areaseven Posted October 10, 2003 Posted October 10, 2003 (edited) Oruchuban Ebichu ( おるちゅばんエビちゅ ) GAINAX/Group TAC/DirecTV Japan/Pioneer LDC, 1999 U.S. Distributor Pending. Directed by Makoto Moriwaki (Hyper Doll). Not Rated (Suggested 18-Up). Contains graphic violence, gratuitous nudity, sexual situations, and profanity. Based on the manga by Risa Itou and part of the Anime Ai no Awa Awa Hour late-night lineup, Ebichu is the story of a Hamster named Ebichu, who lives in a seedy apartment with her master, a sex-crazed 25 year old woman who has a lazy, good-for-nothing boyfriend. Story: B Well, there is no real plot; you're just looking at the everyday life of a hamster as she's being mutilated on every episode while her master is busy with her boyfriend. On the other hand, you get to learn more Japanese words like "kuri" (chestnuts; but then again, you already learned that in FLCL), "risu" (squirrel) (Try saying, "chestnut and squirrel," in Japanese and you'll get the joke.), and "manko" (I forgot what that meant, hehe.). Leave it to Hideaki Anno (Gunbuster, Neon Genesis Evangelion) to violate every censorship law on TV with this series. Animation: D+ The artwork and animation are pretty messy and abstract. At least it's got better artwork than Sexy Commando. Soundtrack: B While the BGM is so-so, you gotta love the opening theme by Kotono Mitsuishi. Cast Ebichu features Kotono Mitsuishi (Excel Saga, Misato in Neon Genesis Evangelion) as Ebichu, Michie Tomizawa (Sumire in Sakura Wars, Linna in Bubblegum Crisis) as Ebichu's master, Tomokazu Seki (Van in Escaflowne, Sosuke in Full Metal Panic!) as Ebichu's master's boyfriend, and Mitsuo Iwata (Kaneda in AKIRA, Itsuki in Initial D) as Maa-kun. The Bottom Line "Hamtaro on crack" is an understatement. With so many toilet jokes and sexual content, Ebichu makes Excel Saga look like Omishi Magical Theater Risky Safety. Special props to JELEINEN and AnimeMPEG for making this review possible. Links GAINAX's Official Ebichu Homepage Reference Anime News Network Edited August 13, 2004 by areaseven Quote
DestroidsRage Posted October 10, 2003 Posted October 10, 2003 Ebichu is awesome. It was done by Gainax??? Then I guess its one of the only Gainax things I like, LOL. Its one of the most foul nasty animes ever. Full of tons of nasty jokes and wonderful stuff like that. If your taste for humor craves dirtyness, this is the anime for you. And for the love of hell! Who cares about the animation? Animation DOES NOT MATTER in comedy shows. It matters in every other kind of show, drama, action, mecha, sci-fi, all of that. There is NO need for "beautiful animation" in shows like Ebichu and Masaru San. Its simple, funny animation, meant to perfectly suck out the INCREDIBLE HUMOR of the show. Add nice animation, and you'd be paying attention to /that/ and not the BOWEL DESTROYINGLY FUNNY humor ^__^ Or at least, thats what I think. -BEN-MAN- Quote
JELEINEN Posted October 11, 2003 Posted October 11, 2003 Thanks for the props, A7. I like Ebichu, but then that should be obvious. I even went through the trouble of tracking down all the DVDs. This is a great review and I don't have much more to add, except maybe pointing out that the Japanese word for "and" is "to." I also think the closing theme is good and definitely catchy. Reminds me that I need to get the timing finished on eps 17-18 this weekend. Finally getting translations again. We seem to have a hard time keeping translators for this project. Maybe I should redo my avatar into Ebichuman... Quote
areaseven Posted October 11, 2003 Author Posted October 11, 2003 Reminds me that I need to get the timing finished on eps 17-18 this weekend. Finally getting translations again. We seem to have a hard time keeping translators for this project. Wait a minute...there's more? Quote
JELEINEN Posted October 11, 2003 Posted October 11, 2003 Wait a minute...there's more? Yeah. There were twelve episodes of Ai no Awa Awa Hour (AKA Modern Love's Silliness) and each episode had two Ebichu shorts. Quote
areaseven Posted May 3, 2005 Author Posted May 3, 2005 I was doing some editing over at the Anime News Network Encyclopedia today and checked out the information on director Makoto Moriwaki. You're not gonna believe what he's currently working on... Quote
Effect Posted May 3, 2005 Posted May 3, 2005 Talk about being able to work and make a wide range of shows. Like direct opposites of each other. Interesting. Quote
Jemstone Posted May 3, 2005 Posted May 3, 2005 So......... is this like Hello Kitty but with a bunny? Effect, having range is great in this kind of business. Quote
areaseven Posted May 3, 2005 Author Posted May 3, 2005 So......... is this like Hello Kitty but with a bunny? My Melody was created by Sanrio, and the toys for her came out a couple of years after Hello Kitty debuted. Another director with a great range is Shinichiro Kimura. He directed the overly ecchi show Popotan and the completely kid-friendly A Little Snow Fairy Sugar. Coming later this week on A7 Anime on Crack Review: Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan. Quote
