KiraRin

Of all my reviews, the one to cause the most controversy is my abhorrent hatred for DearS. So as Sora no Otoshimono fired up and one of the first things to grace the screen was a top-heavy, vapid bint with a collar who insisted on calling the hapless protagonist “master”, I steadied myself for an entire series of panty-flashing bilge. And oh boy, did its pathetic little perverted dance live up to my expectations.... well, for the first 4 episodes it did.

Playing on every single clichéd anime device, expect to see the skin flashing swimsuit episode, the girls donning yutaka for the festival and even the shock classroom harem scenes! It required a few episodes for me to understand Sora no Otoshimono is most definitely not a series to be taken seriously. There are countless shows parodied (including DearS and Saikano), and surprisingly it is done very well at times. Yes, at times. Lacking the ecchi finesse of Shuffle!, the show struggles on a little confused about direction. Should we care more about the childhood friend or the fact Icarus, an “Angeloid” who seems so sweet and naive is actually a destructive weapon? For a thirteen episode romp, there is too much crammed into a short space.

Speaking from experience, I have always found I either love or hate an ecchi anime. But Sora no Otoshimono baffled me with moments of pure brilliance hidden amongst the trash. The first few episodes are dire, and it is only my resolution to not drop a series that let me persevere through to the end. Unfortunately, many people will have dropped this show early on and sadly will miss some genuinely hilarious parody filled scenes. Although the story is not great, and the comedy a little hit or miss at times, ecchi fans with a sense of humour may enjoy the amusing digs at other shows in the genre.

Utterly stereotyped women with overly inflated funbags are the main focus of Sora no Otoshimono, and to be honest, it’s starting to get a bit overdone. Even the token loli-like character with the pettanko chest is on the “how to make an ecchi anime” check list, and this show makes sure to capture every single last one of these clichéd devices. That said, the unbelievable artwork is really quite sexy, and the use of CG adds to an extremely over the top pantsu flying scene. Yes, a host of ladies delicates soaring through the sky in formation is probably one of the unbelievable highlights that had me rolling about with laughter. The chibification of Tomoki, for me anyway, is another plus point; seeing the degradation of the pervert into a stumpy caricature is laugh out loud funny, especially the set of wings covering his (petite) modesty.

With some extremely well performed voice acting, the staple characters of the show have voices that fit their personalities extremely well. From the shy and girlish tones of Icarus, to the immature whine of Tomoki, the professional seiyuu seem to have been practicing in other series within the genre. If only the soundtrack had fared as well. Instead, a nasal J-pop track straight out of an eroge put my teeth on edge before the show even started. The closing audio is middle-of-the-road, however the accompanying video unique to each episode is frequently panty-wettingly funny.

Counting the number of likable characters on one hand, the other hand contains those that I wouldn’t bat an eyelid if they fell under a bus. Tomoki is hilarious. His non-PC antics are one of the things that kept the show moving along whilst managing to hold the train-wreck together. Conversely, Sohara is a complete flake who can’t decide if she wants to bed the protagonist or beat the crap out of him. Unfortunately, the dynamic between the two is a necessary evil, as much of the humour comes from the violent beatings but loses its edge as a sappy romance is introduced.

Also worthy of a mention is the slyly sadistic Mikako, whose mischief is not used as often as maybe it should be. Her dry and wicked sense of humour resonates with me, and I often find myself grinning at her wind up tactics. The two angeloids, Icarus and Nymph, sadly aren’t as interesting. I really don’t like the feeble and clueless female types, and so their whiny natures had me wishing for the next scene just in case they weren’t involved.

Like so many other shows, Sora no Otoshimono tries too hard to please too many people. The convoluted and unnecessary storyline did not fit what could have been a harmless, but fun perverted romp. The laugh out loud hilarious moments that make your ribs ache are too infrequent for this to reach excellent heights. Just take the series for what it is: pure parody that is not as bad as some people make out.