Anime Hajime Review: Minami-ke

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Minami-ke. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

This is the story of the three Minami sisters. From oldest to youngest, they are Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki (voiced by Rina Satou, Marina Inoue, and Minori Chihara).

Living together, these three spend much of their time with each other. If you are an acquaintance of one, you for sure have heard of the other two.

Haruka, as the responsible eldest sister, does her best to care for her younger siblings. As the middle child, Kana is happy-go-lucky and never without energy. Being the youngest, Chiaki has two role models to give her guidance. Granted, she prefers the kind-hearted Haruka over the troublemaking Kana.

With similar, and at the same time, different personalities, things are never boring. As more and more people enter their lives, one thing remains constant.

No matter what, the Minami sisters are always there for each other.

Series Positives

I am hoping for this to be a different kind of review. It's not that I don't have things to say about Minami-ke. There is quite a bit to talk about. Yet the most poignant thing I can say about this series boils down to a simple sentence.

I enjoy Minami-ke to no end.

As such, I will try to keep my long-windedness in check. I can't promise this is going to be a short review. Although I don't expect it to be as long as what I have been pushing out.

Other than the relaxing nature of this series, there is another reason for me to hold back. Minami-ke, the franchise, has four seasons. This post is only covering the first. I want to save some things for later.

I'm not choosing to ignore elements of the show. Yet where standout moments are concerned, either positive or negative, there wasn't much. While not sounding like the greatest endorsement, I don't see this as a bad thing.

To label Minami-ke as a textbook slice-of-life comedy wouldn't be wrong. Although it would be misleading. This is the quintessential anime for this type of show. It helped write the textbook.

While there have been series with many of these same aspects, Minami-ke brought them into a full package. The show, particularly this season, was fun, funny, and pleasant. As you would expect from any solid entry in this category.

And yes, I have seen the entirety of this franchise. It would seem I have found at least one slot filler for the next three Pre-Blog Months. That means I will have at least one series to look forward to for the next few years.

Who knows? By the time we catch up, a fifth season may become a reality. 

I want to clarify something. The bulk of what I remember about the Minami-ke franchise was in this first season. Other than a few plot points down the road, it will be like entering new waters for the next installment, Minami-ke: Okawari. This includes the overall look of the show.

From what I can recall, there weren't many drastic changes from season to season. Despite the fact, Minami-ke went under the production of three animation companies during its run. In case you were wondering, Studio Daume was responsible for this season.

For a quick frame of reference, we have covered a handful of Daume productions back in the first year of this site. These include Ichigo Mashimaro and Shiki. The last series we discussed from this group was Onegai Twins back in January 2016. So yeah, it has been a while.

What I'm getting at it is, Minami-ke has a distinctive look. The animation, the designs, everything is unique to this series. There is no other show that comes to mind with this same style. It's hard to mistake what you are watching for anything else.

For a slice-of-life series, that is nothing short of impressive. When something distinguishes this type of show in this genre, that's an accomplishment.  Minami-ke also has the advantage of being strong in other areas too. Areas such as story, key characters, and comedy.

Speaking of comedy, Minami-ke has one of the most memorable running jokes I have ever come across. I saw the show years ago and I have never been able to forget this.

This season had a solid understanding of how to do call-back humor. There were several jokes that kept popping up every now and again. Yet the one that stuck was Sensei and Ninomiya-kun.

Sensei and Ninomiya-kun was a television drama within the world of Minami-ke. This was the show's jab at soap operas and corny love dramas. In this series within the series, the scenarios kept getting ridiculous and lazy. Plus, the dialogue consisted of everyone saying the leads' names in the most overdramatic way possible.

I'm not pretending this was highbrow humor on Minami-ke's end. This was beyond stupid. Except the joke basked in its stupidity. It was simple, it was repetitive, it was so absurd I couldn't help but laugh at it.

I don't remember if this was a thing that returned in the later seasons. To be honest, I don't want it to. This is the kind of joke that sooner or later becomes irritating. You could sort of see the beginnings of that happening in this season. The series ran with this as far as it could.

Along with some other, smaller details, there were three aspects to Minami-ke that made this show.

The Minami Sisters

There is no doubt. The best thing about Minami-ke was the three Minami sisters, Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki.

