The Eccentric Family REVIEW [Talkisoba]

Welcome to the 9th episode of Tanuki Solo, with our review for The Eccentric Family. I'm Anime Professional Molange, with Anime Apprentice Nate. We are reviewing a show that uses Japanese Mythology in a whimsical manner that I've never seen before. What did you think about this show, Nate? I thought the anime was very good, but as a westerner who doesn't know much Japanese stuff, the anime didn't grab me, and I was pretty much uninterested. I do agree that it has a very uplifting style, and anyone familiar with Japanese lore would love this. The Eccentric Family aired in the glorious summer of 2013, where it had a short and sweet 13-episode run. The show was set in contemporary Japan, where humans live alongside Japanese mythological creatures like Tengu and Tanuki. The show follows a well-known Tanuki family that just recently lost their father due to him getting caught up in some human affairs. The father of Tanuki was also the leader of a local Tanuki society, and his family gets wrapped up in a conflict with the other Tanukis. The focus is on the thirst in Miyazaburo, whose daily life consists of mischief and visiting the old Tengu that acts as his mentor. I would say that the plot and story rely heavily on pre-existing Japanese culture and lore. Not everything is immediately understandable if you don't know about their mythos, which I don't since I'm a regular westerner who hasn't studied Japan. I think that if you're a westerner like me who knows little to nothing about Japan in general, a lot of stuff will go over your head. I would say although the story is good, I did not enjoy it because it did not speak to me. However, the magical elements are consistent, and if you suspend your disbelief, then most of the show will still make sense. The ending does wrap up all loose ends nicely, which I appreciated. The main character is Yasaburo, the third eldest in his family, a mischievous boy that just wants to make his life full of adventure every day. He has three brothers, the oldest being Yajiro, who is the most responsible of the family, but if anything goes awry, he panics very easily. The second eldest is Yajiro, whom after being devastated by his father's loss, ends up transforming into a fraud where he now lives in a well where he gives advice to the people that come and visit him. The youngest is Yashiro, an innocent boy who is just trying to man up. The mother of the family is kind and proud of what her boys have done to live up to their father's ideals. Other important characters include the tengu, Yagishiba, who is the mentor for the family's sons, and Benten, a mysterious human that has evolved in everyone's lives. I liked the titular eccentric family, they were in fact eccentric. The eldest son always strives to be stern as he wants to be the de facto leader of the And Yasaburo only wants to have fun in life and constantly touts his idiot blood, which makes him what he is. There are several human characters as well, who form the Friday Fellows, along with Benten and they attempt to capture Tanukis and eat them. Benten in particular is really pretentious, and at one point the show tried to make you feel sympathy for, but I never understood her character and disliked her altogether. There is also a less eccentric rival family who are actually related to the eccentric family, and their battle for power is the conflict in the plot. The rival family includes Tsun, the brother of Soichiro, who is the father of the eccentric family. Tsun has two devilish twin sons who attempt to sabotage Yasaburo and his brother, and those two twins are real jerks. There is also Tsun's daughter, who is rarely seen, but does play an important role later on. The studio behind this colorful show is P.A. Works, who have in the past made really well-known shows like Shirabagu and Nagi no Osaku, which are both very beautiful shows. The eccentric family has a unique art style to it, which can be shown with its characters while looking a little bit different from the usual anime characters. In particular, the ears were oddly shaped to me, but I didn't try too much from the great animation. Overall, P.A. Works did a fantastic job drawing a unique, beautiful show that made me enjoy my life. I thought the animation was great and colorful, and at times reminded me of Miyazaki films. Character design was great, and I enjoyed everyone's transformations. It really showed range for the artists and animators. However, I think everyone's noses are drawn a bit odd, but it's just part of the style. I would say the animation and style are the best parts of this show. Now we'll discuss the soundtrack. The soundtrack did not stand out to me, but it seemed good enough. It felt contemporary and a little repetitive. I only noticed a few tracks. As for the opening and ending themes, I didn't really care for them, but they were good in their own right. This show has no dub, but I thought the Japanese voice actors were pretty good for the most part, except for Ben 10's voice, which was just really, really annoying. Luckily, the other voices were much better, and the casting was on point. I really liked the soundtrack, in particular the upbeat jazz pieces. As for the opening, it was an in-your-face song that really sets up for the rapid pace of the show. The ending was a nice melancholic song that really made you appreciate the show's values. As for the voice actors, they nailed their roles, obviously since the show was so Japanese, the Japanese voice actors did a great job of fully realizing their characters. To wrap things up, I really enjoyed the center family. It was a really unique experience for me. I loved the characters in this show. Their family bonds reminded me of my family bonds, which made me appreciate what I have in my life even more. All in all, I have to say, while I do recognize that the show was good, it was just too Japanese for me, and I was not captured by it. I would not inherently recommend this anime for newcomers, as even if you have an open mind, some things just confuse us and fall flat on us westerners, but for anime veterans and fans of Japanese culture in general, this is definitely the anime for you. You can watch The Eccentric Family for free on Hulu and Quencheroll, and there's a Blu-ray with a collector's art book. As always, if you've already watched The Eccentric Family, link the first link in the description for our post-review discussion, which includes some minor spoilers. Thanks for watching our review of The Eccentric Family, please give it a like or comment for feedback, and we'll see you guys eventually with our review of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.