Urara Meirocho

Urara Meirochou. Alright, you're a moe blob anime, what's your gimmick this time? Let's see here... Set in a town of 10 districts... Divination... Gods and spirits...? And...lots of yuri baiting. Alright well this is going to be a 'fun' venture, now isn't it? Story: Labyrinth Town is a town of fortune tellers where girls with spiritual powers starting at the age of fifteen come to the city with the prospect of becoming rank one urara, the highest rank of fortune teller that one can receive. It's here where we meet Chiya, a girl raised in the woodswho comes to Labyrinth town to meet friends with the goal of becoming a rank one Urara in hopes of finding her mother. Urara Meirochou is what one would expect coming into a moe show filled with cute girls. The show has an all female cast, cute character antics between the four main characters (cause 4 is apparently the magic number for this), some fanservice for those who're fans of seeing animated underage girls with less than a full set of clothes on, and a large majority of pointless dialogue talking about how they're all friends and how happy they all are being with one another. Standard fare, nothing special, so what does the show's gimmick, the divination and setting of Labyrinth town, add to the overall story? As far as impact goes, the added story elements help to spice up the story just a little bit to make it a bit more than the basic moe blob formula. The majority of the episodes feature the girls learning various forms of divination while providing both the audience and each other with backstories and slight development with their ultimate goal being "we're going to be #1." In addition, the story manages to sprinkle in moments of unease (contrary to what a happy go lucky show like this may have normally) and show how the gods and spirits of the town interact with the Urara to an extent that I honestly wasn't expecting at all from this series. The contribution of these elements actually do help keep parts of the story to feel interesting, but what makes it disappointing is how uncommonly these elements, particularly revolving around the lore of Labyrinth Town, is used. As far as endings go, the show has what is known as a 'throwaway episode', where the story of what the cour wants to achieve has been told in full before the entire 12-13 episodes is completed, causing the creators to use the remaining time for a fluff episode that the story could just as easily go without, and it wouldn't make a difference. I'm not a fan of throwaway episode, and it felt like I was just wasting my time to finish up all 12 episodes of this show. Ultimately, Urara Meirochou is what one would come to expect from a cute girl moe show with unrealized potential. Largely focusing on moe antics, the rest of the series involving the lore of Labyrinth town and the secrets of the gods and spirits that reside over Labyrinth town go largely unnoticed, thus creating only specific moments of the series which I would say is even worth watching. The divination aspect stays with the series throughout its runtime, and it's an ever-looming concept that's thankfully fully a part of the whole series, but at the same time, just like the show's other parts, doesn't get fully realized, thus relegating all of the show's unique elements to feel more like gimmicks than absolute necessary components of the main story. Overview: + Manages to integrate unique elements well +/- Largely still moe-blob based +/- Unique elements however don't feel fully realized - Throwaway episode at the end Characters: The girls in these types of shows are usually only ankle deep in character. And to be honest, Meirochou doesn't do anything that different. Chiya, as the main character/girl of the series, can be summed up in just three words. A feral child. Raised in the woods, Chiya adopts the cheerful genki persona while adding a twist of woodland qualities by consistently showing off animal-like behavior whenever she interacts with the other characters in the series. Her goal in the series is to find her mother, and, as expected of a short adaptation of an on-going series, does not happen. (Gotta keep the readers reading.) Beyond wanting to make friends with everything and trying to find her mom, there's really not much to say about Chiya. Admittedly the fact that she has a motivation is commendable enough for a character in a moe show, but again, this is a case of "They could've done more." The other three girls, Kon, Koume, and Nono, can also be summed up in just a few words. The hardworking fox, the witch, and the shy one respectively. All three of these girls bear similar character depth as Chiya, and as far as characterization goes, only goes as far as a backstory to give the audience a little bit of a better understand for as to what is motivating these girls to move forward on their journey to become first rank Uraras. Again, there's really not much to say here. They're all cheerful friends with one another as expected, and the show's lack of conflict or its use of laughably easily resolved conflict in such a bright and cheery show make the viewing experience of these girls surprisingly dull. The rest of the cast is relegated to the side and feature other girls/women who act mostly as comic relief or unreliable mentor-types to add a little more variety to the character types that we're given in this show. You have the one who stands up for the law, the yuri fangirls, one who's a sadist cause why not, and a troublesome teacher. Again, nothing too special, nothing really worth mentioning beyond this tiny, tiny paragraph, so we're going to move onto art. Overview: +/- Typical moe cast Art: Produced by J.C. Staff, Urara Meirochou has some pretty standard art for the company's track record. Characters are drawn in your typical cutesy art style, the color palette is bright and shiny to give off that colorful and cheerful feel, and characters are given exaggerated faces complimented with background changes to signify comedy and other moments like those. They also put the characters' faces dangerously close together so often to the point that I swear they were going to kiss at least once or twice. While the show's normal art has nothing too terribly special to mention, Urara has another style situated in the show's more unsettling moments when they feature the show's more mysterious