Introduction
Will the defendant rise and state their name for the court?
Tsugumomo, Your Honor.
Will the defense please state as to why we are gathered here today.
Yes, Your Honor. We are gathered here today as Tsugumomo is being accused of being a rather subpar anime with its weak main characters, raunchy humor, and feeble plotline. However, it is also being praised as a humorous anime because of how raunchy the humor is, the jokes are being delivered in a smooth manner, and the female character development. Today, we look at each point raised and decide whether or not the anime is well-conceived, or if it is just another tawdry anime. We will be discussing spoilers as well, so please beware listeners and readers.
Very good. You may proceed. *slams gavel*
Good Cop: The Defense
Your Honor, the good points for Tsugumomo are numerous. First, please let us examine the humor as whole. Yes, the whole humor aspect is hilarious. However, the humor tends to stem from sex jokes as well as Kiriha being rather demanding for being just an object come to life. This anime is, above all else, a comedy and harem anime. When we look at other examples, naturally Tenchi Muyo! comes to mind as a franchise. Another great example is Love Hina, and to a very small extent, Golden Boy. The difference between Tenchi and Tsugumomo is that Tsugumomo takes the humor a few steps further and is not set with a space background element. The humor is much more upfront including times when Kiriha actually grabs Kazuya’s genitals when they are in the shower leaving him to weep in his bed afterwards, and another time when the girls all begin to Rock Scissors Paper over who gets to deflower Kazuya. There are of course, many other scenes involving Kokuyou’s massive… erm…. endowments, and the rivalry between Kiriha and Kukuri.
When we compare the humor of comedy harem anime of past and new, yes, Tsugumomo is guilty of abusing the sexual route, however, the conversations about perverted things are being held by women with men rather than just men. And if the conversation is being held by both genders mentioned, then the humor is much, much smoother than the male making a comment allowing the females to cop out with a blush and a slap or something of that nature. This also shows the evolution of these female characters in Tsugumomo. They are not like other generic harem characters where they are all dressed the same because it happens in a school. Rather the character personalities are tied to their outfits. Tsugumomo shows that not only can women be individualistic, but they do not have to be relegated to stereotypical personalities behind the same, boring outfit.
The third point I would like to raise your honor, is that Tsugumomo offers a degree of comfort for older anime fans and people who have been out of the scene for a few years. One of the biggest complaints of older anime fans, 80s, 90s, and 00s, is that modern anime cannot cater to the tastes of those raised on more classic anime. Tsugumomo does an excellent job of not only crossing that bridge, but extends the olive branch to these fans unsure of where to start with by offering them something newer with a classic spin on it. Fans can take comfort in for example, the fact that Kazuya is a bit of a more introverted main character who is not unrealistically overpowered right from the get go. In fact, he is rather shy and enjoys being by himself a lot. Which is something that more recent anime do not offer.
Very well. These are excellent points raised. Does the prosecution have something to offer?
Bad Cop: The Prosecution
We absolutely do Your Honor. There are a myriad of issues marring this anime, but we feel with the argument that we have raised, that there are clear reasons as to why this anime is not good. For starters, the format is not well done. For newer anime fans, a harem anime means that the main character is generally in control of his surroundings or he is overpowered to the point that women do not stand a chance against him if they raise their hands. However, Kazuya is rather weak, and is always short-circuiting when the women around him either get too close or talk about something inappropriate. Ikki Kurogane from Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry would not act like this. Nor would Ayato Amagiri from Gakusen Toshi Asterisk nor Glenn Radars from Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records.
The roles of the female characters too are extremely clichéd. Kiriha is the OP female, Kukuri is the tsundere loli, Chisato is the doting yet unsure-about-her-feelings childhood best friend, Kokuyou is the boob monster with no real standout features, and Kasumi is the sweet older sister. This leads to being able to pick out the real winners fast as well as eliminate the other characters quickly as no more than just side-pieces at best! No real characters stand out other than Kiriha and maybe Chisato as that one episode in the dating game was about using every single trope with her possible to break out of the spell.
Speaking of episodes, can anyone answer me this? Is there even a main storyline? Each episode is at best, episodic, meaning that there is an issue each episode, the characters confront it, solve it, beat the monster, and happy ending. So then, what is the best part of this story? Each episode is about a different character with other characters who have already had their own epsiode, appearing as side-characters. Tsugumomo is turning out to be a budget Ansatsu Kyoushitsu if there was no backstory about Koro-sensei and instead the series just focused on the backgrounds of the main characters. If you think about it, what is the storyline other than Kazuya living with Kiriha and the antics that come with it? There is nothing else! The story is not going anywhere unless they are going to be announcing some new villain that no one is expecting. We deserve more and better before I can call this a true Tenchi Muyo successor.
I see. Well you do make an excellent point prosecution. With that being said, let’s let the jury decide. Will the forman of the jury read out the verdict.
The Verdict
Well then jury, what do you think? Is Tsugumomo somewhat of a funny anime that makes us laugh, or is it just another cheap knockoff? Be sure to let us know in the comments below, not only yes or no to the above question, but what you liked about this good cop, bad cop series!
Author: Nagareboshi
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