Review of Bakuon!!
The biggest regret that I've had with this show, is in not writing a timely review praising its delectable outrageousness. Welcome to Bakuon!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There's simply nothing to gush about when it comes to the basic plot of the show, rather what isn't explained outright is that this show is an absolutely irreverent parody of the subject matters it features- complete with random scenes of sheer absurdity drenched in over-the-top -and at times, subtle- goofiness. Which brings us to question just what on earth does it make fun of? Biking perhaps? Why of course, the whole thing is essentially about biking, but it makes fun of it inspades! And what else does it make fun of as well? Oh plenty really, anything from traffic laws to business practices- not to mention the characters themselves whom are all relatively quirky, downright bizarre and completely ridiculous at times.
The script is also relatively well paced and imaginative, wherein it's loaded to the brim with various situations where >70% of which is outright designed to be soaked in comedic value. Other than that, there are also a few surprisingly charming but brief scenes spread throughout the show centering around such topics like friendship for instance.
But above all, if you can't already tell, this show is a parody of K-ON!
Plot & Themes/Script & Dialogue Rating: 7
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On the visual front, there really isn't that much to comment on actually. Generally speaking, the show is decently made. The art is well-drawn, and while the colors can be slightly over-saturated at times, they are at the very least rich, vibrant and 'poppy'. The designs of the backgrounds and characters on the other hand aren't meant to break new ground, but are at least creative and distinctive. There're also plenty of real-life visual references in the form of scanned magazines, posters, photographs and artwork.
Animation-wise, this show is surprisingly well-animated at parts, especially when it comes down to the character movements and comedic scenes. The 3D-rendering of the bikes in the show is also rather impeccable- exquisitely detailed down to the most minute of particulars, the bikes themselves move very seamlessly on screen with very little to no choppiness in fact.
There're also several instances of experimental or at least, out-of-the-norm animation and artistic techniques being used in the anime, and the lighting -which utilizes extensive bloom to create the show's distinctively warm and bright look- and particle effects greatly enhance the visual appeal of the show. The camera-work is also very creative and the shots well edited to great effect, all flowing together very well in many of the scenes thus creating a consistently seamless viewing experience.
The OP sequence is a well-made though only somewhat creative sequence which introduces the characters and their bikes, before proceeding to showcase them embarking on a road trip in its second half. The ED sequence on the other hand is very comedic and simple, with mini versions of the characters on their bikes journeying back to school.
Art & Animation Rating: 8
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For one, this show's sound design is bloody amazing, wherein an appropriately joyful rock-oriented (BIKES = ROCK- PERIOD) soundtrack featuring some uncommon track structures and musical timbres, in addition to more conventional bluesy and poppy rock tunes, and various other goofy and idyllic tracks utilizing an eclectic selection of instruments used in the more slice-of-life moments drenches the show in an inviting musk of gleeful hilarity that's just simply hard to shake off.
Not only that, the sound effects themselves are superb- ESPECIALLY the greatness that is the bikes' engines... OOOOOHHHHHHH PURE ECSTASY. Ahem, I mean, in general they are carefully chosen and professionally made but yeah you get the point, no complaints there.
But hold it! There's just one more part that we MUST absolutely discuss before going in any further and that is the ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC voice acting! Oh God, the voice acting, the sheer amazing balls that is the voice acting is what REEEEAAAALLLYYY makes this show shine. Skilled, emotive and hilarious, the voice acting for the characters are all incredibly well done, with the only hiccups possibly going to the 'extras' on screen. However! The one character who received the BEST voice acting chops in the show is by far Sakura Hane, voiced by the highly talented Ueda Reina. Her portrayal of Hane as this absolutely dorky, cheeky, simple-minded, childlike dunce of a character drove me to intense elongated bouts of teary-eyed gut-busting laughter that is hard to top save for the likes of Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou. Man, I sure haven't laughed this hard in ages!
Sound Design Rating: 9
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Like I've briefly described at the end of my POFITs on the show's sound design, the characters of this show are absolutely absurd and ridiculous with varied personalities. I've already described Hane just now, but what about the rest? Well, there's:
1) Amano Onsa, who serves as your average, friendly teenage girl who's a little quirky with a deep passion for bikes and a good sense of humor. She switches from reacting to initiating jokes in a variety of ways
2) Suzunoki Rin, who's a smug, easily embarrased yet spunky girl with an elevated sense of self and a sore loser, in addition to being a diehard fangirl of Suzuki's bikes. She's a daddy's girl but has over time lost some respect for him due to his bike-related hijinks
3) Minowa Hijiri is your eccentric, air-headed rich kid who fantasizes about doing the 'naughty', 'socially transgressive' things that 'delinquents' tend to do or at least that's the impression that she has in her head. She's frequently accompanied by her butler Hayakawa who rides a Ducati
4) Kawasaki Raimu is an enigma of a figure who's utilized by the plot as a conduit for bizarre, unexplainable acts. No one knows what's underneath her helmet and she never speaks. She's a parody of The Stig from Top Gear
Apart from those 5 main ones, there's a host of other side characters as well, in addition to one who we're later introduced to before finally being bumped up to main character status- just like K-ON! Tee-hee!
Characters Rating: 8
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To sum all of this up, I just simply couldn't get enough of Bakuon!! and waited extremely eagerly each week to know just what kinda shit that the cast are gonna get themselves into the next time. Not to mention those nights when I simply couldn't sleep at all, laughing my ass off just thinking about all the absolutely hilarious situations and dialogue that occurred throughout the day's episode. Without a doubt, this show was easily my most favorite show of Spring 2016 and I wonder in excitement as to whether something similar to this BUT WITH CARS would get animated one day. Hope you guys can see the charm of this show just as I did when it aired months back.
Enjoyment Rating: 9
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And with that I bid you all farewell, till next time then.
[Personal Rating: 8]
[Critical Rating: 8]