There's something... reminiscent of each other... about you two.
Dog days is all about a regular Joe. Except that the main character is a foreigner (I think?) living and going to school in japan. Named Shinku Izumi (thus why I’m not sure he’s actually a foreigner. Wikipedia tells me he’s half, but the odd mother/father japanese way of parsing which half and whether or not that makes you actually japanese and his resulting citizen status makes me unsure as to how japanese he’s supposed to be). But he’s also living his normal live and getting ready for school – sans the fact that he has a great love for and impressive parkour skills and leaps off his second floor balcony, and does backwards flips while using the street railings as a balance beam. He loves it so much that he dreams to his osananajimi girl of winning Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.
So the first thing that struck me in this show was a curiosity about copyright issues when they show the final tower of Ninja Warrior/Sasuke. But before I could ponder that too thoroughly, what looked like a little bear started stalking the main character with a bejeweled dagger in it’s mouth. Then I realized it was a dog when it opened up a hole into another dimension…
…and swooshes the protagonist a la Magic Knights Rayearth style to a magical land of enchantment. Yes. Exactly like Magic Knights Raearth. Not like Kyou Kara Maou as my roommate and the internets have suggested (though Yuri’s voice actor does appear in Dog Days). He’s not there to rule or have slashy adventures. Like Fuu, Hikaru and Umi were supposed battle to save the magical kingdom country and restore the balance of the forces in the world, so is our protagonist. But not with mechas. By winning a silly version of Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.
Don’t know why the voice of the narrator from Hayate no Gotoku and Cell is a puppy general muscle man. But he is (Norio Wakamoto as puppy man General Godwin). It is odd. and throws me. Also, the adorable main character’s seiyuu also was Yagami Light in Death note. Yes, that too throws me off and throws me hard. (I’ll take this obstacle course…*pant pant*…. and beat it!)
Don’t know why Koyasu Takehito is on some random panel of apparent nobles or generals discussing war. But I love Koyasu Takehito and he can do whatever he wants anytime! XD
I’m thrown by the fact that in Dog Days, his Cephiro (the country he was summoned to save) is named Biscotti. I can accept the Ginyu Force, but at least their names are scramble up food names! There’s something disarming when they talk of saving Biscotti.
I don’t know why they turn into cat-balls and dog-balls when you hit them, but it does take the potential violence to a silly place and I think I appreciate it. I’m not sure. They also draw all the mooks like clones of one male mook, which is both funny and off-putting.
I don’t know why they fly around of fluffy Chocobos. But they do. There are a lot of inexplicable things in this show that makes me wonder about copyright infringement.
Overall, not much in it that seemed wholly original. The main character’s battle outfit seems standard fantasy game fare. In fact, I probably couldn’t tell the other characters from those in Utawarerumono, or Tears to Tiara (if there were more anthropomorphic characters), if they were in the background somewhere. Though the coloring and styling is admittedly more that a little cutesy-er. It doesn’t deviate much from established tropes and the other shows it seems to be drawing heavily from.
Really, it seems like the staff had watched Levi Meeuwenberg on Ninja Warrior/Sasuke and was so impressed, that they felt the need to make him the star of his own anime. Granted, I too was terribly impressed by Levi Meeuwenberg, and I loved hearing them say his name, so I am going with this premise. I’m kinda hoping the crazy amalgamation of genres going on is going to be entertaining, but I don’t really have very high hopes. I do think it’s worth watching and following, though. There is something I’m enjoying abut the inexplicable cast of voices, the inexplicable combination of ideas and the inexplicable methods of fighting. Here’s to hoping it’s inexplicably entertaining!
Fuuma Watched Things 