Moyashimon

One could say that freshman college student Tadayasu Sawaki has a wide range of vision. He has a peculiar ability that allows him to see microorganisms with the naked eye. Sawaki can see all sorts of microbes, from the fungi that cause athlete's foot to the yeast used to make alcohol, with him perceiving his little friends as cute chibi creatures. Attending an agricultural university, his talent piques the interest of numerous professors, including Professor Itsuki, who specializes in fermentation.

Sawaki starts school indifferent toward his ability, choosing an agricultural school in Tokyo. However, with the help of the eccentric community around him, he slowly learns to appreciate these visible microbes and his talent. The whimsical cast of professors and classmates attending the university almost makes Sawaki seem normal despite his ability.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yuuki, Kei Main

Saiga, Mitsuki Japanese

Hasegawa, Haruka Main

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Sawaki, Tadayasu Main

Sakaguchi, Daisuke Japanese

Itsuki, Keizou Main

Nishimura, Tomomichi Japanese

Aspergillus oryzae Supporting

Touma, Yumi Japanese

Aspergillus niger Supporting

Yoshida, Hisanori Japanese

Mutou, Aoi Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Oikawa, Hazuki Supporting

Kanda, Akemi Japanese

Misato, Kaoru Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Kawahama, Takuma Supporting

Sugiyama, Noriaki Japanese

Yamamoto, Kouji Producer

Watanabe, Tetsuya Producer

Sano, Hiroaki Producer

Taniguchi, Osamu Producer

Reviews

Mar 31, 2009

Archaeon

Recommended

If you're like me in that you tend to look for those quirky, odd, and oft times underrated anime, then rejoice, for Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture may be right up your street.

The original manga, created by Ishikawa Masayuki, began serialisation in Kodansha's Evening magazine in 2004, and in 2008 it won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Grand Prize as well as Kodansha's General Manga Award. The anime adaptation, directed by Yuichiro Yano (Mujin Wakusei Survive, Patapata Hikousen no Bouken), and produced by Telekom Animation Film and Shirogumi Inc, was released in October 2007.

The story takes place at an agricultural university in Tokyo (something which I'd never ... heard of before, and I was surprised to find that it does actually exist), and centres around a first year student named Sawaki Souemon Tadayasu, who is attending the university along with his childhood friend Yuuki Kei. Sawaki, who is from a family of tane-kōji-ya (mold-starters, or yeast producers), isn't really interested in attending university, and has simply tagged along with Kei (who's family runs a sake brewery, and are long time customers of the Sawaki family).

They are taken under the wing of the highly eccentric professor Itsuki Keizo, and old friend of Sawaki's grandfather, and are given a crash course in fermentation on their first day (you'll understand when you watch the first episode).

Now, one would expect this to be a normal comedy, however Moyashimon has one big difference - Sawaki can see and interact with microbes, germs, viruses and bacteria, and all without the use of equipment of any sort. Only a few people know of his ability and, as far as anyone is aware, he is the only person in the world with it.

Cue the shenanigans.

The character designs are very good in this show. Each character is very clearly an individual, however the real stars of the show are the microbes themselves. Their design was pure genius as they are both cute and funny at the same time (especially with their big cheesy grins). The backgrounds are nicely detailed, with the university environs having a strangely authentic feel to them. The animation throughout the series is very smooth, and the usage of CG, especially for the microbes, is almost seamlessly tied in with the normal animation.

One thing I did like about the style of the show was that it wasn't afraid to go for the overly dramatic in certain scenes, and this actually enhances the comedic moments which often follow.

Sound is another good area for this series. The effects are well used, and serve to enhance the various scenes. The thematic music is nice and quirky, and is often highly reflective of the fact that this show isn't really meant to be taken seriously. The OP, "Curriculum" by Ifu Sarasa, is an extremely catchy pop song, and I never get tired of watching the video that goes with it as it is extremely well choreographed. The ED, "Rocket" by Polysics, is just as good, just as catchy, and very well choregraphed too.

The voice actors are very well chosen for their respective roles. Sakaguchi Daisuke does extremely well in the role of Sawaki, and manages to bring a certain long-suffering, and slightly bored quality to the character. The other seiyuu are also just as good, but then the cast for this show is extremely talented in the first place having worked in shows as diverse as Aria, Genshiken, .HACK//, Negima, Baccano! and Bamboo Blade. Almost every member of the cast has had a leading role in a popular series, and even the Aspergillus Oryzae are voiced by Touma Yumi (who plays Urd in Ah! Megami-sama).

The characters are very good throughout the series. Sawaki is fairly used to disbelief at the start of the show, so it comes as a shock to him that other people are not only aware of his ability, but also accept it. A good portion of the show sees him being dragged along by events and other people, and while at first he seems like he has no backbone, one should remember that he finds it very difficult to trust people, and so tends to take the easier option of just going along for the ride. Kei has his own, more fundamental, problem to deal with, and as the show progresses Kei seems to fade out as a character (although once the reason for his problem becomes clear, then it all begins to make sense).

