Moyasimon

Summary: >

Sawaki was slated to take over his family business (fermenter) with the strange ability to see and communicate with micro-organisms. His friend Kei will also inherit the family business, but before that the two decide to attend an agricultural college first. While his ability has been an annoyance all his life, it has many uses when applied to the food industry.

Thoughts: >

Moyasimon - Tales of Agriculture is an odd show, with a setup strange even for an anime. I could name plenty of unusual sci-fi / fantasy first episodes, but could any of those top sucking fermented guts through a dead bird's anus? Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. I should judge this anime a little harsher due to poor pacing, however I think the refreshing variety of traits more than makes up for it.

Moyasimon takes place on the most awesome agricultural college that never existed, with quirky traditions and festivals. There's a diverse group of students and professors, more common to anime with a college setting back when they used to make those.

The unique feature of Moyasimon are the microbes which Sawaki can see. He doesn't see mold / bacterea as they actually are, instead they look like adorable little aliens floating around. The microbes host sections giving information about all the wonders (and dangers) of microbes humans encounter in daily life everywhere. Although occasionally drab, quite often these tidbits are entertaining as well as educational.

The art quality is very inconsitent in the first season, but good enough. By the second it gains consitency, but is generally not as attractive. Also improved in the second season, microbes take a more active role like mascots speaking with Sawaki more often. This is where the story begins to drag, which is unfortunate considering how much else it has going for it.

The good story aside, there are tons of odd features scattered throughout. How awesomely terrifying Hasegawa is drunk. Or the bizarre history of sake, first made by chewing rice then spitting it into a vat to ferment. It's almost never made this way now (obviously), but Moyasimon shows a disturbingly clever way to make it into a highly prized commodity if made the right way. So messed up on many levels... I love it. Moyasimon has all sorts of cool stuff you have to see to understand.

Very cool anime, unusual, and even educational. In other anime I might rate it lower due to the story pace, but this one has enough to justify a higher rating. Part of Moyasimon's appeal is doing something different, not rehashing a stuff done many times before, which is the norm for anime these days. People who've seen too much anime (like me) really appreciate something new. A good show worth checking out for a change of pace.

Screen Caps: >