No doubt the series I anticipated most this winter season is “Minami-ke Tadaima”, the fourth anime adaptation of the “みなみけ“ manga by Sakuraba Koharu, having adored the previous three seasons of this hilarious comedy.
Even though was apprehensive at first, being worried about the animation quality and lack of consistency in character design style, two elements that negatively plagued the earlier three seasons, was still confident as the earlier “Minami-ke Omatase” OVA by studio Feel was excellent.
The first episode of “Minami-ke Tadaima” continues with the same solid animation that studio Feel already delivered in “Minami-ke Omatase”. The character design style is a more polished, flawless version of the one used earlier by studio Asread in “Minami-ke Okawari” and “Minami-ke Okaeri”.
In terms of pacing and content, the typical “Minami-ke” formula is maintained, breaking the episode up in three parts, each focused on a particular skit, theme or joke subplot. So even if an episode contains a weaker section, it can still turn out good with plenty of laughs if the two other parts compensate for the lesser part.
Although the previous anime seasons did suffer from a lack in consistency of the animation style, a positive counterweight is that there were no changes in the voice cast, who always performed splendidly. Luckily, for this fourth season the voice actresses and actors all reprise their respective roles again.
Energetic Kana is again voiced by Inoue Marina, she previously voiced Yoko in “Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann”, Natsuru in “Kämpfer”, Matsurika in “Maria†Holic” and Yozora in “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”.
Chihara Minori voices cheeky Chiaki, she also voiced Nagato in “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu”, Horizon in “Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon” and Anastasia in “Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!”.
Haruka, the oldest sister, is voiced by Satou Rina who tackled roles like Misaka in “To aru Kagaku no Railgun”, Kaoru in “Amagami SS” and Jenny in “Mouretsu Pirates”.
Other noteworthy characters and their voice talents are Toyosaki Aki as Yoshino, she is known for roles like Yui in “K-ON!”, Uiharu in “To aru Kagaku no Railgun”, Chitose in “Yuru Yuri” and Medaka in “Medaka Box”.
Gullible Uchida is voiced by Kitamura Eri who also tackled roles like Karen in “Nisemonogatari”, Sayaka in “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, Allean in “Queen’s Blade” and Yachiyo in “Working!!”.
Tomboyish Touma is voiced by Mizuki Nana, she previously voiced Fate in “Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha”, Rina in “White Album” and Ricotta in “Dog Days”.
There’s of course many more in the cast, all deliver top notch voice acting which is one of the key elements that contributes in making this a great comedy.
Kicking off with a strong first episode featuring terrific animation, am confident that “Minami-ke Tadaima” will be the best season yet of this excellent comedy!
わがまま春香は♥
