1. Potemayo
You were probably expecting something epic, weren’t you? That’s how things went down last year, at least. Potemayo isn’t an epic show, however. It’s a simple show. So simple, in fact, that it’s a little difficult to write about.
Yet, it seems perfectly natural that I should be writing about it right now. Of all the many wonderful shows I watched this past year, Potemayo stands out in stark relief as the show I enjoyed most. And while every other show I’ve recognized these past few weeks leading up to today brought me great enjoyment as well, none tickled me quite so much as Potemayo. Not bad for a simple show.
It could be that the timing was just right. Everyone and their brother knows by now that I’m a slice of life junkie; if it wasn’t for the fact I want to be cremated and scattered in a thunderstorm, my tombstone would say, “Here lies a slice of life junkie. Embarrassing remarks are prohibited.” And Potemayo is clearly a slice of life show in its own weird way. At the same time, to say I’ve been feeling the burn this year unlike any other would be an understatement. I’m happy for that, of course, for my life has clearly taken a turn for the better since the last time I did this Year in Review exercise, but the extra stress and the emergence of gray hair on my head has driven me to find comfort in humor. And Potemayo is clearly a humorous show.
So, I suppose it’s because Potemayo is the perfect combination of humor and slice of life that I enjoyed it as much as I did. That’s not to say, of course, that the show is all laughs and balsamic vinegar. The show has heart. Lots of it, in fact. It’s not until the final episode, really, that it hits you, but Potemayo is just as much about love, family, and friendship as it is bodily functions, pratfalls, and Brokeback Mountain jokes. It’s simultaneously juvenile and heartwarming in a way that anime and manga humor often is, and it puts the biggest damn smile on my face the more and more I think about it.
It’s also a pretty slick production. Anymore, I do most of my anime watching in the afternoon on the weekend, and shows like Potemayo are exceptionally well suited to that lazy, Sunday afternoon atmosphere. And JC Staff really knows how to make lazy, Sunday afternoon shows. The show’s simple art and light colors perfectly match its playful tone. And Kobayashi Shichiro’s backgrounds are gorgeous as always. I’m going to miss him when he’s gone.
There’s more, of course. The wonderful score, an addictive OP and ED, Kawasumi Ayako’s schoolgirl voice, the Pan Song… I could go on and on. But, for the sake of brevity, I’ll just say Potemayo is a bag of goodies and leave it at that. I think you know by now how much I love the show.
So, another year ends, and the cycle begins anew. Will there be another Potemayo that makes me happy as clams to be an anime fan? How about a Hidamari Sketch that reminds me of the many little things that make life worth living? A Hayate no Gotoku that makes me laugh myself silly? A Nodame Cantabile that makes me stop and think about my place in the world and how I got there? What about an Idolmaster XENOGLOSSIA that makes people wonder if I’ve lost my mind?
Stick around, and you’ll find out.
I don’t know about the other four but I know there will be another Hidamari Sketch.
Ah yes, Potemayo. Excellence in a can… or package of mayonaisse bread. Won’t be my favorite of 07 but it was indeed damn tasty, and I’m glad it has fans who will put it at number 1.
Wow, this is your number 1 for the year? You have no taste sir. It should have been Gurren Lagann.
It’s not my number one but it was a brilliant show. Best this year for out and out laughs.
I didn’t watch Gurren Lagann. From what I’ve heard, I’m sure it’s a great show, and I plan to watch it when I get the chance. So, please, no whining about its absence.
This is definitely one of the shows that I plan to watch in the future, as many have had great things to say about the show. Don’t know why I tend to place a lot of comedy on the wayside. I’ve been planning to watch Magipoka for months now, for example. :/
Potemayo was definitely my favorite of the year as well, and I even watched GL. Even though it was predominately comedy, I think it handled what little drama it had very well. I mean, I know I teared up while watching the final episode. As you said, it was a simple show and it lived up to everything it promised; laughs, moeblobs and gradient hair. What more could you want from this charming show? Nothing, that’s what.
On a more random note, I guessed, and shared, 3/5 of your top 5 (4/5 if Lovely Complex switched with Hidamari). Though that isn’t very surprising since I go to your blog for older recommendations all the time. For 2008, whenever you find yourself rewatching something, I hope you could write a little bit so I can discover the enjoyment as well.
“Here lies a slice of life junkie. Embarrassing remarks are prohibited.”
Heeeeeeeeeeeeee?!
The real reason Jeff picked Potemayo as #1 is that he didn’t want to be the victim of a brutal axe murder. (Where the murderer repaired Jeff’s front door with strapping tape afterwards.)
I think Denno Coil is a better slice-of-life series than this one: it’s more serious, hilarious, realistic, and symbolic. In my opinion, Potemayo had no purpose - at all. Slice-of-lives, even though bland, are supposed to produce some powerful effect or image on the audience. Potemayo doesn’t do that - at all. And I find her voice extremely irritating - can you imagine listening to that high-pitched voice every day?
