Another season, another anime collaboration with Irina from I Drink And Watch Anime. For Winter 2019 we will be talking about ‘Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan’ and I will be represented by the bold text!
Hey Irina!
Hey Matt!
Remember that anime ‘Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan’ that I was really looking forward to because every episode was going to have a different director, cast and art style?
Yeah of course, the one you wanted to do collab review on.
Turns out it’s only 4 minutes long! And the first episode is padded out to 26 minutes due to it having a 22 minute interview with this particular episode’s voice actress and director! And it seems like every episode is going to follow a similar format. This is… ~disappointing~ to say the least.
Okay, what does that mean for our collab?
We’re still gonna do it, just fast.
I’m game.
OK OK guys that was NOT ME. That’s Matt doing my voice. Sort of a meta review of Ekoda – you know several version of the same girl. Except NOT. Identity theft!!!! OK, this is more or less what the conversation went like except I was actually pretty psyched about it being a short. I think it fits the setting and idea way better!
Way to break the illusion, Irina! Anyway I’m glad the real you is here and not pretend you, we’ve got a collab to do! Bullet point plot synopsis, go!
- 24 year old single woman named Ekoda-chan living in the big city.
- She likes being naked in her apartment and having sex.
- She works many night jobs but she’s kinda bad it because people think she’s older than she looks (harsh) and because she thinks all business men look the same (true).
- There’s a lizard in her apartment, she’s worried about it crawling inside her.
Bam! Plot done. Next? Irina, what did you think of the comedy in the episode? Remember keep it quick, keep it spicy!
I get distracted by people with no nipples. Just me? The chair wipe was a nice touch.
I thought the comedy had a good rhythm (or maybe I’m just quoting the director?) there was never a dull moment and that’s what you’d hope for and expect in a 4 minute anime. What about the titular character herself, what did you think of Ekoda-chan?
Well she’s a pretty average 24 year old slightly lost chick. I found her relatable. I’ve known tons of girls just like that. I really enjoyed the few mannerisms and quirks they managed to add in. Particularly her difficulty with remembering names. It just gave her a bit of dimension which is impressive in 3 minutes.
I thought she was very natural feeling, she felt like a real person, it was very autobiographical in its overall approach. I love her free-spirited nature towards her own sexuality, she seems very open about that side of her life. Plus she seems like a genuinely funny character!
Ditto.
Now the big(ger) question, the concept of the show itself? New director/new art style/new cast every week? Do you like the idea of it or do you prefer a more uniform approach to animation in a long-form series?
In theory I love the idea. I practice it only works with certain kind of narrative but I think this may be just right for it. I have high hopes really. First episode was fun and you can clearly see the potential behind the idea. Looking forward to the rest.
I love experimentation within the anime art-form, I wish more shows would do it. Like I always love in a comedy series when the art style changes for the sake of a reaction joke. The animation here is ~extremely~ rough, but I felt like it was a good fit to the almost stream of consciousness narration that carried it along. By the end of the four minutes I was sad to see it end, I wanted more of this Ekoda-chan, rough animation and all!
I like to think of it as people have many sides to them. You can sometimes feel like an entirely new persona. So the different Ekoda-chan is still this Ekoda… maybe I should watch this show sober…
And that’s it! Episode 1 reviewed in record time (probably, maybe). Look forward to episode 2 on Irina’s site next week!
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Anime QandA 
I really enjoyed it! Even though I’m a guy, I still relate completely. Including the names thing. I have a terrible time trying to connect a name to a face. Never mind being a hedonist who wandered around in his apartment naked.
I never had any fear of lizards… but I did have one for a pet once.
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I think a lot of the things Ekoda-chan does and says are relatable regardless of gender, its very well written.
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Reblogged this on Bloodthirsty Little Beasts and commented:
Matt and I are starting a new seasonal collab. Hope you enjoy it!
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I would LOVE to know tons of girls just like that! Or even one. (Wait, you’re not going to print this, are you?)
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