Dog and Scissors

Summary: >

Kazuhito is a bookworm on another level. Among his favorites, are a series of books penned by Shinobu Akiyama. At a cafe Kazuhito gets killed during a robbery by protecting a woman who had been obliviously writing at a table. However instead of passing to the afterlife, Kazuhito's intense desire to finish his favorite book series (which Akiyama's has yet to complete) keeps him in this world. Kazuhito is reincarnated as a dog.

Canine life is harder than it looks, but by chance he encounters a pretty woman who can understand his thoughts. She's defensive, jealous, and crazy, but at least he has someone he can talk to. She happens to be woman he defended that day, and as it turns out Shinobu Akiyama is her pen name. Kirihime is in fact Kazuhito's favorite author.

Kirihime admits she hasn't been in the mood to write lately, and hasn't worked on her next novel for a while now. Will Kazuhito ever get to read his last book?

Thoughts: >

I got this weird postcard for this anime at con but as it was written in Japanese I had no idea what it was. If you asked me what the show was about, I'd say "Uh.. I donno, girl with scissors terrorizes dog?" Strangely enough that's actually pretty accurate. And I'd actually say that in itself has weird potential. But then this turned into one of those shows I hoped would go somewhere, but really didn't.

There are good things in Dog and Scissors. While it's mostly a comedy, the topic of a guy who died saving the author he was a fan of, and the ones he left behind is in it's own way a touching story. The show is centered around books, and this is also an interesting idea. Not just the relationship between a reading obsessed bookworm and a great author, but also how writing becomes its own superpower. While that is really silly, it's a lot of fun too.

Comedy in Dog and Scissors has mixed results, which isn't good news for a show which is a comedy first. Kazuhito gives a grounded perspective with his overreactions to the wacky stuff in the show which is usually good for a laugh. However much of the comedy falls flat. Sometimes it's not particularly funny, but the bigger problem is repeating jokes which weren't great to begin with.

Another issue is stooping to stupidity. There are plenty of good features to work with, so it's a mystery why Dog and Scissors has so much lame pointless crap (characters, fanboy pandering in general, etc). The masochistic perversion factor, which this anime has plenty of; got really old with me too. These faults don't drown the show, but there's just far too much of it. All that aside, it's not conclusive as it doesn't have a bigger plot. Which is odd because it seems like it really should have one.

In the end I had mixed feelings about Dog and Scissors. It was a fun way to pass the time, but I feel disappointed so much junk was injected into a anime which really doesn't need it. Okay watch, but kind of meh the farther you go in.

Screen Caps: >