Studio: Production IMS
Director: Kanbe Hiroyuki (Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga ni)
Writer: Arakawa Naruhisa (Outbreak Company, Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai)
Main Cast:
Shimizaki Nobunaga as Mitsuka Souji
Uesaka Sumire as Tail Red
Aisaka Yuuka as Tsube Aika
Akasaki Chinatsu as Shindou Erina
Uchida Maaya as Thuearle
Animation: Morimae Kazuya (Hakushaku to Yousei) and Nishio Kimitake (Moetan)
Music: Takanashi Yasuharu (Fairy Tail)
Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu is yet another show that shows why I do 3ET’s. If I were to operate in standard anime fan mode and only watch shows that I thought I would like, there isn’t a chance in hell that I would give Twintails a second thought. The premise is stupid beyond belief, with a high school boy (Souji) who is obsessed with the twin-tail hairstyle transforming into a magical girl (Tail Red) to do battle with an alien race that is trying to steal all of humanity’s “affinity”. And the person who gives Souji this power (Theuarle) is herself a bit of a pervert, and would very much like to deflower him. This is much to the delight of Souji’s mother and distress of his childhood friend (Aika), who decides to protect Souji’s virginity with her fists. And the twintail thing is definitely the fetish du jour of this show, with almost every girl wearing the hairstyle so Souji can comment on how wonderful they all are. However, while this should be the kind of show I rage against, it has a sort of idiotic charm to it that keeps me from hating it.
The first thing that I can say in favor of Twintails is that it does have an emotional core. Before all hell breaks loose, there is a scene where Souji and Aika have a light-hearted fight. This isn’t the standard anime girl beats up a guy trope, it’s a couple of friends smiling and playing around. There is a similar moment where Souji and his mother get their first glimpse at the base that Theuarle has used magical bullshit to build under their house. The two of them have identical expressions, showing that they are truly mother and son. Why do I bring these moments up? Because they are essential to making the characters human enough to be relatable. When everyone else is an insane person, either villains trying to steal humanity’s “affinity” or superfans of Tail Red, there needs to be a human core. And thanks to his relationships with other people, Souji fills that role. And that’s about as much as I have for actual analysis, because that’s all the show has to offer.
over being transformed into a girl.
Thankfully, by subverting some tropes, and by keeping Souji from being a total creep, the show remains mostly entertaining. The show’s sophomoric humor shouldn’t work, but Theuarle works as a perverted character. And the fact Souji’s mom goes along with it helps as well. The battles themselves are not the focus, mostly consisting of one-hit kills, but rather serve to poke fun at people who are obsessed with one particular fetish (ribbons, dolls, etc) to the point they need to harass others about it. And who doesn’t like poking fun at creepers like that? Even better is that after being the object of lots of unwanted affection, Souji tones himself down a bit. He isn’t as obsessed with other girls’ twintails, or is at least restrained enough to not be a creep about them. And when he is a creep, it’s with his own transformed self’s twintails. Which I’m not going to get on his case about; he does it in the supposed privacy of the bathroom. There is one thing that is a major issue to me though, all jokes grow stale if they are repeated enough, and Twintails doesn’t really bring out anything new after episode one.
I said that Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu is perfect to show why I do 3ET’s. And here’s why, despite really enjoying some parts of this show, I’m going to fail it. The reason is that I am highly concerned that it doesn’t have anything besides the same jokes it has already trotted out, as they really grate on me in episode three. Therefore, I can announce that Twintails will be the first show to get a Makeup Exam for Fall 2014. I need to see a bit more to find out whether I enjoy this show because it is decent or because it is novel. One of those will keep me watching, while the other will wear off and lead me to drop it.