Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran

Upon first hearing about "Super Gals, " I remember thinking to myself: What could this be about, super hero females that save the world from destruction? Hahaha, but no it is actually far from it! Story: 8/10 Despite the story and characters taking place in Japan, they actually give off a much more "American" style of flavor. The story is all based around life as a teenage gal in Shibuya in the late 90’s, so you know its all going to be about the platform shoes and loud accessories. Now there is no over all plot to this series, it ranges between slice of life, action and comedy. Basically we watch 17 year old Ran Kotobuki (main character) living life as head of all Shibuya’s turf. Its kinda interesting actually, because while she does run the show in town, she isn’t in any particular gang. Or neither is anyone else (with the exception of two) for that matter, as it is more implied or referred to. Having an actual title that acknowledges gang activity, probably wasn’t in their best interest to do. Anyway, as the story progresses she ends up having two school members; who later become her most trusted friends, join her in the mean streets of Shibuya. Despite this title not taking itself series in the very least, (its all about the over the top comedy) there is actually great chemistry between the characters, as love triangles and rivalries abound. And can range from the girls defending their turf from outsiders, to helping one another with family affairs, to just having fun by the pool side. One good thing can really be said about the story, the enjoyment comes from no one character alone, as they all have their own antics that keep the story entertaining. Still, as I said before there is no over all plot, and it soly derives from a plot by plot basis. The ending to this is okay, but since there really is no over all story going anywhere, the only difference between the first and last episode is the new characters they actually meet. Super Gals contains little in the way of offensive material, other than bad language which mostly comes from Ran herself. Art: 8/10 I swear this is one of the most colorful titles I have ever seen in an anime. While the characters and environment just scream sharp, colorful, and well detailed distinctness. Some viewers may find it a bit too much on the eyes, as its all one big bright rainbow of colors and flashy loud outfits, which can be seen as a negative. Over all its great in the art department and defiantly gives detail to every piece of background it can, I just feel they may have gone over board a bit with the color scheme. Characters: 9/10 Truly, Super Gals greatest heart comes from its characters, all of which are lovable in their own way! Considering this is definitely an over the top comedy anime, you may be surprised that the characters themselves know how to act series and calm when they want to, in fact many scenes have the girls going through some inner turmoil in their lives, whether it be their love life, family problems, situations at school and so on. They really do a fine job of taking you through many touching moments along with the comedy. Which you honestly don’t see that often in titles like these. You’ll also be pleased that all the characters are given their own unique personalities, from crazy, to moody, to strait faced.....its all here in one package. That along with great back stories that play every few episodes, you really get to connect with them and feel what they feel! While I don’t feel it ever reached its utmost potential, the characters are no doubt lovable and fun to watch! Soundtrack: 7/10 Certainly different than most music tracks you’ll hear in an anime, as its all about a mix of Disco and techno styled par par, which play throughout the episode in the background! And once again it ranges from a loud hyperactive opening j-pop theme, to a suttle closing where the girl are in the rain seeming to contemplate life. While its definitely a mixed bag as to whether the whole par par disco theme is actually a good thing, most will agree that it fits with the anime style. Some of the actually voices in the Japaneses version, seemed to not match their personalities as well as they did in the dub. Which is pretty rare. Its an overall good soundtrack, but does have some negative things that hinder it as well. Bottom Line: 9/10 While Super Gals won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, its excellent for those of us that are looking for a good laugh, and love the over the top comedy mixed with tender moments. Which truly is this title’s strongest feature. Seriously, I both laughed and cried (don’t tell anyone) while going through this anime. However, for those who prefer an actual plot with there viewings, or maybe prefer a more toned down comedy title, it would be best to avoid Super Gals, as it contains none of those two whatsoever! But if you dig this style of humor and sincerity in your series, then it is truly a satisfying experience!

