REVIEW - Denpa Teki na Kanojo (2009)

When I look back on certain anime, I think to myself "Hmm, wouldn't that have been better if it had a second season? Wouldn't that have been better if that were just a bit longer?" and thing along those lines. Regardless or not of whether or not the actual anime was bad, there was always a feeling in my heart and head that it was just shy of being something great because it lacked something that either more episodes or a second season could've fixed. And unfortunately today's anime also falls under that category.

Denpa Teki na Kanojo by Brains Base.

DTNK is a 2 Episode OVA series that has a 40 minute or so run time per episode. It focuses on one Juu Juuzawa, a high school delinquent (Sounds sort of familiar) who doesn't really do much apart from getting into trouble and causing people grief if they bother him. One day, along comes a strange and mysterious girl named Ame Ochibana, who by the way is in a real need of a haircut. Anyways, Ame calls Juu her 'master', to Juus confusion he starts running away from Ame simply because she acts quite like the stalker-ish type of lady. These events happen during a series of murders throughout their home city. One night while walking home, Juu sees a mutilated corpse hung up beside a sign post with some wire. To his shock, Ame appears out of nowhere and tells him about how this all happened. Juu suspects Ame, but she is not the culprit. The rest of the first episode basically boils down to a 'catch the killer' type of thing, with a real kick-in-the-balls twist coming near the end that genuinely shocked me. In fact, that's something that is the plots greatest point; it's genuinely shocking. There are some images in this anime that - while not on the absurd level of Elfen Lied - still manage to shock and unnerve the viewer. The big problem however is the limited amount of shock scenes, because of how extremely short the series is. Like mentioned above, it's 2 40 minute long episodes which leave barely any room for character development. If they kept this formula for let's say, a half season 12/13 episode series, then I think it'd be much better, especially if it paced it's shocking moments well like in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. This show reeks of wasted potential, but fortunately the two episodes are good enough to make them stand on their own.

When it comes to the characters, I would say they're interesting but they have little to no development which again comes from the series short length. I would say that the supporting cast, or rather the 'villains' for lack of a better word are probably the most interesting of the characters, mainly due to how psychologically twisted they are. A la Neon Genesis Evangelion (but to a lesser extent), these characters witnessed or were affected by something traumatic in their lives which made them go - for lack of a better word - insane. The main cast are serviceable, but as I said they lack development so I didn't really get attached to them at all.

Let's play 'Spot the Main Character'

On the animation front, it looks absolutely fantastic and it's arguable the shows biggest strength. All the characters, while not extremely detailed, blend in well with their environments and move fluidly around the 'set' well. The lighting is top class and it even rivals Kara no Kyoukai in that respect (Yes, I did just say that). The backgrounds look great too, with immense detail put into them. On the sound front, I found it rather forgettable and quite dull. Nothing more to say in regards to that.

Overall this show could have been so so soooooooo much better if it had been a 12/13 episode long series. The plot has so much more potential and the characters have so much more room to be developed on. However, despite that and some sound issues, Denpa Teki na Kanojo is a good show to watch if you simply want to pass some time. It's excellently drawn and it makes for some great popcorn material too.

STORY: 8

CHARACTERS: 6.5

ANIMATION: 10

SOUND: 4.5

PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: 8

FINAL SCORE FOR DENPA TEKI NA KANOJO: 7.4/10