Review of Magimoji Rurumo

TL;DR: Short review didn't up as short as wanted. Majimoji Rurumo is a fun anime that is undoubtedly average when it comes to its story, art, sound, and character development. Despite that, it all comes together into a fun romantic-comedy that I would easily recommend for fans of this genre. (7.5/10) Unlike the reviews that I have done before this one and Witch Craft Works are going to be the very categorized fashion that focuses on each category (story, art, sound, and characters) in a dissociated fashion. I will only be talking about overlaps when I think it is necessary. The reason for this departure frommy long form reviews (that you probably could use in an anime review itself with a bit of sprucing up to entertain viewers) is because I find both Rurumo and Witch Craft Works to be guilty pleasures. I am not saying guilty pleasures are persay not worth the effort of a long-form review, but there is not much to talk about (both positively and negatively) when it comes to either anime.

Story: 6

Majimoji Rurumo is a very simple anime that comes within a unique twist on the romantic-comedy genre that puts together a fairly clutzy, ditzy witch by the name of Rurumo and a perverted highschool boy named Kouta. This formation was caused by circumstances that had Rurumo spare the life of Kouta when he granted a "very special wish". After the anime establishes this pairing both (Kouta and Rurumo) have funny side adventures to learn what it means to be a witch, live, and possibly question whether or not, if giving up your life is worth someone's happiness. As amazing as that premise sounds, the plot goes really nowhere within this 12 episode cour. It mainly relies on a lot of episode cliches within slice of life anime (beach, unknowning love, etc.) This does allow for a very steady foundation to build the rest of the anime's characters, but it does create for a pretty bland series when its characters pan out. Luckily, most of the time they do.

Characters: 7

Rurumo and Kouta are the main protagonists of this series, and work well as a duo. Rurumo's innocent, immature nature really meshes well with Kouta's over-the-top personality. This formula isn't unique to anime (Gekkan Shoujo, Gintama, Gochuumon, Kiniro Mosaic all have this formula to some degree). Nevertheless, it still works to great effect. I found myself laughing a lot at the antics that were happening within anime when those two were on screen. It probably stems that I can relate closely to both characters, but I enjoy both of them a lot. The rest of the supporting cast are somewhat forgettable. The only characters outside of Rurumo and Kouta are Chiro and Tanako. Chiro has her own arc, and often leads to mischief on screen that screws with Kouta that I found fun. Tanako is fun in the same degree that her antics really just add for the rest of the series. The characters of this series are not original, but they're fun.

Art and Sound:

The art in Majimoji Rurumo is extremely quiet despite it being a romantic-comedy. When I go into watching a romantic-comedy, I assume that the color scheme is going to be outrageous or extremely colorful to match what is happening on screen. However, Rurumo never took those gambles or went a super high art quality. Everything was a simple pastel that is used in a lot of anime within this genre. This is not to say that the art scheme is bad, but it's generic for this type of show. However, Rurumo's smile in the opening of this anime is the brightest, warmest smile in all of anime. It screams pure happiness. And, is the best thing in this anime for me.

As for sound, Majimoji Rurumo's sounds are nothing to write home about. A lot of the inserts are primarily forgettable. They fit the scenes well enough to have ambience that flags for the viewer that something funny is supposed to happen, or serious is about to occur. I guess that's fine for what it's worth, but I would have liked the music director to take a chance and make something really heartfelt piano sonatas or loud jazz exerpts, for example, for various scenes. Much like the art, the sound is not bad, but its not good either.

Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 7

Majimoji Rurumo was a blast for me to watch. I enjoyed every minute that Kouta and Rurumo were on the screen. Their antics reminded me of some of the stupid things that my friends and I would do in high school (just without magical powers). I would never say this is a unique anime compared to other anime like it, but it had this aspect that made me happy to watch each episode. Rurumo may not be the perfect anime, but it exudes adolescence and innocence in love, melancholy, time, and friendship. A solid romantic-comedy that I think a lot of people will have fun with.

Majimoji Rurumo: (7.5/10)