Super Gals Review Writen by: Erisu Story: Ran Kotobuki is the self-proclaimed world's greatest gal, and she lives to shop, eat, and have as much fun as possible. But she's not all faux nails and Hawaiian jewelry; in the midst of all of her goofing off, she protects Shibuya from all manner of undesirable people, and she often devotes herself to helping both friends and strangers out of trouble, big and small. Of course, she'd rather be eating free food and scoring good deals on clothes, but getting someone out of a big pinch can be just as fun for her. Because of this, she's widely respected by the denizens of Shibuya, and although she may look (and even act) a bit shallow, she's got a big heart and a sense of justice that could put her Police Chief father to shame. But she's not interested in that line of work, much to her family's dismay. All she wants is to hang out with her best friends Miyu and Aya, and continue being the world's greatest gal. The story from Super Gals is if you ask me, very original. How many times do you see a kick-ass shibuya-gal like Ran Kotobuki? This proves that girls aren't ''weak'' and can do more than you think. While watching this, I laughed very hard and loved Ran's personality. It does contains bad language and there are some random episodes but to be honest, I enjoyed every single bit of this. Animation About the animation, it isn't ''outstanding'' and not everything looks perfect, but I think that you should just be satisfied with it. After all, this is an 2001-anime. When you judge it as an 2001-anime, this is pretty good. Super Gals also has an manga, and when you compare the anime with that, the anime looks better, doesn't it? Than, the characterdesigns. The main character is obviously: Ran. Her design is nice, and her hair is ''original''. We also see her with long hair later in the series, which looks better if you ask me. Anyway, Ran wouldn't be Ran if she isn't as she looks like. We also have Miyu and Aya, Ran's best friends. Their designs are also very well made, and I must say that they may look better than the main character, Ran. But you'll probably love Ran because of her personality, just as I did. Conclusion: The animation gets an 8 from me, the people who made this tried their best and did a really good job. Music and Sound Super Gals has one opening-theme and one ending-theme. It stays the same from the beginning to the end. The opening-theme, Aitsu is sung by Jungle Smile and is a song which you'll get easily addicted to. It was a very good song to choose for this anime. The ending-theme, Dakishimetai, also sung by Jungle Smile was again, a very good song. I must say that I got addicted to the ending-theme to, but... I didn't saw the relation between the ending-theme and the anime. Well, I wasn't really disturbed by this fact, the song is nice so... not something to make a fuss about. Anyway, the soundeffects for this anime are good and I agree for with the backgroundmusic they chose for some scenes. I think most of you won't have something to complain about. Characters Finally, the best point from Super Gals. I really loved them! Especially Ran was outstanding. She had everything and she showed me that girls aren't weak and can do something. I think that all of you will notice something in her: She hates school, never does her homework, makes up silly excuses why she didn't do her homework and her whole life is about fun! Shibuya's number one Gal. Every single familymember of Ran is/was an policeofficer. But Ran herself has no attention to become one, much to her parents dismay. She has an little sister (Sayo) and an older brother (Yamato). Yamato is Miyu's boyfriend. Yuya likes her but Ran is too dense to notice his feelings. After a while she gets into a relationship with Tatsuki which she calls ''monkeyboy''. Their relationship is more like an big comedy and you will laugh from the beginning to the end. Ray also seems to like Ran, even though Aya is in love with him. Well, now we go to Miyu, a very sweet girl with a very hard past. She was an gangleader and got into a fight with Ran. The winner will get Shibuya, Ran won. They both got into the hospital and when Miyu wakes up, she sees Yamato by her side (she met him earlier when she got arrested, Yamato is an policeofficer) and fell in love with him. Miyu let her criminal-life behind her and started again, thanks to Yamato. And than, last, Aya. At the beginning, she is a nerd who dates older men for money until she meets Ran who is willing to be friends with her. Ran saves Aya from her life that's only about getting good grades and learns her how to have fun! Aya joins Ran's Gal-group and starts to hang out with Ran and Miyu. Later she falls in love with Ray. Ray is known as ''number one'' and is loved by alot of girls. He meets Ran when she tries to steal his purse which she wanted, haha. He's a bit sarcastic but what he says is true. Who he really likes is revealed somewhere at the end of the series. Than, his friend, Yuya, called ''second place'' by Ran. He ended up second after Ray and also has alot of female-fans. His actions of trying to get Ran's attention are very funny! Wow, this is getting very long, I'll talk about one more character, Mami. She's Ikebukuro's number one Gal and sees Ran as her enemy. She picks up fights with Ran alot.. In reality, she lives in a huge maison and is the only daughter of the Honda-family. So, END! This lasted like forever, but I loved every single character of Super Gals. Enjoyment Isn't it obvious already? I enjoyed this very, very much! I wasn't bored even one episode. What you guys may not like is watching the English-dub. I did watch the English-dub and must say it was really good! Trust me, I hate English-dubs, I really do, but this was really good. If you can find the Japanese version with subs than that's fine too.. What I must warn you about is the bad language, I guess. If you're very formal and don't like words like ''dumbass'' than I don't think you should watch this. I wasn't disturbed by this at all, without it Super Gals wouldn't be just as good! Anyway, that's my opinion. You'll also see voilence in this, like people getting kicked KO, but when Ran kicks them, it rocks! ;3 This is one of my favourite animes ever, so... a 10! Overall Think I mentioned everything that was important by ''Enjoyment'' but the overall note stays a 10! Ran remains one of my favourite characters ever and she'll always have a special place in my anime-heart! XD I hope that you'll start watching this and enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you for reading my review!

