Review of Ya Boy Kongming!

There are different genres of anime out there to appeal to a variety of tastes. Action, drama, slice of life, comedy, musical, shounen, seinen, etc. You can enjoy any number of these, or none of them, point is that there is an endless variety of different choices out there, so surely you will find what you're looking for. Rarely though, there comes a series that takes multiple of these genres together and weaves them into a seamless blend, making the coexistence of some of these contradicting ideas seem so natural. And while the hilariously named Ya Boy Kongming is a comedy first and foremost, itblends so many other elements into itself, creating something truly unique.

Kongming firstly stands out by having one of the most ridiculous premises I've ever heard. An ancient Chinese general is reincarnated in modern Shibuya, Japan, he is entranced by the voice of Eiko, a young girl with big ambitions to be a successful singer and decides to become her manager and use his breadth of knowledge and wisdom from the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China to help her achieve her goals. Like, for real, what kind of opium was the original creator smoking to come up with this nonsense. And yet somehow, this absolutely preposterous idea is executed to perfection. Both hilarious skits and hype moments of victory come about as Kongming employs his ancient wisdoms to the modern world and successfully helps her come closer and closer to fulfilling her dream. It's so incredibly enjoyable to watch this unbelievable spectacle unfold.

However, premise is nothing without execution and this is also where this anime really shines. The artstyle is very vibrant, colourful and lively. The characters are insanely cute and cool in appearance, while also being full of heart and soul - incredibly charismatic, engaging, lovable and shockingly profound. The animation is fluid and energetic. The voice acting and singing (and rapping!) are all superlatively done. And of course, the soundtrack is Godly all the way through and this show graced is one of the best anime openings ever made. You wanna talk about openings you never skip, this one is one of the most unskippable of all time!

But wait, I spoke so much about blending genres in the beginning, where does that come in? Well, while Ya Boy Kongming is a comedy first as mentioned before, it's also a musical show. It's also a dramatic and engaging story, a coming of age journey even. And all of this is interspliced with bits of historical war stories too? It's truly amazing to see. To execute just one of these elements well would be impressive, but this series excels at all of them and that is downright astonishing. Kongming is effortlessly funny in multiple ways, but it also tells a very emotional story that keeps you hooked to the end and has you rooting for our beloved characters to succeed. The first half is mostly comedic and absurdist, but as we pass the halfway point, the plot thickens and you realize just how cleverly crafted the entire story really is. Like a masterful progressive metal song balances its heavy and brutal parts with its soft and melodic parts into a united symphony that truly flows as one, this anime also effortlessly blends its comedic and serious moments into a wonderful crescendo of amazing emotions. The jokes, the drama, the music, these don't just support the story, they are the story! They all flow together in an elegant waltz, supporting each other and enhancing their strengths in equal part. Among all this, the show manages to be a fantastic musical too, with a rich plethora of songs from a variety of genres gracing us and integrating themselves as inseparable parts of this epic tale. I don't even like musicals and I still enjoyed myself all the way through here!

In short, I believe you're genuinely doing yourself a disservice by not watching this. It's an incredibly well crafter story that takes a ridiculous premise and executes it to perfection. It's a fantastic tale of growth and success despite overwhelming odds and it concludes in an incredibly satisfying way that is full of great feel good moments from top to bottom. Eat your heart out "A Star is Born", this where the real shit is at!

I hope that we can keep getting series as unique as this that also boldly try to succeed and so many things at the same time and then miraculously succeed at all of them. And may we all be blessed with support figures as wise, caring, loyal and selfless as Kongming, so that we may become all those things ourselves too!