Common Name: Urara Meirochou
Score: 6/10, 3/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Slice of Life, Supernatural, Comedy, Ecchi
Summary: Whenever a girl turns fifteen years old, they are given the right to seek out the city of Meirochou, a city of gods, spirits, and fortune tellers. These girls come to this town to train in the arts of divination, in all its forms, in hopes of becoming a world-renowned urara. The wild girl Chiya has a different goal in mind though. She wants to find her long-lost mother. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember her mother's name or face, and the rules of Meirochou are absolute: only urara who have grown in rank can visit their corresponding districts of the magical city. So, Chiya must become a true fortune teller alongside her fellow apprentices to make her dream a reality.
Review: It's a curious thing really. For a show that doesn't deviate from the standard all that much, I found myself loving everything about it. But I guess that's the point of having an average full of tried and true standards that just work. It was a light and fluffy experience that balanced all of its aspects really well which made the show enjoyable despite its lack of a strong plot. I think my main reason for liking the show, though, was the characters that padded out the story with all their quirks, eccentricities, and more thoughtful natures. I mean, sure, it helped that they're generally cute characters and I am nothing if not a fanboy for cute things, but the characters themselves were legitimately likable. I frequently found myself chuckling or just smiling my way through each episode as the characters grew as friends and as apprentice fortune tellers.
Strangely, this one picture sums up my thoughts on the show.
Legitimately, I find myself willing to forgive how simple and average this show is because these characters, and their weird stomach fetish thing, are fairly engaging in their own right but become something enjoyable when they're together. Since I'm well aware that I'm more biased toward cute things and might be more inclined to forgive a show's poor qualities in exchange for some quality cuteness, I've balanced the score accordingly. Moving forward, though, keep in mind that my bias might come into play a little more than usual and thus might not reflect the show's actual quality despite my best efforts.
The plot of Urara Meirochou is centered around four young girls and their slow, but no less significant, growth as fortune tellers/diviners in Meirochou, a city populated almost entirely with other fortune tellers. Of course, not all fortune tellers are created equal, so the city is broken into 10 numbered districts. The higher quality the urara, the closer they are to being a Rank 1 urara with access to the entire city and all its secrets. So, it comes as no surprise that this city thrives on competition and education, as young girls and older women alike learn and compete for that coveted position. According to tradition, resident urara (those who own homes or shops) must house and train their younger compatriots since both can grow from the experience.
Some need to start with the basics though.
Following that trend, our four female protagonists take up residence in a tea shop in the 10th district of Meirochou, the Natsumeya, under the tutelage of Natsume Nina. The first of these young urara under Nina-sensei's tutelage is the wild girl, Chiya, who is as friendly and amicable as humanly possible, but lacks all standards of grace and decency. This fact is noted most prominently by the show's longest running gag, exposing one's belly as a form of submission and apology.
Turning it into one of those shows.
Unlike other urara, her initial goal isn't to become a famous fortune teller. Rather, she just wants to find her mom, who lives somewhere in Meirochou. It's too bad Chiya can't remember her mother's name, face, or what kind/rank of urara she is. You can probably guess where that journey ends. Second is the traditionalist of the foursome, Tatsumi Kon, the daughter of a well-known urara and master of the Kokkuri or, as we call it here in the states, Ouija board. Smart, studious, and a bit of a prude, Kon is usually the group's leader since she easily the most experienced of the four thanks to her mother. Third is the team's wanna-be witch, Yukimi Koume, who embraces all things European (but French most of all), including the use of Tarot cards for divination. Luckily for her, a witch is just the European equivalent of an urara. Fourth and last, is the younger sister of Nina-sensei, the shy and timid Natsume Nono, who specializes in...ventriloquism...I think. I'm hesitant to say with her really since her doll, Matsuko, seems to have a personality of its own and has served as a guide and friend for Nono since her mother's passing. In either case, all four of these girls learn the various forms of divination while growing in their own specializations, becoming both rivals and the closest of friends.
"Special" is definitely one word for it.
While each of these characters is vaguely entertaining in their own right, there is a good reason why you rarely see them apart. Every one of them has a solid character-defining gag, but the group really shines together as they continually snicker at each other's faults or make a bigger mess of the situation they've found themselves in. Comedy isn't all this show offers though. While passable in that aspect alone, the show really does well when it comes to its characters. For example, all of the characters have some kind of backstory or driving force that leads them to be urara. Most, if not all, even take it a step further by turning that initial desire into determination--determined to become Rank 1 urara that is. On top of all this, though, the show is also propped up by the mystery that is Chiya and her personal mission. Unlike all the other urara, she doesn't have any skill at divination but is able to keep up based on her gut feelings alone that might be connected to something far larger and possibly dangerous. There is, after all, a reason why Meirochou's only other rule states that an urara should never attempt to divine the nature or goals of the city's resident gods.
When all is said and done, though, this is a rather simple show about the friendship (among other things) these four girls share. It paces itself pretty well, and I can't recall a single episode that didn't serve a purpose or impact the ending in some way. However, the show's ending doesn't offer any solid conclusions or answers to the underlying mystery. It does tie up the show's minor plot lines pretty well though. Its art is cute, the characters are well thought out, the animation is solid, and the music adds to the show's light and fluffy atmosphere. However, it doesn't excel past "above average" in any of these categories, and there's hardly a plot to speak of aside from, they did the thing and got better at doing the thing in the future. While not inspiring stuff, it was definitely engaging on some level. Heck, I'll even say I wouldn't be adverse to this show getting a second season, but the chances of that don't seem very high.