OMG I had to resist the urge from beating my head in with a freaking hammer after watching this series not only was it the same old thing I've seen a million times before but with the added craptastic bonus of getting to experience the whole shallow teen with a big heart...uh let's get this over with. Story- As I've said I've seen this a million times before it isn't the first time I've seen and for the love of kittens I wish it would finally be the last but it just won't be. Art- I hated the art Sound- I did not like the sound and especially did not like the voice acting (even though the actors did a dang good job of imitating what they had to be). Character- I really hated the characters in this story honestly I think this was the aspect I hated the most about the series even if time was spent so you could understand why a character was a certain way. Enjoyment- Suffice to say I would've had more fun breaking my fingers with a hammer and soaking my feet in corrosive acid than watching this series. I've never regretted my policy of not dropping anime unless I can't find the episodes more than when I was watching this show. Overall- I disliked this anime immensely the only way I would ever watch it again was if somebody paid me a lot of money to do so while I was in some sort of hypnotic state where I actually enjoy this kind of generic crap. I only suggest you watch this if you have a lot of time to burn and don't mind banging your head on a table enough to where you are stupid enough to enjoy this kind of crap.

I remember first watching this on Animax jp in the evening right after Inuyasha showed, & I was like what is this? THIS PLACE IS EXACTLY LIKE SHIBUYA! :D So I kept watching it, then they never finished on TV so I went online and looked up Super GALS & here it is! This is based a girl named Ran Kotobuki she "owns" shibuya and is the #1 GAL. She dresses very girly BUT she is actually very strong and defends anybody in trouble. & the story gets good after a while so I recommend this show. If you think its some girly girly show, guess what? it is LOL but its not all abuot fashion & nails (: PLEASE WATCH THE JAPANESE VERSION INSTEAD. The dubs sounds RIDICULOUS o.o

I like the manga, but somehow I'm not quite satisfied with the anime. I don't know, maybe its the sub's quality that translate everything like Ganguro become Tan Face etc etc... Sometimes maybe the term should be left the way it is. The only thing that make me keep watching was Tatsukichi's 'Ookii' (his monkey expression is priceless) and the Junior Detective.... So sorry to say, the manga are better.....

