Good Luck Ninomiya-Kun (Boxset Review)

By: Rae

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Thinking up 600-700 words to write on Good Luck Ninomiya-Kun is kind of difficult.Why?Because probably the most interesting thing about this series was the trailer for Bikini Warriors that played at the beginning. Most of you who have been watching anime or reading manga for any amount of time will have seen Good Luck Ninimiya-Kun before in some form. Just maybe with fewer nipples.This is the official summary:

"Shungo Ninomiya is a normal highschooler, but his life is about to get flipped upside down when the strangely magnetic Mayu Tsukimura and her brother are sent to live with him. Mayu may seem like your run-of-the-mill teenager, but she’s got a big secret: she’s a succubus with budding powers she can’t control. And to top it off, she’s terrified of the very thing that gives her life—MEN!"

Okay... I mean I was a little skeptical at first look but I can take a cute, ridiculous series. Who doesn’t like some silliness every once in awhile?Our first look at Good Luck Ninomiya-Kun starts off in the mountains with Ninomiya Shungo fighting bears alongside his sister. Not how I expected it to open, but never fear – the ridiculous harem plot wasn’t far away. Upon returning home, he finds himself greeted by Mayu – a cute girl with a severe phobia of men. It turns out that Shungo’s sister and Mayu’s brother have set Shungo up to cure Mayu’s crippling fear.Did I mention she’s a succubus?Because apparently she’s also a succubus – an okayish plot point that is kind of important and kind of not, depending on what point of the series you’re at.As time goes on, shenanigans ensue. Shungo’s jealous friend Reika isn’t too happy to see him cozying up to another girl. Meanwhile, Reika’s maid is prepared to fight Shungo off, seeing him as unworthy of her mistress, while Reika's other faithful servant seems to be hiding some secrets of his own.To be honest, a lot of it doesn’t really make sense. I got distracted for about ten minutes at one point and looked back up to suddenly see our happy-go-lucky, haphazard crew being chased down by ninja. There were some themes throughout the series, such as Mayu’s succubus nature and androphobia, or Reika’s obvious feelings for Shungo, but those themes were barely brought together and often lost in all the nonsense of sexy harem cooking parties.The saddest part is there are some aspects of the story that were promising. They might have been good in a series that wasn’t just nonstop fanservice for twelve episodes. But every promising moment quickly disappears in a flurry of boobs and cheap comedy. Later, when the story finally gets a little serious, even that is ruined.I play otome games, and this is still the closest non-pornographic thing to pornography that I’ve ever watched. And it’s not even good smut.Aside from the skimpy plot and lack of character depth, the art and animation are pretty subpart. There were a few times where the animation was good for a second or two, and then quickly devolved. The fight scenes often were not fluid or exciting. The characters are often awkward looking, with eyes too big even by anime standards and strange face shapes. Most of the time it looked more like somewhat decent fanart than like an actual series.Regardless of whether you’re looking for some childish fun to kill time or a good watch, I highly suggest skipping this one. You’ll find much better out there.If (somehow – no judgement though) you are a fan of this series, then the boxset is actually pretty cute. Based on the box art alone, I was pretty excited – it’s a lovely pink colour scheme. Features are sparse, but selling at an average of $25 that’s not quite as bad.