This anime is not at all what it appears to be. SoniAni: Super Sonico The Animation is a music, slice of life (no overall story) anime with a realistic, gentle feel to it. This anime isn't a real ecchi, which I'll explain in this review. Due to my low expectations I sat down to the first episode with a beer. After realising what it really was, I decided to watch the rest of the series sober. Younger viewers would probably find this boring after being hooked with the apparent 'ecchi' tag and the same could be said for most guys in general. That may explain the low ratings, after all I bet the people who rated this thought this was an ecchi. I will also be inclined to say, while this is light-hearted, this isn't really a comedy, though I did laugh during this anime. I will once again state, that ecchi is one of my most hated genres. If you've more refined, mature (i.e. you don't care for ecchi) tastes in anime and/or if you like rock, you'd probably enjoy this. If you want to give this a try, I recommend trying episode 7 first, since it is very representative of the atmosphere of this anime. I also feel episode 6 is the only exception to everything I'm about to say.
Animation
Onto an unsually important topic for this anime: animation. Being a 2014 anime, the animation itself is top-notch, vibrant colourful and full of detail. There is even a few bits done in the chibi-style for slight comedic effect. This anime also depicts drunk people properly, by which I mean it acknowledges 'the asian glow' (look it up). There are a few bones to pick however due to the style of this anime. One of the main things I didn't like were the outros, but I'll come back to it in a bit. I also didn't like the cartoony design of the cats, I would have preferred more realistic looking cuter cats. And now to explain the 'lack' of ecchi. I for one hate ecchi, escpecially since its pretty pointless. However, baring of skin in this anime is surprisingly uncommon and when it is, it has context. In other words, it is there for a good reason and it's well justified. There are only a few cases of unnecessary 'ecchi-ness.' This was a pleasant surprise to me and this is the first review I''ve written where any 'ecchi-ness' has been justified due to context and isn't there simply because they want to put it in. There's even a scene, where the main character gets water spilled all over her, yet her clothes don't really become transparent. Yes, a few characters have unrealistically large breasts, but they don't draw too much attention to them, nor are they groped. There are no panty shots or anything of the sort. Of course, the worst any of this gets are the swimsuit model scenes, but as I mentioned, there is context and reason for it.
Sound
The sound, with the exception of the opening theme, is AMAZING! After just the first episode, I immediately went online in search of the soundtrack. This anime is all about Ongaku (music), so I wouldn't expect anything less. It's not just limited to rock either, there is beautiful orchestral scores and strings for backgrounds and it really gives a feel for the gentle atmosphere portrayed by this anime. As for voiceover, it's Japanese only, with a few bits of surprising English and I'm not sure how an English dub would do at maintaining the gentle atmosphere of this anime. Especially as some of the characters have soft voices. However I have a problem here as one of the characters pronounces 'Rice' as 'Laisu.' I've no issues with Japanese accents, but I do believe that there is no equivalent of 'L' in the Japanese language and hence I find it racist when people imitating Japanese use 'L' instead of 'R'. It's fine to use 'R' in place of 'L' however, due to 'L' not existing in Japanese. It may just be the character's accent though and I may be getting upset at nothing. These minor issues result in SoniAni missing out on a perfect score on sound.
The outros have me divided and each episode has a completely different outro. They use 3D-CGI and sometimes appear to look like vocaloids. I didn't like the 3D-CGI, though in one episode the movement of the 3D model is fluid. It also appears that a few bits in the anime itself might use 3D CGI. The music on the other hand, is excellent and it appears that these outros may just be music videos. Some of them are a bit gratuitous, when it comes to baring skin, but it can be forgiven.