component of gods, spirits, and divination. The art for these scenes are done with mesmerizing patterns and unsettling shapes and colors combined with a much darker color palette when compared to the rest of the art that I can't help but feel like wanting more. It's not fantastic by art or animation standards, but these scenes really had me intrigued by what this series could've done with these concepts. They don't use this style very often, and I really would've loved to see more of this contrast just so the story could've had a bit more oomph to its established lore. Overview: + Contrasted artstyle from its normal art +/- Rest of the artwork/animation is standard fare Sound: The OST is nothing special. Admittedly while both the OP and ED each have parts to them that are catchy, nothing about them screams memorable. So in my opinion, not worth the time. Personal Enjoyment: Urara Meirochou was a moe blob that I thought would have potential and was something I saw as something that could be potentially interesting. I was wrong. While there are parts of it that I liked, the show largely didn't have much of itself to be interesting, and I got bored of it pretty fast. Regardless of how often they weaved the divination concept into the main story, very few things about it stood out to me. Did I like this series? I feel neither joy nor sorrow about this series. Meh is about all I can say to explain it broadly. In terms of specifics however, I like Kon as a character. I don't know why; she was just that one character that I liked. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of foxes and her entire character is wrapped around that concept (quite literally because her name is the sound that they believe foxes make). What didn't I like about this series? In terms of specifics, the two yuri guards that pop in as comic relief. Characters whose entire character revolve around fawning over one character and how great they are shouldn't even be called people. I hate them and the series would be much better off without them. Would I recommend this series? Eh...watch if you want is all I can say. Honestly, the time spent watching this series could be better used on watching something else. Meirochou doesn't really fulfill any kind of niche that other shows can fill, and you could find most if not all of its elements in other better shows. Is Meirochou a bad show? No. Is it a good show? No. Is it ultimately worth your time? Well, if you ask me, no.

There’s no questioning how popular the cute girls doing cute things genre is and I can see why, for some people (me included) it is a very effective way to relax. Due to this popularity, many series of this genre exist out there, most them having a twist or two to differentiate themselves from each other but still having the same core. However, Urara Meirochou not only adds twists to differentiate itself from others, but it also takes the existing mold and adds a lot more to it. Urara Meirochou takes place in a traditional Japanese town of fortune tellers (uraras) called Meirochou, where the fourmain characters have recently started their studies to become top uraras. During this series we see all the adventures and trials these girls go through as we follow the journey these four girls go through to achieve their goals. Despite having a plot, this series is still a cute girls doing cute things anime at its core. Through-out the series the girls go on a little adventure and have cute and funny interactions with their surroundings, each other and other characters, things you would typically expect from a work of this genre. To make itself not stale, this series uses its setting as a major part of its events to make them more unique (such as fortune telling and working at a shop of magical items). Another aspect of this series is that it banks on its cuteness, which makes this not so much super funny (although there are still a lot of funny moments) but it allows it to be endearing and fun to watch. While it is fun and endearing to watch, the setting alone isn’t enough to make the events unique enough to separate itself from other shows of this genre, but luckily this isn’t the only angle this anime uses. Despite this not being the most plot tight series in the world, the plot itself is not an afterthought as it plays a major role in why this series is good. Although the plot is simple, what it does is it gives these characters’ goals that they want to achieve. This combined with the characters motivations creates a lot of heartwarming and emotional moments which are probably the best parts of this show and what truly separates it from other shows of this genre. The characters themselves are perhaps the best aspect of this show. For a series in its genre, the characters of the main cast have a surprising amount of depth. On the surface, the main cast is nothing special, each one has a personality that one could expect from any series of this genre with one or two unique facets. However, it doesn’t just stop there with the characters, instead every member of the main cast is expanded upon. Each one of the four girls have their own motivations and is given a back story which is explored somewhat extensively, which not only explains the girls’ unique facets in their personality (such as Koume’s interest in the European life style) but it also what helps make these heartwarming and emotional moments so impactful. The supporting cast is nothing too special (as they don’t really get a lot of screen time) but they do play their part in making this series as fun as it is, which is honestly all I can ask of a supporting cast of a series of this nature. Usually, a series in the cute girls doing cute things slice of life genre will have to rely a lot on character interactions as that is what most of this genre is about and this show delivers on that pretty well. Not only do the characters have great chemistry, they play off each other well, and as the series goes on we get to see the bond between these girls only get stronger. However, one weakness this show does have is it over uses Chiya a bit, most of the heartwarming moments that include character interactions include Chiya and it would have been nice to see more of the other characters in these moments to see the strengthening of the bonds between the others of the main cast. There also is a lot of yuri