How the title card should actually have read.

I’m sometimes very specific as to what I’ll even give a chance when it comes to anime. Unfortunately, that means that I miss out on some great shows, but there’s some things I just don’t like. I’ve never seen Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, or Full Metal Alchemist mostly because a lot of people I can’t stand love and idolize these shows. (It’s the same with They Might be Giants, except that Malcolm in the Middles song I know absolutely none of their discography because the most horrible people I know worship them.) I don’t like most shounen anime, I don’t like excessive fan service shows, and I won’t watch any new versions of Gundum or most mecha-based anime.

My, my…. then what DO I like?

Chances are if it’s slice of life It’s going to be put on my “must watch” list. If it’s a slice of life anime based on a 4-koma manga, then it  even has a chance of hitting my favorites. If it’s based in an art high school or college setting, then it will resonate with me personally in some way. If it’s a comedy, I will put it priority over other shows. If it’s an anime from an artist who’s previous works are a favorite of mine already, it will be something that I will eagerly look forward to as it most likely fits one of the above.

And what is GA? It’s a slice of life comedy based on a 4-koma manga set in an art school setting from the creator of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro, a manga I really love. All of the people I like love this show too. What can I say? Kiyuzuki Satoko has created my perfection.

Anime ends here. Goodnight, folks.

We're just getting started...

Well… not actually, but close. I’m only half way through the season and I already can’t wait to watch it again. I have the other half waiting for me, but I put it off so I can have something to look forward to and in fear that I will marathon the rest of the episodes. (I have a bad habit of doing that) I’m going to give a proper review after I finish the entire series, but I could have written this before I even saw it. I knew it was going to be awesome. If fit all of my formulas perfectly.

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class fills all of the little things that I wish Hidamari Sketch had. I loved it when they talked about their assignments. The same thing with Honey & Clover. They never really made the assignments they made in the school a premise for the show. I love both Hidamari and H & C for other reasons, but I really liked the setting. In GA you know their assignment, you get to see what they make, you watch their process… and this just makes me all warm inside. I love it.

This is what life is about.

I did several years of art school in high school and college. I had so many of the assignments they had. I know people who act like that. I know pretty much each kind of artist the characters are trying to portray. It’s supreme nostalgia entertainment. To see all of the things I enjoyed about school tackled in such a way makes me really happy, In America, art school is portrayed as pot smoking nutjobs who hate the government. I went to school with those people too, but I could care less about them. They didn’t make school for me. These kinds of shows remind me what I did love and miss about art school.

I like it when people talk about the details of normal life. I love Azumanga Daioh, the gateway drug to slice of life. I’m a huge fan of Lucky Star, the food anime. I’d watch an anime where they do nothing but talk about food ingredients and how to eat it. (Oh wait, that was Yakitate!! Japan)  I was thrilled to death that Honey & Clover was set at an art school, but that’s a love story… not slice of life. After all, we all know love isn’t something that happens in real life… especially when you’re busy listing out food condiments.

Everybody knows Soy Sauce is first.

This is just the foundation to why this manga and show are so amazing for me. While it could join Hidamari Sketch in a “Cute Girls in Art Class” genre (thanks rune_devros) in a sense of setting and how it stands out stylistically, it does have that magical “reality of setting” that I mentioned earlier. I’ve never had that with a show before, other that a few scary, chilling moments in Odaiba after watching the first few episodes of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.

The Crew.

GA has all of your high school slice of life basics: a group of girls who are considered the main cast, a slew of side characters that appear and sometimes get their own episodes, slapstick, random antics, in-jokes, and natural ADD conversation shifting. It also has chickens.

Chickens. Chickens everywhere.

As of right now I am halfway through the season and I do not plan to be disappointed. If I keep seeing things that make me smile, like the assignments they get and seeing Kuro randomly appear in Episode 2, then it has a good chance of being in my Top Ten for a long time. I’m leaving my expectations open, though. The show could do no wrong in my mind… though if it gives me an ending that makes me cry, it may hurt it’s chances for a re-watch. That’s one thing Hidamari has… it’s a good show that doesn’t make me cry. Then again, a good ending always gets me in. Also, here’s to hoping Key never makes a slice of life.

Kuro & Sen the bat from Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro make a cameo in GA

After I finish the show I’ll give it a proper review with character introductions, summaries, and with a proper conclusion. I just had to write about something amazing, something simple, something that just gets you and resonates… something that the slice of life genre is all about.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to leave my little dream world and go to sleep.

But who need sleep when there's 6 episodes of GA to watch?

Tags: anime, art, Geijutsuka Art Design Class, love, manga, slice of life

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