The show gave enough screen time to each so that no one became the default main character. This was a title they shared among themselves.

Granted, Kana and Chiaki had a bit more focus than Haruka. That said, the eldest had plenty of opportunities to stand on her own.

Minami-ke's biggest accomplishment was making these three be both individual characters and sisters. By themselves, they each had a distinct personality that was their own.

This series distinguished the different aspects of the girl's lives. They all had certain mannerisms depending on where they were. In this show, this was the distinction between the sister's school and home personas. 

Nowhere was this more evident than with Haruka.

When she was both at home and at school, Haruka was caring, respectful, and responsible. These traits were at the core of who she was. Whether with her friends or classmates, she had a lot of fortitude.

When at school, the burden of caretaker lightened a little. Haruka, if she knew it or not, was more relaxed. She had more freedom to act like a teenager. Keep in mind though, this wasn’t a night and day shift.

Due to her role at home, Haruka had a calm, almost motherly air to her. While at school, she carried herself in a graceful manner. As a result, there wasn't anyone who didn't have a high opinion of the oldest Minami.

Haruka was aware of what was going on around her. She wouldn't jump to unnecessary conclusions.

On several occasions, at school, she found herself in some common, genre-defining "compromising" positions. Positions you would find in any typical slice-of-life series. Rather than making the matter more stereotypical, her reactions were more level-headed.

There was a moment which involved your standard anime physics. You know, the phenomenon where a light push has enough force to send someone flying across the room. Or in this case, sending a male character's face straight into Haruka's breasts. Ludicracy aside, the female character will usually retaliate against the wrong person.

But because Haruka had eyes, she saw the whole thing. Thus, she had a much more reasonable reaction.

Also, the boy in this scene, Natsuki Minami (voiced by Hiroki Yoshino), no relation to the sisters, also responded in a respectable fashion. Although not at fault, that didn't change what he did. He accepted responsibility in a fashion I have never forgotten.

Perhaps to a heavyhanded degree, I wanted to make it clear this was Haruka at school. The Haruka at home, around her sisters, was different.

I mentioned how she had a radiant mother-like atmosphere to her. For an outsider looking in, it's understandable why Haruka would be like a mom to Kana and Chiaki. Never forget though, Haruka wasn't the younger girl's parent. She was their sister.

Don't get me wrong. Haruka did an amazing job at taking care of Kana and Chiaki. Except, she was the eldest of a household where the other residents were growing kids. And growing kids have questions. Questions to which Haruka didn't always have the experience to pull answers from.

While at school, there were few people, if any who could fluster Haruka. Kana and Chiaki could do this without much effort on their part. Of the three, Haruka was the most adorable when embarrassed.

Also, that thing I said about Haruka being calm and observant. That only applies to the school version of her. If she suspected her sisters where involved, especially Kana, she tended to misunderstand. It didn't matter what evidence to the contrary existed.

This point aside, the series also built a wonderful relationship between the sisters. They felt like they were a real family.

In this case, Chiaki was the best example. She was the byproduct of being the youngest sibling. She had many of the characteristics of her older sisters.

From Haruka, Chiaki got her maturity. Haruka was the only person who Chiaki had an unwavering respect for. In her mind, her eldest sister was the perfect role model to follow. She wanted nothing more than to be like Haruka. Therefore, the Chiaki at both home and school acted or at least tried to act older than her age.

Of the trio, Chiaki was the most studious. Another trait she picked up from the oldest. Although capable, Haruka didn't try for bigger goals because of her focus on her siblings. A sacrifice that didn't go unnoticed by Chiaki.

Though her academic discipline came from Haruka, Chiaki's temperament was closer to Kana's.

Chiaki had no issue manipulating situations and people to better suit her needs. Like Kana, Chiaki could be a bit of a troll. And more so than Kana, it was hard to tell when she was joking or if she was ignorant of the circumstances.

For Chiaki, Kana was the exact opposite of the kind of person she wanted to be. After dealing with her sister's antics, Chiaki developed a low tolerance for idiocy. And her idea of what was idiotic was everything that didn't involve Haruka.

Despite taking after her older sisters, Chiaki wasn't a smaller version of either of them. She was her own person with her own personality.

