The spring anime season is almost here. Before the new shows get started and more articles like this are written up, let’s take a look back at one more title from Winter 2018 and see if it was worth checking out. This is Slow Start, a series based on a four panel manga.
Summary
Hina is a year older than her classmates thanks to a case of the mumps. Will her new friends Tama, Eiko, and Kamuri be able to help her come out of her shell.
Positive
The series offers a unique viewpoint of the main character being a “Middle School Ronin” (a person who needs additional time to study to pass an entrance exam). While studying and waiting for the test to come around she has become something of an introvert. So it’s up to her friends to help show her how to have fun. It’s an interesting concept and the characters are adorable to say the least.
Negative
Unfortunately there are a ton of other series which feature cute girls, doing cute things, but don’t sacrifice substance in the process. Lucky Star offered large amounts of humor and Azumanga Daioh offered a look into the Japanese High School experience and both of these shows were based on four panel manga. Their characters were also very adorable.
The biggest obstacle Hana faces is worrying about her friends finding out she is older than them. Would this really be such a life changing and friendship ending conversation? The girl was sick with the mumps. It’s not like she’s the reincarnation of an ancient evil or anything.
Also, Maria Naganawa. Yeah, your little girl voice was cute in Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid when you played Kanna but you should work on trying to make the characters you play sound different. Kamuri sounds exactly like Kanna with absolutely no effort to try and make her unique. Just a note.
Grade
This one gets a FAIL. It’s a bland series without much comedy or actual substance. None of these characters have a trial or difficulty which can’t be solved with cake, a hug, or some combination of both. The series was based on a four panel manga and only helps to make the case for less shows should be made from such a source.
Slow Start is streaming on Crunchyroll.
