StoryEternal Family is a Studio 4C production. Interestingly enough, as we were watching this both of us kept saying how much it reminded us of End of the World (another short from Studio 4C), and sure enough, when the end credits rolled, it was in fact Studio 4C! This might explain the confusing nature of the OVA, as well as the pacing and randomness that abounded.
The story involves a family that is made up of rejects of society. These individuals have been brainwashed to think they are actually a family (except the dad), and live in a closed environment. Due to some circumstances, this experiment of sorts is being broadcast on TV as a popular reality show -- and thus the story begins. The first half is filled with extremely short, spastic and random clips of the family doing various things. Often it doesn't make sense, often (well, always) you think "wtf?!" freshly after each clip. Each clip is followed by a closeup of a toilet flushing, for whatever reason. In the second half, they escape, and it follows the various characters around the city and their brief misadventures.
Really, there isn't much to be said about the story, because it's 100% random. There is a minor underlying plot, but it's second to the animation and spasticness of the world. Eternal Family outshines (on the spastic aspect) even End of the World, FLCL, or perhaps Dead Leaves, strangely enough. In my opinion, it was a bit *too* spastic, like it was trying too hard. I like strange and unusual things, but Eternal Family felt like it was being force fed down your throat, instead of shoved in your face. Still, it was crazy and unique, so it has to get a 7.
AnimationAny fans of Studio 4C will immediately recognize the artwork. The colors used are rich and lush, in a way, and the backgrounds and level of detail are superb. Character designs are definitely trademark Studio 4C as well, though it's hard to describe what it looks like. The detail is definitely the most well done in Eternal Family, and the camera angles of certain scenes help fit the spastic mood. However, like the story, there were aspects of the animation that felt TOO spastic and overdone. For example, there was one seizure-worthy lengthy scene of a TV screen, showing a woman doing aerobics in front of alternating flashing hot pink lines. I have no idea why the scene was as extended as it was, nor why it was in there at all. It seemed like a way of saying "hey, let's just throw in anything flashy and spastic since that's the point!" Transitions were extremely fast (with the toilet most of the time) and scene changes in general seemed very rushed and fast. Again, this fit with the desired pacing, so I guess that means it succeeded. For overall Studio 4C quality, wonderful colors and crazy characters, this section deserves an 8.
SoundThe music tended to be extremely fast or hard synths, reminding me quite a bit of happy hardcore (or regular hardcore, for that matter). Like everything else in the OVA, the point was to make it as spastic and crazy as possible, and it succeeded in stirring up your brain that much more. However, yet again, like the animation and story sections, I felt at times it was taken a bit too far. Especially the transitions between super pounding beats and pure silence. Voice acting seemed to be OK.
CharactersBy far, my favorite part of Eternal Family was the characters. Each of the family members (except the dad, really) had a very set and unique role that ended up being quite hilarious. The mom was very moany and always needed to use the bathroom (I'm still not sure why). The older sister was constantly pining over a man whose picture was in her locket, the younger sister talked only through a doll and in one scene, was terrified to cut a vegetable in fear of hurting it. The brother was a mad scientist type. The dog was my favorite. He, for some reason, would blow up like a balloon and then everyone would be afraid of him! Also, there was a courier chicken of sorts that could talk, a baby that liked to cut things, the producers of the show who dressed up in animal costumes, and the regular townsfolk who dressed strangely and were decorated by odd things such as solid color lines through their faces. While there was little to no character development, at least we got to see some hilarious characters playing out their roles perfectly.
OverallI love Studio 4C, and tend to rate all their works fairly highly. Eternal Family was definitely good, and something you'd enjoy if you like bizarre and weird things, but I still felt it was a bit overdone, hence the 7.5 and not an 8 or 8.5. The animation was fantastic, music fit well, the characters hilarious and the overall feel funny and random, and that's probably enough reason to watch. And at only 30 minutes, it won't take up much of your time. Studio 4C fans or fans of unique and strange things should definitely check this out.
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