Nanana's Buried Treasure

Summary: >

Nanaejima is an island created specifically for the education of students. Jugo doesn't have much money, but his family provides enough for him to attend school there. Lack of funding only leaves the lowest rent apartment available as an option. He'll be required to board with a wacky carefree slouch of a roomate. Even worse, his room is haunted. Oddly enough, his roomate is the slacker ghost occupying his room.

Nanana was a founder of the island killed 10 years ago. Now she remains a spirit confined to the room. She buried many artifacts with mysterious powers around the island. Jugo decides to find them and help solve the mystery around Nanana's death so she can pass on. Many things on the island aren't as they seem, but neither is Jugo.

Thoughts: >

I figured Nanana's Buried Treasure would be the usual comedy, with wistful drama concerning Nanana's death. It turned out a little different from that expectation, with good and bad results. Save nothing else, Nanana's Buried Treasure doesn't feel completely stale because it tries a few quirky things, but it also falls flat in some fundamental areas.

It seems like Nanana will be a central character, but she plays an oddly small role. The real focus is the male lead Jugo, who is fairly likable for "the guy", and has a little depth to him unlike everyone else. The rest of the characters tend to be a bit shallow with a single personality trait. On the other hand, the characters do a good job interacting with each other, and none of them are especially annoying.

The treasure hunt is the more interesting feature of the show. Each treasure has a different obstacle course protecting it. These are basically various levels of Super Mario Brothers, but a fun feature all the same. Some also involve "logic" puzzles for the resident genius to solve, but aren't the kind the viewer can figure out. Each of Nanana's treasures has a distinct power, bestowing different abilities to people (both good and bad) and keeping things mixed up quite a bit.

It's the story where the anime somewhat falters. The nature of Nanana's murder is shrouded in mystery. So to is the background of Jugo, which looks to have potential (I especially wanted to know what was up between Jugo and the girl he thinks of as a big sister). It's not even to the point where the story is incomplete, it's more like it hasn't coherently formed yet. In a per episode way, the treasure hunts are fun, but otherwise the story has no focus at all.

If asking yourself "where is this going?" matters to you, you might want to hold off watching this one. It's far less dull than it could be, but seems to be in plot limbo. Otherwise it's sufficiently entertaining with enough comedy and adventure, while looking nice too. I hope Nanana's Buried Treasure eventually gains direction, but I'd be fine watching more even if it doesn't.

Screen Caps: >