.:: CRUSHHUMANITY DOT ORG ::.

イッパツ危機娘

aka “Miss Critical Moment”

Maybe something is wrong with me because I just don’t find most anime “humor” all that funny. I hear suggestions for shows described as “funny” all the time. In most of those suggestions I’m disappointed to find the same clichéd jokes from last years “funny” show repeated once an episode as if these guys had a checklist somewhere. Main character trips and accidentally grabs a breast, owner of breast hits main character. Check. Energetic female character talks too fast. Check. Character is constantly having it pointed out to them that they lack in (height/bust size/etc). Check.

I will admit that back in my younger days as a fan of the medium I may have laughed at some of this. In my defense though it was the first time I had seen these jokes. 10 years later it seems like it’s time to knock it off already with the same 3 jokes and come up with something new. If that’s too hard, maybe just go back in time and mine some older stuff for jokes that haven’t been run into the ground already.

This isn’t to say that I hate all anime comedies, and that’s important to know since this is primarily a review of an anime comedy. 2003’s Cromartie High School for instance made me laugh quite a bit with its simple formula of  stupid people trying to apply logic to solve problems. The mid 90s towards the end of the crazy go nuts bubble economy related T & A & Blood boom also had some great shows that seem to be forgotten today. Shows like Ping Pong Club and Golden Boy. Also on the list of anime that’s made me laugh is Ippatsu Kikimusume from the fall 1999 season on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System not the Turner station.)

I will admit straight up right now that I would not have bothered to watch this if it wasn’t for the fact that the entirety of the show is only 48 minutes long. This show is bite sized. 16 episodes of 3 minutes each. It’s even less if you remove the opening credits. As another review online pointed out, you could watch an episode in the time it takes to read a review and make up your own mind. I’m inclined to agree with that, but if you need a little more pushing here’s my thoughts.

The short format of the episodes doesn’t allow for any character development or on going drama, and despite what a good chunk of the reviews online I’ve seen indicate, that’s fine. The aim of this show is to provide some quick humor and in that capacity it succeeds. Every episode revolves basically around the same formula with wildly different variables applied creating situations of extreme danger for Kunyan, the main character, to escape from by the end of the episode. The first episode for example starts with Kunyan on the floor of a sauna with all of her major joints dislocated while a narrator in typical Japanese variety show fashion discusses the science of dehydration and elaborates on the importance of avoiding it. During the course of an average episode the narrator explains the science of what’s happening and in at the same time provides a good chunk of the humor. Other situations include being eaten by a giant python, being trapped in a barrel in the middle of a fire, and trying to hold up a very large shelf with the assistance of an old man and a blow up doll. Few of the situations are presented with any sort of setup and because of the nature of the show it really only adds to the WTFness of it all that makes the show work despite its technical flaws.

From a technical perspective the show isn’t so hot. The animation isn’t particularly smooth and the music can get kind of grating. You’d really only notice the music if you marathonned the show like I did from beginning to end though. Also, it’s mostly just the opening credits. The animation is simplistic but works for the show. Despite the flaws the show works rather well in much the same capacity that the shorter Adult Swim shows do.

Go find the show if you’re looking for something funny and you can deal with something juvenile and offensive. It’ll be an educational experience at the very least.