Slice-of-lives, even though bland, are supposed to produce some powerful effect or image on the audience.
It’s the opposite for me. Most other genres try to portray some kind of moral, or meaning when they tell their story. But slice of life is different; it’s just a random day in their life. There is no purpose. Like you could have one day where something meaningful happens, but the next day is just the same old. For me, it’s all about creating an atmosphere and sucking the audience into that world. Be it serene like YKK, wondrous like Aria, or playful like Potemayo, you get the enjoy their day with the enjoyable characters (very necessary for good slice-of-life imo). I know that whenever I read Genshiken, there are points where I say aloud “Oh, Madarame” or “Come on now, Sasahara”. I love being sucked into their world; it’s the atmosphere and wonderful characters that makes slice-of-life my favorite genre.
Hmm. I remember one bit of dialogue at the end of an episode of The Simpsons, back when it was still funny…
Homer: Save a guy’s life, and what do you get? Nothing! Worse than nothing! Just a big, scary rock!
Bart: Hey, don’t knock the head, man.
Marge: Homer, you don’t do things like that to be rewarded! The moral of the story is that a good deed is its own reward!
Bart: But we got a reward, the head is cool!
Marge: Well, then maybe the moral is, no good deed goes unrewarded.
Homer: Wait a minute! If I hadn’t written that nasty letter we wouldn’t have gotten anything.
Marge: Mmmm… then I guess the moral is, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Lisa: Maybe there is no moral, Mom.
Homer: Exactly! It’s just a bunch of stuff that happened.
I think we could use more shows that are “just a bunch of stuff that happened.”
Lindus: you’re forgetting Honey and Clover
- that was one (two, actually) powerful series
And the sub-genre for Denno Coil is also considered a Slice of Life - are you saying that “slices of lives” are supposed to be, as you claim, random? - because DC and H&C is everything but that
excuse my grammar: “DC and H&c ARE everything but that
I initially ranked Gurren Lagann higher than Potemayo at the end of summer. But at the end of the year it was Potemayo that I rewatched, Potemayo that I wrote about, Potemayo that I asked my family to watch (just the Christmas / New Year episode), and Potemayo that I did crappy fanart of. Gurren Lagann is a great show, worthy of all the praise it has received, but nothing beats J.C.Staff in Azumanga / Mahoraba / Sugar mode. Nothing.
If you look at the banner of Jason Miao’s Derailed by Darry - the blog where Gurren Lagann has received the most praise, some of it from me - who is it that you see next to Darry on the banner?
A honi honi good morning to you!
I suppose I should get away my initial apprehensions and finally watch the damn show.
Cheers.
Although our interests in anime may be completely different, I applaud you for staying true to yourself and not jumping on the bandwagon of the supposed “cool” series.
I o/ Jeff for not talking about Denno Coil.
I also think it’s overrated. Where as Potemayo is underrated trash, and is actually compellingly funny.
“Here lies a slice of life junkie.
He ran out of slices of life.”
here here, potemayo was a welcome surprise; twas one of the only shows that actually made me laugh myself silly :9
“Here lies a slice of life junkie. Embarrassing remarks are prohibited.”
“Heeeeeeeeeeeeee?!”
That’s really embarrassing, in its own right. *Does chibi Alice stare*.
Makes me laugh myself silly too, and I can be a bit of a curmudgeon. Also, Happy New Year.
@hanlu
H&C is indeed powerful (though I consider H&C as drama before slice-of-life; more like chunk-of-life imo). The point I was trying to make is that slice-of-life doesn’t have to be powerful/meaningful. It can, as random days in life CAN be significant. But look back on your life, and pick a random day. The chances of that day being of any significance is small. So I don’t believe that slice-of-life shows necessarily has to “produce some powerful effect or image on the audience.”
what
I’m not really sure why I feel so surprised about this when I think about the show, though.
Number 1, I was also surprised, but it is understandable.
Watching Potemayo is truthfully a cuteness overload, but it’s a good thing. One of the strengths I most enjoyed about it was that most of the characters played a good part; it wasn’t just Pote and Guchko providing the entertainment, though they were the center of it all.
Rightfully, I think Potemayo will be one of the most memorable series of the year, because it is cuteness in a fresh-familiar way; moeblobs (though, I thought they were more cute than moe imo).
@Koji Oe:
Jeff isn’t really a big action fan, but among the shows he does like he has some pretty fine taste so I’ll forgive him for not including Gurren Lagann (which I think is easily the best series of 2007). Potemayo I still haven’t actually managed to finish, but I must say I laughed quite a bit at the antics I did see. It kind of reminds me of British Comedy, completely absurd nonsense and confusing character behaviour, but chuckle inducing for the sheer energy of it. I can’t really say it would be on my Top Ten list. I should probably get around to writing one for my blog now that I think of it.