For all you girls out there: Have you ever dreamt of strutting around in your town, driving away the wrong-doers and spreading some better karma around? Have you had to juggle your family expectations, your friends, your love life, your academics and everything else in between? Do you believe in female solidarity? Do you enjoy kicking some butt when there's some drama brewing? Do you love shopping, dancing and eating (a lot!)? Then you might just qualify to be the next super gal. The anime Super Gals tells the story of three best friends (or, you could say "gals"): Ran, Miyu and Aya, who pretty much run the town of Shibuya. Through their ups and downs, they live a very fun and eventful life, which was very entertaining to watch. Although I felt sometimes the characters seemed a bit shallow, and yes, some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy, but the overall story of Super Gals kept me engaged, and I really enjoyed the random drama in each episode. Note that this is a pretty standard shoujo comedy/romance (so if you're looking for something new and different, don't expect to find it here), but I'll still explain why I liked it. Story: 8/10 At the start this really did look like a typical shoujo storyline: three girls who decide to be close friends, and who see each other through the trials and tribulations of a typical teenager life (whilst shopping, partying and making more friends along the side of course!). And in a way, that's exactly what you get for the rest of the series - 52 episodes of Ran with her aggressive happy-go-lucky attitude, Miyu with her lovey-dovey almost-wife-like romance with Yamato (Ran's police-officer brother) and Aya's gentle, yet hardworking, way of managing things. But, there is a subtle build-up throughout the episodes. Some fall in love, some fall out of love, and I guess some learn their life lessons through their relationships with each other. By reaching the end of the anime, I really felt like I'd experienced another year in the crazy, glamorous and hectic (but fun) life of a highschool "gal". Art: 7/10 I scored the art a little lower than I scored the other categories, mainly because I personally have a higher standard in terms of fluidity and style for shoujo anime. But having said that, I was still satisfied with the way the characters were drawn - they had cute expressions and the outfits really fit the retro vibe of the anime. Sound: 8/10 Again, along with the art, the music was quite retro (I mean, the type of music you dance to in an aerobics class if you were in the 80s/90s). I actually really liked it! Maybe because I personally like that kind of para-para music and dance, but it certainly added a bit more flavour to the anime. Character: 8/10 I have to say, as with most anime, the characters here are what kept me watching the rest of the anime. Ran's tough, but still extremely feminine, personality really drew me in - she shrugs off all expectations other people have of her, paves her own path and fights for the people she loves. She acts as an inspiration to most of the other characters in the anime, and should act as an inspiration for people watching the anime. The only problem is, she is still in highschool gal mode, so some of the things she said seemed pretty ditzy and shallow - especially how she only lived in the present and always seemed to want boys to treat her all the time. But hey, can't expect a highschool gal to be perfect, I still thought she was worthy of being the protagonist. I also liked the fact that the three girls had very different personalities. Ran's was by far the most established; Miyu and Aya started off almost as side-kicks, and then grew to be more comfortable with who they were by the end of the series. The boy troubles were so much fun to watch - especially with Yamato, Rei, Yuya and Tatsuki. The way Yamato secretly loves Miyu, the way that Yuya laments over Ran (who barely sees him as anything other than a friend), and the crazy lovey-dovey antics of Tatsuki add the romantic element to the anime. Sometimes, you get a glimpse through the boys' eyes, which is refreshing. My favourite boy out of them though has to be Rei. I don't want to spoil anything, but whilst he seems cold and distant, he pushed Aya to become more than she was. But the action doesn't stop there: Ran also has mutliple rivals, Naka-sensei, her family of devout police-officers, and several other friends who add adventure to the storyline. Yes, towards the end there were still new characters being introduced, which was kind of annoying to keep up with, but I feel like it was still worth having a whole host of characters rather than focusing on just three main ones. Enjoyment: 9/10 So I'm finally up to my favourite part: telling you how much fun this was to watch! This is just one of those girly pick-me-ups that is so easy to watch. There are funny moments, and sad moments, but altogether, Super Gals was extremely entertaining to watch, even if some of the episodes were a little random. I will admit, this is a pretty stereotypical high school comedy. But this is the genre that I like, so this anime rated well for me. Overall: 8/10 So overall, if you're looking for a comedy with lots of girl power (in a not too cheesy way), Super Gals might be worth a shot.

Super gals is a wonderful slice of life anime that shows you the grow of the 3 main characters over the anime its covers a wide array of real life subjects abusive teachers to prostitution and how each character deal with the situation. I love Super Gals because its presentation is delivered superb and the pacing is top notch. You can check out my full video review at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPK2Q-rWB1g

Super Gals i one of my favorite anime. Ran is a good role model for any teen girl in my opinion. she might be a greedy brat, but she knows what's right and wrong. I have a great respect for her. Anyway, you should check it out. I pretty sure anyone would enjoy it, unless you're not into comedy. (sorry still new to reviewing anime ^.^: )

This anime is great for those who want to watch an anime about the lives of teenage gals (gyarus) in the city! The main character, Kotobuki Ran, is super funny, independent and care-free but a great friend to everyone. I ASPIRE TO BE LIKE HER WHEN I GROW UP! (i'm older than her) Another huge factor to this show is the romantic relationships between the main girls but also the side characters too! This show's humour was my favourite part, but it also tackled serious topics. I liked most of the character dynamics and relationships with one another... HOWEVER!!!!! Complaints: MIYU AND YAMATO'S RELATIONSHIP IS ILLEGAL!!!!!! Miyu is 16 and he is a 25 yr old COP! It's very clear that Miyu only relies on Yamato to this degree because she feels like he "saved" her from her traumatic past. She was also abandoned by her parents!! He even acknowledges that he can't show her affection in public because she's a minor 💀 like this shiz is NOT romantic bruh it is a crime! NEXT UP is the lowkey (highkey tbh) racism... Tatsukichi is the only darker-skinned character in the main cast and the characters are ALWAYS comparing him to a monkey/calling him a monkey ("that damn monkey"), he makes monkey noises ("Ook") and he gets drawn with the face of a monkey a lot. There was one episode where a monkey goes missing and people mistake him for the missing monkey + at the end, he's able to catch the monkey by talking to it? 💀 With the Tan-face Trio (three tan gyarus), they have extremely large, clown-looking lips and there was even an episode where they stop tanning in order to get boyfriends and they call themselves "pale beauties" or "beautiful pale trio, "something like that. Ran also makes fun of them for being tan in multiple episode (iirc, she may have said they look burnt...). I know that all the tan-skinned characters are Japanese, but it feels racist bro like the monkey calling and large lips only to the tan characters? Right, right... Another complaint I had was it felt like a lot of the relationships in this show were forced, where a girl likes the guy but he doesn't like her back yet somehow they're dating. It then leads to abuse played off as comedy in one relationship which is likeee IDK side eye from me ngl. Ignoring all that, the show is pretty solid for what it is. I love Tatsukichi and Ran's relationship with each other, I haven't seen a dynamic like theirs before (bakappuru xD) and even the side characters have funny moments (Kasumi's moments were my favourite). There are also running gags which I always love. IN CONCLUSION! If you want to watch a funny, somewhat dramatic show about the lives of teenage city girls, this is for you. If you don't like the things I also didn't like, I'm not sure if you'll enjoy this tbh.

