Spring 2014 – Week 6 Anime Review

This week: difficulty with the ambiguities, interpretations and inconsistencies with the games in No Game No Life, the mounting evidence on why I think Yuuki has more problems than Kaori in Isshuukan Friends, envisioning what modern science and medicine would uncover about the mushi in Mushishi Zoku Shou, and looking at the differences between the late-90s and now with Ping Pong the Animation.

Moyashimon Returns – 8

What makes Moyashimon an interesting anime is how it handles its distinguishing device.  The gambit that individualizes Moyashimon from the rest of anime, Sawaki’s ability to see and characterize microbes from the naked eye, does not dominate the anime nor is it essential to any storyline or characterization besides trivial matters and various educational oddities.  Instead, the anime is above its remarkable gimmick, able to manufacture a product beyond floating organisms and their often inconsiderate quips.  That is to say, Moyashimon is an anime that could survive without its imfamous device, without its microbiological brethren, a trait that most anime cannot even fathom to try.

Moyashimon Returns – 7

Is it just me or are the microbes that follow Sawaki around just, like, rude dicks to him or something?

Moyashimon Returns – 2

If I were to quiz you on what Acetobacter aceti does, would you remember what we learned from Moyashimon?  What about Aspergillus sojae?  Instead, what if I provided a picture of one of our characterized microbe friends, or perhaps a short video clip demonstrating its voice and personality?  Would you remember then?

Moyashimon Returns – 1

Within every anime, a guide is present.  Whether it is a kindly narrator assisting the audience by explaining fundamental concepts regarding the setting and historical events or a learned character providing clarification or even enlightenment to the protagonist as a means of indirectly communicating to the audience, guides exist for which to educate the audience.  As Moyashimon covers various scholarly subjects in depth and detail, ranging from microbiology to fermentology to even agricultural engineering and political economics, there needs to be someone who can lend a hand to the audience and help them understand the basics of the situation so they are able to understand and appreciate the dialogue and message without being lost to the difference between Koikuchi soy sauce and Kijouyuu soy sauce.  But what’s unique and extremely advantageous about Moyashimon is that this role of guide is divided between two separate entities. Splitting the duty of guide between Professor Itsuki and the main microbe, Aspergillus oryzae, allows Moyashimon to preserve its current pacing and characterization while also educating the audience and creating an experience that is both informative and entertaining.