Original Run: January 3, 2013 - March 28, 2013 Number of Episodes: 13 Genre: Comedy Based on the Series Created By: Choboraunyopomi
***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Ai Mai Mi. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Life is a series of random events, and for three high school girls, this couldn’t be truer.
Ai, Mai, and Mi (voiced respectively by Yuka Otsubo, Aya Uchida, and Maaya Uchida) are members of the manga club. The latter two of this trio can’t find this to be any more boring, which annoys the former to no end. As a result, any distraction that appears, it’s going to cause problems. Unfortunately, distractions have a tendency of finding these three.
Ai, Mai, and Mi must navigate through – and are sometimes the cause of – a lot of pure nonsense. Thus, they are never at a loss for things to do.
No matter how mundane something appears to be, these girls will find a way to take it to the next level. It is best to get out of their way because once they get going, you can’t stop them.
Series Positives
Ai Mai Mi didn’t have anywhere it wanted to go. This show didn’t have to worry about getting lost since that was never a possibility. When you set yourself up to wander, the random encounters on the journey become the experience. This series didn’t bother with the finish line because it didn’t exist.
Ai Mai Mi picked a direction and went full steam ahead. It didn’t stop for anything.
The short answer is: This show was stupid, and it was great because of that.
Ai Mai Mi was fast, and it never stopped moving. Every bit of motion was expressive and full of energy. Gestures were more exaggerated. With the show’s more jagged edges, it could absorb a lot of momentum.
So what though? This show was fast, that doesn’t equate to interesting. There must be something to grab your attention. For Ai Mai Mi, its hook was its humor.
Warning: This series is not a highbrow comedy. There weren’t any multi-layered jokes. Everything was as it came, and what came got pretty immature at points.
Keep in mind, I don’t want the term “immaturity” to always be a negative quality. There’s nothing wrong with a little silliness from time to time. A clever wit isn’t the only thing to get a laugh out of me.
Ai Mai Mi was as random as they get. You would be surprised how much thought needs to go into being stupid.
Series Negatives
There are two kinds of people in this world:
- Those who find Ai Mai Mi’s brand of humor funny.
- Those who find Ai Mai Mi’s brand of humor obnoxious
There is nothing else in this series. It put all its eggs into one basket and took off like a bat out of Hell. If you’re one of those people who aren’t sure which group you fall into, I suggest giving the first episode a look. Doing this will let you know for sure if this is your kind of show.
If you end up liking what you see, you’ll do fine with the rest. If you think it is the dumbest thing you’ve ever witnessed, trust me, it won’t get any better. If anything, it gets much worse.
For those who would enjoy this show, though, there are two things you need to know about it going in.
First, on occasion, there are bits of Japanese style humor. If you are well-versed in Japanese comedy, then ignore what I’m about to say. If you are not – and I can’t say that I am – some jokes are going to go over your head.
Is it wrong for a Japanese show to do this kind of thing? Absolutely not. This isn’t a negative to the series.
Besides, the majority of this show doesn’t rely on this type of comedy. Ai Mai Mi is accessible to most audiences. For the instances that are not like this, because the pace is so fast, the moment is over before you have the chance to say, “I don’t get it.”
The second thing I want to bring up IS an actual negative to this series.
Ai Mai Mi has no staying power whatsoever. The second you finish this show, you are going to start forgetting what it was you saw. You will know, “Yeah, that was fun.” Unfortunately, you’ll also be able to say, “But what did I see?”
To write this review, I felt I had to start it as soon as the last episode ended. Even then, I was having trouble. To fix this, I did the only thing I could think of. I watched the entire series two more times. It wasn’t until after that ninety minutes did I have a firmer grasp of what it was I liked and disliked about this show.
Final Thoughts
This is one of my favorite short-form anime. Everything about it is the right kind of randomness.
This show was energetic, loud, and it went for more interesting choices rather than logical ones. Plus, it was done with the perfect format for this kind of insanity to thrive.
Whenever I come across an anime with this short a run time, I always ask the same question: Could it work as a standard-length series? In this instance, the answer to that is a resounding no. And that’s not a bad thing.
The quickness of this show allowed everything to go big without getting out of hand. That’s not an easy thing to do.
As it stands, though, I know some people will never find this series appealing. I get why that is. Yet for those who want something that hits hard, hits fast, and are just looking for a good time, that makes this easy.
Ai Mai Mi is worth checking out.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? How would you advise Ai Mai Mi? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.
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For Anime Hajime, I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.