I went into this anime looking for a low stakes, feel good, fluffy shoujo anime. I got exactly what I came for, plus a few pleasant surprises as well. This show is not Shakespeare. And it will not be giving you epiphanies or high stakes when watching. But it is a great show for adolescent girls, and much more mature than I was expecting. It's also a great time capsule for both gyaru and Shibuya culture of the 90s and 00s. Story:6 This was the most surprising element of Super Gals for me. I was expecting cutesy fluffy stories about clothes, fashion, and maybe even idols/models. Instead, this show gave me some surprisingly mature themes and topics. This maturity is not anything physical or romantic. Most protagonists in shoujo act protective or defiant against intimacy, while shyly or slowly aiming for it once they get a crush. Ran on the other hand, actually goes out of her way to prevent boys from making physical moves on her. So the relationships are physically very tame. But the number of mature *topics* Super Gals covers was the pleasant surprise. The very first episode goes over enjo kosai. There are also several episodes about gangs, framing people for crimes, controlling/toxic relationships, parental abandonment, and other oddly mature themes. If you are familiar with Static Shock, the stories are very similar in tone. But instead of super heroes teaching kids about mature topics, it's fashionable gals talking each other through these issues. The main leader of these lessons being Ran. So while you will be getting lots of episodic stories mostly about silly wacky hijinks, you will also get some episodes that cover lots of topics most shoujo anime usually won't cover. However, some of the silly episodes do start getting repetitive and outlandish towards the end. Which is why I can't rate this higher than a 6. Art:5 The outfits in this show are really good. Which isn't surprising, given the show's dedication to gal culture and Shibuya street wear. If you were around during this era of Japanese street fashion, or if you've seen magazines from then, then you will appreciate these outfits. Sadly, the animation budget is very limited. Which is symptomatic of anime that were making the move from cel animation to digital. You can tell this was digitally animated, and the technology was still new and primitive. Plus many of the characters suffer from same-face syndrome. Where most of them have the same eyes, eyebrows, and faces. And only the hair (and occasionally skin tone) are different. There are also a few points where proportions get wonky. Sound:4 The sound does it's job. But it also gets repetitive. They use the opening song A LOT. Which is a bit awkward when the characters go out for karaoke, and 9 times out of 10 they just sing the same song over and over again. Most of the music is used for the sake of gags, or just remixes of the opening or closing song. The voice acting is okay. Nobody was bad. But nothing really stood out about the performances. Character: 6 Ran is a very good role model. It's nice to see a fashionista who is also a bit of a tomboy vigilante. Sadly, she goes from being a determined and borderline wise tomboy gal in the beginning of the story, to a bit of an idiot that everyone just kinda dances around by the end of the story. It was really sad to see her lose some of the good role model vibes she had at the beginning , for the sake of being a lovable idiot.. I blame this on trying too hard to make her funny, and forgetting why everyone flocked around her in the beginning of the show. Especially when that flocking was thanks to her helping the people around her navigate serious problems. Miyu has a very good reason to be super loyal to Ran and her family. Aya also has a very valid reason to respect Ran. But if you hadn't seen the first half of the story, you'd just assume everyone followed her around to be entertained by her antics. As opposed to the genuine role model behavior she effortlessly exuded. Miyu and Aya are by far the best of the supporting cast, since they happen to be the characters with the most serious issues. Arguably, their personal issues are more interesting than Ran's. Miyu's story is legitimately sad. Aya's problems of living up to high expectations is extremely relatable. Some of the other characters are hit and miss. Rei is a very funny straight man to most of the silly characters. But his relationship to a certain character can get frustrating. Especially when they seem to have the same problems over and over again. Yuya is also very entertaining, and has arguably the best "character arc" of the cast. The other relationships and love polygons in the show are fine, and entertaining enough. The rest of the characters are mostly there for comedy. But also have their own serious or heartfelt moments every once and awhile. But nowhere near what characters like Miyu or Aya go through. I just wish Ran's own character conflict was strong enough to compare to Miyu's or Aya's. And that her own good character traits stayed consistent to the end of the show. Otherwise the character rating would've been much higher. Enjoyment: 6 The highlight of the show really is the earlier episodes, where more of the serious stuff happens. Ran usually has the same 3 or 4 motivations every episode. That being food, wanting money to buy a fashion item, some sort of vacation or experience she has won through a raffle, or helping a character in need. Sometimes she gets bribed by her teacher to do things for him. This wasn't a problem in the beginning of the show. Examples include Ran is trying to get her hand on a fashion item, but then gets distracted by a girl pressured by her abusive boyfriend to commit crimes. Or a character has to worry about getting evicted from her home, and everyone puts aside their materialism to help them. Because friends always come first. Had the show just been episodes like this, my enjoyment would've been a 7 or maybe even an 8. But at some point the stories start becoming less and less about navigating social problems through the power of friendship, cute clothes and ironclad gal rules. And more about funny tropes that just don't pack the same punch. Not bad at all. But also a step down from the first half of the show. Overall: 5 If you want a time capsule of 90s/00s gyaru culture, and Shibuya street culture, then this is the show for you. There is a lot of Japanese slang used in the show (kindly translated by the show itself), and lots of Shibuya landmarks. Ran is also a great role model for adolescent girls. And the show does a great job of navigating very serious topics in an age appropriate way. It balances fashion, being cool, being moral and honest, all while never being lame or preachy. While I personally found myself wanting in certain areas (especially during the second half of the show) I also acknowledge that a show like this does its job for its target audience. You may not like this show if you are looking for something super fluffy and innocent, or something super dramatic. But if you want an easy watch, with a focus on pretty girls being supportive and fashionable friends, then this show will scratch that itch for sure.

