Haré+Guu

I had no preconceptions about this anime, because I'd never heard anyone mention it before - I was pleasantly surprised!

On an aesthetic level, this anime is profoundly early 2000's - which for me is a good thing. The colours are sharp and flat, everything has a very visually childish and naive feeling which fits with the tone perfectly. The designs of the title characters are great; the rest of the cast is a little less standout (2 of them get visual tweaks 2/3 of the way through seemingly for no reason beyond making them look a bit better), but not bad at all. And the 4:3 aspect ratio might annoy some, but for me is super nostalgic.

As a slapstick, the animation is of prime importance, and I have to say, while anime from this era, especially obscurer anime, has a poor reputation, I think this show looks great. It's not super technically impressive, and there are a lot of very static scenes. But these moments never feel like an attempt to save save money or fill time, they are always in service to the set up for jokes. When a punchline requires intense animation, it delivers, even for an extremely rapid gag that you only see for half a second. There's a fair bit of stylistic parody throughout which helps keep the show feeling homogeneous: you've got homages to mecha, romances, sports/shonen, etc., all done with charm and good humour.

Adding to the energy is an all around fantastic performance by the voice actors. Naoko Watanabe as Guu is an obvious stand out, her ability to dramatically alternate between Guu's moe/innocent facade and her "true" character is really quite something. But the aggressively flat monotone wouldn't work quite so well if not performed alongside Rikaki Aikawa's anxiety riddled, shrill, wailing, 10,000 mile per hour tirades as Hare. I can't say enough good about the voice cast Weda, Marie, Yamada, everyone really nails the tone of the show and sells their character. I think with the exception of Clive - there's just something about his flat nasal that doesn't work for me. But it's a small gripe, all things considered.

The comedy is centred on the interaction between the two mains, and they have a lovely, fiery chemistry. Guu is one of those characters who, if done poorly, I think I would loathe: she's untouchable, super powerful, mischievous, unflappable. But she's written in such a way that none of this feels obnoxious or annoying. One thing I noticed is that while Hare is regularly subjected to whacky, over the top, slapstick violence, Guu rarely imparts it. She certainly could, but delights more in confounding, outwitting and tricking him, which I think helps her avoid crossing over into irritating territory. Of course, none of her antics would be any fun if Hare wasn't a fun character to watch being tormented. He's written with a great balance of exaggerated childish anxiety and world weary, wry cynicism. His wailing, manic reactions are great fun, but so too are his flat, dry observations of his situation.

Plot wise, it's light. Episodes have a 'moral fable' formula: typically, Hare expresses some desire or gripe, Guu changes the world around him to address it, but of course the consequences prove worse than his initial problem. But the tone is self-aware and cynical - the plots usually resolve at the end of an episode with a subversion of the expected moral, or a heavily understated, funny denouement. This little cynical streak is what helps it stand out - the slapstick is funny thanks to the energetic animation and excellent voice acting, but it could get repetitive if not for the willingness to get humour from quiet, flat line delivery as well as explosive, violent punchlines.

Besides the episodic structure, there's a smattering of long-form narrative elements that develop. Weda's backstory is gradually revealed over the course of the show: it provides a little spice of mystery and sense of progression, but never threatens to eclipse the actual meat of the anime, which is the particular quirk of each episode. So too the potential romance between her and the school doctor - it's something a bit more substantial than the gags, but it's mostly fuel for delivering those gags, rather than a distraction.

The ultimate conclusion of the anime is surprisingly sweet, but not in a way that has you rolling your eyes. There's enough sincerity in amongst the meta-textual and absurd comedy for it all to feel earned and gratifying. If you want something careefree and like your slapstick intermingled with self-aware japes, it's a great watch.