Common Name: URAHARA
Score: 3/10, 2/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Shoujo, Action, Comedy, Magical Girl
Summary: After being given the opportunity to open their own shop in the heart of Harajuku, the center of strange and moe fashion in Japan, Rito, Mari, and Kotoko find their dream being threatened by an alien invasion. This bizarre race of UFO shaped aliens, named "the Scoopers," have been causing chaos the world over as they steal all of Earth's creative culture. So, it goes without saying that these Scoopers have their eyes on Harajuku as well. Empowered by the Amatsumara, strange alien devices gifted to the girls by a girl who was held captive by the Scoopers, these three girls will try their hardest to protect their beloved Harajuku and the creativity of humanity from the evil Scoopers.
Review: You know, after all these years, you'd think I'd have finally grown jaded to advertisement and the promotion of anime that hasn't even hit the screen yet. I mean, I certainly thought that was the case, but I guess finally caving to Crunchyroll's insanely strong push for Kemono Friends broke down some of that cynical mentality. Then it broke just a little more when I actually ended up liking Kemono Friends in spite of my initial weariness and the show's horrendous use of 3D-CG animation. That liking eventually built something of a respect for Crunchyroll and their opinions--thinking that they might actually have a solid grasp of the shows I like. So, without so much as a second thought, I ended up diving right into Urahara, Crunchyroll's most recent feature anime, Urahara. To give credit where it's due, the creators and promotional team for this show did a fantastic job painting this show as something I needed to my eye on.
Not to mention the show itself just looks eye-catching, if a bit garish.
For starters, this show was basically toted as a feminist's dream--an anime made for and by women in a predominantly male-led industry--because the show was being directed by a woman. More than that though, the "action-packed" design of the original webcomic lent credence to the idea that Urahara would feature a cast of lovable, powerful, and nerdy characters. In a way, there was an expectation that this would be like Kill la Kill, but with a focus on the uniquely cute and creative fashions of Harajuku rather than glorified stripper outfits. While I've never been able to track down the original video and article that got my hype train chugging, the interview with Amica Kubo, the show's director, in Teen Vogue magazine basically follows these same lines of thought that filled my mind leading up to the show's premiere. I was prepped for a deeply thoughtful experience that would have a lot to say about women in anime, fictional and otherwise. I was expecting strong, nerdy characters that could overcome anything from an alien invasion to their own deep-seated insecurities as artists. I was, of course, also excited that I was getting a show that was promising great action sequences and a colorful and zany color palette, a very specific flavor of anime I've been craving ever since Flip Flappers. So, imagine my surprise and disappointment when, upon diving into this show, I ended up getting something so shallow and unoriginal that I could only bring myself to suffer through it out of sheer morbid curiosity of how bad this train wreck could possibly get.
Oh boy, does it get bad. It can't even do Scooby-Doo impression right.
So, with my mountain of personal bias and disappointment made clear, let's get into the review proper of this saccharine garbage fire. Beginning with a rather bright and cheery start, Urahara begins with a very basic character introduction that gives a solid impression of who the main cast is here. First, we meet Sudou Rito who, aesthetically, exists as a cross between skater chic and disheveled artist. We are led to understand that she is the quiet one of our main trio and has a tendency to just force down all her negative emotions so that her problems won't become anyone else's. Shirako Mari, who embodies something of a down-to-earth goth-loli statement, is functionally the "ojou-sama" of the group. Where Rito is the silent leader of the group, Mari is the face of the team--always prepared some catchy quip or offer an opinion that might or might not have been asked for. Lastly, there is Watatsumugi Kotoko, the quintessential preppy nerd who spends more time with her head in the clouds than in the here and now. While a tad flighty, she is the brains of the group, able to bring that imagination into the real world, albeit in a strangely cute fashion. The general idea is that these three girls have been given the opportunity to open their own store in the Harajuku, the home of otaku fashion in Tokyo. All of their hopes, dreams, and plans are ruined when an alien races called "The Scoopers" invade Earth, hellbent on stealing everything that defines the creative identity of Earth--sculptures, monuments, random wall paintings made by a teenager, etc.. All hope is not lost thanks to the aid of Maruno Misa, a young girl who was held captive by the Scoopers and was able to steal a set mysterious devices known as the Amatsumara during her escape. These Amatsumara (named for the Japanese Shinto god of the forge) give their user the ability to functionally fight with creativity, turning the girls' wildest dreams into a weapon against the Scoopers. Rather than using their new creativity-fueled magical girl powers immediately taking the fight to the Scoopers, though, they instead shield Harajuku from the foreign invaders and bombings by "The International Defense Force" alike with a protective bubble.
