Things I like and do not like about Kannagi
Posted On November 20, 2008
On the whole, Kannagi is a good show. There are parts which are absolutely exceptional, and there are also parts that make me groan. The parts that make me groan are few and far between, but are frequent enough that it pulls the show down from being exceptional, to being just good (but at times great.)
The Good Bits
- The Production Team: The main thing that pushed this from being a To-Love-Ru tier harem comedy to a potential Haruhi/Lucky Star meme-machine was the production staff. Surpringly, Yamakan and crew have more or less met with the hype. The show is brilliantly produced, with consistently fluid animation and lots of fun, border-line SHAFT, directorial quirks. And let’s not forget the writing! It’s a Sony!
- The Characters: Characters make or break a romantic comedy, since you sure as hell don’t watch them for the plot. Luckily Kannagi has a wonderfully charming cast of characters. Most of my favourites are the secondary players, like Takako and Akiba, but the main girls are quite fine ladies themselves. My favourite of the three is Zange, mostly because of her voice and her daring attitude. Nagi’s a mess of funny quirks, and Tsugumi lightly tickles my love for the childhood-friend archetype. I say “lightly” because I feel she could be better, but whatever!
The Bad Bit
- The Genre: Anime romantic comedies are often looked down upon as horrible, trashy fluff; and to be fair most of them are, but they generally don’t really bother me. However, there are some key situations and characteristics of the genre that fail to entertain me, and these annoying aspects of the genre find their way into Kannagi. The thing that really bothers me about this show is Nagi and Jin’s constant bickering. Honestly, this was only good in Tsukuyomi Moon Phase, and I have not seen this kind of relationship done in an entertaining manner ever again. I appreciate Odd Couple humour, but the only time they really did it right was in the brilliant episode 7.
On the whole, though, it’s a good show. If the next six episodes really impress me, I just may watch it again!
One Comment
You pretty much got it right (though I don’t really care about the production staff).
Only I wouldn’t really say that romantic comedy being the genre is a problem. Jin’s a problem. Most of the things that make a show a romantic comedy are done well. The only parts of the series that I could say are bad, are those concerning Jin. He’s yet another unlikable, annoying protagonist that the genre is full of. It’s not really that terrible, most of the male leads in similar series are much worse, but because of overall quality of the show, it’s especially vexing here. Because I’m a guy I can forgive that kind of behevior in a girl(I like tsunderes after all), but for a male character its a no-no. Still, the other characters are so good(Takako… Yes.) that I’m able to pay no attention to him being annoying.
And yes, episode 7 was epic win.