Munto TV 09: Final Verdict on Munto
Posted: March 27, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized 2 Comments »FAIL-O-METER
While I wasn’t expecting much (if anything) from this final episode of KyoAni’s original series, I was not prepared for the massive amounts of fail here. The fail in this episode is as big as the “is Lelouch alive?” debate.
Disclaimer: I liked typing up this post, so I do hope you’ll take the time to look at my efforts, or lack thereof.
And so too is the plot and storyline of this episode, if not the entire series.
In this post, I’ll not split up my final verdict on the series from my bashing of episode 9, simply because I’d be repeating myself otherwise.
KyoAni’s trademark
I’ll start by complimenting this episode and series on the one thing that one could actually say is good: the art/animation.
Being a KyoAni production, you honestly would expect something of this quality, so I guess it’s not a surprise that the animation and the art are exceptional (of course, this doesn’t count the crapart in episodes 1-3 that was absolutely terrible).
…and that’s where the “good” part ends.
The Swamp Bog
Munto was originally a pair of OVAs by KyoAni.
This TV series had much potential, as the plot of the ~2 hours in the OVAs was packed way too tightly.
Or so we all thought.
As it turns out, the plot can’t even fit into nine episodes’ worth of screentime.
As I’ve not watched the OVAs, I can’t even begin to imagine how the hell all of this material was smashed into two OVAs, sixty minutes long apiece.
As a result, I can’t understand one bit of the storyline in this episode.
Super powers?!
Then by all means, tell us!
What the fu-
- No, no, no, I think it was quite a bit more than that.
So basically, stuff happens, stuff happens, Yumemi gets superpowers, stuff happens, Yumemi jumps out of character, stuff happens, the four of them make a giant pillar of stone and light and Yumemi touches the other world and combines the two worlds together and somehow flies while doing that, and stuff happens.
WHAT. THE. HELL.
The Munto Beauty Pageant
No, but you’ve got some right angles, mister!
In other news, Gntarl has the longest, weirdest ears I’ve seen.
He also has the hardest-to-pronounce name in the series.
And finally, he wins the award for most wrinkled face in anime…
Yumemi: "As long as I can get away from your face!"
A bad case of repetition
The characters repeat themselves quite frequently throughout this episode and the series in general.
I think Gntarl’s getting old, because he can’t remember what he says after three seconds and has to repeat it.
I think Yumemi has the memory span of a goldfish.
Either that, or she’s showing some serious stupidity.
Speaking of Yumemi…
The Yumemi Files
In other news, Yumemi exhibits teenager disease.
- She shows incredible mood swings.
- She becomes an exhibitionist.
- She displays low self-esteem.
Mood Swings
Usually a quiet and reserved girl, Yumemi demonstrates her teenage mind in this episode by swiftly turning into one huge asshole.
She believes in what she is doing, and has this “righteous” mindset, thinking that only her ideas are right.
She exhibits a forceful, demanding personality that we have never seen before, and also gains tremendous strength via the drugs peer pressure has given her, enough to break out of a crystal prison and fire lasers.
Exhibitionism
Even after Ichiko has commented on Munto’s schoolgirl fetish, Yumemi still gives Munto and her friends a nice view of her pantsu from below.
This appeal to the schoolgirl, sailor fuku fetish has been imprinted into Yumemi’s mind, and she dons a uniform with a skirt shorter than most pantsu in the epilogue. In trying to please her red-haired beau, Yumemi is flaunting her body, and will probably soon turn to selling her body.
Low self-esteem
After seeing herself in the mirror of the fountain, Yumemi has become obsessed with her appearance, and fears that she is too fat.
As a result, she doesn’t want to see herself in the mirror anymore, angry and sad about her weight, yet too scared to look at herself.
Yumemi has started to exhibit signs of anorexia, eating very little to keep that slim figure that she sells off to men while hooked on the drugs Ichiko and Suzume force onto her.
In conclusion, I give this anime…
5/10
(rounded up from 4.5/10)
It was confusing as hell, Yumemi’s hair was constantly changing shape and size, Gntarl was a stereotypical ugly villain, and Munto’s nose kept moving around on his face, but the premise was great, the story was okay (if you could understand it), and the art and animation was top-notch (save episodes 1-3, which was 100% copypasta from the OVAs).
Ciao.
Interesting. I had a higher opinion of the early episodes and found them on par with True Tears. However, I do share your conclusions. The series began to fall apart in episode 6, where the unnecessary complexity and the preachy Japanese mysticism showed up. Episodes 7 through 9 got progressively worse as they mixed in the weird fetishistic overtones. I wonder who they thought the target audience was here.
I’ve heard many people compliment the first few episodes, but I ultimately thought that there was no real need to follow the original OVA so closely (both in art and in story – why have two “conclusions” when it’s not necessary?).
I actually thought that the most confusing part of this anime was in episode 4 (or 5?), when we see all this fighting going on in the Heavens, and it’s never really explained to us why Mr. Quicksilver wants to kill Munto (though it can be inferred that he’s from a faction in the Heavens vying for control).
Still, I agree. Episode 6’s Japanese mysticism, as you call it, was quite hard to digest, and the following episodes were… well, weird.