The comedy in this was decent. The friendships were wholesome. It was the romance. The typical Japanese style shojo slice of life anything goes romance that made me give this a lower score. Mind you, I live in Japan. I am a girl. The only reason I'm insulting this romance style is because I've experienced it and it's the most confusing why on earth are you doing this kind of vibe you will ever suffer through, especially from a western perspective. If you could put up with Fuka from Kodocha, or Yui Narumi from Ao Haru Ride, then you may enjoy the relationship development in this anime. Some characters in the show have more sensible and cute relationships that make the eh ones barrable. But it just wasn't my thing. That being said, this manga and show are actually decently popular in Japan. There are new copies on display with other manga like Shugo Chara and Card Captor Sakura, right out front next to the cash register, one of the first things you see when you walk into the Village Vanguard near me. So it does have something going for it. Animation/Art: 8. I like this art/animation style. The thin long limbs and fingers are very reminiscent of early shojo. The choppy animation style adds old cartoon quirkiness. Others may not enjoy it, and that's okay. Music: 8. I also enjoyed the music, mostly synth and drum tracks. But it was catchy and fit the vibe of the show well. Scenery: 9. The scenery was accurate to how things look irl which was nice to see. If you want a taste of Shibuya and Ikebukuro, this is a good show to watch. Except there's a wall around Hachi the dog in Shibuya now. if you visit Japan, please do not sit on him like they do in the show... There were foreigners doing that on the news the other day. Why. Plot: 5. There's little to no sense of story arcs. It's something new every episode. Subtle character development throughout. Typical slice of life. Good opportunity to learn some Japanese slang if you're studying the language. Characters: 6. The characters themselves are lovable enough. There's someone for everyone to relate to. The hyper semi-brainless one who always speaks her mind, the smart and shy girl, the slightly more mature girl who does her best to be cheerful and supportive no matter the circumstances, the rich girl who is mostly there for comedy... Typical slice of life characters. Overall: If you just want a chill anime to learn some cultural stuff, this is a decent anime to watch. If you don't care about cultural stuff and you wanted to try and discover a new hidden gem, this isn't the show for you.