F-ZeroOne Posted May 3, 2005 Posted May 3, 2005 I attended a UK convention once shortly after Ebichu was making the fansub rounds, and you could actually tell by peoples expressions whether or not they had seen it... Quote
Pat Payne Posted May 4, 2005 Posted May 4, 2005 After seeing the webpage -- I cannot believe it's actually in English, for crying out glaven -- I'm surprised that it ever got on Japanese TV at all...although they've got things that would make Michael Powell's head explode, I still thought that animated coitus was still a no-no... or am I wrong? Quote
JELEINEN Posted May 4, 2005 Posted May 4, 2005 After seeing the webpage -- I cannot believe it's actually in English, for crying out glaven -- I'm surprised that it ever got on Japanese TV at all...although they've got things that would make Michael Powell's head explode, I still thought that animated coitus was still a no-no... or am I wrong? It aired on a satelite channel, not broadcast television. Quote
Pat Payne Posted May 4, 2005 Posted May 4, 2005 After seeing the webpage -- I cannot believe it's actually in English, for crying out glaven -- I'm surprised that it ever got on Japanese TV at all...although they've got things that would make Michael Powell's head explode, I still thought that animated coitus was still a no-no... or am I wrong? It aired on a satelite channel, not broadcast television. Ah...never mind then... Quote
JELEINEN Posted May 4, 2005 Posted May 4, 2005 Now that I remember, even on satelite, the show was censored. The first I saw of the show was a rip directly from the original airing and there were parts blocked out and there was a bunch of bleeping (which was done at a really high pitch, so it blended in with Ebichu's voice and I didn't even realize what it was until I saw it uncut). Quote
gerwalk25 Posted May 5, 2005 Posted May 5, 2005 So......... is this like Hello Kitty but with a bunny? Effect, having range is great in this kind of business. Ugh! Horrid memories of my sisters going all crazy over My Melody or anything Sanrio staionary for that matter! Quote
areaseven Posted May 30, 2005 Author Posted May 30, 2005 Earlier tonight, I decided to watch episodes 19-20 again. If you haven't seen this series, you don't know what you're missing. Here's some sample dialogue: this scene involves Ebichu's master and her boyfriend. Just try to imagine the scene. "Switch on." "Setup complete. Begin docking operation." "Roger. Docking complete." "Energy at 120%. Rocket launch preparations complete." "Ready for launch." "Launch!" Quote
Noriko Takaya Posted September 11, 2005 Posted September 11, 2005 (edited) Holy shee-it! I just finished watching all 24 episodes of this series and have to say that it is embarrassingly funny! I'm not a big fan of anime comedies, but damn, this one takes the cake. I feel so violated... Edited September 11, 2005 by Noriko Takaya Quote
Twoducks Posted September 11, 2005 Posted September 11, 2005 Ebichu is one of those sinfully funny shows you just can't miss. The guy with the rodent fetish was priceless Quote
Flaming Guantlet Posted September 12, 2005 Posted September 12, 2005 Just try to imagine the scene."Switch on." "Setup complete. Begin docking operation." "Roger. Docking complete." "Energy at 120%. Rocket launch preparations complete." "Ready for launch." "Launch!" 300299[/snapback] Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. No pun intended. Quote
Seven Posted September 16, 2005 Posted September 16, 2005 Funniest part for me was when the prank caller called Ebichu: Guy: "What are you wearing?" Ebichu: "Only this apron..." Guy: *heavy breathing* Guy: "How hairy are you?" (meaning down there) Ebichu: "I'm covered with hair" Guy: *more heavy breathing* - tear rolls out of speaker of phone ROFL!!! Quote
Graham Posted September 16, 2005 Posted September 16, 2005 Gotta try to get hold of this somehow. Graham Quote
Noriko Takaya Posted September 16, 2005 Posted September 16, 2005 Gotta try to get hold of this somehow.Graham 328910[/snapback] Well, you may have an easier time of getting this series living where you do. I had to download all 24 episodes off of a torrent because that show will never make it here to the states as far as I know. Quote
Graham Posted September 16, 2005 Posted September 16, 2005 Pretty difficult getting bootleg anime DVDs at the moment here in Hong Kong as the HK Customs authorities have been really stepping up their raids on the bootleg anime DVD shops recently and most of them are currently closed. Ands it's not like in the past, where Customs would just raid once a twice a year only and the shops would be back in business after a few days. Now, they are getting raided as soon as they try to reopen and most of them seem to have shut down for good. Graham Quote
Guest Bromgrev Posted September 19, 2005 Posted September 19, 2005 Oh, the joys of WTO membership ... Quote
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