After watching Do it Yourself, I’m not going to lie, I have had very strong urges to start yelling DO IT YUAAAA SERUFU when someone asks me for help on something, because you know, cringe anime behaviour am I right?

Do it Yourself is very therapeutic, in that it makes you feel nice and happy after a rough day of work or school, and it might be even inspire you to start building some IKEA furniture. There’s a lot to like, from the wholesome friendships, some very fluid animation, the memes, and some of the relaxing music too. With all the big action hits this season, such as Chainsaw Man, Mob Psycho, and Bleach, this show might have flew under the radar for some of you, and it almost did for me, but boy am I glad that I watched this show, one of my favourites from this anime season.

STORY:

Technology is very prevalent nowadays, with many things turning electronic. The age of building things by hand has been far gone, but it doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. Yua Serufu, the main character, notices this when her clumsy, accident-prone self, rides her bike into a pole and damages it. Someone comes along and fixes her bike, and it turns out, that person is the leader of the Gatagata Girls’ High School’s Do-It-Yourself club! Naturally, she gains a new interest in these crafts, and the once quiet DIY club room is alive once more!

Purin, Serufu’s childhood friend, got accepted into the cutting-edge tech school, the elite Yuyu Girls’ Vocational High School, where the latest technology in science is explored. A little gripe I did have with the story is that they could have explored some more themes of tech vs DIY, but with the fun times in the DIY club making up for it, it’s honestly fine.

The story isn’t anything really special, as it’s still just a CGDCT show, and more character driven than story driven. That said, there were still some interesting bumps along the way that made the story a bit more memorable.

ART:

It looks a little different from your typical CGDCT show, and it looks great! The art style is hard to explain, perhaps it looks like a colouring book? It looks very hand-drawn, and it’s very fitting for the DIY setting, as it looks less refined, yet looks perfect for what the show is trying to achieve.

MUSIC:

Some very relaxing music, as expected. It’s soothing and calming. The OP makes me smile every time.

CHARACTERS:

The characters were definitely a big reason why this was fun and entertaining throughout. The cast of characters stood out in their own way, and each of them were great characters. First, our protagonist, Yua Serufu, is a ditz, and you know she is based on how many band-aids are on her face. She might not have been the most resourceful person in the DIY club, but at least she strives to learn, and eventually, she does get better. Her relationship with her childhood friend, Purin, is where some of the better character writing takes place. Many childhood friends tend to drift apart after a certain time, such as the end of elementary school or high school, but here, there’s a good story of friends that drifted apart still caring for each other, and the friendship slowly building up again.

The other DIY club members were also memorable, but none more than Juliet Queen Elizabeth VIII, also known as Jobko. The occasional English lines, combined with her jokes made every episode quite light-hearted, and even hilarious sometimes.

ENJOYMENT:

The show made me smile a lot, and that’s all you can really ask for.

THEMATIC EXECUTION:

The show has pretty simple themes, such as working as a team and some concepts of friendship. These themes were executed quite effectively. Some of the teamwork when building things was good, as everyone supported each other, and despite some members being better than others, no one ever put anyone down when there was a bump in the road, but just persevered together.

OVERALL:

There’s practically nothing I didn’t like in Do it Yourself, and that made it one of the most enjoyable series of the season, and perhaps even the year. It made me smile on a consistent basis, made me laugh a bit, and warmed me up after rough days. That’s all that I could really ask for.

If you ask me if you should watch this show, I’d have a simple answer for you. DO IT! (YOURSELF)