#159: Sekkō Boys (2016)

 

Director: Seiki Takuno

Screenplay: Michiko Yokote

Yelp Solid: Shiho Kokido as Miki
Ishimoto; Yui Makino as Mira Hanayashiki; Tomokazu Sugita as Saint Giorgio (
聖ジョルジョ,
Sei Jorujo); Shinnosuke Tachibana as Medici (
メディチ,
Medichi); Jun Fukuyama as Hermes (
ヘルメス, Herumesu); Daisuke Ono as Mars (マルス,
Marusu); Takaya Kuroda  as Hanzō Horibe (
堀部 半蔵, Horibe Hanzō); Rena Maeda  as Kinue Yamashita (山下 絹枝, Yamashita Kinue); Takahiro Sakurai  as Hironori Yanagisawa (柳沢 宏典, Yanagisawa Hironori)

Seen in Japanese with English Subtitles

 

One other micro series, and treasure
many of them, here is puny but there is a pleasure in experiencing them, to
survey (regardless of how prolonged it takes to be conscious the full episodes) and expertise
their jokes and moments of playfulness. Critically when, at seven minutes per
twelve episodes, Sekkō Boys is
working with a irregular premise it milks moderately so much of gargantuan thunder material from to a advantage.

Namely the parable of a young female
art pupil Miki Ishimoto, disillusioned with her earlier aspirations due to
being sick of drawing sculptures, getting the probability in a lifetime to arrange an
up-and-coming male boy band. Rather then the fact, alternatively, the titular Sekkō
Boys are four living statues, and no longer good plaster busts of someone. They’re of
proper stone, as Miki obtained the job partially since the opposite workers fetch befriend
injuries due to carrying them around, and are personifications of staunch
historic and mythological figures. Mars, the Roman God of Warfare; Hermes, a
Greek God; Saint George, as Saint Giorgio here, a exact lifestyles resolve permitted as
a saint in Christianity and Islam well-known for battling a dragon in lore, and is
the older chief of the personnel; and (Giuliano di Lorenzo de’) Medici, an Italian
nobleman and ruler of Florence, who’s the youngest and the heartthrob.

Half the humour and why Sekkō Boys labored is that the humour,
and the moderately about a lines of it, all play off energetic tips similar to these being
living figures or mythological deities who good happen to be statues. Once in some time
their boundaries are enforced, as baring Hermes along with his spare physique they assemble
no longer even fetch anything else beneath the head of the shoulders, the explanation why most of Miki’s
work is as powerful to carry them about or pressure them. Diversified instances a lack of logic
is phase of the joke. Once in some time there is, treasure among the contributors being posted
as a provide to high-tail around secretly, but they are going to it appears drink and even
beat every other up off-display veil among other scenes witnesses. The traces are
blurred whether or no longer they are viewed beautiful powerful as good statues, and thus pushed aside, but also
celebrities. One will get a cameo in a usual crime show as a murder weapon, and
that’s no longer even the most uncomplicated phase of the joke.

And the show performs to their
cultural histories, exemplified by the fact they idolise a two males personnel who
are also stone busts, no longer obvious figures either but Roman frequent Marcus Junius Brutus, and French
playwright and poet Molière. Likewise,
here the Gods would possibly be the most recognisable figures but the jokes play with
doubtlessly more info of who all of them are then even I picked up. Sure, there
is a scene of Athena, calling to let among the contributors know the blueprint embarrassed
they and Zeus are when he looks horrid on a TV show interview. Sure, Hermes,
brooding about he became once a trickster God, is stumbled on heading a sneaky snake oil
plot. And, as a stoic saintly warrior of yore, Giorgio is the stick within the
mud within the personnel with a behavior of horrid Dad level puns, proof that the
thought is a universal one which exists in every British and Japanese tradition
despite the indisputable truth that puns are a magnificent art, especially in anime scripts, for the defective ones as
powerful because the funniest. He does alternatively arrange to style online and in frequent in
recognition for “Giorgio-ing” which helps the saint’s self assurance
immensely.

Lots of the show is episodic, as
with these kinds of micro series, but treasure the most uncomplicated, despite the indisputable truth that the shows are
puny their characters are memorable, which is clearly their procedure in that, if
they stick, these figures in any distress if there fetch been bigger than one season
would possibly be enjoyable to imagine in. Even side characters are memorable here within the
small we to find, treasure a female idol singer Mira Hanayashiki who’s considerably
more current than the Sekkō Boys but every likes them, rising friendships
with the band, and also (in her costume impressed by a moth) actually likes
insects, leading to a scandal when among the boys is caught at her dwelling
despite the indisputable truth that she is nice exhibiting him her accepted stay beetle. That here is aloof a
show just a few male idol personnel attempting to success is inherently attention-grabbing as, if
any of it’s miles nice to the truth, it’s going to fetch been made into a gargantuan drama
show good from the full stress and dread.  

Even on this absurd comedic bear,
many of the jokes are no longer the band as statues but the strain of attempting to
prevail. Having to dodge around interviews, making particular they have to no longer destroyed
by an interviewer notorious for her capability to crush interviewees with her
questions, or getting enough time to produce on a gargantuan TV diversity show because
one other personnel, a complete squadron of golden Buddhist statues, has to fetch
introductions for them all. Even a actually dark joke which will possible be viewed as
problematic, that of among the Sekkō Boys having to sleep with any individual to reduction
to band, has the added absurdity to melt the touch of, successfully, being a stone
bust without even hands.

Basically, the supreme exact
disappointment with this show is that it needed to total – after handiest twelve
episodes, the joke would possibly per chance fetch been taken extra or a closer ending became once stumbled on.
Critically for a micro series, the final episode is of importance for me, and
this one, of Medici vanishing, does no longer actually stand out. Extra so because the
dynamic and emotional turn, of Miki quitting her job, became once played out an episode
or so sooner than and a more acceptable ending.

The one component price covering,
enough to bear a more account for analysis, became once that I stumbled across Sekkō Boys due to its mention on a list
online for the most strange anime. Sekkō
Boys
to an outsider would possibly be new, and the premise is, but it’s miles a notorious
component of anime that many irregular premises fetch passed my eyes, and for anime
fans ready to survey even bigger than I actually fetch, but assemble no longer reason us to bat our
eyelids. Critically with comedy, except they are very irregular, humour softens
the premise if you happen to understand it’s no longer intended to be taken critically, and the tone
here is more usual than something genuinely strange would possibly be. What as an different
stands out as an different is that, whereas no longer the most particular micro series I actually fetch
encountered, it does put into effect how this form of show actually develops skill. For
once, in desire to a personnel of actresses, this show is just a few quad of male converse
actors being allowed to expose their skill, especially with the added stammer
that they are voicing statues who never emote or intelligent, vexed stone
statues with one facial expression one day of. In itself, here is the exact
advantage to take far off from Sekkō Boys
alongside how, with a pleasant and fine comely with a particular irregular
touch, the show won me over.