3ET: Gin no Saji

JESUS CHRIST IT'S A COW GET IN THE CAR!

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Director: Itou Tomohiko (Sword Art Online, Sekimatsu Occult Gakuin)

Main Cast: Kimura Ryouhei as Hachiken Yugo, Miyake Marie as Mikage Aki

Writer: Kishimoto Taku (Usagi Drop)

Music: Murai Shusei (Allison to Lilia, Mouryou no Hako)


Managing expectations is a difficult thing to do before watching a new anime. Someone who wrote/directed one of your favorite anime could be involved, and you could go in expecting more of the same quality. In the case of Gin no Saji, it's even more difficult since the person who wrote the titular manga also wrote the manga FullMetal Alchemist. There is no possible way that Gin no Saji should be compared with its predecessor and yet people are going to do that, because people are dumb. Even I am susceptible to this, and I will try to keep any comparisons to FMA out of this article, and judge the show on its own merits. Here's hoping I don't fuck it up.

Gin no Saji is a fish out of water story with the main character, Yugo, moving as far away from home for a yet unknown reason for high school. He ends up at an agricultural school, and gets major culture shock which results in a number of predictable gags centered around him being a city boy on a farm. He's not good around animals. He gets grossed out at where eggs come from. He witnesses a chicken getting its head lopped off. OK, that last one was kind of hilarious, because I'm a sick bastard. So, I guess I can say the comedy is hit-and-miss. The other characters are pretty decent too, they have actual personalities and are sympathetic to Yugo's initial difficulties in adjusting to life in the country.

"Aww... it's gonna be delicious!"

What helps establish these classmates as actual people is that they are portrayed as people with their lives planned out. This is in direct opposition to Yugo. I actually think this is where the show is able to mine some good dramatic tension. The idea of being a high school student who just wanted to get away from his family, being surrounded by people who know what they want to do with their lives sounds horrifying. It adds extra pressure to the already difficult and awkward phase of finding out what you want to do in life, and this pressure is already making him crack. I want more of this, and when balanced with the sometimes slapstick humor of him learning about farming, there's a lot of good stuff there.

As for the female lead, and almost certain romantic interest, there's some work to be done. Aki is in the equestrian club, likes horses, and that's all we know about her so far. Now, since she is the first attractive girl Yugo sees, he joins the equestrian club as well to be close to her, and gives us an opportunity for some horse poop jokes. Now, while I can appreciate a good horse poop joke, I would hope that Aki's presence is more than just the girl who becomes a friend, and then romantic tension, and then I can't see the screen because my eyes are rolling too much. I hope she has some sort of motivation as to why she's at this school and maybe even a dramatic arc.

"I'm on a horse."

And I hope for all of these things because this show is getting a pass. While I wasn't head-over-heels for Gin no Saji, there is a lot of potential and since it's getting two seasons (the second airs in January 2014) to tell its story, it has plenty of time to get to where it's going. Especially when I consider that the source material should be a lot deeper than meets the eye based on who wrote it. And shit, I just made a comparison to FullMetal Alchemist. Damn it.