Would anyone buy Miss Monochrome goods?
What They Say:
In this short animated series, Miss Monochrome is an android who decides to try and become a top idol singer in the ever growing competitive market.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Miss Monochrome has gotten things moving on getting the band together and the big piece of it was bringing in Yayoi to serve as publicist and promoter. While she took her job to levels that are too high for where Monochrome is at, it at least showed she has the ability if not the actually scale to understand what’s needed. The last episode had a lot of fun with that and gave us a bit more for that character, but it also introduced us to a new character with a guitarist shown at the end. As Monochrome wants to put together a band, finding someone that she clicks well with and has chemistry with is definitely important. That it’s Akiko from the convenience store who jams in the alley during her breaks is just fate.
As part of her plans to grow her brand, Monochrome has decided to basically put out a lot of games based on her black and white color scheme, such as Go games, a Rubik’s Cube and more, just without calling them that and instead things like the Monochrome Cube. That leads to more traditional goods being put together as Yayoi’s imagination runs wild but all within the realm of the familiar. Of course, she also wants to brand her own batteries, but that wouldn’t exactly sell in quite the same way since people don’t charge themselves up with them. What Monochrome really wants though is an action figure, highly articulated, and a nendoroid as well of course. It’s cute to see her intensity, though we’ve dabbled in this area before. Of course, it all has to take a weird turn at the end and that’s actually a low point for the show as she starts wearing a bear costume.
In Summary:
The path to being famous that Miss Monochrome is one is a familiar one and the gags certainly are too as they play out. That doesn’t mean it’s without its charms as there are certainly those here, especially for Yui Horie fans that just can’t get enough of her. This episode pushes forward on the concept of goods and there are some comical ones to be had at first before it gets into the more traditional ones. It’s a nice bit of progression overall for the character and her goals and it fits in with the interactions with real fans through what’s sold. A little self aware in some ways, but harmless nonetheless.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.