Minami-ke

Title:Minami-ke
The Minami Family (literal translation)
みなみけ (Japanese)
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: CHIHARA Minori
INOUE Marina
Original Concept - SAKURABA Koharu
SATOU Rina
Minami-ke is a manga following three sisters, Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki in their lives at home and school. It`s a funny series that depicts how these characters interact with each other and their classmates. It`s a story about ordinary girls and their ordinary adventures told in an extraordinary manner.
(Summary from ANIDB)

Animation by Daume.
13 TV episodes.
Series first aired in Oct '07.

14sec promo/advert - YouTube Video

[edit] The ↗Minami-ke franchise:
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Unevaluated 8 9 3 7 6 5 Devil Doll [series:1685#752]
[aborted after 1 episode; temporary score: 57% = "Watch-"; recommended similar but more serious slice-of-life sisters scenario: Binbou Shimai Monogatari]

Good grief. I knew beforehand that I had my problems with Azumanga Daioh (TV) (because I hate Tomo-chan's annoying personality and her getting away with all of her hateful demeanor). But I was kind of hoping to not get this exceeded by Minami-ke.
Sadly, it looks like Kana is even worse than Tomo, Chiaki is an unfriendly wisecracker, and Haruka is no factor in the equation; a likable character like Sakaki-san doesn't seem to exist here. The animation (see AstroNerdBoy's review below) was the only good thing for me about the first episode. I'm rather shocked than disappointed.

I don't remember having aborted a series that I was looking forward to (since I liked Kyou no Go no Ni (OVA) by the same manga-ka) after the very first episode already. But with no story and then these characters, what would I have to hope for in this show? Embarrassing jokes alone don't qualify to get my time invested here; for me, Binbou Shimai Monogatari is a million times more suitable (and that's a series which Ggultra2764 aborted after the first glance).

Last updated Sunday, August 14 2011. Created Sunday, August 14 2011.
Buy 9 8 8 8 8 8 Ggultra2764 [series:1685#1552]
Oh man, I haven't laughed so much since I first seen Azumanga Daioh (TV). Much like Daioh, each episode of Minami-ke is divided up into several segments focused on a specific event involving one or all of the Minami sisters and their classmates. It is a series about nothing pretty much. The stuff that each of the characters do leads to the laughs of the series featuring gags such as the idiot-bashing of youngest Minami sister Chiaki, the Tomo-like middle sister Kana, cross dressing Makoto, and the members of the other Minami family. At every turn of this series, I couldn't help but laugh as each of these situations happened believably enough and could even happen in real life.

The visuals and soundtrack to Minami-ke do well to pair up with the actions of the characters. Unlike most comedy titles that slip into super-deformed mode during gags, Minami-ke animates the characters with greater detail than usual to show the expressions on their faces during close facial shots. The energetic and quirky music does well to show off the comical charm of this series.

The comedic format of this series, like Azumanga Daioh, won't appeal to some folks if they crave comedy that is a little more over-the-top. But if you liked Azumanga Daioh, then you should be able to fall in love with the comedy of Minami-ke just as well.

Last updated Friday, January 09 2009. Created Friday, January 09 2009.
Rent 8 8 8 7 8 7 Dreamer [series:1685#2279]
A perfect word to describe this..... "cute".

Art, Animation & Character Design
The art and animation are pretty good. The 3 sisters are drawn cute and Kana is super uber cute! I love their cat-looking mouths... hehehe. At times, the frame-rate seems to drop and get choppy but other than that, the animation is pretty smooth and character designs overall is good.

Music
Although nothing worth noting, the theme song is ever so slightly catchy... and that's saying a lot coming from me.

Series and Episode Stories
This anime is nothing more than the telling of every day events in the life of the 3 sisters; a slice-of-life tale that's both funny and cute. Aside from that, there's no real tale of epic proportions or some world to save. However, with all that said, for some reason, it's still really enjoyable to watch. And nearly at the end of each episode, I had a slight smile on my face from enjoyment. I think what makes it interesting is the fact that it's a simple story of 3 sisters, their interactions amongst each other... which was portrayed quite realistically, and their interactions with people around them. See, sometimes you don't need guns, gore and gallantry to make a good show.

Overall, it's a great pic. Not a lot in intricate story telling but fun nevertheless. It's a high Rent.

Last updated Sunday, November 30 2008. Created Sunday, November 30 2008.
Buy 9 8 8 8 8 AstroNerdBoy [series:1685#436]

I first became aware of Minami-ke thanks to this GIF image.

