In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki

Souichirou Yamamoto sure loves his foreheads. From the creator of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, an incredibly entertaining romcom between two adolescents, here comes Kunoichi Tsubaki no Mune no Uchi, a CGDCT/slice of life series which also boasts a lovely character with an impressive brow. The plot revolves around a village hidden in some mountains, made up of young female ninja in training and their select few teachers. Split into squads of 3-4 girls each, they go about their daily lives, whether it be practicing new jutsu, classroom studies, foraging for food or simply playing around. The catch is that these young ninja in training have neverseen a Male in person and have no knowledge whatsoever about the opposite sex and have been forbidden from their superiors from finding out anything about them. A lot of misinformation and rumors are spread about their appearance, smell, etc, which leads to humorous antics and jokes being told between these ignorant kids. Seemingly only Tsubaki, the main heroine in this anime, is curious enough to find out whether these actually hold true. It works well, because there's always that hanging anticipation of if/when they will finally come into contact with a Man and what will proceed to follow. Like Takagi-san, it's a tease, but in a completely different manner. Yamamoto's character designs are becoming some of my favorite in anime, they are so incredibly noticeable and unique, one of the premier makers of adorable characters today. There are a sizeable group of kunoichi in this village that we get to see often and they are all so intricate, individual and well made. They're also not just relegated to the background for most of the anime, they often play a role in these mini stories. I say mini stories, because this anime generally splits it's episode into three parts, similar to Takagi-san, so we get to see a wide range of activity from a lot of characters. And this is a massive positive for me, Tsubaki and her squad are most certainly the main characters and have the most screen time, but it would have been tragic not to spend more notice on these great side characters who each have distinctive personalities themselves. And to think we're blessed with yet another Yamamoto work this Summer 2022 season, Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru, I'm expecting good things. There are a couple of gripes that I've noticed from other posters which I will quickly address here, and that is mostly about the humor and the supposed fan service. "Irritable, simplistic and repetitive jokes about how Men are gross, ugly and the likes are annoying". What can I really say here? This sounds like a fragile ego complaint and I struggle to take it seriously, but I can tell you that Men being the butt of their jokes does take a decrease in appearance past the 3rd or so episode. Happy now? You won't need your tissues anymore? Awesome. "Men are gross" is only one gag in this show, there's plenty more to choose from. As for the fan service, the only fan service in this anime are the skimpy outfits that some of the characters wear on a daily basis, which could be uncomfortable for some considering that they are underage (around 13-14). That's about as far as it goes sexualization wise, save for one little arc where the theme revolves around attractiveness. Won't be a problem for some, especially for desensitized fellows like myself, who have watched too many anime too even bat an eyelid here. But there's the warning. There's some skin shown. No quarrels with the animation for the most part, there are 1-2 episodes where the dip in quality is pretty noticeable, but it stays fairy consistent throughout. Vibrant contrast of colors are everywhere, it's very aesthetic. The seiyuu talent on hand is exceedingly apparent as well, an incredible range of voices on display, my personal favorite would have to be Sazanka, voiced by Miyari Nemoto, which is amazingly her first ever anime she has worked on! I will definitely be looking forward to her future works. These episodes felt like ten minutes, if that's not an indication of an entertaining series, then I don't know what is. 9/10 for a personal top 3 AOTS.

