Love Lab - 1

If my review was late, better late than never! Any apologies I'd have to make would be directed towards my fellow bloggers, who I didn't have a chance to tell, and subsequently failed to notify. Putting this piece of bad news aside, here's part of what we've got in store for us from this season's wonderful assortment of shows.

Riko - The Boke

First off the bat, WOAH!!! A few minutes into the episode, and I felt completely overwhelmed by all the subtle Yuri undertones. Tragically, any subtle undertones went out of the window as soon as the OP theme began. Now if one can partially gauge a series from it's opening, one could expect a lot of yuri, since there don't seem to be any males to give this special attention to. Not to mention my Yuruyuri vibe sensors went off the charts. Subject matter? Check. Studio? Check. Heck, I think a show explicitly about studying love among girls would have even more yuri than Yuruyuri... Somehow, it really doesn’t. Still, all hopes I had for a generic romantic comedy seem to be lost...

...However, just because this isn't a RomCom doesn't mean it can't be a Comedy based around Yuri. That’s the funny thing about this show. Even though nearly every scene has a trace of yuri flavor, any of this is shoved aside by the comedy, so that there is no unpleasant aftertaste left. Though the comedy didn't have me collapsed on the floor struggling to contain my laughter, even making me chuckle is something I'd consider impressive, once you know I can keep a poker face through almost any kind of outrageous euphemistic jokes. Nevertheless, all the comedic ventures were well setup, and developed. Kudos to Dogakobo.

In a bizarre coalition of events, Riko ends up becoming part of the Student Council. Believe me, I've seen this kind of plot enough times to know what will happen next. The structure of the plot in itself isn't so interesting. I'd say the strength of the show lies in the potential it has to create a new premise within any prerequisite limits. Consider the animation another part of it's strength. The character designs are certainly cute, but what struck me was how much effort they poured into the animation. There were scenes where Riko or Maki’s hair would swish as if they were starring in a L'Oreal advert, and that scene in the teacher’s lounge was just Dogakobo showing off. Combined with some adorable expressions, and the visual aspects of this series are looking really, really good.

As I've come to understand, reviewing a Slice of Life Comedy show with little to no depth is extraordinarily challenging. There is hardly much interesting discussion to raise due to most things being shown and done with, while any speculations are snuffed once you get stuck in the pacing of this show. More cute girls seem to be on their way to joining the Student Council, and it would seem each will come bringing a new, individualistic element to the show. Due to my predisposed bias towards thick-browed character (like Mugi from K-on), I've already singled out the red-haired girl as being my probable favourite. I'll still consider regularly reviewing this show, but my time is limited, because real life circumstances are severely squeezing my time. Thank you for reading, and I would give this show the seal of approval (that is to say, the 5 billion times better than K-on approval).

Additional Pictures to come later. I'm going to some party,
where I'll continue to make up for the reviews