And then it all just goes downhill from there.
Put simply, the first two episodes of this show are the only part of this show that can be considered "good" by any means. They're certainly not perfect, but they function well enough in spite of the shoddy animation, the laughably-written character development, and the mountain of contrivances that'll keep this train moving until it eventually falls off a cliff. While tolerable in these first two episodes, all these problems just steadily compound as the show goes on until it eventually becomes unbearable. To give you an idea of what I mean, in the first episode, we are informed that the IDF has launched a missile at Harajuku just as the girls defeat the Scooper threat, which forces them to create the bubble that will isolate them from the rest of the world moving forward. Keep in mind that this missile is targeted solely at Harajuku because the Scoopers just suddenly decided to converge there from across the globe. So, there's one massive contrivance already. Secondly, it's worth noting that the girls decide to remain in Harajuku in spite of the coming Scooper threat, enamored by the chance they might meet one of these CLEARLY HOSTILE FOREIGN INVADERS. This means that, rather than evacuating, they decide to ignore all common sense and news issued warnings just so that they'll be at the epicenter of this invasion. Third, in spite of defeating tons of Scoopers, turning them into edible sweets (more on that later), and then erecting a barrier between Harajuku and the outside world, the Scoopers still find a way to get into the bubble to keep the action going with a kind of episodic "monster of the day" format that is never explained or seen more than once. Yet that isn't the only concept this show lifts from other, better franchises.
When you steal them and fail to use them in a new or nuanced fashion that speaks to your own
creative skills, yes. In fact, there's a word for that terrible practice. It's call plagiarism.
While I wouldn't go so far as to call the turns this show makes plagiarism, it's definitely close to crossing that line at some points. Most notably, this show basically lifts its entire premise from Madoka Magica of all things. To elaborate, whenever the girls use their Amatsumara, gifted to them by a seemingly cute and innocent mascot character, to defeat the Scoopers they explode in a fountain of Earthly sweets and snacks that the girls then want to eat. Eventually, it is revealed in a sudden heel turn by said mascot that killing and eating the remains of the Scoopers they kill is slowly turning them into Scoopers themselves. Fearing that they will lose their creativity upon turning into Scoopers (who apparently are incapable of being creative) and questioning whether they had any creativity to begin with since all things are based in something else, the girls begin to fight and lash out at each other. With the team fractures and mentally distraught, they all slowly succumb to their negative urges and begin eating the Scoopers with vigor until they suddenly, because the plot says so, break free of their stupor. Swearing they will never become Scoopers, the trio smash their Amatsumara and are immediately reverted back to being normal, magicless humans. All of this, of course, makes absolutely no sense, though.
As if to swan dive off the cliff, we learn that the Amatsumara have absolutely nothing to do with their transforming into Scoopers. In reality, the Amatsumara are just a tool the Scoopers stole from an entirely different planet and Misa, the Scooper princess, just wanted to see Earth for herself before her people strip mined all the planet's creativity. Then, as if to steer that burning, nuclear-powered train into a home for creative orphans, it is revealed that everything the girls have done over the course of this show was for nothing because the Harajuku they were protecting was nothing more than a figment of their imaginations. It turns out the real one is in ruins either because of the Scooper invasion or that IDF missile. It's never really explained. But hey, it's all fine because the girls are friends with Misa. Not only that, they also forgive her for destroying their home because they understand she's just a lonely little alien girl who wants to be creative and have lots of friends, making her no different from them.
I'm sure you do, YOU VAPID WASTE OF SPACE.
Christ, just remembering the end of this show is giving me a headache.
In all honesty, I could see traces of what this show was trying to be up until the very end. The sad fact is that it not only failed to achieve those goals, but it failed to be entertaining. Where I'd normally be inclined just say, "this show disappointed me," have done with it, and then move into the review, Urahara actively angers me. It's not just that it's a terrible show. It's not that the animations, when they're present at all, are absolutely atrocious. It's not that the characters are shadows of the strong yet nerdy main characters I wanted. It's not even that it stole ideas from other, better shows. My anger toward this show stems from the simple fact that, because it did so much wrong, it has left a black mark on all those great things it wanted to be. While I can't say how well or poorly it was received in Japan, I can't see how this mess of a show would help any feminist push in the anime industry. I feel legitimately sorry for the team that worked on it because I know they put their hearts and souls into this, but it just wasn't enough. So, in the end, I'm forced to turn this whole situation into something of a cautionary tale not to fall for advertisements and manufactured hype. After this fiasco, I'm not sure I'm ever going to listen to Crunchyroll's recommendations ever again, and that should be a solid indicator of whether or not you should watch this show.