subtext, (which is very common in this genre these days) and this series executes on this aspect well as it does increase chemistry between characters. However, while I do think most fans of this genre enjoy that or are indifferent to it, this could also be a turn-off to some people. The production values of this show, while it’s nothing spectacular, are better than average. The art style is very simple but it fits the cute style of the show and the color palette while being very light and having a very wide range of colors, is not over-saturated, instead the colors are very easy on the eyes which does enhance the viewing experience. The opening and ending are what one would typically expect with the opening being sung by the main cast and both songs fitting the series well, but not being anything too special. The background music, while not being anything too complex, was more than just the simple music you typically hear, some of the compositions are actually quite lengthy with multiple instruments and they all enhance the mood of each scene. The voice actors were pretty impressive in their roles, not only did their voice fit their characters but they also nailed how the characters would sound like in emotional moments, one example being was when Kon was crying, not only did her voice actor nail how a crying person would sound when they talked, she also nailed how they would sound when they are breathing. In a sea of cute girls doing cute things anime, Urara Meirochou is definitely one of the better ones. In addition to being cute and endearing, the characters have depth and it is littered with heartwarming moments. While it is nothing ground breaking it executes well on all the main aspects of a series in its genre has and adds more to it. Final Rating: A very strong 7/10

-FULL REVIEW- We have quite a few Slice of life anime aired this season and one of them is Urara Meirochou. A 12 episode series about a girl named Chiya arriving at the Labyrinth City in which her main objective is to find her mom who is living in the city and rising through the ranks of Urara. The episode started off well with the introduction of the four main characters and their main purpose of why they are in Labyrinth City. With the all the episodes being aired, it’s great that the girls has been adapting to the city quite well and are aiming to getto the first district through challenges they're facing throughout the series, even passing one of the promotional test. As far as i could see, the series plot line is not too complex to understand as the story would continue where it left from the last episode. Sadly, as most anime has an episode limit cap (usually 12 to 13), the viewers didn’t have the chance to see the girls background though they did talk about it briefly, even finding Chiya’s mom is rather ended as cliffhanging, but at least there is hints given of how Chiya’s mom look like and her name of course. There would always be manga to continue where the episode left off so it’s a plus. The addition of comedy scenes is a plus sign to encourage the viewers to see more. The studio that handles Urara Meirochou is JC Staff, the studio famous for producing ToraDora and Little Busters series. It's been a while since they produced a series with 4 girls since 2011 which is Joshiraku. Nevertheless, still quite impressed with the animation and character design of Urara Meirochou, very cute indeed. Background designs aren't that too saturated and there aren't any animation loopholes. P.S Koume kinda look like Nico from Love Live. +1 The OP Song is very catchy and cute at the same time, love to listen it again. The ED song is also good to listen, match with the series genre. The seiyuus that are voice acting the four main characters are decent and has professionalism feel in it though they are not really well known and maybe new to the seiyuu industry, however they still did their job well and could have potential in getting more roles in the future, not much of a horrible or awkward voices heard throughout the series. Kon’s VA is pretty good at changing behaviours from being a playful vampire girl to obedient fox girl. JC Staff is decent in choosing their seiyuus. The characters in this series are really proactive and very eager to take challenges on what they are facing ahead of them, Chiya is considerably known for her playfulness and cuteness and mysterious (?), she tend to try to cheer up people who are in deepshit or really having a hard time. And is also cute that she tend to show her belly as a way to apologize people. Kon, one of my favorite girl for the series, not only because of how stunning she is when Koume tease fully wear sexy clothes which really match her doe, is due to her maturity and the leadership she had which she is potential for leading the team and getting the first rank urara. I love how shy she is when she being appraised on. Koume, due to the fact she look like Nico, couldn’t think but to call her Nico because of her hair style. She also has the ‘never give up’ motto which motivate the girls to work hard. Nono, well she’s quite cute, I couldn’t resist seeing her cute pity face. Overall, what I like the most about this girls are teamworking and also the ‘no man left behind’ first is what made me like this show, there are characters development in it and the background stories of them but with only brief brief explaination. I've enjoyed watching this show though not many people are anticipating on it as I've would like to know how the four girls would achieve in getting the first district and of course Chiya's main objective of finding her mom. Even tho, the series ended up short on the current manga, I still enjoy watching Urara Meichorou as in addition with that is the slice of life and comedy genre and how funny and cute the girls are. It’s sad that the series wouldn’t get a second season however, the staff and the studio of the anime has done well to deliver a decent anime that is focusing more onto the girls everyday lives and challanges they're facing. Hence, I would recommend to viewers who are typically more into SOLs and the less intense type of genre, this would suit you and would fill up your spare time. Hence to conclude, it’s a pretty decent anime with good deliverance for the viewers to watch, least JC managed to take a rest from doing ecchi intense genre for a while.

