Photo Kano

Title:Photo Kano
フォトカノ (Japanese)
Overall:Watch
Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: SHIMAZAKI Nobunaga
After being given a used camera during summer break, Kazuya Maeda discovers that he enjoys the hobby of photography. Back at school, he finds that there are two clubs that would like him to join, the 'Photo' one and the 'Photography' one. One club is concerned with a professional approach to the art of photography, the other something else.

12 episodes
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 8 9 9 0 8 0 KBanger1 [series:2707#1694]
Photo Kano is about a first year high school student, Kazuya Maeda, who feels like he's a nobody but a face in the crowd. Even his own best friend seemed to be distant. That all changes when his father gives him his old digital camera. From that point, his dull every day routine will end up changing his school life forever.

At first, I thought this anime was a harem-type. However, it ends up being almost like Amagami SS. There are different arcs within this anime but some are no longer than 2 episodes. I gave it a chance just for a different change of pace. Ususally, stories like this one make stop after a few episodes because of the repetitive theme which is boy falls in love with girl, girl falls in love as well, etc. This anime a bit unique because unlike Amagami SS which each arc doesn't coincide with each other, Photo Kano progresses the story but in a way where it seems that everything that has happened from the beginning ends up supporting the final episode which to me I found interesting. It's a cute anime which doesn't really go far into romance which to me is good. It has very little comedy which wasn't a let down. It's way more focused on how Kazuya was able to interpret each girl and how they end up falling for him. Overall, it was a nice distraction for me after viewing a lot more harem titles. If you like slice of life anime with some romance, then this is a good anime.

Last updated Saturday, June 22 2013. Created Saturday, June 22 2013.
Unevaluated Stretch [series:2707#628]
(Four episodes watched):

The impression I got of PhotoKano from episode one was of what might just be a sort of tasteful harem series, if such a thing is really possible. Fanservice is plentiful, with lots of buxom girls, but this didn't seem to be a show which had nothing but fanservice to offer. Far too much effort was put into background art, stills, and introducing a large cast of characters for that to be the case. A number of interesting questions are raised, like whether Maeda made the best choice in selecting a club to join, why does this club which consists largely of horny guys have a strange girl in it, what's the deal with the odd girl in the more responsible club, etc, etc. This show might go somewhere; it might also turn out to be a cheap plot where Maeda has only to choose from girls who illogically throw themselves at him.

It turns out that this is not so much a harem as just plain a fanservice-driven show. In the space of one episode (number three) Kazuya accidentally manages to get kissed by a cute girl, fondle another girls breasts, have a set of breasts shoved in his face, and get a look under a girl's skirt. Meanwhile, there were no really good jokes and about the only personality any of these girls has is what can be deduced from the club she belongs to. Nor was there any hint of an answer to any of my initial questions, like why one girl belongs to the sleazy photography group. For me, PhotoKano rapidly ran out of steam; this show's premise was looking more and more like a cheap excuse for fanservice and less and less like a basis for an interesting story about noteworthy people. No long term plot of any interest seemed to be forming, just cheap, forgettable antics that lead to yet more fanservice opportunities. I suspect that the way I will wind up summarizing this show will be 'fanservice with some extra care taken on the artwork'. Partly because I was having a hard time keeping up with new episodes this season, I decided to quit PhotoKano.

Last updated Sunday, June 23 2013. Created Thursday, April 11 2013.

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