How to Keep a Mummy

TheSocialite May 9, 2018

5

Saccharine That is how I would describe this show in one word. It is far too sweet and too cute by half. I watched How to Keep a Mummy as a recommendation from Natsume Yuujinchou and while I can see the similarities, this show does not measure up. That is not to say that How to Keep a Mummy is particularly offensive, because it is not. But where Natsume Yuujinchou seems to be written for a teen to adult audience, this show seems to be written for elementary school children. If I had small children I would be fine having them watch this; I just don’t particularly want to watch it with them. The show is also very uneven. While the first half of the season involves the befriending and adoption of these ridiculously cute monsters, nothing bad ever happens and everything is rainbows and sausages. The second half of the season tries to introduce some drama and conflict to further the story, but it all feels forced and unnatural after the tone set by the first six episodes. If all you are looking for is something cute that you don’t have to think about, then this is a fine choice, but if you want something with more substance, try elsewhere.

RascaI May 1, 2018

7.5

How to lose your manliness The harsh winter season brought with it some particularly harsh weather, and falling from the sky was not snow but boring-ass CTGCT shows and SOL's that can turn your hair grey. But just as when you reach in a basket of rotten fish you always have a chance of grabbing a pretty fresh one, there were a few good dishes in winter 2018's basket of shit. This was one of them. How to Keep a Mummy is your typical cute-bait SOL show with a twist: youkai. Particularly a 5 inch tall mummy who gets conventionaly yet adorably titled "Mii-kun", as well as an assortment of other mythical bundles of cuteness and diabetes. Instead of cute girls doing cute things, we have cute youkai that come into the cast as the show continues, starting with the mummy who got sent to our MC Sora, a slightly effeminate high schooler from his dad, an eccentric bastard. That's all you have to know really, and said mummy is this show's main selling point, along with its decent comedy. Said comedy has pretty good timing and has made me laugh more than most comedy anime have, mostly by getting through to me with the cuteness before laying on the jokes, a clever and welcome tactic. The show is episodic and follows Sora in his daily misadventures with his friends and their troup of small cute youkai, and they figure out how to take care of them in various cute ways. Hi-jinx ensue. One of the best parts of this anime is seeing how the jokes revolving around the pets' own understandings of the world play out in relation to their owners. Some of their reactions and interpretations of things are just adorable. Learning how to write without realizing "We'll always be together" over and over is creepy, ect. Sora's friends are a blue haired tsundere dude, a weirdly strong girl who's scared of lizards, and a tall blonde. They each have a bit of a story arc concerning their own youkai pets, which are an oni child, a dragon, and a dream eating tapir, respectively. Each episode starts with a light conflict that resolves pretty naturally. It's a mostly relaxing show with nothing too intense going on, so if that's your thing, this is for you. There isn't really an overarching story, but it does end in a pretty sweet two part finale involving a natsume's book of friends style arc where they get a bit too deep into the youkai world. The characters all have a dynamic between each other that gets explored to an ok extent. Basically this show has most of what it has in the right places and ends up being pretty well-rounded. Just don't ask what's under the bandages. It might be a hamster. An undead hamster. No idea.

WolfAngelus Apr 4, 2018

9

An enjoyable Anime if you ever wondered what your life might be like if one of your plushies were to become alive and have a personality. It is really cute with a fair amount of humor, and at the same time, that is all it really offers, but just that alone is really enjoyable. There is no real purpose or story, it's the daily interactions between a few characters and their special "pets", so if you want a meaningful story, it isn't here. These special "pets" make a simple noise, each have a specific personality, and are the major selling point for the Anime. This, combined with specific actions gives them quite the character, oddly enough. It goes as far as dedicating half an episode at one point where there is no dialogue and it tells it's own little story through this. Considering the importance of these pets to the show, the execution and presentation is very well done. Consider them what makes the Anime stand out and remain memorable, it's simply cute & funny to watch. It's not all entirely perfect either though. Aside from any real direction, there are moments of drama, more than once. Considering the underlying cute and funny nature of the Anime, these moments didn't contribute very well. It would be far more enjoyable watching the pets go on adventures, or do cute and funny things, and the drama seems a bit forced in an attempt to create some purpose. Sometimes the Anime where you can simply sit back, laugh, and be filled with cuteness is all that's needed, and aside from the unncessary drama, it does fulfill that very well. Overall, I love anything cute so I loved this Anime. Most people have that special plushie, or have had one at some point, and this fulfills that little fantasy of "what if they were real?". It's a very casual Anime, easy to marathon, and something I'd recommend for watching with anyone that you aren't afraid to possibly show your emotional or soft side to. A lot more could be done with this so hopefully we will see that in the future.