Memory Monday: Week 3

It's time for week 3 of Memory Monday. Every Monday I select an anime that has completed airing and talk about it. The anime might be one that has been overlooked, critically acclaimed, or nostalgic. My aim is to give a different perspective on the show to people who have already seen it as well as give motivation to watch it for people who have yet to.

This week's pick is Sora no Otoshimono

There will be MINOR spoilers in this post. 

MINOR spoilers only through here

Sora no Otoshimono (Heaven's Lost Property)
Number of Seasons: 2
Number of Episodes per season: 12
Run Time: 22 minutes per episode
Personal Rating: 6/10
You can watch Sora no Otoshimono on Funimation here 

This week I've decided to reflect on 2009's Sora no Otoshimono. I'm going to focus mainly on the first season since covering two seasons and two movies plus some OVAs would be something more for a review or multiple posts. For those who have never heard of Sora no Otoshimono, it's an ecchi, harem series that isn't too different from what you'd expect at least setting wise. What makes Sora no Otoshimono stand out is its style, humor, and plot. I gave Sora no Otoshimono a 6 mostly because its execution of its unique plot isn't all that great and it still possesses attributes of a 2nd rate anime. Sora no Otoshimono is by no means a polished anime, but it's a fun, entertaining experience.

What It's About:
Sakurai Tomoki's motto in life is "Peace is best" so he never tries to seek out any kind of adventure nor does he try to ever stand out too much. Recently though he keeps having a dream where a girl is crying and no matter how hard he tries, he can't remember her name. One day, he encounters an angel, Ikaros, who has fallen from the sky and thus ends his peaceful life. In order to escape danger, he hastily becomes her master in order for her to save both of them. He eventually finds out that there is a huge mass drifting in the sky called Synapse where she came from and that she isn't the only angel from there. Throughout the anime, more angels come to try and take Ikaros back and kill Tomoki. It's safe to say that with this, Tomoki's peaceful life has come to an end.

Dat Plot
Sora no Otoshimono's strength and weakness is the drive to find out what is exactly happening. Mysteries surface and then get pushed to the back to make way for new characters and romantic development. The general plot is interesting enough to make viewers want to know what happens, but there is not enough emphasis on it to really make the viewer feel as if it is a priority. This makes Sora no Otoshimono feel more like another generic ecchi rather than a unique, improved form of the genre. By the end of the second season, still nothing is solved. It isn't until the second movie that we get a real solution to what is going on, but by that time everything felt so rushed that it backfired and left the story feeling very dry and unimpressive. Pacing is Sora no Otoshimono's bane. It is similar to a kid on summer break. They know they have homework to do but they keep messing around until the last day before summer break is over then try to cram everything in all at once. Basically Sora no Otoshimono's plot is enjoyable until it ended.

Laughter is the Best Medicine:
Sora no Otoshimono doesn't excel at telling its story but the inbetween scenes are hilarious. So many of the situations created by Tomoki are just great. There's one scene in particular that I'll never forget. Unfortunately, I can't find a video of the actual animated scene, so here's the manga chapter on youtube

The reason Sora no Otoshimono's comedy works so well is because of its great cast of characters working well together along with the art which really sells the scene. For example in the above scene, it ends in a comedic way but the entire tone changes, shifting for a more epic feeling mixed with a comedic situation. This makes for a great formula that Sora no Otoshimono uses repeatedly. Out of all the ecchi, harem anime I have watched, Sora no Otoshimono is one of my favorite mostly because it has great comedic scenes like this.

Life Lessons
Sora no Otoshimono really tried to be a jack of all trades. It tried to have a deep plot, comedy, ecchi, and tried to teach some morals. These morals were usually conveyed in the more serious, plot developing scenes but the morals were things that could be found in most harem or shounen anime with the main character preaching about not giving up and freedom. It's understandable given the situation that Tomoki found the Aneloids in, but it came off as more forced than touching.

Ecchi Galore
So one of Sora no Otoshimono's "biggest" features is its ecchi. It does it just as much or maybe even more than your average ecchi show. Does it do it better though? I think overall, yes. The reason being goes back to the great comedic qualities that this show possesses. Ecchi in most show just usually comes out of the protagonist making some kind of mistake and then things escalate from there, but Tomoki is actively making these situations come to fruition. If you watched last season's Trinity Seven, he's similar to Arata in that sense. If you like ecchi, I know you will not be disappointed by Sora no Otoshimono. I'm pretty sure 75% of each episode has ecchi scenes in it. For those who aren't so keen on seeing ecchi, I'd stay away from it. The abundance of ecchi is also another reason why I rated the show low. By focusing on the ecchi so much, you take away from other categories that make a show good namely plot and characters. The plot rarely is continued with the ecchi scenes and characters aren't developed through these scenes either. The only thing that results is an abundance of fan service. So if that's your thing, Sora no Otoshimono has got you covered.

A Good but Bad Art Style
Sora no Otoshimono is another manga that I got into because of its art style. It's very clean, and unique. Characters seem very round (and I'm not talking about their chests). If you look at the characters, their faces seem rounder than your average anime hair is less spiky-- just overall it's a different style if not subtly so. What I do not appreciate about the anime is the frequent use of chibi style for Tomoki. It just really got on my nerves at times because it felt overused and often out of place. I think the anime adaptation does a good job of replicating the manga's art style so that there's not much difference between the two, so I think there is praise to be given there.

Final Verdict: Should You Watch it?
Maybe
Yes, this is a wishy washy answer but it all really depends on your tastes. Unlike Katanagatari or Eve no Jikan where I would recommend those to anyone in a heartbeat, Sora no Otoshimono is an anime geared towards a certain audience. If you like ecchi/harem anime then Sora no Otoshimono is a no brainer. If you absolutely detest the genre then stay away. If you don't mind it, like comedy, and want to have a fun watch, I recommend Sora no Otoshimono. 

BONUS: Here's a trailer that a fan, SlimD716, made using the dub. I personally like it a lot since it makes the anime look pretty epic.