“A Journey Like A Prayer”
What They Say:
The three Himote sisters, Tokiyo, Kinami, and Kokoro, are living in what they’ve dubbed the “Himote House” in Nakano, Tokyo. Sharing the house with them are their former classmates, Tae and Minamo, and a cat named Enishi. These five unique girls live a boisterous life at the Himote House, spending their days trying to figure out how to get guys to like them. What’s more, the five of them, and the cat, all have a mysterious power…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Himote House almost makes me feel bad in watching it because it has these good little moments but can’t quite seem to make it into a full episode of good stuff. Part of it is that the show really isn’t trying for any kind of story but rather just a conversational tone. I imagine for the intended audience, which is obviously clearly not me, that it would connect well for them – especially the ending bit that’s adlibbed with the technology showcase being employed. But I still feel like the show has fallen through on the basics it needs to function with characters that don’t have enough to them to be memorable as individuals.
This episode focuses on the five of them playing a board game together and the journey that it works through. With it being a yuri yuri version of the game of Life there’s definitely potential here with what it can do as it mixes in high school cliches as game elements with the cards, the spins, and so forth. Some of the gags and cliches are definitely amusing and having them done as stills with the show characters done in that form works well for some added cuteness. The back and forth between everyone has its moments but it really does just keep coming back to the familiar slice of life romantic comedy stories but in the light yuri vein. It’s cute and silly with fun little bit that let the characters engage in shenanigans but lacks the weight to really make it land because they have so little character to begin with.
In Summary:
This episode works a bit better since it has some familiar aspects to it with the yuri elements and the game itself playing off the Life game. But it really does fall short of what it could be since the characters have so little to them even after six episodes before this to really engage with as it’s hard to even remember who is who at this point. It’s definitely one of the better episodes though simply because of how it presents itself and getting a mild yuri turn.
Grade: C
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
