Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge: Episode 1


Four lovely boys are ordered to transform a homely girl, Sunako, into a lady. If they succeed, their land lady, Sunako’s aunt, will entitle them to three years of free rent. Not a bad trade off. Or so they think. One look at Sunako, and they realize the Herculean effort to close the deal.

How can you describe Sunako? Hmmm. She wears ghastly clothes and sports unappealing hairstyle. She is pimply and pale. She loves horror movies in a darkened room. She considers three creepifying mannequins as her friends. And she is extremely frightened by gorgeous specimens of mankind. Let’s just say playing Mr. Higgins with Sunako is no easy task. But the path to lady-dom should be a delight to audiences, at least, in theory.

Sigh.

Why, oh, why? What exactly went wrong? On paper, Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge brings out peals of laughter, but its first episode turns out flat. Again, sigh.

I am utterly unhappy, so here’s an open letter to the studio.

Dear Nippon Animation,

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge’s pilot is not what I envisioned. The laughs are sparse. The animation is horrible. The music is forgettable. The voice actors are mostly so-so. Even the presence of Shoutarou Morikubo, who plays Kyohei, cannot quell the disappointing miscasting. In short, it sucked. Should you be thinking of firing the director?

In your hands, you have Tomoko Hayakawa’s unconventional Gothic-themed-make-over-cum-comedy-cum-romance series. It is an excellent backbone for the show. You were the studio to present Fantastic Children, damnit. I can handle the lack of oomph of the animation but give me solid writing. Comedy is hard to write but I expect better. Is there any chance you’ll make it work? Somehow.

Yours truly,
A not-so-humble blogger.

P.S. In fairness, I loved the SD-Sunako.

P.P.S. If you’re wondering why someone from the other side of the world has access to the said episode, well, it’s merely because I can bend spacetime continuum. Ask Hiro and you’ll understand.

Beware of Spoilers. You have been warned.

10.06.06 @ 1am
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge