Anime Column] Anime Writer's Choice: 2017 Fall Anime Summary Review! Five works including "Shoujo Saikatsu Ryoko" and "Sylvanian Families Mini Story" are introduced!

A comprehensive review of fall 2017 anime! We picked up "Shoujo Saikatsu Ryoko" based on an apocalyptic fantasy comic, "Anime Gatari's", an original anime that started as a movie theater interlude anime, "Welcome to the Ballroom" with a ballroom dance theme, "Netto no Susume" based on a popular comic series from comico, and a 3DCG anime adaptation of a long selling toy, " Sylvanian Families Mini Story," which is a 3DCG animation of the long-selling toy.

Shoujo Taisetsu Ryoko (Travel to the End of the World for Girls)

It has been 20 years since TV animation became something to watch in a well-lit room, but "Shojo Doomsday Trip" makes you want to ignore such warnings and watch it in the dark. Two girls, Chito and Yuri, are on a journey with no destination in a world where all civilization has been destroyed. As they make their way through ruins without even electricity, all they can rely on is the light provided by their beloved Kettenkrath car. When they finally reach the exit, they are enveloped by the light outside, and the rays of the shining white TV screen pierce our retinas. This pain is comforting!
The synchronization created in the first episode is repeated in the final episode. Placed in the same situation as the viewers, Tito and Yuri realize why they wanted to know about the past through their journey. The answer should also coincide with the reason we watch anime.

Anime Gatari's

This is a school comedy about a high school girl, Asagaya Minoa, who starts an anime research club and is played around with by the unique members of the Anime Research Club. While it has become a common sight to see works in which the characters are anime enthusiasts, "Anime Gatariz" shines with its own unique brilliance by comically depicting the Anime Kenkyu's unique characteristics. Episodes 6, which focuses on the mysterious phenomenon of becoming aware of a club member as the opposite sex at a training camp, and episodes 7 and 8, which show the chaos and bizarre tension leading up to the screening of an independently produced anime, are sweet and sour episodes with a nostalgic flavor.
The meta-structure of the anime characters preaching about the excellence of anime is also conscious, and the second half takes a sharp turn when the world is threatened with extinction by anime. The confusion of Minoa, who has wandered into a world where anime has invaded reality, is not irrelevant to those of us who live in an era where we spend our days in a city full of character advertisements and where the governor of Tokyo dresses up as an anime character. How should we relate to anime in a world where anime has become commonplace? This is a fitting film to conclude 100 years of Japanese animation.

Welcome to the Ballroom

A coming-of-age dance anime in which Tadara Fujita's talent blossoms when she encounters competitive dance. It is amazing that a sport that requires constant movement is depicted over 24 episodes. In addition to the spectacular dance scenes, the characters' various facial expressions during the competitions are also impressive.
In particular, the smile of Mine Goro, a middle-aged man with a scarred face, is unforgettable. Mine's bitter expression, as he enters the competition without telling his family because he is unable to break his love for dance, is a smile that only Production I.G, a studio that has been drawing old men for a long time, could depict. The final episode, in which the faces of the characters fascinated by dance flash back into Tadara's mind, is also a fitting finale, reminding us that dance is also judged by facial expressions.

Recommendation for Nettojin no Susume

A human drama in which Moriko Morioka, who has become a NEET after leaving the workforce, spends her fulfilling days in the world of online games. Moriko is in her thirties, which is unusual for an anime. Perhaps because of this, the Internet for her means the world through her computer, and she is not good at communicating through her smartphone. She sends an e-mail late at night by mistake, and her panic is somewhat relatable.
The story is both a contemporary drama and a fantasy set in a net game, and the gradual intermingling of reality and the Internet is a highlight of the story. The ED animation depicting Moriko reflected in a computer monitor evokes a story in which the two worlds are intermingled. The facts revealed in the latter half of the film are set in a romantic setting reminiscent of a "previous life," and add to the drama of their passing each other.

Sylvanian Families Mini Story

A short animation of Epoch's popular "Sylvanian Families" doll series. The main character is Chocolat Rabbit, whose trademark is her chocolate-colored ears, and her friends in Sylvanian Village are depicted in 3DCG. The quality of the animation is such that it appears to be a time-lapse animation using real dolls. Even the fluffy texture of the fur is reproduced in 3DCG, and the cute little bunny is so cute that you can't help but fall in love with her.
The story is a heartwarming tale set in the rich nature of Sylvania Village. The main character, Chocolat Rabbit, is surprisingly natural, and has a mischievous side, such as telling everyone about her friend's secret base and holding her younger sister captive for two hours to model for a picture. In an episode in which she gets hungry and collapses in front of a cake shop, she is dragged into the store face down on her stomach, but it can't be helped because even in that state she is adorable.

(Text by Katsunori Takahashi)

(C) Tsukumizu, Shinchosha / "Shoujo Saiketsu Ryoko" Production Committee
(C) DMM.futureworks/JY Animation/Sakigonoko Gakuen Anime Research Club
(C) Tomo Takeuchi/Kodansha/Ogasawara Dance Studio
(C) Rin Kuroyori/comico/Susume! Netojin Project
(C) EPOCH