Kyouran Kazoku Nikki 01

Yes.  Yes, we shall.

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki is nothing new as far as anime goes.  It’s a new 13 episode series this season from Nomad, the same studio that brought us the likes of Rozen Maiden.   The formula is pretty simple: a long time ago, a crazy ass monster called Enka almost destroyed the world.  Humans banded together and in the end, Enka was defeated.  Before he died, he gave out a prophecy, that in 1,000 years, his child would finish his work and destroy the world.

Flash forward 1,000 years to our protagonist, Ouka Midarezaki.  Ouka is from the “Great Japanese Empire Paranormal Phenomena Bureau of Measures”.  His mission: to live in a house with 5 possible children of Enka and the title character Kyouka-sama, another possible child of Enka and his wife to be.  Kyouka is like, some ungodly catgirl…thing, with seemingly supernatural powers.  The other possible children are just as strange, amongst them we have: a lion, a biological weapon, a jellyfish, a normal young girl and a homo.

Ouka’s objective: to live with these, uh, people and try and find out who the prophesied child of Enka is and, if possible, warm their heart so that they no longer want to destroy the world.  Or kill him/her/it, whatever works.  A setup like this definitely made me want to check out this series.

Ouka seems to have a lot in common with Kyon.  He follows along with whatever Kyouka is doing, but he makes sarcastic quips and wonder’s how he got into his present situation.  That’s the funny thing, his bosses at the “Paranormal Phenomena Bureau of Measures” just signed him up for the operation without his knowing.  At the same time, he’s determined to somehow deal with the mess that’s been dropped in his lap.  He’s a pretty decent lead, but sometimes his expressions are pretty hollow.

Kyouka, while looking only 11, is actually something like 20 years of age.  She gives the show a lot of energy from her hyper-active personality and has no problem shouting out orders or complaints.  A lot of it is due to Ayumi Fujimura doing the vocal talent for Kyouka, she has no trouble keeping up with Kyouka’s top speed antics.  She’s basically the reason why the show is so easy to get into.

As for the show itself, like I said, the formula really isn’t new to anime.  Normal guy has to live in a house full of crazy, otherworldly types and keep it together.  It’s funny, it’s entertaining, but deep this ain’t.  The quality of the art is really top notch though and it looks absolutely gorgeous in wide screen.  It’s the type of show you can turn on and watch anytime and be amused.  Also, at only 13 episodes, the show will end before the concept goes stale.  There’s really nothing to lose with this show, so chances are that I’ll continue to blog it.