Otaku Elf

AustinDR May 29, 2023

8

Nothing deep, but nevertheless an infectious watch, Otaku Elf stars Koito Koganei, a 16-year-old miko who works for the Takamimi Shrine. The shrine is noteworthy because 400 years ago, an elf was summoned during the Edo period by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Elda, or Takamimi Hime no Mikoto, is a total shut-in who indulges in playing video games; collecting toys; drinking Red Bull energy drinks for all-nighters, etc. The characters are pretty likable. Koito takes her status as the shrine maiden seriously and often becomes annoyed with Elda's antics. But she also is obsessed with trying on mature clothes which don't match her appearance. While Elda does annoy her, she does care about her. Elda is living the life: she is the very definition of a hermit having become that way because some boy said her ears looked funny sixty years ago. While her only real power is sending spirits to deliver telepathic messages to Koito, Elda is ironically admired by the townspeople if only because of her immortality/longevity. What more can be said about her? Elda is actually adorable with how anxious she is with leaving her room and interacting with people, but she gets absolutely happy over collectibles or indulging in her hobbies. It helps that her voice is soft with her barely raising her tone. Would recommend that they make ASMR off Elda like instead of Alexa, you would have virtual assistant technology based on her. The fact that she is being voiced by Ami Koshimizu, the actress who is known for some of her iconic roles such as Ryuko Matoi from Kill La Kill, of all people, is funny due to how Elda and Ryuko are polar opposites in terms of personality. Not really a must-see because it is a simple story, but it is enjoyable.

Xnub Jul 13, 2023

7

***No Spoilers*** A very comfy and relaxing show with lots of small chuckles and a few lol moments throughout. It also has two great MC’s in an entertaining relationship that keep everything very fun with their cute bantering back and forth. It's a really simple show, but It's a very solid representation of a slice of life and an enjoyable watch. A few small things did bug me in the show though. It was mostly that they had one of the MC’s tossing a lot of really specific old Japanese history knowledge and facts out in every episode. Not a horrible thing, but they pushed it too hard in some episodes and even as someone who knows more than most I would say lots of it just went over my head and was too specific. It dragged the show out of some of its funny moments and chill vibes at times because of it. The other thing is they are cat teases, show me Tama !!! lol 7/10

krofire Jun 25, 2023

8

Studio C2C’s 2023 fantasy slice-of-life has its main gag written into the show’s title. Elda is the name of a real-life Elf who has lived for hundreds of years at the Takamimi Shrine. Her needs are taken care of by 16-year-old Koito Koganei. Elda is painfully shy and avoids most human contact preferring to play with modern technologies to amuse herself. She plays computer games, watches anime, reads manga, eats a lot of junk food, you know - the usual stuff. In one fun scene she is seen wielding an airbrush to paint a robot-model kit for which Koito chides her for as the smell of the paint pervades the shrine. This behaviour drives poor Koito up the wall so she starts to shoe-horn Elda out of her shell and introduces her to her best school friend as well as her own sister. Elda is quite popular with the locals and the steady stream of shrine offerings pays for her lifestyle. The story is slim at best but features elements of backstory as to how Elda became the way she is. The girls are all fond of Elda and despite her eccentric behaviour they all enjoy helping her with her Otaku life. Elda makes regular references to events and times from her over-600-year life. We assume these to be quite genuine historically so the show can be informative too. The show’s main draw is this contrast between the extreme youth of her friends/helpers and Elda’s extremely long life. Despite these big difference in ages the younger girls are often behaving in a more mature fashion. It may not be a massive gag but it is worked over for all its worth to make the show highly watchable and entertaining. What makes it work is the chemistry between Elda and Koito which evolves beautifully through the season. Elda’s eccentricities are amusing and she clearly adores little Koito. The fact that the life of humans must be like that of a May Fly to her draws little attention in the plot which is a shame. There is an opportunity for some drama in contrasting the perspectives of mortals and immortals living in the same space. Still, it has its moments. We adored to episode where Elda, despite a fear of heights is entrusted to conduct a religious ceremony on the Tokyo Sky Tree. She muses openly to Koito that amongst its shops there just has to be a plastic model retailer. What shopping centre would be complete without a plastic scale model kit seller? Brilliant, lovable, cute and funny.