Senran Kagura Estival Versus: Mizugi-darake no Zenyasai

Well, it's Senran Kagura. I'm not going to bother explaining what it's about and assume that you have some prior knowledge of the series here. Young women who call themselves shinobi fight each other and lose their clothes in the process. Classic light-hearted ecchi. I like the franchise, I enjoy the characters, and I was excited for this release. The problem with this OVA for me is very simple though - there are so many characters in SK that when you try to condense the cast into a 24m OVA, each of them can be afforded a scant few moments of screentimeand, as a result, the cast is reduced even further beyond the stereotypes they already represent. Characters that can actually be funny in the games (Ryoubi/Ryouna, Katsuragi, Murasaki, Yagyu/Hibari) still throw out their same gags, but it just feels a little lifeless and forced here. There's no room for the jokes to land. I almost wish they had chosen to focus on a single school for this OVA instead of the full cast for that reason. That's not me saying that this OVA needed a better story or something, by the way. What introduction does girls stripping each other until they blush and say "KYAAAA!" really need? But one of the hallmarks of the SK franchise (if not the fundamental core) has always been the characters themselves, who lean so heavily into tropes that it becomes a form of parody. Without the witty personalities of the cast, much of the charm of SK is lost on me, and it ends up feeling like a shell of what I actually enjoy about the series (although maybe I should be expecting as much from a short OVA like this). All that said, the art is great, the VAs are fantastic (when they get a line to speak) and the fan service is even more over the top than it is in the games. Nipples can be shown here so expect to see tons of them (although I will be honest - was kind of hoping for some more variety in types of nipples, tiny/pink over and over loses its impact and, imo, further diminishes the uniqueness of the individual girls). So if skin is what you're looking for, you will find it. Just don't expect the same sharpness in terms of writing that you would normally find in other SK media, and if your best girl isn't Yumi, prepare to groan when she gets side-lined.