Name: an adorable comedy about appreciating the little things in life, even the tiniest ones
Item: Mr. Villain's Day Off
Rating: 65
Author: revelca

Waifra

an adorable comedy about appreciating the little things in life, even the tiniest ones · Waifora

➤ story
➤ characters
➤ art
➤ music - op/ed
➤ extra
➤ my rating

please keep in mind that the final rating might be solely based on my personal enjoyment!! the review itself is just me discussing all the factors mentioned above.

important: this is a spoiler-free review

╰┈➤ story

"i'm a high-ranking officer of the evil league, which fights daily to claim the earth in the name of our home planet. that said, today is my day off..."

and i really could not put it in better words than mr. villain himself did. the show really is just about that.

so, follow the oh-so-evil mr. villain as he does grocery shopping, takes photos of pandas, discovers earthling's traditions, and... helps his enemies and strangers??? well, it's his day off, so not like it matters. you'd be tired of being evil every day, too... the thing ahead is sort of spoiler-ish, so i preferred to tag it:

Spoiler, click to view

sadly, the show has some plot holes and a few things are left unexplained or not explained well enough. while of course it is not something crucial for us to know, as the show is not focused on that, the MC can just... transform into his bad guy form... and?? we don't know how?? and why?? is it because he's not from earth?? speaking of him being a bad guy, we don't even know what planet or universe did he come from, where is the evil organization's base located ~~i mean, if it's on earth... someone would notice such a big ass building, i believe??~~, and much more. not only that, but the tree spirits kids just... exist. and that's that. the things related to rangers were unexplained for a very long time as well. we're supposed to get attached to these characters, even tho their backgrounds and introductions are kinda lacking and flawed. like yes, the story doesn't need all that to be cute and silly, but it is kinda required to make the watcher more invested in it. while it is a cool watch that makes you reflect on life a little, it really could be a bit more than that story and plot-wise. the deeper i was into the show, the more i felt like the author was running out ideas and just had to introduce those "tree spirits" or a damn robot cat. it all just felt kinda forced later on-

╰┈➤ characters

as you can probably already tell from the previous section, the main character is just the goofiest of silly gooses. he's just a little guy!! a little guy that becomes overjoyed thanks to things that we often take for granted; be that ice cream, pandas, or anything really. all of his adventures are adorable, and the things he does really do put a smile on your face. it gets a little repetitive overtime, but he's still a cutie patootie.

when it comes to the side cast, it isn't very notable, but it does its job well. none of the characters are particularly annoying which is honestly great, and the interactions they have with the main character tend to be really heartwarming or just funny.

╰┈➤ art

the arstyle and animation are good, simply. it's not the kind of beautiful artstyle that "glows", but it never looks bad. explanation in depth:

Spoiler, click to view

the best example to show what i mean is probably loving yamada which has some really ugly close-up frames. but since i generally dislike that anime, i might be biased, so i will use my favorite romcom of all time as another example: bokuyaba. the problem with bokuyaba is that some frames that show characters from a distance look a little silly. and, like... with "Mr villain's day off" it never happens.

long story short: what i like about this anime's artstyle is that it always stays nice n consistent, even if it's kinda average.

╰┈➤ music

both op and ed are nice. those songs are just cool. once again, it's nothing exceptional, but they contribute greatly to the very pleasant and relaxing experience that this anime provides. i like how they were swaped with one another in two episodes.

the op is very chill and has this ending-ish vibe in the best way possible. it's like preparing us for 20 minutes of pure, relaxing joy~!! especially considering the fact that most of the time it's played before the episode even starts.

the ending on the other hand is very energetic and puts you in a good mood, as if it's preparing you to face reality once again; because that's what that show is all about, after all. it wants to show us just how more fun life is if we pay attention to the little things.

╰┈➤ extra

obviously, this isn't the first wholesome anime to exist, so there are quite a few shows i could recomend. my first pick would be without a doubt the yakuza's guide to babysitting, which i personally believe is a 10/10. Both of those shows are about an adult guy being put in a totally new situation, and both of the main characters are usually "the bad guy". but yakuza's guide has a bit more action than this anime, i think.

feel like watching more goofy silly men?? go for play it cool, guys. the way of the househusband is an option as well, but as we all probably know, that anime is a goddamn slideshow. i've heard good stuff about the manga tho, so maybe go for that?

╰┈➤ my rating

"mr villain's day off" is just a love letter to life. yes, the story does follow an evil organization invading earth, but if you watched the show then i'm sure you know it really isn't about that. it's a good choice if you just want to chill out and turn your brain off - i must admit it made me smile more than a few times, even if the show itself is just mediocre. it's a solid 6.5/10 for me.