This is WRONG, absolutely WRONG. But in a discreet and provocative way, firstly uncomfortably funny and later cutely funny, but it's a story about getting another chance at life.

Okay, so the story is that after two years of living a hikikomori life, Mahiro Oyama, an eroge-loving NEET, wakes up one day as a girl. All this coming from a drug made by her younger sister, Mihari, through an unethical experiment. Without his consent, Mahiro is now forced out of his bubble to live a new opportunity as a girl, act like a girl, dress like a girl… yes, anyone reading this will immediately notice something wrong going on there and I don't blame you if you find it repugnant at first, but sometimes one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and trying to explore something out of the ordinary can bring unexpected results.

Onimai is basically told as a Slice of Life, but with a bit of unreality and humor as the character's sexuality takes a major role in the development of the show. However, don't expect a serious and in-depth story from this, but rather a whole range of jokes and problems that Mahiro is going to have with his own self, be it from having to hide his masculine past in front of his friends to dealing with his menstruation periods. All these types of jokes can offend many who go to see this show. Fortunately I'm not one of those and I like when humor has its mischievous tone.

The animation is its star point of the show, with the details and settings too vivid. Similarly, the rather colorful environment and flashy/moe character design is an appealing point for an audience that has been following Studios Bind's Mushoku Tensei for some time, even though Onimai is only his second work to adapt. The creative freedom taken by the production means that the program also bothers to make cultural references, especially video games, at certain points in the episodes. There's even some Titanic and Space Odyssey parody, plus a mahou shoujo transformation sequence, not entirely new to any parody, but quite elaborate - ironically its director, Shingo Fujii, had been a part of working on the Precure franchise before.

Marika Kouno (Mahiro) and Kaori Ishihara (Mihari) return to reprise their leading roles, now in the TV version of Onimai. They had previously provided their voices for the Drama CD, released years ago. They both manage to capture the sisterly dynamic, especially Mahiro whose lazy and childish nature comes off quite well. Although the casting cannot be generalized as one of the most memorable, they fulfill their role in giving all the characters cuteness and personality.

Both the opening and the ending are quite good, a standard electronic J-pop music style. But what really catches the eye is its video sequence that generally places too much emphasis on Mahiro's cute appearance; especially the OP, which is a fanservice fest, where at the beginning they show us some shots of her dressed in a sports uniform and school bathing suit - all this to give the viewer an uncomfortable but funny feeling that the person on screen was previously a boy. Or that comic “symbolism” where Mihari directs Mahiro on a banana boat to the Moon where a couple (one of them with a female figure) of rabbits make mochi. The ED, on the other hand, is a little more relaxed except that Mahiro is dressed in a bunny outfit and performs an improvised choreography inside her house with the rest of her friends, while the animation style is quite smooth and different from the rest; with a resemblance to the manga design.

And speaking of fan service...

As a reader of the manga, this draws attention to the great difference between the adaptation and the original material, with the character design being one of his main points, adding more color like Mihari's purple bangs. However, the most notable change is that of Kaede who receives a "buff" on her physical appearance, appearing to be much more gyaru and sexy than she is in the moeism of the manga. To all this, it is likely that manga readers feel that the anime places a lot of emphasis on fanservice - like Kaede's breasts, for example - but this is because the show seeks to extend some holes that in the manga it is reduced to dialogues and scenes quite short. Fortunately, unless you're allergic to a second of Mahiro in a cat suit, this mostly fades into the background and doesn't deviate from the original manga material.

It is from there when the Oyama brothers begin to fulfill their role as protagonists of the comedy.

All subsequent situations to the first episode give a different impression to the viewer that what is shown at the beginning is not as one might think. A bait to generate moral controversy. What at first is an unwanted forcing begins to show the results of Onee-chan's experiment. Although superficially, Mahiro begins to carry out certain activities that he did not do in his previous life as a boy, and if you take the premise with a certain amount of humor, you will be able to enjoy Onii-chan's evolution with joy.

The rest of the characters, although they have a minor appearance than the Oyama sisters, are there to usher Mahiro into his new life. You've got onee-san Kaede, her tomboyish younger sister Momiji, yuri's shipper Miyo, and her spirited best friend Asahi. You also have Nemu, the class sleepy girl who makes certain appearances to a lesser extent. It's not the first anime where you've seen these character archetypes, and the show makes good use of the characters in every juicy situation with Mahiro, especially when her pacing is relaxed and doesn't rush to introduce all the characters in a combo.

Perhaps the biggest problem that Onimai has, especially if you are a manga reader, are the risks taken by the production to adapt its content to the screen: from aesthetic changes to the characters to slightly rearranging the chronology of events. Likewise, those familiar with the manga will notice how the anime takes a slightly different tack by using fanservice to engage the viewer. But am I honest? This seems really entertaining to me. The few seconds where you see Mahiro being teased with her physical appearance or Kaede and Miyo's breasts are nothing compared to the rest of the content where the girls go out to have fun or share moments of school life - And more when this series is not oriented to being an ecchi, although I guarantee that someone who considers themselves a fan of it will enjoy it.

Also, with this tendency to adapt works related to gender change (Fabiniku, Kendeshi, Reborn to Master the Blade, Ayakashi Triangle, etc.), Onimai is another one on the list for an audience that is looking for something even slightly different from the normal thing. You shouldn't feel guilty about enjoying every bit of the show, because the least you'll see is over-the-top fanservice. Yes, you will see Mahiro and other characters taking a bath, or showing Kaede and Miyo's breasts (one episode is literally titled "Mahiro Ponders Boobs and Identity"), but it works to push a more rebellious humor than usual from a moe comedy.

Yet what really makes Onimai soar and take off is the production value and creativity. Despite not being the best comedy that exists, works like these show how important artists are in the media, who can write, draw and give life to the characters as they see fit. Some may have a different impression of Onimai, but if it had a standard generic CGDCT animation and design, and not an "unnecessarily" sakuga style of colors, it would at best be a disappointment and fade into utter irrelevance - Especially in the West where we tend to forget that a good part of these anime are aimed at the Japanese market.

So what would you do if you changed your sex overnight? Would you change your lifestyle? Would you stop doing the same activities? Or would things be as usual? What would be your decision?

For Mahiro Oyama, all of these and more, he had to answer in this brilliant, provocative, and cute show like Onimai.