Crass Comedy
- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Comedy, Romance, Seinen
- Airing Date : January 2019 – March 2019
- Producers : Lesprit
Contains Spoilers
Ueno-san wa Bukiyou (How clumsy you are, Miss Ueno.) Introduction and Story
Strapped for time, short sketch shows rely on archetypal characters and popular tropes to quickly familiarize audiences with their style of humor. Ideally, introductions are done and dusted within a minute so the anime can focus on delivering its punchlines. Anime like Aho Girl and even Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan prove 3 minutes is more than enough time to set up and land a joke, while also expanding upon the characters and world.
Splitting 12-minute episodes into two skits, How clumsy you are, Miss Ueno centers around a junior high school scientific genius fascinated with the concept of love. Seeking to spark a reaction out of Tanaka, Ueno-san conjures up a string of crazy experiments to try to catch the eye of her dense kouhai. Unfortunately, Ueno's own plans have a nasty habit of backfiring and leaving the girl open to a universe of embarrassment!
Unsurprisingly, Ueno-san wa Bukiyou's premise lends itself to sexual humor and misunderstandings, but does the anime deliver the laughs?
1. A Safe Bet
If there is one positive point to be said about Lesprit's anime, Ueno-san wa Bukiyou does not waste anybody's time. If the first episode elicits a laugh or two, then the rest of the season should hit the spot. In some form or another, every serialized story relies on a formula to sustain a stable fanbase. This is especially the case with comedies, arguably the most subjective genre. An average Ueno-san wa Bukiyou skit opens with Ueno asking Tanaka to try out a new creation secretly designed to cause the latter to fall in love. More often than not, Ueno hopes to make Tanaka blush. Due to being denser than a piece of lead, Tanaka completely misses the experiment's subtext and unknowingly turns the tables on Ueno, leaving his senpai's cheeks redder than a tomato. This describes nearly every sketch.
2. Simplistically Beautiful
There is no avoiding that Ueno-san wa Bukiyou is a budget project. The animation can be quite static, while the art style lacks much in the way of detail. Despite the obvious production constraints, Lesprit deserves credit for making the most of its available resources. The art is top-notch, in the sense that there is not a single frame that appears poorly drawn or unappealing. Even though How clumsy you are, Miss Ueno cannot compare to Doga Kobo's best work or some of Winter 2019's more visually driven projects, the anime is far from ugly. The art style compliments the anime's sense of humor.
1. One-Note Characters
Ueno-san wa Bukiyou's characters will make or break the anime for most people. At 12 episodes, there is more than enough time to develop the cast beyond archetypes, but the central characters remain the same from the opening to the very last scene. As the loud-mouthed protagonist, Ueno walks the line between inappropriateness and almost serving as a straight man to Tanaka's inadequate knowledge of social etiquette. Countering Ueno's emotional outbursts, Yamashita stoically sleepwalks through most episodes while making the occasional deadpan remark. Seemingly lacking a filter, Tanaka takes obliviousness a step too far; in fact, he might very well be autistic. If the series actually addressed this in a meaningful way, Tanaka could have made for an interesting character. Currently, he is little more than a blank slate created to push Ueno's buttons.
That being said, none of the main characters are unlikable. They are just not memorable.
2. Lowest Common Denominator
Ueno-san wa Bukiyou is crude. The opening segment has Ueno attempting to convince Tanaka to drink her purified piss. While the earnest nature of the characters stops the skits from becoming too mean-spirited, the humor seldom rises above predictable jokes concerning genitalia. Considering the cast primarily consists of junior high school students, some may feel uncomfortable watching a 15-year-old Ueno pull up her skirt for the even younger Tanaka. Sexuality is a ripe source of inspiration for comedy, but the point should not be to simply shock audiences. Although Ueno-san handles this type of humor better than some of its contemporaries, the anime's repetitiveness steadily leads to diminishing returns.
Final Thoughts
While How clumsy you are, Miss Ueno does not reach any especially impressive highs, and its sexual tone may prove to be too much for some, the anime is nevertheless a competently put together comedy with a decent cast and a few chuckles.
Did you agree with our review? Is Ueno-san wa Bukiyou worth watching? Please let us know in the comments below!
Author: Mark Sammut
