Wallflower

Kyouhei, Ranmaru, Takenaga, and Yukinojou are beautiful, handsome, young men living in a huge mansion. One day, their landlord, whom they call "Auntie", asks them a favor: to make her niece, Sunako, who's going to be living with them, into a respectable young lady. She agrees to make their living expenses free of charge if they succeed, but if they fail, she'll triple their rent. Due to their confidence in knowing how to deal with women, they agree, but once they meet Sunako, they begin to realize that their lovely living arrangements may soon be in jeopardy. Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.com

Again another anime which I wasn’t expecting much from. I’m pretty sure most of you are bored of me saying this by now, will try not to use that sentence so often from now on. Lol! Now back to the review. Seeing it was recommended by a friend, I gave it a shot anyway. Initially when I browsed through just to see what I was getting into, all I got was 4 pretty boys trying to beautify a girl called Sunako.

It didn’t take long for me to expect some sort of romance to develop later in the series, especially between Sunako and Kyouhei. But don’t get your hopes up high, sadly none of that happened. Oops, did I just spoil the show for you? No worries, this anime is not about its story or a twisting plot or anything even close. It’s just pure silly and random slapstick, ALL THE WAY.

I really didn’t expect the comedy. Seeing the pretty boys instantly gave me the image of it being a “love-love” series. The constant burst of comedy wasn’t all good though. Some were funny and some were not. And unfortunately, when some of the jokes didn’t manage to tickle my funny bone, it got really boring really fast. A common dilemma of animes over-abusing slapstick comedy I guess. And to deliver the slapsticks to viewers at such a huge amount at one time, Wallflower was really taking its chances. I’m happy to say though that I actually enjoyed a better majority of the slapsticks they threw at me.


As far as the “Path to Becoming a Lady” segments, which appear randomly in each episodes are concerned, I LOVE EM! Lol!


Oba-chan, now that’s what being “Young at heart!” is all about. It’s actually hard to bring myself to pick on any of the characters simply because none of them has enough depth for me to complain on. This anime really didn’t bothered exploring any of the characters except of the slight exposure into Sunako and Kyouhei’s history.

Not forgetting the Goth-Loli sisters. Definitely deserved the air time they got throughout the series, naturally blending in with every single scene in a natural yet obstructing manner. Lol!

Goth-Goth-Loli-Loli!


Let’s not forget about the Huroshi puns and segments too shall we.


You can’t help but wonder if they were cutting cost with the shamelessly large amount of scenes where they used chibi drawn characters. And the eyelashes, it was there to really stress that it was a shoujo anime wasn’t it. Animation, graphics and sound wise, it’s as average as it can get. The quality is insanely inconsistent. One moment, characters looked like they had a deformed face, another moment, beautiful as a turbocharged 4-cylinder. :p

8 episodes down and the series give you a hint into what feels like character depth for the first time, taking the form of Kyouhei’s family background. Don’t be fooled! Lol! It’s just another one-episode plot which will mean nothing in the future episodes to come. But around episode 17, the comedy seemed to stop working on me, and it felt so for the rest of the series. I wouldn’t say it was a bad experience. Just felt disappointing seeing how I enjoyed all the previous episodes. Don’t know why but there is a WHOLE LOT of kidnapping storylines in this anime. Lol! Some form of fetish of the director perhaps?


Unfortunately, down the road some jokes starts to feel repetitive, but it’s nothing a little spacing out between anime sessions won’t cure, as long as you don’t marathon this series. As for me, I find 4 to 5 episodes each session to be just right.


As scary as they might try to make Sunako, you can’t help but to appreciate and enjoy her gothic approach to everything. Up to a point it is almost cool. Sunako does look good when not in chibi mode. And her vocals really help brings the comedy up a notch. She just gets more beautiful as the series progresses.


As predictable as the nosebleeds come, it still won’t fail to draw a smile every time. And below, the mother of all nosebleeds. :p


By the way, Sunako > Kanako (from Maria+Holic)


I know this makes me sound lame but Kikunoi-san *Fuwa*Fuwa*

Do yourself a favor and stay away from this if you are looking for
a. Beautiful animation
b. Captivating storyline or deep plots
c. Kick-ass packaging of sounds and music
However, if you are happy with some of the stupidest slapstick shit around and will be content with a little laugh every now and then, Wallflower’s the choice for you. A little warning though, I have a feeling Wallflower is another anime which goes along the lines of “Love it or Hate it”. There will be no in-between (except for me of course, I’m the author! :p ).


Wallflower / Perfect Girl Evolution / Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
Rating: 3-Star
Torrents: Kiss-Kyuu