Every season, there's usually an anime title that only runs at less than five minutes of air time per episode. These are usually based on yonkoma or four cell manga strips that feature comedic storylines.
Admittedly, I rarely stick around for the entire season with this type of anime. When I do stick to one, however, it's because of the adorable factor. A few seasons ago, it was the darling Nyanpire, which chronicled the rather tame yet hilarious adventures of a cute cat turned cute vampire-cat.
Last winter and spring, it was the two seasons of Recorder to Randoseru.
I originally thought about creating individual posts for the two seasons, but decided against it. Recorder to Randoseru, much like the others featured in the format, is actually a series of random stories instead of showcasing an overarching plot.
Recorder to Randoseru (Recorder and Randsell) chronicles the everyday adventures of siblings Miyagawa Atsumi and Miyagawa Atsushi. Atsumi is a seventeen year old female high school student, while Atsushi is a ten year old male elementary student. While the two are regular in their relationship as siblings, they do have to contend with a unique challenge. Atsumi looks like an elementary student, while Atsushi is the one with more adult looking physical traits (check out the poster image).
It should be obvious at this point that the premise of the entire series is to showcase the misadventures brought about by the reverse physical traits of the siblings. Atsumi is normally regarded as an elementary student, with her best friend Sayo obsessed with treating her as a little sister. While there are challenges to being constantly regarded as a little girl and treated with awe by high school students who think that she is a genius who have yet to reach her preteens, Atsumi is actually lucky compared to her brother.
Atsushi gets the brunt of the misadventures, experiencing the worst case scenarios because of his condition. Imagine an adult looking boy, who exhibits the playful innocence of his actual age. Now, imagine that adult looking boy walking hand in hand on the road with his female classmate. Or proudly showing that classmate his new coat (thought to be flashing) or asking if she wants one of his treats (thought to be a "treat" by strangers who assumes he's an adult man propositioning a little girl). Sure, Atsushi gets to outstrip his classmates during field days and sports events, but it also comes with the price of being constantly considered a pedophile among children. Atsushi being dragged away by cops or chased by adults are recurring gags throughout the series. Another recurring storyline features Sayo thinking that Atsushi is Atsumi's neighbor, subsequently developing a crush, which she continued to foster, albeit with much confusion even after finding out the truth about Atsushi.
Recorder to Randoseru is simply a series of quickly told hilarious mishaps caused by the siblings' unusual situation. Minus the short intro and the closing musical number, all you're really left with is a couple of minutes of storyline. With the short running time, the story immediately focuses on providing viewers a quick set up and execution of the token misadventure of the episode. There's no sense of rushing though the storyline, although those who positively respond to the series are left wanting for more.
Recorder to Randoseru is never meant to be taken seriously, especially since they
introduced a rather unusual comic setting to begin with. Its strengths lie in its ability to be funny without being cloying and short without being abrupt.
A word of advice to those who are planning to watch Recorder to Randoseru... don't expect too much nor try to find a resolution for the siblings. It's meant to be an episodic situational sitcom and should be enjoyed as such. It's meant to elicit laughs without making you work hard to understand the humor behind that laughter.
Although, I predict that Atsumi will be forever cute and mistakenly considered as a child prodigy, while Atsushi will eventually grow up and become mature enough to match his looks.
Yet, I also predict that he will continue to be mistakenly arrested until then.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Adaptation, Anime, Comedy, Must-Watch, Recorder to Randoseru, Slice of Life, TV
