YAMISHIBAI + AI-MAI-MI MOUSOU -- Double Review

We’re sampling the summer season’s selection! Check out our other pilot write-up’s –

• ALDNOAH ZERO *** SWORD ART ONLINE II *** RAIL WARS

Most times, I scratch my head over these micro-series. The
content’s so short, I can’t really get that invested in any one little snippet. The
effect is about the same as trying to read any of those vestigial adventure
strips in the back of the funnies. I understand that they’re trying to fill
space, and… that’s… exactly what they feel like. Shrug-inducing filler.

So there’s an interesting contrast between these two…

== TEASER ==

AI-MAI-MI seems like a fun little Magical Girl show. It’s
cute. It seems to be turning some tropes on their ear. But just as soon I’m
starting to get into it -- whoosh! -- it cuts to credits. See
another snippet in a week? Even when I’ve watched other micro series in
blocks, the experience is always really disjointed. Not only is it hard to get
into the chunks of actual content in between the constantly repeating intro’s
and outro’s, it’s actually hard to even remember what you’ve just watched.

JAPANESE GHOST STORIES, on the other hand, makes much better
use of the format. Actually, it's even better use when you compare it to
last season’s attempt at a horror micro-series, PUPA. Essentially, this is
CREEPY PASTA: THE ANIME – concise horror fiction that’ll scare the shit out of
you (presumably while you’re taking a
shit). It’s hard to maintain scares in little glimpses from week to week.
Why not just bottle all the good stuff in a distilled form, evoking more scares
than you actually have time to show?

Honestly, on paper, the notion of a ventriloquist conjuring
the dead through his dummy on stage doesn’t sound that scary. But… man… this
was just so creepy to watch. And I think that’s mainly got to do with how the show lets you fill in all the gaps yourself, which is exactly how horror should work. Hell, it even makes the limited animation work to its advantage. Everything always looks a little askew.

Watch JAPANESE GHOST STORIES and AI-MAI-MI
MOUSOU decide for yourself.