There are anime that miss the mark. There are anime that hit the bullseye. Then there are anime that come so close to greatness, but have one or two elements, allowing haters to effortlessly bash it for those one or two elements.
Then there's a fourth distinction, which is the worst feeling in the world. An anime with nothing wrong in it, but not enough good things to sweeten the deal, being shelved to soul-crushing obscurity.
Princess Jellyfish Review
Recently, I have the delight and misfortune to watch such an anime. Kuragehime or Princess Jellyfish is the story of the boarding house by the name of Amamizukan. The tenants are five reclusive otaku who belong to very specific but recognizable fandoms. Also, they're all women.
While it's not rare to see female otaku in anime (often played for laughs), it's rare to see female recluses. According to Michael J. Dziesinski's essay "Hikikomori: Investigations into the phenomenon of acute social withdraw in contemporary Japan", there are official statistics conducted by the Japanese census saying roughly 20% of the entire male population diagnosed with the social disease. However, the country has not conducted any survey regarding female hikikomori not because of the long seeded patriarchal system, but because it's near impossible to find and distinguish the truth in female cases. With males, it's much more identifiable because they usually openly admit it. Either way, to see this topic handled by anime could either spell disaster or intrigue. Princess Jellyfish falls into the latter category.
Our main character, Tsukimi Kurashita, is but one of those otaku with the obsession of jellyfish. She has been ever since she and her deceased mother would go to the aquarium and watch the cute little blobs of polyp gelatin float in water. Her status of a social outcast throughout her school years ended when she graduated high school only to continue when she realized she had no one left except her father, who only exists as a monthly allowance. As she retreated from a society who didn't accept her, she learned all there was to know about the jellies, becoming in her own right a genius on the subject. Alongside her are the other women Chieko (kimono and doll enthusiast), Mayaya (Record of Three Kingdoms nut), Banba (locomotive fan), and Jiji (hot for older men).
Their lives are invaded after a series of events regarding the tentative future of Amamizukan presents them with a singularly fascinating person. Her name is Kurako Koibuchi, a stylish rich girl whose ways terrify the woefully unprepared girls with her delusions of grandeur and wild imagination. She also has a secret. She is a he.
Kuranosuke Koibuchi is the second child in a wealthy political family whose older brother is the overseer of the redevelopment project of the local neighborhood. His passion for clothes came from years of time spent with his mother. He is well-versed in the elements of beauty and wishes people would take him seriously. He's also a riot to watch. Every episode, he did one thing that had me laughing good. He probably gave me the best laugh of the series when he straight up elbowed a woman in the face. Not kidding, that moment was perfect.
This show was a swift reality charged punch in the gut that was not only needed in the genre of anime rom com, but I believe anime in general. If I could, I'd reach my arms from Pennsylvania to Japan and hug Takahiro Omori, saying, "Thank you! You get what people have on their minds!" Which is weird considering Omori, the director of this show, directed Baccano! not three years earlier and Durarara!! in the same year. Both have huge ensemble casts with characters of strong personality and ridiculous storyline. Here, we have a observation of six minimally strange people living their lives. Hikikomori aside, they're not that crazy. Just quirky.
The main problem I find with Princess Jellyfish is that is was too short. Not short enought to leave us on a cliffhanger, but just enough to yearn for more. That is one of the worst feelings, knowing something may never get a second season despite the quality it shows. In fact, this show reminds of one of my favorite anime of all time, Ouran High School Host Club. Why, then, is Princess Jellyfish not popular when it's compared to one of the most viewed, critically received, and genuinely awesome shojo series?
One word: fangirls
Anime fangirls ate up Ouran like sinfully delicious Nutella
