Anime Writers' Midterm Review of Spring 2019 Anime [Anime Column].

Mid-year review of Spring 2019 anime. The following are the latest anime titles to hit the market: "Caretaker Fox Senkusan," based on the comic of the same name serialized in "Comic Newtype"; "Miru Tights," a short anime distributed online; "Namuamidabutsu," an anime adaptation of a DMM GAMES game; "Gegege no Kitaro! -Rendai UTENA-"; "B Rappers Street," the second installment of Sony Group's "Kids' Stars" project; and "Gegege no Kitaro," which has entered a new chapter.

Senkusan, the caring fox

In this live-in comedy, Senkusan, a fox who is a messenger of the gods, comes to Nakano's house to pamper the hardworking salaryman who always takes the last train home and sleeps an average of four hours a night. Senkusu-san may look young, but she is in fact 800 years old and has the kindness of a grandmother. She is a very loving and caring person, and she affirms your life by saying in a soothing voice, "You worked hard until late today," and "You did well. Thanks to this, Nakano, who used to just go back and forth between her office and home, begins to regain a healthy and civilized life, shopping at the supermarket, playing games that she has been piling up, and going swimming.
After the ED roll, "Super Senkusan Time" is a mini corner where you can simulate the care of Senkusan. If you watch the episode in real time on TV Aichi or Sun TV, which airs at 26:00, you will be able to get more emotionally involved in the story.

Miru Tights

This unique work is based on an illustration by Yomu, an illustrator with an established reputation for her tights. The character introductions on the official website even specify the denier of the tights they like, and even the density of the tights is faithfully represented. The variety of colors of the tights, which are not all black, is a real eye-opener. Since tights play the leading role, the camera work is mainly from low angles. Especially the shots of the girls taking off their tights and putting them on are simply bewitching.
The film is directed by Yuki Ogawa of "The Oyasan is in puberty! and the ED animation that makes the most of the ticker tape is still alive and well in this work. The series composition and screenplay were written by Fumiaki Marudo of "Saerenai Kanojo no Nuturekata" (How to Raise a Saerenai Kanojo). Perhaps for this reason, the second episode contains elements that will attract the attention of "Saekano" fans.

Namu Ami Da Butsu! -Rendai UTENA-.

The story is about Buddhas who descend into this world and struggle to save people from their vexations. However, because of Buddha Shakyamuni's policy that "to live is to face one's vexations," the story focuses on the daily life of the community at Bonno-ji Temple, rather than on the purification of vexations.
Compared to the Buddha and his followers who have already attained enlightenment, the bodhisattvas, who are still in training, seem to be in a state of constant struggle. The setting, which is based on Buddhism, is rich in wit, such as the fact that the Tathagata has a sense of taste called "michu-tsuku-jomisou," which means that he can taste any kind of food, and is therefore a poor cook. The slapstick that happens in the human world, such as going to the zoo and exciting the animals associated with the Buddha, or ordering the entire menu at a family restaurant without meat, will make you laugh.

B Rapper's Street

A rap animation that airs on the children's variety show "Ohasuta. The main character, Yohei, is a "Onarap" rap artist who raps by eating potatoes. According to the official website, the story is about "a trip to find a yavaibar with bad vibes in order to save Chikyuu," but this is only explained in the second episode and does not play a role in the main story. The story is sped up by the nonsense of betting on the right to another school lunch and a rap battle to bargain for yellowfin tuna at a fish shop, as well as by the lighthearted flow of the story.
Starring Subaru Kimura, who is active in the rap song project "Hypnosis Mike -Division Rap Battle-. He has also rapped with a hip-hop MC in "DEVILMAN crybaby" and is well known for his ability. Kaede Hondo, who co-starred with Kimura in "Zombieland Saga" and whose rap battle in the movie is still fresh in the memory, plays his classmate and pet dog. The ED song "B Rappers' Theme" performed by the cast is an addictive song. It is also nice to know that all the episodes are now available on the CoroCoro Channel.

Gegege no Kitaro (6th season)

Somehow, watching "Gegege no Kitaro" makes me want to talk about it with someone, and it is probably because of the abundance of openings in the work. There is no end to topics such as comparisons with the original work by Shigeru Mizuki, differences from past series with over 400 episodes, and differences from other yokai anime. In terms of casting, Masako Nozawa, who played Son Goku in the previous show "Dragon Ball Super" and has played Kitaro in the past, will take on the role of Oyaji, the father with the big eyes. The fact that the key person in the new chapter is Hiroshi Kamiya, who has played roles associated with yokai, also facilitates references to other works. In this work, even social satire related to black companies, SNS, and harassment is skillfully woven into the story, so that what should have been a discussion about "Kitaro" often turns out to be a completely different topic. It is almost tedious to discuss "Kitaro" based solely on its depiction in the film.
Therefore, when I heard the news that YouTuber HIKAKIN was to play the role of Kitaro himself, I thought it was very typical of "Kitaro. It was also thoughtful to invite a celebrity born in the first year of the Heisei Era as a guest for the last broadcast in the Heisei Era. What I did not expect, however, was a group photo of the cast that was released prior to the airing of the episode. But for some reason, it is overflowing with a mysterious power that cannot be ignored. What is this power? Upon closer inspection, Masako Nozawa's pose, with her elbows tucked under her arms, is reminiscent not of a "Boom Boom Hello YouTube," but of Goku's instant-movement posture. It is as if Goku himself has stepped into the picture, conveying the weight of having played the same character for more than 30 years. We cannot take our eyes off "Kitaro," who invites us to various places both inside and outside his works.

（Kitaro" invites us to various places both inside and outside of the production.)