Masume-kun’s Revenge

Masume Kun’s revenge Episode 9 Review

Posted on by round3anime

 

rum-de-dum

I was starting to run out of things to say about Masume-kun’s revenge, as it’s the sort of the show that rarely evolves. Or rather, the show sees no reason to change, given that its initial premise could carry it through a season or two. But this ninth episode is something of a game changer.  It’s nothing revolutionary, certainly, but the tone is drastically different than what we’ve come to expect.  The color scheme is darker, the music moodier, and the characters more honest. And unlike most Harem oriented anime, it feels like the crowd is being whittled down.

Though unfortunately, this episode serves as a classic example of what this anime season is lacking – memorable moments, characters, and episodes. For me, an anime is worth watching even if there are only ten minutes of truly amazing content by the end. After all, the most I’ll remember of many shows is ten minutes, give or take. I think this phenomenon explains the success of shows like Naruto, which generally have a low quality level. These shows remain popular because, every so often, the animation team pulls out all the stops and the story arc reaches its climax. These moments are rare but awesome, and worthy pay off for long stretches of mediocrity. At least, they make it worth watching for many.

The issue is that Masume-Kun never has any questionable scenes. Some moments are more impactful than others, though the quality level never falls through the floor. But in exchange for never offending me, the show never really impressed me either. This episode did nothing that really made me feel sad. The sentiment is certainly nice – that the girl may like you for some shallow reason, or you were a better person when you weren’t so superficial. The show makes some fine points, but nothing that happens here is sad, perhaps because it is so predictable.

For me, the sad moments are the unexpected ones. You know what I mean – those weird, unexplainable moments that leave you with nothing to say. Perhaps the problem is that we’re so busy convincing people that anime is not bad. And indeed, this show is certainly not a bad one. But even being good feels like a low bar in a world with so much to watch. And again, all that this show needs is maybe a single memorable scene or two – something that will likely stick with me. Hopefully we will get something like that before the end. But probably not. And thus passes another show I wish I could like more than I do.

Masume-Kun’s Revenge Episod 5 Review

Posted on by round3anime

rum-de-dum

Masume-kun’s Revenge is like the potato chips anime  – perfectly consumable, vaguely bland, and not particularly memorable. I bear chips no ill will. Between meals I often like to snack, or in this case, enjoy a nice instance of filler between more confusing and ambitious anime. Masume-Kun’s Revenge is ultimately the kind of show that rides its initial premises – that a plump and awkward boy plans to exact his revenge on the popular girl at school. How? Why, by becoming ridiculously handsome and toned, of course. It’s fun to watch our hero bumbling about in hot people culture, struggling to adjust to his newly acquired physique.  And now the plot has thickened, as a romantic rival enters the fray.

And if Masume-kun’s revenge is the chips of anime, then this new girl is the crumpled up bits on the bottom of the bag. Now let me emphasize – I like chip bits. They’re tasty. But my main problem with new girl is that it’s hard to notice she’s there. She is a familiar archetype – the sweet and innocent girl who’s actually rather dirty minded on the inside, doomed to lose to the main girl. She’s there to give the show some raunchiness and sexual tension, along with a chance to see main girl all flustered and jealous. But is it too much to ask for an anime without a predestined main girl? Would it be so wrong to have actual romantic competition, in lieu of the same old song and dance, over and over again?

Part of my problem is that I already like new girl more than the main one. Main girl is selfish and cruel and it confuses me why Masume-kun is falling for her all over again. I get it, she’s a Tsundere – or at least, she is supposed to be. But instead of being bad with her feelings, she mostly feels like a deeply vindictive person, with no real reason for being so unbearably awful. Is new girl much better? No, she’s not, but at least her personality amounts to more than “eats a lot of food.”

Now, all of this may sound rather critical, but I hold no ill will towards Masume-kun’s revenge. I just wish these weren’t plain potato chips, but maybe sour cream and onion, or barbecue. Wouldn’t it be nice if main girl was more expressive or smart at times, or if the romantic rivalries felt like they had real stakes? That being said, Masume-kun is very watchable, and therefore works well as entrainment. We have cute girls doing cute girl things– hard to not find some fun in that, so long as you’re the right audience for it. That’s maybe why I’m so frustrated. Masume-kun’s revenge does what it needs to do, but that’s no reason not to do more.