ClassicaLoid

Title:ClassicaLoid
Overall:Watch
Keywords: , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - SUNRISE
KAJI Yuuki
KOMATSU Mikako
SHIMAZAKI Nobunaga
SUGITA Tomokazu
Kanae has the unhappy job of preparing her grandmother's mansion, which was once the site of exciting dances, talented music and general joyfulness, for demolition. But a friend of hers has let two strange men stay there, and they don't want to leave. One calls himself Beethoven and the other Mozart.

? episodes


See also: ClassicaLoid 2.
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 8 7 8 7 5 5 Ggultra2764 [series:3264#1552]
I'll give Classicaloid some credit in that it was attempting to be unique and original with its comedy focusing on the antics and quirks of the titular androids that are caricatures of classical musicians. The comedy had its moments where it made me snicker and admired how creative it was being with its comedy, particularly whenever the Classicaloids milked use of their Muzik abilities to tend to different situations that produce some creatively bizarre results. However, I felt the series may have overextended its hand with its gimmick a bit as there were a number of episodes that felt like they were padding out the show's length and didn't really lend anything to the premise it was milking with the Classicaloids, as well as Kanae and Sousuke being rather bland and archetypal as lead characters. While certainly a uniquely original premise for a comedy anime, perhaps Classicaloid could have worked better as a one-cour anime as 25 episodes felt a bit much for the series to make effective use of its comedy.

Last updated Thursday, August 23 2018. Created Thursday, August 23 2018.
Unevaluated Stretch [series:3264#628]
(19 episodes watched):

Ha! Without a word being spoken, the visuals and music alone of the opening scene of this show made me laugh. The truly distinctive character designs and flamboyant visuals told a little story all by themselves. This show was looking pretty neat right from the get-go. When the characters did start to speak, however, problems immediately set in. Basically, it seemed more nonsensical than funny or clever. Things have got to make sense (in an unexpected way) in order to be funny, but the premise here is so bizarre that I didn't know what to make of it. Are these guys reincarnations, or resurrections, of famous composers? Or have they just appropriated their names? No explanation is offered. All we learn (and not until very late in this frustrating episode) is that these two are 'ClassicaLoids', which seem to be (this is nothing more than a guess) some sort of magicians who employ classical music to bend reality into different shapes than would otherwise occur. But episode one left me with little idea of WTF is going on. I don't recall Ludwig Van Beethoven having an obsession with cooking dumplings, for instance. Again, it seemed more absurd than funny, but the premise is so crazy that I sort of want to know more. There was no mention of this show at ANN, which is odd.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun and how many laughs I experienced during episode two. Especially fun was the near-psychedelic experience that Mozart managed to summon up for Kanae and her friends at her birthday party. Perhaps getting the absurd premise set up was a bit of an obstacle, but once that is done we can suspend disbelief and enjoy ourselves. The message seems to be that we shouldn't worry about the details and whether it is really plausible, just run with it. And, since it is genuinely funny, that approach works. 'Beethes-san' and 'Moz-san' don't really understand this 'Musik' business themselves, which makes for a sort of mystery which we want to find the answer to. There are 'comedy' shows which tell lame, unremarkable jokes, and since the vast majority of them all are of this sort, we sometimes forget that truly funny shows, shows which have genuine style and wit, also exist. ClassicaLoid, while not perfect, is a reminder of such quality. It stands out from the crowd. I think this will be my favorite (or second favorite) comedy of the 2016 Fall season.

How Franz Liszt is somehow represented by a woman baffles me; I can only guess a female character was needed and there aren't any major female classical composers. What exactly the relationship between the ClassicaLoids and the original composers is has yet to be explained, and I suspect never will be. That's Ok, because the show is fun nevertheless. I'm glad to see that there does seem to be some sort of longterm plot rather than just a new ClassicaLoid showing up in each episode and all attention shifting to them instead of continuing to develop those that have already arrived (that's a common error that many anime make). It looks like the total number of characters won't be excessive.

Some episodes are better than others. The one in which Franz Schubert shows up didn't make a whole lot of sense and wasn't terribly funny, either. And why is Chopin extremely socially-phobic? Was he like that in real life? I don't know. There needs to be some sort of logic to this, not just sheer weirdness. Better to move on to an explanation of who this dude in sunglasses and an 18th century wig, who has been keeping the ClassicaLoids under surveillance, is and what he's up to. We slowly move in that direction, and towards an explanation of just what ClassicaLoids are, in episodes five and six. Why does Bach have a grudge against the rest of the ClassicaLoids? What, again, are they to begin with? The dream Kanae had about them at the start of episode six was LOL funny. I bet a lot of people wouldn't consider this show to be worth their trouble, but it has a certain charm to it. I wish the plot would move along faster, though. Learning that it would be 24-26 episodes long made even me a little hesitant to commit to it.

There's enough energy and originality and humor within ClassicaLoid to keep it modestly fun even though the overarching plot is moving at a painfully slow pace. If that had not been the case, I would have abandoned it long ago. At around the halfway point, we still have only a vague idea of what a ClassicaLoid is and little or no idea why they were created. In one episode Schubert somehow transforms himself into a fish by inadvertently employing his Musik. In another Kanae gets a chance at becoming an idol; the only problem is that she has no talent whatsoever, which is a laugh compared to all the shows which would make you think that anybody can do it if they just try hard enough. And then there's the one where cursed oranges freak everybody out--it's hard to describe. Episode 18 (I think) kept me continually laughing as a robot replica of Sousuke was unleashed (and, as a bonus, also gave some hints about how the Classicaloids originated). Or the one where Tchaiko unleashes her Musik in a temper tantrum and as a result the characters must resist the temptation to fall in love with anyone or anything (Musik is often completely unpredictable). You would almost think that somebody was high while writing these episode scripts. The show seems to be on a roll in it's second season as it repeatedly cranks out LOL episodes. These bizarre plots are indicative of the originality within ClassicaLoid, which enable it to largely remain fresh and fun even while little or no progress is being made towards solving the basic mystery behind them.



My favorite line: "Go, my ClassicaLoids! Use your weird-ass powers to destroy the world or something!"

Last updated Friday, March 31 2017. Created Sunday, October 16 2016.

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