Comic Party Revolution

Summary: >

Kazuki continues his quest to become a better doujinshi artist. He's doing well for himself.. although not necessarily in how many he sells. Surrounding him is an odd group of friends also interested in doujinshi. Except for his childhood friend Mizuki who hates otaku, although has taken an interest in cosplay.

Thoughts: >

I think the problem with the first Comic Party is unrealized potential. It had opportunities to go different directions, but didn't effectively do anything. Not bad, but left me feeling indifferent. Comic Party Revolution may be an upgrade or downgrade depending on what you wanted Comic Party it to be. Since I wasn't hip on the lack of direction in the first season, I was okay with the shift into amusing anime "stuff". I think that's more what Comic Party was intended to be anyway: a show which willfully revels in anime/manga culture. Not necessarily an insightful look into it, nor some greater story involving it. It just is what it is: anime stuff.

Comic Party Revolution doesn't really pick up where the last season left off, and almost feels like another series all together. New characters are suddenly in the cast (but never introduced). Kazuki is no longer the center point, and instead Revolution follows everyone else as much as him. The humor is more off the wall which I think works well, but not perfect. Some episodes fail to be amusing, but overall I think it's a net positive. Revolution really excels with two spot on sport anime parodies, but as sports anime isn't popular here, it's unfortunate this anime's greatest strength lacks the needed context for most American viewers. The last two episodes go beyond the fluff of the rest of the series. One deals with a look at the professional comic industry (who knows if it's accurate or not). The other episode deals with Kazuki doubting his talent as others start to take notice of his work.

Comic Party Revolution actually started as a four part OVA, later used as the first four episodes of the TV series. The designs are very good, and consistent even when it starts with the regular TV episodes. The dub is pretty weak.

Comic Party Revolution is a typical assortment of gimmicks, but that's the way it was intended. I'd normally I hate that, but as one of the few people on earth who thinks this is version is better than the original, perhaps it's better to take my opinion with a grain of salt. I think of this show in a positive light, but would hesitate to recommend it on the overwhelming number of people who didn't like it. While there's nothing notworthy (nor revolutionary) about it, Comic Party Revolution is decent entertainment as long as you're okay with a show that isn't deep, mainly based around gimmicky parodies.

Screen Caps: >