Anime Review: RE-KAN! (Lights, Camera, Action!)

RE-KAN! (UK Rating: 12)

4Koma manga are a regular source for comedy series. The simple short stories and slapstick gags are easy to translate to a quick 20-minute show. Taking aspects from various chapters of the manga and bundling them together into episodes, while also crafting a narrative to hold all the jokes together. The majority of the stories here all follow the same narrative: Amami helps out some spirits who are trying to come to terms with their situation, all the while her friends chuckle at the ghosts' antics, and Inoue freaks out, pretending none of it is happening. There is the occasional touching story, but nothing significant or memorable.

While most of the stories follow just Amami and Inoue, there is a wider supporting cast made up from a handful of other students. All of these kids have a common trait - they are all horribly vapid and one-dimensional characters that undergo no real development over the course of the show. There's a violent ex-delinquent girl, a punching bag boy who has a crush on Amami, a blogger who photographs all the spirits Amami attracts, and a dopey girl who is obsessed with zombies. They are completely without depth and so there's little of interest to find in any of them. The best characters end up being the ghosts, who at least get the odd funny line and a bit of characterisation… but hey, maybe deep characters aren't needed for a simple moe comedy anime, right?

The presentation would look perfectly fine ten years ago; it's unbelievable this was released in 2015, in the same season as the gorgeous Shokugeki no Soma, no less. Compared to things from ten years ago, this may even look worse... There's no dub for this release, either, and just the usual extras here, too - a few trailers and clean opening/closing.

4/10

Subpar

It was surprising to see an anime adaptation for RE-KAN! It only received six volumes of manga, and while it had a few funny moments, it didn't stand out particularly or have any special aspects to justify an anime. There is the occasional funny moment and the occasional touching scene but, ultimately, it's not enough. Without any real character development or hook to set it apart, this is one to pass on. Nice opening theme song, though...