If there is an author that has his/her name thrown around quite a lot, it would be Souichirou Yamamoto. If you know any inkling of the works that this prolific author has ever done, you might have heard of it before since it was (and still is) the talk of the town: Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san a.k.a Teasing Master Takagi-san, which has already spawned 3 seasons plus a movie that recently just released. It's no doubt one of many of Japan's most successful series in both AniManga forms, and towards the god of foreheads, he is absolutely raking in all the attention from Season 3of the main series the past Winter season, its movie and this show this season, and the Shogi rom-com Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru a.k.a When Will Ayumu Make His Move? in the upcoming Summer season. That's 3 seasons in a row that's chock full of big-ball-wide foreheads that you're gonna see for 9 months straight, and that's a blessing to an already recognizable author whose works have generated a cult fan favourite for the die-hards, me included. But to be frank, let's backtrack on the one series that I felt that was a miss on the mark, the black sheep of the author's many works, and that is this show right here: Kunoichi Tsubaki no Mune no Uchi a.k.a In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki. This is the only series that Souichirou Yamamoto has deviated from the classic school-based rom-com that Takagi-san (and even the upcoming Soredemo Ayumu) is known for, and trades it with an all-female clan of kunoichi (a.k.a female ninjas) living in a village where there is a strict code that everyone must adhere to: women are not allowed to have contact with men, for like the enemy, they are dangerous and not wholly to be trusted should they win the females over to their side. Both AniManga forms have a huge character cast, but a female MC that guides the story along: Tsubaki of Team Dog, who's at that age where she is curious about men, and presumably, wants to know more about them because of her unequivocal heart-pounding and beating feeling, and the more she knows information about men, the more she gets flustered easily. Yeah, this is the adage of "curiosity kills the cat". If there is an area where credit must be given where its due, is in its naming conventions that hides deeper meanings. I will admit that the kunoichi of the female-only Akane Class clan that ranges from mere young children to teens, they have some of the skimpiest clothing that can be easily mistaken for the sexualization of minors (say Team Dog's Sazanka and Team Sheep's Benisumomo) that's a bit unsightful to see. But, this leads to the next point that if you haven't already figured it out yet, the Akane Class is made up of teams that are representative of the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac, with each team having 3 students (or kunoichi, rather) being either fully Senpais, Kouhais, or a mix of both (Teams Dog and Snake are the exception with 4 and 2 students respectively) with everybody's own unique Jutsu. And this is a crucial one that will be glanced over: each and every character's single-name-only given names have a symbolic floral theming that translates to different flowers, plants or both. Take for example: the central Team Dog's Tsubaki, Asagao, Sazanka and Rindou. While Asagao and Rindou both represent their main flower family respectively (morning glory and gentian), Tsubaki and Sazanka are in a close sisterly relationship because their names stem from the Camellia flower family (of the common Japanese camellia and Sasanqua camellia). So rather than just pick out rando names, Souichirou Yamamoto going the distance to literally pluck out flower names and adapt them to his work (this is a huge lot of characters spanning 30 to 40 names), this is what I feel separates him from many authors due to the creativity of his talents, and this talent is IMO simply unrivalled. The female-only Akane Class clan is taken care of by two teachers: the head of the clan Hana and her No. 2 counterpart Konoha. Both are stern teachers taking care of Tsubaki and the many kunoichi students, raising their lives to rise to the conduct of not having a fear of men. But, this is an abstract lie, and Hana-sensei knows it, because the truth is that both the women (Akane Class) and the men (Aoi Class) were once learning together in tandem, when this thing called "love" breaks all fear for potential kunoichi and shinobu to be in relationships together, to the extreme case of eloping altogether from their clans, forcing the hand of the clan's extinction so much that they blocked all interaction amongst one another, only to isolate themselves and never to interact again lest this hard-and-fast rule is either broken or violated by one of the students, which can bring consequences. For a large character cast like this show, it can be hard to follow who's what and how, so this is the full breakdown of the Akane Class: - Teachers Hana and Konoha (literally meaning 'flower' and 'leaves'), stern teachers whom cherish their students in a stoic manner, that by themselves, removes their acting facades of a base foundation towards tutoring the students in a proer manner. - Team Dog: team leader Tsubaki, with members Sazanka, Asagao and Rindou. Tsubaki's the star character of the Akane Class with skills unparalleled; Sazanka is the short-tempered and short-statured girl whom was a recluse until Tsubaki came to brighten up her life (and the only person calling her "Nee-sama"); Asagao is the food-crazed glutton; and Rindou is the Aoi Class's transfer student, but as a girl