At first glance, some people might think this anime is the same as any other of it's genre, but they couldn't be more wrong if they tried, this series is unique and we probably won't have something as good as this in a long time, and this is why: Let's start with the less remarkable part for me, the art, sure the show had high production values, that's expected from J.C. Staff, but it did nothing to make the art, well, outstanding, it was just there. The art of the manga is by far superior, so that's a good reason to read the manga after finishingthe anime. But the art is the only thing I can say has flaws in this show. The story. For starters, this show has a story, a plot, a main goal the cast of girls want to achieve and individual goals each of them have (besides all of them wanting to become first rank Ura, Chiya wants to find her mom, Kon wants to beat and be better than her mom, Koume wants to be the best so she can return to her loved witch, and Nono wants to stop relying on her big sister for everything) that's unexpected, that's more than any other show about an Slice of Life with cute girls has, sure there might be some exceptions that tried to have a plot too, but didn't executed nearly as well (Haifuri and Taroumaru Gurashi... I feel so bad for those poor shows.) The thing that this show does well is mix and alternate between the slice of life and plot, and develop it successfully and with believable progression, so it never loses it's slice of life charm while at the same time giving the feeling that something happened. Sure most of the plot revolves around Chiya and the overall mystery that surrounds her character, but that's why this show did it so well, it stayed focused and knew what it wanted to do. The sound. The OST reminds me of medieval RPGs, if I'd to compare it with something current I'd say it reminds me of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is a bit expected because Chiya is a wild feral girl, some tracks that were used to depict the city of Labyrinth Town fit right in the game, so if you liked the soundtrack of that, you'll love the soundtrack of this. There are other kind of tracks too, of course, the "comedy tracks" used in most slice of lifey moments and the "serious tracks" used in most plot heavy scenes, mostly revolving around Chiya and Kon. Which bring us to the next point. The characters. Overall, the dynamic between all the four characters is unique because of how intimate they are and how casual they are about it, they aren't scared on touching each other bodies (Kon was only at the start) and this makes this cast different to any other cast you'll find in any other show of its genre. But the characters individually. Don't get me wrong, Nono and Koume are great, they got some great moments and a bit of development, maybe Koume more than Nono, but besides episode 3 and 7, Koume was only used for comedy in all the other episodes. Which makes the rest of the show the Chiya & Kon show, feat. Koume, and it's great because all the characters played the roles they were supposed to play, so it's not the show's fault Koume and Nono got the short end of the stick, somebody had to put the comedy in this Slice of Life, Comedy show. But I'm gonna focus on Chiya and Kon here. This two play each other really well, at the start of the show, before we had any clue about Chiya, Kon seemed to be the most protagonistic of all of them, she had her main goal and worked the hardest to get there, after episode 5 Chiya started to show signs of why she's the protagonist (besides those yuri heavy scenes she had with Kon, Koume and Nono in episodes 2, 3 and 4 respectively) and in the same episode she started to have some influence in Kon, and suddenly that scene they had in episode 2 became a lot more important. Kon used to think that the rules to do everything were set in stone, she did everything by the book and what she studied there was law. Even her train of thoughts for non-Urara related things were like that, she used to be worried of never getting married when Chiya lifted her skirt and ended blushing when they touched foreheads without even thinking of pulling back. Easily, she's the character that developed the most, thanks to her scenes with Chiya, like the soulmate scene, the incident with the kitsune spirit and everything about episode 8, she learned to rely on her and even got some traits from her, she learned to develop her own methods of divination instead of trying to memorize old ones and focused her hard work that was initially going nowhere into a better path that will help her achieve her dream. When she repeated at the end the thing Chiya told her in episode 8, I realized how much she had changed since the start of the show. Chiya parallels directly with her, but at the same time she got her unique developments. As a good protagonist she's someone alpha that never gives up, she's not scared of even gods and she's willing to do anything to help her friends and find her mom. Which kinda made her have a rough start when she didn't care about the rules of the town and almost tried to sneak to different districts that she wasn't allowed to go in, she had to learn how things are done and what path take to accomplish her goal, which ended her giving some traits from Kon as seen in the kitsune spirit incident. After that she developed some sense of protectiveness when she promised to stay forever together with Kon, no matter what even the gods say, in one of the most romantic scenes ever done in any anime or manga. Later, with all the girls, she realized she didn't have her own divination method, but after a plot relevant incident in which she got more info from her mom, she found her own thanks to some family ties, even if she can't use it whenever she wants. I can say that Chiya's determination was the part that developed most from her during these 12 episodes. I don't think it's possible to enjoy a show more than I did this one, that's why I'm giving it a perfect 10/10