English Dub Review: Anime-Gataris “Arisu Can’t Make Enough Money”

The anime club escapes certain doom once again!

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Still reeling from the Student Council President’s proclamation that they must fill the entire track field to prevent their dissolution, the anime club is in danger of falling apart. The short isn’t close to being completed and time is running out. But when things seem bleakest, their passion for anime pushes them to keep on trying their best.

Minoa grows in self-confidence as she learns how to be a director her staff can look to for support and inspiration. Every other member of the club contributes their talents as well, from Kaikai’s attempt at throwing together an end credit sequence to Arisu finishing up the action scenes (drawing from reference!). In the end, the group’s valiant efforts pay off and the Student Council President is forced to call the villainous-looking principal and report her failure to shut down the club.

Our Take:

Episode eight of Anime-Gataris was a lot of fun! Even with the looming deadlines and Minoa’s struggles with leadership, there was still loads of comedy. The sequence that stands out the most is the reveal of Minoa’s father being an otaku. The show has been building to this for a while, and all the little hints came to fruition here, with the nerdy dad delivering a powerful speech about how anime inspires people to keep working toward their goals.

When it comes to the progression of the plot, I do feel like Anime-Gataris could stand to pace things a little faster. It seems like we should know more than we do about the Student Council President’s motivations for wanting to close down the anime club. We’re already about 2/3 of the way to the end, and the seeming-mastermind behind it all, the school principal, hasn’t even been properly introduced yet. (Speaking of characters who haven’t been properly introduced, the talking cat still serves basically no purpose in the show.)

As we near the final arc of the series, I’m wishing for some crazy stuff to go down and the overarching plot to kick into full gear. It still feels like the show is holding back on us, and I hope it can let loose all of its zaniness before the final episode ends.