being raised by men before they raised her as a girl to be transferred out to the Akane Class. - Team Sheep: team leader Benisumomo, with members Mizubashou and Touwata. Benisumomo's the next equal when it came to comparing her brains and brawn against Tsubaki; Mizubashou being the team's bookworm and trap master; and Touwata being a hard-working girl, sometimes too hardworking for her own good. - Team Horse: team leader Hinagiku, with members Kibushi and Oniyuri. Hinagiku's the self-proclaimed beauty of the Akane Class, the prideful and egosticial girl of the bunch. Kibushi is the member to help lift her spirits up, while Oniyuri acts more like a bodyguard due to her stature. - Team Monkey: team leader Mokuren, with members Housenka and Tsuwabuki. Mokuren is easily the kindest and sweetest girl of the clan, the Akane Class's go-to medic nurse. Housenka, like Team Dog's Sazanka, is the team's prankster, and Tsuwabuki...don't call her 'stupid' or 'dumb', or otherwise you will piss her off, she's the brawn-over-brain person. - Team Rat: team leader Tachiaoi, with members Higuruma and Hagi. Tachiaoi is a bit of a clumsy girl, and even if she sees how others (like Tsubaki) lead their own team, it's better to keep it at one's breadth. Higuruma is the yellow-haired optimist while Hagi is the grayish-blue-haired pessimist. - Team Ox: team leader Shion, with members Suzuran and Ajisai. Shion is the big sister character to Ajisai, while Suzuran is the same but being the mother character. Also, Ajisai is about the closest to a Takagi-san character cop-out (that's similar to Chi from the spin-off) as you can see. - Team Tiger: team leader Fuki, with members Itadori and Ume. Fuki is the nice girl that's a stark comparison to the manga counterpart when she is a no-nonsense individual, making her more adult-like than her team members Itadori and Ume whom are both childish and mischievous. - Team Snake: no team leader, but members-only. Uikyou and Kikyou may look like splitting images of one another, but in they are essentially the same person, sharing a tight-knit, almost sisterly dynamic, complete with having the same exact abilities. However, they actually aren't related, but rather simply best friends. - Team Dragon: team leader Higiri, with members Suzushiro and Hasu. Higiri is the reserved girl that isn't known much; Suzushiro is the direct opposite being boisterous and more open; and while Hasu may just be like Higiri, her deception Jutsu is quite useful. - Team Rabbit: team leader Kagetsu, with members Mukuge and Hototogisu. This team is essentially the idol group of Akane Class, with Kagetsu backing vocals as the lead singer and song composer, Mukuge supporting in instrumentals (drummer) and Hototogisu supporting on percussion (flute). - Team Rooster: team leader Sumire, with members Azami and Tanpopo. Sumire can be seen as a wilful leader going along with both members' tactics, but also tends to interpret things too seriously that spirals down to detriments. On the other hand, Azami and Tanpopo are the free-spirited girls, one that many can refer to that of the gyaru a.k.a gal culture. - Team Boar: team leader Dokudami, with members Aogiri and Shakuyaku. If you thought that Team Monkey's Tsuwabuki was bad enough, wait till you see Dokudami rip people to shreds. This is the same for Aogiri and Shakuyaku, whom also blindly follows their team leader into endless ways to reach to their destination. Whew, never thought that this would be a huge chunk. I also noticed that while the members make the teams, the team dynamic of which they're called, also plays into the particular animal's properties as well, so that's something. I can never fault anything when it comes to the production side of things. This is storyboarder-cum-episode director Takudai Kakuchi's directorial debut, though for a show of a calibre such as this, really doesn't seem like much more than a small and notable side gig. As for CloverWorks, the A-1 Pictures' sister studio definitely has seen better days not rushing and taking things slowly, and the overall production does look nice, as we should expect it to be. The music though, is another selling point of the show. Although the peggies' OP is just decent and sounds fine (nothing like the sort of "Centimeter" for the KanoKari dumpster fire show), the ED is where it'll have a small surprise. For the entire show in a row, each respective team performs the same ED theme, but in their own versions that in all, provides 12 different iterations of the same song. Honestly, the show doesn't honestly need to go far in this, but also, you have to give credit where credit is due that this is intentional effort that might be just a Souichirou Yamamoto thing, but the same rhetoric that Takagi-san has actually done in its anime adaptations. As for my favourite ED version, Team Dog (Episode 1) is the best IMO, though Team Tiger (Episode 6) is a close 2nd being the Rock n' Roll equivalent of that. All in all, you can take Kunoichi Tsubaki as a CGDCT show of sorts (since it's an entirely all-female cast), but it prides mostly in its Iyashikei, slice-of-life setting of the playful and comedic interactions despite the romantic subtext. Either way, I can see why nobody ever talks about this series that's a complete deviation to Souichirou Yamamoto's tried-and-true school-based rom-com formula that has always worked for the general audience. This is more like a 'if you have ample time on your hands, watch this instead" kind of show that has its audience, but nothing more. A decent series, but nowhere near the acclaimed mangaka's magnum opuses of works that are more appealing.

