I generally like my anime dark, heavy and with meaning. But sometimes you have to fill your head with nothing but junk. That’s why I also like what I call Dumb, But Fun.
I have used this term before. Dumb, But Fun is exactly what it says. The story is dumb. The plot is dumb. The characters are dumb. The writing is dumb. Even the animation can be dumb. But it is still fun to watch.
My Top 5 Dumb, But Fun, in reverse order:
5. Kill la Kill. This DBF adventure has teenager Ryuko enrolling in a school run by the dictatorial class president Satsuki. Armed with one-half of a giant scissors, and half naked, Ryuko must fight the entire school, with the hyper-active Mako driving everyone crazy. Can they all unite to stop the world from being taken over by their clothing? Oh, I forgot to mention that in DBF the plot really doesn’t matter.
4. Kill Me Baby aka Baby, Please Kill Me. This is a series so messed up they had to give it two names. Yasuna is a half-witted schoolgirl who wants to be best friends with Sonja, a classmate and highly trained assassin. Add to the mix Agiri, a ninja out to make a buck, and the Unused Character who just wants to be in the story. This series is pure stupidity, but it is funny.
3. Cromartie High School. Takashi is a nice, well behaved, model high school senior until he accidentally is sent to a school for juvenile delinquents. Eventually he falls into one of the gangs and becomes its leader. Other gangs are lead by a gorilla, a robot, and Freddie Mercury. Yes, the late front man for Queen. Eventually Takashi becomes head of all gangs thanks to his knowledge of yogurt, as I recall. Attempts to save a fellow kidnapped gang member fail when their taxi driver gets lost. And all schools are named for Americans who at the time played pro-baseball in Japan. After episode one there is no real story. But again, that is not important. The only drawback are that some of the jokes satirize Japanese culture and may be lost on most non-Japanese. The DVD does have an extra feature explaining those jokes.
2. Papuwa. This is actually a sequel to another series, which apparently has not been released outside Japan. No matter. Who cares about the plot? Kotarou is a young boy from a rich and powerful family, who has powers of destruction you would not believe. After escaping from his confinement, he ends up with amnesia on Papuwa island, where he is befriended by a fat boy in a grass skirt named Papuwa, and his man-maid Liquid. Katarou must face fish in fishnet stockings, a talking stoner mushroom, ninjas who are turned into boxes of white chocolate, and other stupid plot devices.
1. FLCL. The mother of all DBF anime. Schoolboy Naota may be the only normal person in his entire town. Still life is pretty boring until he is run over by a motorcycle and hit on the head with a guitar by an insane 19-year-old from outer space (theoretically), named Haruko. This series has more of a plot than the others on my list, but you need several watchings before you figure it out. The series also pokes fun at other animated series, including South Park. From what I heard, the series started when the writers as a joke tried to come up with the dumbest idea for an anime they could, but then realized they were on to something. Fans do try to over-analyze FLCL. I say chill and watch. Though there are some tender moments, especially with Eri, a classmate who is facing some family problems at home. Only six episodes, but more happens in these six than two seasons of other anime series.
Those are mine. What are yours? And please tell us about them.
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