The show often breaks into fantasy segments that bring the girl's wild ideas to life as if they were real, like a pitch meeting to discuss an anime short about a giant robot suddenly has said robot break into the room and wow everyone away in real life. Science Saru brings to life the barest of sketches made by the girls and turns them into visual marvels, and the anime brings home the idea that animation, in particular, has the power to transport you to new worlds. Of course, a show about animation would only be expected to feature great visuals, and Eizouken more than delivers on that front. There is some bizarre city planning with impossible structures, river canals everywhere, a teachers' lounge in the middle of an empty pool, and so many school clubs than can fill your imagination, from music, to robot clubs, to a security club equipped with anti-riot gear, and also whatever the hell the Deutsche Neue Härte club is. And like Springfield, the world of Eizouken feels both larger-than-life and lived-in. Honestly, Eizouken is the rare show that – like The Simpsons - allows you to have an entire conversation using nothing but quotes and memes from the show. The towering, low-voiced, silver-tongued, ruthless, business-savvy, money-hungry, high-school equivalent of a yakuza who isn't really in it for the art, Kanamori sees an opportunity to make money off the work of the other two girls, but quickly finds herself taking the role of producer and manager, being the unstoppable force that keeps the group together and under deadline. And there's Kanamori, the Ron Swanson of anime high-school girls. There's Mizusaki, a rich young model and aspiring animator focusing on the art of movements. ![]() Our main trio consists of the fiercely enthusiastic and lifelong anime fan, Asakusa, who specializes in building vast and complex worlds but also constantly loses herself in her imagination and forgets to actually get work done – which the show makes fun of by making her look just like Hayao Miyazaki at one point. You also need memorable characters and oh boy, does Eizouken fill that need. Of course, trippy animation and a great song only take you so far. Chelmico's "Easy Breezy" is not only a total banger, but it perfectly encapsulates everything that makes the anime special: the song itself will instantly get stuck in your head, and it features trippy and gorgeously animated visuals that tease what's to come in the episode proper while opening itself to endless parodies, homages and memes (just like the show itself) with its Drake-inspired dance moves, including the inevitable SpongeBob version of the opening, and an Ed, Edd n Eddy one. After all, it's the first thing you see each episode, and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! features one hell of a killer opening theme. In this column, I tend to point out whenever an anime does something new or special with their opening theme. ![]() ![]() It's hilarious, surreal, inspiring, and also one of the most visually inventive shows I've seen in some time, resulting in the surprise of the 2020 winter season, a strong contender for anime of the year, and the perfect binge for social distancing. The series shows both the magic of animation to take you to magical new worlds you could have never imagined, but also the struggles creative people face when trying to make their dreams into a business, showing some of the harsh realities animators face in the real world, all presented in what is basically the anime version of Ed, Edd n Eddy. The latest anime by Masaaki Yuasa and Science Saru follows a trio of high school girls who decide to start making anime. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is a show clearly made by people who know the hardships that come with choosing the animator's life, but also how rewarding it is to see something you had in your mind be brought to life. ![]() The problem is that they usually fall into the cynical side of the industry, focusing on the hardships of making a living doing hard work with little pay, but not so much on the creative aspect of it, or the huge love that goes into doing the work. (Welcome to Ani-time Ani-where, a regular column dedicated to helping the uninitiated understand and appreciate the world of anime.) There have been more than a few manga and anime shows about people who want to make manga or anime.
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