What They Say:
A comedy manga, “Shonen Ashibe,” that follows the friendship between baby spotted seal Goma-chan and first-grade student Ashiya Ashibe. First serialized in 1988 and adapted to anime in 1991, the adorable Goma-chan created a massive following and a spotted seal boom. This spring, Goma-chan returns to “Tentere Anime.” A cute, pleasant story of Ashibe and Goma-chan and their unusual school and their neighbors. Sometimes endearing, sometimes bizarre, it’s a fun anime for the whole family!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
There was a lot of fun in seeing the panic from Ashibe over the realization that his summer break was over and he didn’t get to have as much fun as he wanted. We’ve all been there and that’s part of the allure of a show like this in that, as kids, a great many things are universal. While having a seal as a best friend isn’t, most of what these kids go through are familiar things and it’s fun to watch unfold. And one of those fun things is a mystery package, especially from grandparents. Of course, Ashibe has a wealthy and eccentric grandfather so him getting a robotic version of Goma-chan that they’re planning to sell with Gomabo isn’t familiar. But we’ve seen this tale before and know what kind of fun it can have.
With a robotic version of Ashibe’s voice, Gomabo knows all about Ashibe in a big way and it’s definitely silly to watch as Gomabo has a lot of overreactions. Gomabo has a whole lot of things to say about most of the family and that causes plenty of trouble as it reveals secrets, including with Pepepepe. All of that chaos makes it easy for Goma and Gomabo to get out and spend some time together, which exposes Gomabo to a lot of other kids where it knows far too much about them. Everyone loves the idea of two Goma-chans at first but as Gomabo rolls out more disturbing reveals it just keeps everyone further and further away. You know how it’ll all end but watching the journey of it makes for a lot of laughs with so many on the nose aspects being hit by Gomabo when it comes to much of our familiar cast.
In Summary:
Smart robots aren’t always the smartest things to have. It’s a crisis of confidence for Gomabo as it tries to understand what happened and why everyone is upset with him after he talks with them. The only one that escapes Gomabo, for the most part, is Goma-chan and that fits in with the seal’s simple personality – to the point where Goma-chan actually defends Gomabo’s personality because he’s such an understanding seal and friend. Cute, silly, and the kind of over the top episode that doesn’t go too far but works well in the context of this property, there’s plenty of laughs and not too much to take seriously.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