^_^

Well, that was enough to get me interested. The series very reminiscent of Azumanga Daioh (TV). Like that series, Minami-ke is not about anything. It follows the lives of the three Minami sisters starting one summer and ending that New Year. The three sisters are Haruka (high school) who takes care of the family (no mother or father are ever seen and only briefly mentioned). Kana is the middle sister (think Tomo from Azumanga Daioh) who enjoys causing trouble. Chiaki is the youngest sister. She has little patience for idiots, and she sees idiots everywhere, especially with Kana (whom she often refers to as "bakayarou," a strong form of the word "idiot"). However, Chiaki worships Haruka, referring to her as "Haruka-neesama."

The series has a huge supporting cast. There are various friends for all three girls, their cousin Takeru (who looks in on them from time-to-time), another Minami family (three older brothers and a tomboy youngest child named Touma, whom Chiaki adopts as her younger brother despite Touma being a girl). Each episode contains four to five short stories, usually with a connecting theme. Said stories focus on a particular slice of life for the Minami sisters or the supporting cast. As such, the humor is derived from these otherwise normal (or even odd) events, thanks in no small part to the characters involved. That said, while I got many laughs from the series, they were somewhat different from those I got from Azumanga Daioh. I think Minami-ke gets a bit stranger than Azumanga Daioh at times and as such, will be an acquired taste for some.

Still, I cannot deny that I really enjoyed watching this series. Indeed, as I would blog about the individual episodes, I would find myself giggling or laughing harder at the memory than I did when I first watched it. In that regard, the series is like a food or drink that initially you think, "Yeah, that's pretty good" but then after you swallow, the aftertaste makes you think, "Wow! That really was good." With that, I would eagerly head into the next episode.

Bottom line: Its not going to be for everyone, but if you enjoyed Azumanga Daioh (TV), I think you'll enjoy this one. I know I did.

Last updated Sunday, November 30 2008. Created Friday, January 11 2008.

Rent Stretch [series:1685#628]
(Rent+, to be exact)

(All episodes watched):

The episodes begin with a warning to the viewer that he or she should not expect too much from this slice-of-life sort of show. The OP sequence is goofy and fun and gave me a good vibe. We meet the three sisters: Haruka, the eldest and most calm and responsible; Kana, the middle sister and a lazy, sloppy one; and Chiaki the firey little sister. The station breaks reminded me of Azumanga Daioh (TV); as did perhaps the fact that this is an all-girl show. Likewise, it also reminded me of Lucky Star, in part because it involves sisters and Kana (sort of) reminds me of Konata. There are some clever and unusual "camera tricks" (for want of a better term) here, resulting in Matrix-like animation at one point. No apparent fanservice. Episode two struck me as inferior to episode one; did I speak too soon in strongly praising Minami-ke? One unusual thing about this show is that whereas many series use the tactic of making characters go into superdeformed mode (a simplified charicature of the usual character design) at the moment of a joke's punchline, Minami-ke reasons that the same tactic can be taken in the opposite direction, i.e, when the character gets angry she becomes more detailed and realistic. Episode four was great, however, back up to the standard of the first one. Some episodes are just better than others. The weird video game the sisters played was especially hilarious. There's not much of an ongoing plot, about all you need to keep track of are the boy who poses as a girl, the girl who poses as a boy, and the same girl's three brothers. The makers of Minami-ke needn't have worried that viewers would expect too much; I found it to be distinctly above average. This is a genuinely funny show, and I was always looking forward to the next episode. Apparently the sequel series, Minami-ke Okawari, is ready to run without interruption, which is definitely good news.

My favorite line: "Entertaining me, worshipping me, and making me happy is what you're supposed to do as my younger sister!" --Kana

Last updated Saturday, January 05 2008. Created Wednesday, October 17 2007.
Buy Forbin [series:1685#1573]
Analysis : 12 Fansubs Watched

  • Drama : Low
  • Comedy : High
  • Action : Low
  • SciFi : None
  • Ecchi : Low
    • A slight bra is about it.
I know this is from the author if Today in Class 5-2 but damn do I feel like Miyu from Strawberry Marshmallow just spun off into a show about her and her 2 sisters.

Funny and weird at the same time.

This has to be the best show of the season! Consistently funny without going completely unrealistic. Each girl is very real, each girl has their little issues and problems and each acts exactly like a real sister should. You see competition, different personalities, skill sets, and even Cross Dressing! You gotta see cross dressing!

My favorite? The legend of the Bancho and the New Bancho! My not so favorite? The volleyball guy, everytime he opens his shirt I just shudder.

Last updated Friday, January 11 2008. Created Friday, October 12 2007.

Other Sites
NameURL
Japanese (Language) Series Web Site http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/minami-ke/
Wiki entry for the anime series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minami-ke

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