Olé! Olé! Ba-da-da! Matsuken Samba!

"Olé! Olé! Ba-da-da! Matsuken Samba!

Matsukeeeeeeeeeeeen...Sambaa!"-Kurashita Tsukimi, Sukiyaki Western Matsusaka, Kuragehime ep.2

Recently I scoured some lists in my ol' reliable Gempak and found a special review on this special anime:　海月姫 (rom. Kuragehime, i.e. Jellyfish Princess). To first-timers and amateurs, in the surface, Kuragehime is your another Josei rom-com anime with characters intertwined with countless love interests, yadayadayada...

but NO.

Kuragehime is nowhere near that, blimey. 

The anime poster. Tsukimi's expression is priceless. Just pricelsss.

OK. Meh sini orang nak citer.

Kuragehime centers around a building named Amamizukan--a residence of one group of people--female otakus, and a place where entry of men (even babies, gays or transvestite, according to Mayaya) is restricted.

The residence of Amamizukan referred themselves as "Amars" (nuns), for their couldn't-care-less-about-the-outside-world attitude--Tsukimi, is a jellyfish enthusiast, Banba is a train otaku, Jiji had some weird old-men fetish, Chieko collects traditional Japanese dolls (like crazy, mind you), meanwhile Mayaya had this peculiar obsession on The Records of Three Kingdoms. 
They place zero regard whatsoever with the outside world, really! They are NEETs who refused to be labeled as one.

And this horde of women with so many complexes met with one Koibuchi Kuranosuke, a son of a Japan Cabinet minister who cross-dressed to avoid political obligations from his family.

Only Tsukimi knew the fact that Kuranosuke is a man (who goes by the name Kurako to sheath his real identity). 

*above row (L-R): Koibuchi "Kurako" Kuranosuke, Koibuchi Shuu (Kuranosuke's half-brother), Mayaya, Jiji.
*below (L-R): Tsukimi, Banba, Chieko and Clara! (Tsukimi pet jellyfish).

Fun facts about "Amars": they are especially vulnerable against "fashionable people" and men.  

So imagine how was the situation when these eccentric people met? Chaos, of course! It was ultimate craziness to see how those NEETs react when they saw Kuranosuke for the first time, yet they are willing to later collaborate with him to save their beloved Amamizukan which was under the threat of development.
It was especially special (berapa banyak special daa..haha) to see how far Kuranosuke went to help these ladies with the issues of their home and of course, to regain their confidence.
Of course, appearance isn't everything but as a woman what we need the most is confidence.
So Kuranosuke's presence amongst the NEETs taught them a lot in a sense, other than gaining confidence, he made them realized that friendship, cooperation and understanding is as just as important and should be cherished..


I think, in a broader sense, Kuragehime redefines the meaning of  beautiful and being beautiful.
It transcends beyond everything.





*Kuragehime ED by Sambomaster-->「君きれいに築いておくれ」 (rom. Kimi ni Kirei no Kizuite Okure i.e. Realize that You are Pretty)
Love it too much. Kuragehime is definitely one of the best animes this season. Huge recommendation, especially to those who's starting to watch animes.


Oh, by the way Amamizukan in this anime:

is modeled after Nipponkan, an all-boys dormitory near Fukutoshin Line.

Same deshou? ^_^