The most memorable characters though, are definitely the eccentric and mysterious Itsuki Keizo, and the microbes themselves (who have their own quirks and prejudices too).

Each of the characters is portrayed in a very realistic manner, and I found it ironic that many of the traits they displayed were as familiar to me as my own hand - as they may be to anyone else who has attended university, lived in a dorm, or had dealings with a professor who seems more than a little off-the-wall. .

This is very much a comedy show aimed at a more mature audience, and I enjoyed it immensely. Younger viewers may not like much of the more subtle humour or the quasi-educational stance the show sometimes takes, although these are often amusing in their own way. This hopefully won't dissuade anyone from watching the show as, aside from the whole deal with Sawaki seeing microbes, this is one of the most realistic university based comedies I've seen, and at times harks back to the classic Animal House.

Moyashimon is a hugely underrated show for many reasons, but for those of you want something lighthearted, funny (in a sometimes surreal and nauseous way - you'll understand if you watch the show), and a little more "real" than the norm, then you should give this a try.

However I would advise hypochondriacs and people who are obsessive about cleanliness to steer clear :)

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Feb 7, 2012

Aria34

Mixed Feelings

When I first heard about Moyashimon I was really excited. I thought the concept was quirky and interesting. But now I'm kind of wondering what my other reasons for finishing the show were other than 'it's only eleven episodes.'

The animation varies. It looks great in some places, okay in others, bad in some.

The sound is good; the voice actors are talented and they do a good job while the background music was nothing special.

Getting past the 'how is buying a super-special aphrodisiac, advertized as something will turn your intended target into a sex slave that will not be able to resist you, ... any different than date rape?' question (no joke, the protagonist and a couple supporting characters actually pursue said aphrodisiacs for 2/11 episodes), the story is kind of all over the place. I enjoyed the bits on how it's like to go to an agricultural school and the science behind certain microbes and the process of fermentation. I just wish it focused on that... Instead we get this sort of runaround with supposed character development that never goes anywhere. What I learned from the last episode was that apparently I was supposed to be wondering about what the protagonist should do with his life instead of inherit the yeast business, which he never really raised an objection to in the previous episodes, so this internal conflict really felt shoehorned in, along with everything else. Usually character development hits you out of nowhere and then it ends which makes it feel like "here, have this arbitrary excuse for us to tell you about this thing we forgot to mention early on." These moments come to no real conclusion of epiphany so you end up just taking in this worthless info and moving on. Something about all this worthless information made it hard to stomach when the show started to ask me to start caring or enjoy the fan service.

But speaking about fan service, there's this elephant in the room I'd like to address. Unfortunately I cannot talk about this without getting into .... spoilers (?) though one would assume you need a plot before you can spoil it. The protagonist gets kissed by his best friend (male) after he figures out the mysterious cute girl he's been seeing around lately is said friend. I can't even fathom what the lead in to that moment was. I think I rewatched the part right before it about five times, and I still have no clue. Maybe it's my delicate North American sensibilities but, I usually don't kiss my best friends on the mouth as a joke, be them boy or girl. Usually I enjoy seeing guys or girls kiss; I won't deny that. But, then they never really address it, even though it's kind of important. Later on when one of the characters does comment on the guys kissing situation it's in homophobic rage, and the one who is going on that homophobic tangent is a girl who had a one-night-stand with another girl (she's not gay! It all the aphrodisiacs fault!). And all this is just one Big-lipped Alligator Moment stuffed inside another one. It all left me kind of confused and pissed off at the same time. I was too busy trying to deal with these emotions to even enjoy any of it.

So what I wanted was a quirky science show about life in an agricultural university ... what I got was How Not to Do Character Development the TV show. The only thing worthwhile I got out of this show was the science, and believe me, I loved those portions, but I got nothing else.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Mar 30, 2009

Unregistered00

Not Recommended

"A potential that has been wasted"

That is how I should sum up Moyashimon. It has a good grip on comedy but there's not enough of it going through the whole 11 episodes. There's some educational elements injected here and there but the lessons didn't attract my interest both in whatever they're teaching and the story itself. What did interest me is it's difference in whatever was being subbed at the time. Let's see, it's called "Tales of Agriculture". Yes. It sounded boring but it did pique my interest.

The simplicity in both art and sound works for the anime for some odd reason. Almost everyone can ... tell that they busted their budget on the OP which is the best thing going for this anime.

The second best thing going for this anime is the lead character. The funny scenes usually involve him and something gross happening. The other characters are just there to fill up the screen so there's really nothing going for them.

It isn't bad "BAD" but anyone can live without watching this unique piece of anime that seems to have lost its direction halfway through. However, if you're like me who has a tendency to lean towards the "road less travelled" then just try it out. It wouldn't kill you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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