-
followus otaku usa rss feed otaku usa twitter page otaku usa facebook page
otakusearch5
Anime
TOP STORIES
The Vault of Error: SteamboyThe Vault of Error: Steamboy
Dynamic and highly divisive
The Hunter x Hunter Anime Fights On!The Hunter x Hunter Anime Fights On!
We take a further look at the new series
Studio Ghibli's Ocean WavesStudio Ghibli's Ocean Waves
The “Lost” Ghibli Film Arrives in the U.S.
The Vault of Error: Magnos the RobotThe Vault of Error: Magnos the Robot
Equal parts amazing, lame, imaginative, and stupid
Golgo 13: Queen BeeGolgo 13: Queen Bee
Come Back, Pumpkin Joe
Dragon Ball Z Level 1.1Dragon Ball Z Level 1.1
Kame... hame... HD!
Trigun: Badlands Rumble Blu-RayTrigun: Badlands Rumble Blu-Ray
A release worth your hard-earned double-dollars
Highschool of the DeadHighschool of the Dead
Romero by way of anime
Chrono CrusadeChrono Crusade
This pair has more than a few screws loose
More...
The Vault of Error: Taro the Dragon BoyThe Vault of Error: Taro the Dragon Boy
A harsh fairy tale without the safe Disney coating
The Vault of Error: GeobreedersThe Vault of Error: Geobreeders
Attack of the shape-shifting phantom cats!
The Vault of Error: Darkside BluesThe Vault of Error: Darkside Blues
Where high tech and low life collide
The Vault of Error: Bottle FairyThe Vault of Error: Bottle Fairy
A bottle of questionably-aged cute
More...
Youmacon 2011: The Voices Behind AnimeYoumacon 2011: The Voices Behind Anime
Death Note's Light, DBZ's Krillin and more!
Yasuhiro Imagawa 2: Imagawa HarderYasuhiro Imagawa 2: Imagawa Harder
Another interview with the anime great!
Elfen LiedElfen Lied
More than just a splatter show
The Bizarre Politics of GasarakiThe Bizarre Politics of Gasaraki
Is this supposed to be entertaining?
More...

Nerima Daikon Brothers
With musical guest, themselves

By Emily Balistrieri
Add This

Be the first of your friends to like this.


Posted 9/21/2009

fp-Nerima_02

Novelty can be such a wonderful thing -- if every anime were a musical, we wouldn't care quite as much about this goofy show. Nerima Daikon Brothers is the crazy and at (most) times inappropriate tale of a family daikon farming operation with aspirations to build a concert dome on their property and become a famous band. Of course, there are many anime about aspiring bands --  BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Gravitation, and K-ON! come to mind immediately -- but I've never seen one that funnels that theme into a true musical experience quite like this.

 

The show runs, probably for the best, a brief 12 episodes and follows a general formula: each episode is more-or-less stand-alone and features Ichiro (laid back host -- yes that late-night kind -- boy),  Hideki (seriously ambitious), s-Nerima_01and their cousin Mako (former idol, in love with Ichiro despite the fact that Hideki wants to marry her) trying to get money so they can build their band's venue. Their general tactic is sort of a selfish Robin Hood plot -- steal money from bad guys. Unfortunately, the bad guys usually stole from someone else, so there are always other people who have a claim. Eventually Yukika, an Inspector Gadget-esque lady with a panda fetish, catches on to their scheme and begins making regular appearances as well. This formula really works, and it was only near the end when episodes began to be connected to introduce and resolve some inter-band struggles that I began losing interest.

 

Formula also plays a big role in how the music for the show was composed. Each episode features many of the same base themes, just with different lyrics. You might think that is cheap, but I prefer to think of it as efficient, since the hilarious subject matter generally makes up for the repetitiveness.

 

Yes, I'm sorry. I laughed extremely hard during the first episode while the scene of Ichiro getting molested was interspersed with shots of the perspiring sausage on a plate. I love that they get to steal money from a sketchy hospital, of all places ("Sir don't you want to admit yourself to the hospital? We'll do THESE things and THOSE things for you!") It cracked me up that in pretty much every episode someone ends up borrowing money with much fanfare and many dancing girls.

 

Besides sex jokes (Oh, Mako, you masochist, you) and random bizarreness (Yukika falls in love with fish cakes next?)  the comedy relies quite a bit on parody. Although an American viewer will get all the Michael Jackson jokes (fans may be a bit s-Nerima_COVERupset at the portrayal now, given recent events; for my part I was just annoyed that Yuukei Hakushon was a recurring character), there are some episodes, particularly the last, with tons of political references relating to former Prime Minister Koizumi, that may not cross over quite as well.

 

The animation is not super detailed, but for a comedy, that isn't necessarily the most important thing, and especially for a musical comedy, where the singing is your main concern. Thankfully, the Japanese and English vocalists were both pretty terrific. It's really easy to imagine the English version of this being a complete train wreck, what with all the translation difficulties lyrics produce, and the task of finding the right voice actors.

 

I can recommend Nerima Daikon Brothers pretty highly if you are interested in some off-color musical humor. That said, it's probably also the only show I can recommend if you are interested in some off-color musical humor, but maybe that is yet another reason to check it out.

 

Studio/Company: FUNimation

Available: Now


Comments:


Add a comment:
Rules: 1) No excessive profanity. 2) No 1-2 word comments. 3) No gigantic streams of letters or punctuation marks.
4) You are free to respectfully disagree, but personal attacks will not be tolerated.
5) Do not spoil major plot points for other readers (i.e. OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE DARTH IS LUKE'S FATHER!)
6) Please do not click "Publish Comment" more than once.
If you break the rules we may be forced to edit or delete your comment, sorry!
CAPTCHA Validation
CAPTCHA
Code:

Subscribe to Otaku Magazine
Current Issue
Bonus Content
Free Stuff

Anime | Manga | GamesEvents | J-Pop | Store | SubscribeAbout | ContactForums | BlogCurrent Issue
OTAKU USA ©2011 All rights reserved.