Director: Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Starring: Shizuka Itou, Brina Palencia, Miyu Irino, Joel McDonald, Kanae Ito, Monica Rial, Aki Toyosaki, Caitlin Glass, Ayako Kawasumi, Colleen Clinkenbeard. Hirofumi Nojima, Micah Solusod, Satomi Arai, Luci Christian,
Running Time: 276 minutes
Certificate: 12
If you haven’t noticed, there’s a trend in modern culture to adapt famous fairytales into contemporary settings, or place them in darker and grittier worlds. Anime is no exception and thus we have OKAMI-SAN AND HER SEVEN COMPANIONS. However, despite some very obvious references, the show is quite subtle at including motifs from such classic stories, as well as putting greater focus on the exploration of the themes rather than plot points.
Okami is a teenage girl that works as part of the Otogi Bank, only this bank doesn’t lend money, it’s a student run bank that deals in favours. Being high school, and the connection with fairytales, the majority of these requests revolve around unrequited love and acceptance, but the episode arcs never become dull and repetitive. The main reason for this is the show’s sense of humour and postmodern narration. The narrator (Arai/Christian) has an absolute whale of a time as she undermines the characters and their decisions, points out predictable anime tropes, and constantly breaks the fourth wall. She even goes so far as to talk over the other characters. It’s a technique that could have gotten old fast, and had it been a longer series (it’s only 12 episodes) perhaps it would have become tiring.
The humour isn’t just based around the blasé narrator. The likable characters also provide many interesting quirks which are exploited fully by the writers. Many of these character traits will be familiar with those who regularly delve into high school set anime, but they’ll most certainly enjoy the route taken. The colours and animation also breed a sense of innocent wonderment which also serves as a cover for the darker themes at the core of the show.
Like fairytales themselves, the show explores some of the darkest themes imaginable. This will come as a shock to many viewers, especially when we are shown the vulnerability of our protagonist. Some will argue that the serious tone is in direct conflict with the show’s usually happy-go-lucky tone, while others will see it as a rather brave exploration that shows even those that have experienced great injustice can still find time for laughs and giggles in their world and relationships.
OKAMI-SAN AND HER SEVEN COMPANIONS looks and sounds great. It’s a well-balanced show that certainly favours comedy, but you can be sure for deep character moments as well. At just 12 episodes long it is never at risk of outstaying its welcome, but it also means that some supporting characters and subplots seem forced into the show at random. If you’re looking for an alternative to the abundance of fantasy/supernatural anime shows out there, but still love a bit of farcical escapism, then this could very well be a show worth your time.
OKAMI-SAN AND HER SEVEN COMPANIONS is released on DVD 8th April 2013.