Unlike her siblings, Chiaki was quite cynical. Her brand of "teasing" was more direct than Kana's. Chiaki used her logical, Haruka-like intellect to better focus her insults.

Two things that didn't help. One, once Chiaki's mind had set something as fact, almost nothing could change it. Two, she was prone to be the person to throw out the initial hit. This was either verbal, physical, or sometimes both.

Yet in all her cynicism, Chiaki was still a kid. She wasn't above "childish" things or interests. She just wasn't as energetic about them. She would play and join in with Kana's antics. She would also do certain actions hoping for Haruka to praise her.

Chiaki was never too mean. She didn't cross the line. She wouldn't go after anyone who didn't deserve it or couldn't handle her jabs. If someone was her friend, that person was important to her. And for the record, Chiaki and Kana could be in the same room together and nothing would happen. A clash was never a preset outcome.

With me spending so much time on Haruka and Chiaki, was the middle sister dead weight? Not in the slightest. Of the three, Kana was the most interesting.

Unlike Haruka and Chiaki, there wasn't much difference between at home or at school Kana. She was hyper and bombastic where ever she was. But there was more going on with her.

Kana had a pretty good grasp over most things. She was quick to pick up people's quirks. Granted, she was clueless when things concerned her directly. With a little pushing from Chiaki, Kana believed the boy who confessed to her, hadn't. Rather, she thought he had challenged her to a duel. This was even after the boy told her his feelings to her face. Towards everyone else though, she was very sharp.

She understood people well enough to get a working sense of a room's mood. Her acting in accordance with that was another thing. She also had a talent for moving the conversation along without giving what she knew away. To put it into perspective, Kana was one of the few who knew what gender everyone was. That's a distinction that can't go to either Haruka and Chiaki.

But what made Kana fascinating was how she played her dual role.

Throughout the season, Kana wanted to be a positive older sister for Chiaki. Her playful tendencies made it so her intentions weren't always clear. Also, Chiaki would often come off as the more mature of the two. Nevertheless, Kana did try in her own way. It was more her doing than Haruka's that got Chiaki back into the Christmas spirit.

Although a bit of a headache for Haruka, Kana wasn't an unreliable partner. For better or worse, Kana understood which topics put the eldest on the spot. The two older sisters were an effective team when they were on the same page.

Yet Kana's rarer, but no less important side was not when she was Chiaki's older sister. It was when she was Haruka's younger. This didn't come out too often. When it did, it was a reminder of how close the three girls were.

Is it any wonder why the Minami sisters were the most enduring element of Minami-ke? This show only ever needed one of the three to make anything it did tolerable. If not flat-out enjoyable. Then when the trio was together, it’s no surprise to me how this series managed to fair better than most.

From what I recall of the other seasons in this franchise, there isn’t much. I'm not sure if that is a bad thing or not. I know I hold this entire series in high esteem though. We will have to see how the rest holds up. Yet if these are the three we are to follow, I'm not worried.

Series Negatives

I'm not sure how to put this in a nice way. Minami-ke wasn't as good as I remembered it being. I had fun with this return and maintain that it is one of the better slice-of-life series out there. Regardless, it does appear as if I overinflated the show in my head.

While unfortunate, it wasn't without reason. there were several quirks to Minami-ke that were more prevalent this go around.

The season became more problematic as it went on. As the cast and the scenarios kept getting larger, it was harder for things to focus. The first half of Minami-ke was far more fun than the second. It's difficult to nail down where that transition period was. Yet by episode thirteen, you can feel how the series wasn't quite the same.

This may have to do with the knowledge that three additional seasons exist after this one. Had I reviewed this show when it came out, these problems may have come off as more severe.

Then again, these issues I'm seeing now could be a precursor. It's not often I get to speculate on how a series can improve and then be able to check if it actually did.

I hope and don't believe this is what is going to happen. Even if this does, these flaws have a long way to go before becoming irritating. If they stay as they are, the Minami-ke series will hold up fine.

That said, I can't ignore them either.

Other Characters

To begin this section, I want to say most of the side characters were fine. There were two who weren't though.

