip against walls of his own making episode after episode. Here, it's in watching Umaru getting away with things she shouldn't logically be getting away with.... interesting, she's an opposite to Basil Fawlty; Her world exist to reinforce her own useless goals, his world exists to tear him down just for being himself. A description of another cartoon character is also apt: Much like Gladstone Gander... google him, this is getting too long at it is...she fails to understand how worthless she and her goals are but with this blindness comes a certain respect from the audience where we want to see her get away with it... for now. Or at least rub her brother/Donald Duck's face in how easy they can live while others have to work. |
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zeo1fan
Posts: 1016 |
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[quote="Animegomaniac"]
If it is the point, the framing doesn't really get it across the way Watamote does. It's easy to get behind Watamote because Tomoko always fells herself; the framework of the series suggests the show holds Tomoko responsible for her own actions (even if she is identifiably human). Whereas Umaru gets away with just about everything, suggesting the show doesn't hold her responsible for what she does, even though she's a garbage person. Acknowledging that she's unreasonable isn't a replacement for consequences; and there aren't consequences because those would tamper with the wish fulfillment aspect of her character. |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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I feel bad for the reviewer since it is kind of pointless to review a series where you actively dislike the main character (which occupies most of the screen time). Being able to ignore the main character half-way thru the series does not make it better. I think ANN should ask "hey, who liked this series" and pick a reviewer from said pool, this review adds little beyond "If you do not like the main character, don't watch" which imo is quite obvious, said people would not watch such a series unless horrible things happened to the MC or there is a radical change in behavior midway thru the series.
Last edited by mangamuscle on Mon Jun 12, 2017 6:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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FenixFiesta
Posts: 2581 |
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To continue with the Watamote vs Umaru-chan comparison, Watamote is closer to material that a stand up comedian would spiel about in a self deprecating manner, especially in regards to the source manga (this is a significant reason why 4chan couldn't get enough in its early days).
Umaru-chan, is for lack of a better word, an exaggerated "cartoon" of the otaku experience. This can also return simply to the full title of Watamote, which usually translated to "No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m Not Popular!" the nature that Tomoko would rather blame others than try to change herself on a fundamental level even though doing so would vastly improve her relationships in any number of situations. This is the reason why Tomoko can cut deep with some readers especially if THEY were "that loser" in High School or some other circumstance. Himouto! Umaru-chan has a much more straight forward title and for better or worst delivers the title character and her cadre of friends. To be honest, Umaru-chan is pretty close to mass production style of comedy, you have a gang of girls in a slice of life situation with a spice of "nerdy otaku lifestyle", we have scene similar variants in Yuru Yuri, K-on, Gabriel Dropout, any number of series that are "cute girls do cute things". |
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3767 |
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I take it Mr. Beckett will not be watching the sequel which premieres this fall. While I don't share his opinion about the show, but I do appreciate how he framed it. I've taken issue with how some reviewers criticize comedies in particular, so I would be remiss not to highlight when it is don't agreeably, even if I don't agree.
@FenixFiesta I wouldn't consider Umaru (or most of your other examples) CGDCT. K-On is the only one I would consider as such. Though admittedly the genres of your examples are similar and aside from K-On, I would agree that your examples are in the same genre. The others (especially Gabriel Dropout, which was produced by the same creative team as Umaru) would fit into what could be termed cute girls doing uncute things. Also, Yuruyuri is what I would term Girls Club Comedy, which like CGDCT involves an all girl club or group but is differentiated by a wider range of activities and comedy in a club with vague mission (Yuruyuri, Yuyushiki, Going Home Club) versus a club focused on a particular activity (music for K-On, tankery for Girls und Panzer, theater for the currently running Hinako Note). |
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James_Beckett
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 274 Location: USA |
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A big part of reading reviews is to find a wide range of opinions that you can compare and contrast with your own persona;l preferences. If we only ever reviewed series we liked, it would be difficult to give people the opportunity to do that. I'm sure there are plenty of more positives appraisals out there to find that will balance out my more reserved take on the series 
Besides, I'd never seen the series before reviewing it for Shelf Life, so it isn't like I went into watching it actively expecting to dislike it.
To be honest, I think I'll at least give it a shot. Like I said in the review, Umaru became a good deal more tolerable in the latter half of the series, and if this season continues that trend I might end up in a spot where I enjoy the material a lot more. |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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Please do not think I am fishing for "yes (wo)men" that will only reaffirm my own ideas (that would be kind of boring) when I read reviews. What I want is to read something from someone that has involvement with the material reviewed. As an example, let's imagine that Gene Siskel did a review of Himouto! Umaru-chan. Let's forget that most of the jokes/references would not be understood at all by him. The problem (for me) would be that he would not care enough to get acquainted with the series and would give a very dry (albeit professional) review. Which I can understand, if I had (for whatever reason) to write a review of a slasher film I would have no interest in any references, jokes, etc. and would write a(n unprofessional) dry review. I do not mind if the reviewer blasts the series as long as there is real merit to the criticism (a simple "I don't like it" of course, has no real value). As I have said before in this forum, I read reviews to see if there are details I may have missed (or would have never thought on my own), anything interesting that is worth my while. p.s. Albeit I have to admit that Umaru is not a very complex series, so maybe I set the bar too high for expecting a juicy review out of it.
I do feel your disliking is genuine and no one has any obligation of liking a series just because someone else does, even if it is award winning or it is very well liked (which must be the case for Umaru for getting a second season). |
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harminia
 Posts: 1995 Location: australia |
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I've not seen all of Umaru but what I have I didn't find very funny. I guess I'm in the same camp as James, as I don't particularly want to watch a series about a spoiled, obnoxious, petty, manipulative and horrid girl. The scene where she starts to chuck a fit in a family restaurant because her brother won't buy her a game before releasing someone who doesn't know her True Self was also present made me want to slap her.
Personally the descriptions people here are coming up with for Umaru are far more amusing than anything I saw in the show. "goblin child" "garbage person" (I feel like I saw another good one but I can't find it) |
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jymmy
 Posts: 1244 |
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That was a perfectly serviceable review of the concept, execution and various other aspects of the show. It had much more and more relevant and illustrative content than "I didn't like the main character".
@harminia: You may be thinking of "Eric Cartman-esque gnome". Yeah, I quite enjoyed the bizarre yet accurate descriptions of the eponymous character as well. |
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megazero
 Posts: 337 |
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Umaru is simply unrealistic and I don't want anyone to follow her footsteps, even if she is god-like at school.
Also, kudos to Umaro's brother, who is working very hard for her sake. |
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