3ET: Uchouten Kazoku

The happy family, minus one brother.

Studio: PA Works

Director: Yoshihara Masayuki (Debut)

Main Cast: Takahiro Sakurai as Shimoboro Yasaburou, Suwabe Junichi as Shimoboro Yaichirou, Yoshino Hiroyuki as Shimoboro Yaijirou, Nakahara Mai as Shimoboro Yashirou

Writer: Suga Shoutarou (Rinne no Lagrange, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteriru)

Music: Fujisawa Yoshiaki (Love Live! School Idol Project)

With anime being Japanese by definition, I sometimes come across a show that serves to remind me of that basic fact. Usually by having a higher level of knowledge needed to enjoy a show, or perhaps a few things that would never fly in Western television. Such is the case with Uchouten Kazoku, a story about a family of tanuki (racoon-dogs who can transform) that co-exists with humans and tengu (bird demons) in modern day Kyoto. But, weirdness does not necessarily mean the show is bad, or good for that matter. That's why I watch, to find out.

To be more specific, Uchouten Kazoku is about a disgraced family of tanuki. The father died and was boiled in a hot pot by some humans, leaving behind a wife and four sons. The sons all have their own issues, the oldest is uptight, another has permanently turned into a frog, the youngest has no spine, and the last one is our protagonist, a young tanuki who does not care which gender human he impersonates. Their mother (Inoue Kikuko) also enjoys a little genderfuck, dressing like a prince whenever she goes out to play pool. She also disagrees with tanuki society, which thinks her sons are all failures. Instead, she loves them all the way they are and wants them to be happy. This sort of juxtaposition is the first thing I enjoyed about it. It lives in the middle of the absurd and the heartfelt.

Chicks dig a man in a girl's uniform.

A more tense relationship is the one our main character Yasaburou has with a human woman named Benten (Mamiko Noto). Their relationship has driven most of the drama thus far, with her being on the receiving end of the romantic affections of an elder tengu that Yasaburou helps to take care of. He has to deal with her quite a bit because of this, despite the fact she is affiliated with the group of humans that killed and cooked his father. While he tries to be on his guard around her, she seems to be planning some sort of scheme, and doesn't fail to threaten him with being himself cooked and eaten, which Yasuburou usually shrugs off as best he can.

Yasaburou himself is interesting as a character. First off, he's a young adult, so he isn't dealing with the tanuki equivalent of teenage angst while he looks for his way in life, he's already decided to live as carefree as he can. But, while he professes this, he is seen spending a lot of time helping others. He helps the elder tengu, since his bad back doesn't let him clean up his apartment, much less fly. He is also the only one who visits his older brother who is now a frog. He looks after his family, and will do whatever he can to help them lead a happy life. He also had a terrible fashion sense when he was younger, which I'm guessing led him to enjoy transforming into both a male and female human forms. Or maybe tanuki just don't care about gender that much.

The missing brother.

I decided to pass Uchouten Kazoku because for all of its weirdness, it has a soul that shines through. That and I find a lot of the comedy to be funny. I don't think this will be a great show, but I feel like it's an entertaining one. Watching cross-dressing tanuki deal with daily life under threat of being eaten by humans may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm going to enjoy it as best I can.