2016-09-22

This Art Club Has A Problem

This Art Club Has A Problem (この美術部には問題がある!) is a 12 episode romantic comedy based on the manga of the same name by Imigimuru.  The series originally aired in Japan during the Summer of 2016.

    Usami Mizuki is a 2nd year member of her middle school's fine art club.  Unfortunately the club is in danger of closing down.  The club president is a senior who's only official duty is to sleep on the club rooms couch.  The only other members are Uchimaki Subaru who is the same grade as her and the brain damaged foreigner Colette.  Mizuki and Subaru are both talented artists in their own right and Mizuki develops a slow burning crush on her peer.  The problem is that Subaru is an intense otaku who has no interest in real women and only focuses on crafting the ideal 2d wife in his art.  Undaunted, Mizuki patiently tries to make him change his ways.


    This is a typical slice of life high school romantic comedy but is delivered in the fashion of a 4koma gag manga.  Each episode is made up of small vignettes that are sometimes threaded together in a longer narrative.  The majority of the focus is absurd comedy with all of the members of the art club including their supervisor being off kilter.  Mizuki plays the staight-man out of the group and suffers through the antics and short sighted thinking of the others.  The romance is slight and uneven through the series but is an underlying current in the over all production.

    Its OK at best.  The comedy is cute but heavily aimed at otaku.  What little fanservice there is, is done tastefully and with in the confines of the plot.  There isn't much development beyond the members of the club, instead the segments focus on them and mostly take place in the club room.  One of the best segments was when they decided to paint the pool while they were tasked with cleaning it.  The animation is good and typical of the current crop of anime.  All in all the series wasn't bad but doesn't really leave a lasting impression.  It would be nice if more series like this existed in place of the ever present otaku fodder light novel reworks.


    Konobi was simulcast on Crunchyroll and there is no work on when/if it will receive a physical release.

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