Characters
The main character is Super Sonico, an 18 year old college (Japanese equivalent of University) student studying Marine Biology. Unfortunately she is stuck with this terible name for the entire anime. She happens to have dopey doe-eyes (I feel uncomfortable saying that for some reason) pink hair, unrealistically large breasts, works part time at her grandmother's pub and also has a job as gravure icon. In other words she is a model. This is one of the reasons why 'ecchi-ness' is justified, since this character must wear swimsuits, costumes, etc as part of her job. However it doesn't make sense that she is a model, given her personality as she's a bit sensitive and very shy. Her dream is to make it big as a guitarist with her rock band 'First Astronomical Velocity' and would gladly leave modelling behind. She lives in her own apartment with her 5 cats and frustratingly there is no mention of her parents. Sonico also has a trait where she cannot wake up easily. Her cats have to paw her awake in the morning and she remains sleepy for a good while after. The only problem I have with this character is the headphones that almost define this character. She never takes them off, therefore her ears are non-existent. She even sleeps in them and wears them at an onsen (during which there is no 'ecchi-ness' at all).
Sonico's grandmother Reira, is as cool as grandmothers can get, though there is no mention of grandfather. He must have been a lucky man however, since it is apparent that Sonico get's her looks from her grandmother, who was and still is an adventurous, daring individual. She even plays guitar, rock-style like her granddaughter. Her pub has regular visitors who have always been her fans, but also very respectful towards her, even while inebriated.
Sonico's friend, Suzu Fujimi is the bassist (playing bass guitar) and leader of their band. She is also a part time employee, possibly a nurse since she is always wearing a nurse outfit. She is the closest character to being a pervert, since there are rare occasions where she will grope her friends. Possibly due to her breasts being realistically sized. She also has a younger sister who likes pretending to be a detective and solving mysteries.
Another of Sonico's friends is Fuuri Watanuki, the drummer and final member of their band. Fuuri behaves a bit simple and appears to not be very smart. She has unrealistic breasts like Sonico and loves to eat. A lot. Like Sonico, her voice is very soft and has a gentle accent.
Sonico's manager for her modelling job, is a mysterious man called Kitamura. Age unknown (at least 20 though, since he's legal to drink in Japan), and face unknown since he is always wearing a mask and has antigravity super-saiyan hair. He is the closest thing to a father figure Sonico has and protects her from inappropriate modelling jobs, that would damage her modesty, by use of his hidden katana. He is also very respectful of Sonico as he wants Sonico to pursue her own dreams of being a rockstar. A very nice person and quite possibly my favourite character.
The other characters are just as important, but I've written too much on characters already. The cast also includes Sonico's modelling junior, a kid who always wears and eyepatch and headphones. There is backstory on Sonico's senior, Kyouko Tomano who taught her how to play guitar and left her with the guitar she uses. The character I probably liked least was a mean kitten who starred in a single episode.
Story
The disappointing bit of this anime, is a lack of an overall story. Some episodes have a plot, but overall it may be due to the slice of life genre, which is by no means bad. Therefore this anime is peerfect for chilling out and relaxing, with the everyday antics of Sonico and friends. If I had to search for subtext, I'd say it might have something to say about marketing and corporations (especially episode 11), in that they tend to use sex appeal to sell products. I for one, hate being targeted by those types of ads. There's also some stuff about Christmas in the last episode. Don't lie to your kids about Santa Claus, since it wil cause them pain later in life and also it shows that there are things more important than getting presents at Christmas: family and friends. Episode 6 is the only one which is full of bullshit and a ver unrealstic story of a 3-hour fat reducing cream that turns people into zombies. Feel free to skip it, since IMO it is out of place in this anime. Slightly disappointing at the lack of direction.
Conclusion
Overall, I'd say this anime is underrated since the wrong type of people are attracted to it. Even the place where I got it from, the description inaccurately listed the likes of big-boobs (they are there, but definitely not the main focus of this anime) and ecchi. Watch this if you are the type of person who normally hates ecchi, like me or like rock music or even just appreciates good anime. If you are a pervert, by all means try this out, it seems apparent by the ratings you will not enjoy it, HAHA! Ahem, sorry. Anyhow I had no idea how this came to be upon my list, but I'm glad it was there since I enjoyed this anime. Especially after expecting it to be no more than generic ecchi trash. Raise the word about this anime, especially to people who would actually enjoy the gentle atmosphere.
Family-friendliness Rating: 4/5 Hey, there are swimsuits and big boobs after all (lower is better)
Overall Rating: 7/10