More foreheads huh? Ok so In the heart of kunoichi tsbaki was a pretty good show, it was very inconsistent in the middle parts, but overall, a good and enjoyable show. So, let’s start with the story; we focus on the dog squad, led by tsubaki (mc), and her curiosity on boys. Assuming you read the synopsis, I don’t need to explain how the girls in the village feel about boys. So yeah, we were shown that Tsubaki wants to know more about boy. However, during the middle section in the show, the main focus is shifted to everyday life with the different squads, and tsubaki’s squadmixed in the episode. You can see how the focus changes, and I think that’s where the show dropped in quality. We were led to believe that this show would focus on tsubaki finding out new things about boys, though we are given more stuff on boys throughout the show, it really wasn’t the main focus, the main focus of the show was to show the life of the girls living in the akane clan. Now that the focus was established, the story is a 7 for me. I feel like this could be classified as slice of life, and I’ll consider it as one, since, like I said main focus of life of the girls. As a slice of life, I feel like this show doesn't Deliver as much as it should have, most of the characters are pretty one dimensional and have a gimmick and that’s all they have. tbh there’s like 20 of them and we’re only given 13 eps, but still, other characters were given depth, so why couldn’t the rest get it? Anyway, that’s all I’ll have to say, since it’s a slice of life, if you want to watch it go. The characters. Since the story’s mc is tsubaki, we mostly follow the dog squad. All the characters in the dog squad are well developed, and their relationships with each other grow as the show goes on. I really don’t want to go in depth on all the characters, so I’ll just say, the characters that are introduced in the first 4 episodes are the only ones that get good character development. However, each character in each squad does get to shine per episode, so you could say that all are developed and have character. The other elements like art and sound are pretty good, nothing too outstanding, but gets the job done. The character designs are ninja-like, I guess... and the music is uses traditional Japanese instruments, so that’s cool. Also the fact that the ed in each episode is relative to each squad, and i think it’s an activity log or something, but anyway, that was nice. As for my complaints, not much other that what I said at the start. This show doesn’t shine, but it doesn’t really lack anything, so I give it an 8. Anyway, this show was a breather for me this season, with all the other animes out there, this one felt relaxing. So, if you want a chill anime, look no further, because this anime delivers. Good anime.

Loli ninjas the anime. So the formula of cute anime doing cute things has been done a lot of times, and while it can be enjoyable. In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki does sometimes tend to fall flat and get a little boring at times. Now, this isn’t a bad anime by any means, however, there are better animes out there that use this formula. Art: 9 What I won't take away however is the art. The character designs are all really good and each girl looks like they had effort put into their design, but also the animation was surprisingly really good for this anime,but it is Cloverworks so i guess you can't be too surprised. Sound: 9 The sound design is really solid, but the background music at times was a little annoying. Something really good though was the number of endings there were. Not all of them were that great, but a few of them were nice to listen to. Also, the opening is a banger. Characters: 5 One of the biggest drawbacks for me is the characters. I found so many of them to be annoying if I had to be honest with you. I thought Tsubaki was an enjoyable MC, and there are a few other really entertaining side characters like the teacher, and Benisumomo. However, the cast as a whole shifted more to the annoying side. Story: 6 The story is fine at best if I had to be honest with you. In my opinion, they should've done more with the men side of the storyline, like I said before the are other animes that use the cute girls doing cute things format better than this one. Overall it wasn't bad, it's a fine watch if you ever want to just clear your head.