The first was Chiaki's classmate, Makoto (voiced by Rika Morinaga). He was the character type that was supposed to be funny because he was loud. Except he wasn't funny. He was only loud.

To give Makoto a break, he did improve. Because of reasons, he needed to disguise himself as a girl. Once he became Mako-chan, he had something to do other than scream his punchlines.

The second character didn't have the critical turn around that Makoto had. This was Haruka's upperclassman Hosaka (voiced by Daisuke Ono). He was the most insufferable thing about this show. The series was never as fun whenever he was on screen.

Hosaka didn't fit with the Minami-ke's usual style of comedy. For the most part, the show was down to earth but had no problem being silly. With him, he was goofy and there was no reason why this was so. His last joke had him climbing a snowy mountain looking for the Minami residence. What?

For the rest of the cast, they were fine. Provided they were with one of the Minami sisters, that is. If they weren't, then they were hit-or-miss.

The big exception to this was Touma Minami (voiced by Nana Mizuki) and her older brothers. Like it was with the Minami sisters, this other group of Minami's had a charming dynamic between them. They were interesting to follow.

I bring this up because the Minami girls felt less prevalent in the latter half of this season. There was a lot more going on. Almost as if the show was setting itself up for a continuation.

In principle, I don't like this since you never know if a follow up is coming. Me saying this after the fact though brings with it a ton of speculation. Plus, season two came only a few weeks after the final episode of the first season aired.

Yet season two was produced by a different studio. In this case, Studio Asread. These are the people who gave us Mirai Nikki. As well as Corpse Party, but that's neither here nor there. It's hard to find a company with a perfect track record.

I don't know the full production details of the Minami-ke franchise. Or even if the tone of the ending episodes was a result of that. All I can say is, as it was finishing up, the show had lost some of its crispness.

Random Out of Character Moments

This was strange. These moments didn't happen often. Yet when they did, they came out of nowhere. Characters would break character for what appeared to be a setup for a stupid joke.

And the biggest culprit was Haruka.

This wasn't a fanservice-heavy show. In fact, it would have been great had Minami-ke avoided this altogether. Except the series tried anyway and the inclusions were not smooth. Some of the things Haruka had to do were baffling and farfetched.

One was a scene where Haruka came home like she had done many times before. When she arrived a decent size group of all "girls" was hanging out. Then without any explanation, Haruka started undressing in the living room.

I can't say this wasn't a plausible thing for Haruka to do. But this was the first time she had ever done this. When she came home before and only her sisters were around, she didn't start stripping right away. 

Why here? What was special about this instance? Was this the day where she said, "screw it?" Was she having a rough week? Or did this have something to do with this also being the introduction of Mako-chan? Hmm, I wonder?

The second came later in the series. Much later in the series mind you.

As it turns out, Haruka's default state was pure laziness. When there was no one to watch her, she would turn into the world's biggest couch potatoe.

Again, not an awful idea. Except this was a blatant contradiction to what the show had already done.

There was an earlier episode where Haruka got to stay home alone for the entire day. Did she lie around doing nothing like her laziness would suggest? No, she didn't. She got the laundry done. She cleaned the kitchen. She even baked a cake. That's not being lazy. That's actively doing time-consuming things.

What was the reason behind this one? Oh, a male classmate of Haruka's was making an unexpected visit. Better give the pretty older sister the most disheveled, a.k.a. seductive look possible.

Why force this in? This wasn't necessary. The show was doing fine without it. I hope this is something that dies here in this season.

Final Thoughts

I do enjoy this series. I'm thrilled to have an excuse to go back to it again. Although I said I would save the other seasons for future Pre-Blog Months, I wouldn't hold me to that. One day I may decide to watch the next installment because why not?

If you're looking for an entry into the slice-of-life genre, I can think of few better jumping off points. The comedy here works. The scenarios are fun. The characters, for the most part, are enjoyable. And leading the charge are three of the most memorable sisters in anime.

While returning to this series, I noticed more issues than I ever have. But why let a little cloud cover ruin an otherwise nice day. If you haven't already, Minami-ke is well worth a look.

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? How would you advise Minami-ke? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.

And if you liked what you read, be sure to follow me on my social media sites so that you never miss a post or update. Also, please share this review across the internet to help add to the discussion.

I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.

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