[WT!] Engaged To The Unidentified

Links and StuffMALAnime PlanetANNGenre - Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance, School, Seinen,Studio - Dogakobo/Sentai Filmworks (US)Release Date - Winter 2014MAL Score - 7.64/10My Score - 7.9/10Marathon-ability - 9.6/10IntroductionThe tender age of sixteen is a tough bridge to cross. You're slowly moving past your childhood, and entering the later years of your teens. You're not quite an adult -- not quite a kid. You're somewhere in the middle, floating like a weird speck of dust, trying to stay in the right direction as the haughty wind blows you 'round. You could argue that, even as you move from 16 to 26 to 36 all the way to 106, you're still a lost speck of dust -- but the fact of the matter is, it's a difficult age and time of life.For many sixteen year old's, the most pressing issue is sovereignty from their parents, love, popularity, ensuring a bright future, image. All these are issues that plague the average sixteen year old -- but, as luck would have it, Kobeni Yonomori is not your average sixteen year old.Nevermind curfew. Nevermind getting a boyfriend. Nevermind being popular. Nevermind the average sixteen year old's life. Kobeni woke up on her sixteenth birthday, one foot on that tender bridge between adult and child, and found out she was engaged --- to someone she doesn't even know. Aaaand that he's moving in with her.That bridge just got a little more tender, didn't it?So what is Engaged To The Unidentified?Engaged to the Unidentified is a 2014 anime, released by Dogokoba, that is based off a 4-koma manga -- i.e. a 4 panel manga written by Cherry Arai. It began publication in the Manga 4-Koma Palette magazine in April 2009, and still runs to today.MAL has the series tagged under 4 tags -- something that both irks me and interests me.Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Seinen, Slice of LifeFor a series like Engaged to the Unidentified, it seems as if you could keep tossing genres tags on it like a hippie's Volkswagen has peace signs -- but really it mostly falls under the genre of comedy, romance, and slice of life. There are other elements to it -- other very, very different elements to it -- but I'll leave that to you to find on your own.What's it about?Engaged to the Unidentified is about Kobeni Yonomori, an average sixteen year old who finds on her birthday that she has betrothed by her grandfather to a boy named Hakuya. Hakuya and his little sister, Mashiro, then come to live with Kobeni and her older sister, all while trying to navigate this strange new situation they find themselves in.So who's who?Her talents are many, her chest is plenty, and her name's Kobeni. Kobeni Yonomori is the main character-ess of the anime, a sixteen year old normal high schooler who lives with her older sister, Benio (who we'll get to in a second). When she isn't cooking, cleaning, or running from her aforementioned sister, she's being a shy, simple, and average high school student. Kobeni loves to be the surrogate "mom" of the house, and as it is only her and her sister for the most part, this is a greatly useful thing. In school, she is compared, and more times than not, lauded for being the sister of the most popular student -- once again, her sister, Benio. She doesn't particularly like this attention. Nor does she like the attention she gets for being heavy chested or having well developed fertile hips, but she copes. Kobeni, however, is a lovable and kind girl, who cares for everyone around her, much like the "mom" she tries to be. Despite being 16 and engaged to a stranger, Kobeni is your average, sweet, bubbly, caring, and eerily well developed teenager. Almost.Kobeni's older sister is the much loved Benio Yonomori. At school, Benio is the most popular student. The big cheese. The big man, pots and pans. El presidente. Literally. She is the student council president, and takes her role as the public face of the student body, and all fame that may come with it, very, very seriously. But, despite her regal image at school, Benio is a little girl loving, and possibly incestuous individual --- but she hides it so well, doesn't she?. However, despite her questionable interests, she is a caring individual, and under it all, cares deeply for her sister -- possibly a little too much.The man of the house is the quiet, mysterious, and almost non-communicative Hakuya Mitsumine. Hakuya is like the wind. He's there. You feel him. You can see him. But, he makes little noise, and can disappear as fast he came. His face is almost entirely expressionless, and he is very, very slow to catch onto what's being said to him or going on. He never says a word, but, as they say, actions speaks volumes more than words do. Despite his Dark Knight image, Hakuya is a caring kid, who very much cares about his betrothed fiance, Kobeni. While the arrangement may not be the most ideal, he treats it very seriously, and very much wants to make Kobeni happy, keep her safe, and have her enjoy having him around -- no matter it may be. Just make sure when you see him, to not knock over his matchstick houses.The last of the main crew is the enigma that is Mashiro Mitsumine. She loves sweets, is terrified of aliens, and is probably running away from Benio as we speak. She's young, only nine years old, but after her brother and her moved from the mountains to live with Kobeni and Benio, she somehow managed to enroll in the same class. She tries to be like her brother, but fails terribly, as everyone can see exactly what she's feeling and thinking all the time, and what she likes, and doesn't like. She is constantly on the run from Benio -- who has taken a bit too much of a liking to her. But Mashiro has a weakness in sweets -- and in that weakness you can exploit her to do what you want. Much like the food she loves, she's a sweet girl at her core, and you may just catch her dancing to the TV one of these days.Why Should You Watch It?As far as high school based, romantic comedy slice of life anime series go, Engaged to the Unidentified is one that has an advantage in that there is more to it than it seems. While the focus of Kobeni and Hakuya's engagement is the main focus, there are separate focuses that I won't get into.The writing of the series is great. It's cute, it's funny, it's happy, it's serious, it's endearing, it's everything you'd want from an anime that touches on an off kilter reality.The characters are given depth through two main ways: one is through their own personalities, and two is through how they relate and interact with each other. Few anime have as much a symbiotic relationship between characters as this anime does, and it lends create to the crafting of the cast greatly.While you may hear the words "high school", "romance", "slice of life", and "comedy" and think it's a run-of-the-mill modern anime, I can assure you it isn't. It's found a common theme, taken it, changed it, shook it up, and poured out an entirely different product that just seems like all the others. There is much more than meets the eye going on her, and it's those hidden gems you need to wait for.The Honest SpecificsI- AnimationThe animation is, at the very least, modern, average budget anime art. It isn't as striking as Death Parade or as possibly lackluster as Outbreak Company, but it lies somewhere in between.The character designs are fairly memorable for an anime that is set in a place as common as a high school, and has a cast with really no one older than eighteen appearing every episode. Whether it's Kobeni and Benio's striking orange hair (must be that sibling genetics), or Hakuya's off side bangs, there is something memorable, image wise, for every character. But if you're looking for incredible art, these aren't the Droids you're looking for. If you can muster the will to handle art that is no better, no worse than the rest of the anime you've seen, you'll be Golden.II - SoundtrackThe soundtrack to Engaged to the Unidentified really is not entirely incredible, but the OP is definitely among my personal favorites. The dancing characters, bobbing heads, and cutesy pie looks on the faces of the leads is something you just can't pass on, can you? It's adorable, and catchy, and you're gonna love the way it sounds, I guarantee it.ConclusionIn a medium like anime, that loves to rehash the same themes over and over, Engaged to the Unidentified does so in a cheeky way. It takes the formula of girl + boy + high school and makes it a really, really unique and fun experience. While I have not even disclosed anywhere near half of the full plot here, I can assuredly tell you that there is a lot to enjoy about this, and how it takes a dead horse, revives it, and rides it valiantly into the sunset.If you've got a little time, and want to laugh, feel good, and get told a good story, I've got a little holiday gift for you.NOW GET TO IT! http://ift.tt/1Hq8xWd