Mitsuboshi Colors

Episode 8

Yui, Sat-Chan, and Kotoha may be the main characters Mitsuboshi Colors is named for, but the setting of this show is the real star. It's not necessarily the place itself, a town interchangeable with any number of small districts other stories have taken place in, but rather how the story uses that setting to tell its otherwise simplistic stories. The girls being in different schools means that the show can't rely on the standard classroom antics that similar series may employ, so instead they romp through the town's scenery, interacting with people of different stripes in different places each time. It works to the show's advantage to have a variety of different backdrops for each episode's unique feel.

The first half of this week's episode is spent on a tour of the local museum. They're ostensibly in search of a new team member, as any good sentai group must add partway through the season. But rather than netting us a Mitsuboshi Green to shake up the dynamic, we're once again treated to the characteristic screwing around in a new locale. This show being predictable isn't necessarily a bad thing; the girls actually play up their self-awareness about their roles effectively in an gag that embraces their manzai roots as a duo trio. And since this is another outing to an educational facility that lets them in for free, they get to go back to the well of misguided concern prompted by their free trip to the zoo. However, it's distinctly funnier this time since we're getting less sadness over real-life dead elephants, replaced by absurd worries that they might not be feeding the museum exhibits.

The character interactions are familiar by now, so the series can afford to either take it easy or try to show off. Yui's genuine concern over not being a good enough tsukkomi to the degree she needs to be replaced is precious, and there are great moments of character animation and odd asides like the fact that Sat-Chan apparently watched Night at the Museum. This segment honestly isn't much beyond just dropping the girls into a new environment and letting their personalities write themselves, but the jokes are so consistent and funny that it works. The story even successfully revives a gag with a bigger and badder take on the rocket launcher bit from the first episode, with a poor security guard who's even less equipped to handle the girls than Saito. Another bit with a video monitor adds in some excellent physical comedy, and the character animation is consistent throughout. The colorful styles of the characters, the detailed backgrounds, and the humorous movement all lend the anime an energy that might sell the story's appeal better than a manga could.

Sadly, as much fun as it would be to have a T-rex team up with the girls to harass Saito, they're forced to leave the museum empty-handed to round up lottery tickets in the shopping arcade instead. The setting in this case is pretty standard, but the content is just as energetically strong as the show has been in recent episodes, emphasizing the charm of the Colors' interactions with outsiders. The poor girl running the lottery is funny simply by being unable to handle these rambunctious kids, even when it's revealed that she knows about the Colors because she's actually a friend of Nonoka from a couple episodes ago.

When the trio ends up discussing this with Nonoka (as she grumbles about them eating onigiri in her bakery), it makes the world they inhabit feel like a living, breathing place. With this in mind, the running gags feel less like the show recycling jokes and more like the characters are building off previous interactions the way people do in real life. It's an approach that allows the series to be entertaining through familiarity with these people rather than feeling obligated to set up unexpected setups and punchlines over and over.

There are plenty of funny jokes this week though. As the girls try to con shoppers out of their lottery tickets, it's entertaining to see the team's planning skills put to use in a more selfish context than usual. In the end, they're each undone by their own shortcomings; poor Yui's shyness provides the most endearing gag. Even the final punchline of the girls' ultimate prize in the lottery, while not unexpected, helps gloss over their less-than-scrupulous behavior. Mitsuboshi Colors continues not to be too ambitious in its style of slice-of-life comedy. It's simply very cute and funny.

Rating: B+

Mitsuboshi Colors is currently streaming on HIDIVE.