So Ryou, Kirin and Shiina graduate and end up in high school. So why did it seem like such a letdown? Normally it would be something for the viewer to celebrate, the fact that Ryou can look forward and not have to constant look back on her grandmother. Did I want to watch their pain and anguish of their exams? No. Did I want to see them revise and revise and revise? No. Instead we got straight to the party, with everyone stuffing their faces majestically and the revelation that cousin and cousin were to live together. So as much as this episode was very cute and well-presented (for a finale episode), this wasn’t the kind of great ending I wanted it to be.
So Ryou, Kirin and Shiina graduate and end up in high school. So why did it seem like such a letdown? Normally it would be something for the viewer to celebrate, the fact that Ryou can look forward and not have to constant look back on her grandmother. Did I want to watch their pain and anguish of their exams? No. Did I want to see them revise and revise and revise? No. Instead we got straight to the party, with everyone stuffing their faces majestically and the revelation that cousin and cousin were to live together. So as much as this episode was very cute and well-presented (for a finale episode), this wasn’t the kind of great ending I wanted it to be.- So what was I really expecting? Well I don’t know. After 11 episodes of 70% food porn and 30% storyline, there wasn’t that much to add at the end. As Koufuku Graffiti was an atypical slice-of-life show, storyline was not the priority at all; each episode told their own story. So the only thing that strung the 12 episodes together was cram school and graduation, and even that didn’t save it.
- And to add to that, with everything crammed together (graduation, the party, living together) it genuinely seemed like the shortest episode I watched in a long time. By the two episodes, the food porn had started to really grate on me and began to feel annoying; the fact that it was the most key part of the show made me feel a little unsure on whether to rate this show highly at the end. Cramming every single storyline piece into a 25-minute episode and making it seem like the shortest episode ever? That would be something SHAFT would never ever do, but here it is. And I am disappoint.
Series review
The other crowd-pleaser: cousin love.
Well I’m not quite sure if I can say that I’m glad that all the mass food pornography that takes place in this rather adorable show is over. Since it features so much, you could never honestly tell whether there was too much. It’s probably just me and the fact that food is food, and so defining good tastes in dishes is something I haven’t quite mastered (or intend to master, to be honest). Well I guess it would be fair to say that without it, the show wouldn’t be as well known in this season as it is; otherwise it just be your average bog-standard show about 2 middle-school girls in a ‘relationship’ with food. That’s what you get when you choose to watch a SHAFT adaptation, I suppose.
Looking back at Ryou and Kirin’s relationship, now that I’ve seen all 12 episodes, instead of becoming a genuine couple, they had just become friends (who just happened to be second cousins) that grew closer and closer and closer. Of course yuri forums, fan-fiction writers and 4chan users made the connection right from episode 1, as they always do. Perhaps that’s just my own point-of-view, but then since I’ve seen so many ‘couples’ in SHAFT shows, from Hidamari Sketch to Madoka Magica, I guess you could say that Ryou and Kirin fall squarely in that “are-they-aren’t-they” pile, along with Yuno x Miyako and Sayaka x Kyouko (from their respective shows). To please the younger viewers perhaps…that’s why anime studios do this. But then again, with both Ryou and Kirin wailing and moaning with joy at how well one ingredient goes so well with another ingredient, it makes you think whether this show genuinely was so tiny little kids to watch. Even the middle-schoolers might be asking questions.
The adult presence in the show was needed I think. Unlike some other SHAFT shows, where kids of school age are left to fend for themselves (whether they be to expel curses, get into university or fight witches), the three girls had a decent amount of support. Ryou’s doting aunt, Shiina’s mysterious maid, the socially-inept neighbor downstairs, right down to Ryou’s largely absent grandma. My favorite character out of all the cast was in fact one of the adults was the neighbor; partly because I have been in her shoes in the past, but I always end up going for the shy and cute types. The fact that she ended up as a teacher at the end actually made me feel better in a weird kind of way.
I was, however, very pleasantly surprised at how the opening theme, ending theme, and preview theme were so very catchy. I love a good amount of material Maaya Sakamoto does (one of my favorite female singers), so hearing her doing the opening was something. To add to that, we had Rina Satou (Ryou) and Asuka Oogame (Kirin) chirping away about happy happy cooking without a care in the ending, but the ‘next episode’ theme was on an entirely different level. Sometimes it’s the case where I become impatient and just skip straight to the show when the opening theme starts, but for Koufuku Graffiti, I just let it run; it was that kind of theme…for all 3 songs…
There’s a video of this that has them singing Taberu (the preview theme) for an hour here by the way, in case you can’t get enough chibiness…
Will we see another season of Koufuku Graffiti? Well I don’t know. If we did then there’s no way it would be on the level as this season. Pretty much like most other season sequels; never as good as the original. Saying that though, I will be watching Nisekoi season 2 (Spring 2015’s SHAFT offering), but I won’t be reviewing it since I enjoyed season 1 so much (regardless of what people say XD).
If you ever got sick of the porn, just remember the show like this…
But if there ever is a second season, I will at least be happy to see more of the shy and ditzy neighbor, but there is only so much food porn we can all take.
