GJ-bu discussion thread

[something]

GJ部

Guy + girls in a club that does nothing. I didn't know about the guy until I started watching. ;_;

Airs Friday, January 10 at 01:29 JST on TV Tokyo

Animation studio: Douga Koubo

ANN Entry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=14671)
Official Site (http://www.ntv.co.jp/gj/)

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[something]

Episode 1:

- Hey did that sign... an actual McDonalds tie-in?
- Oh. It's a harem-type show, if the OP is any indication. I had absolutely no clue there was a male character in this. Well fuck, that changes everything. I just saw Dougo Koubo and cute girls in a club and thought... sigh, double fuck.

::finishes ep:: There was nothing explicitly wrong with it, and the character designs are great, especially Mao. But I'm much too disappointed over it not being what I expected to keep watching. It would have needed to blow me away for me to keep going, instead it was just "okay". Dropped.

[Fencedude]

But I'm much too disappointed over it not being what I expected to keep watching. Dropped.

What? No! This is actually good. Way better than, for example, Seitokai no Ichizon 2, which is horrible.

Hang around for episode 2. It has licking.

[HitokiriShadow]

::finishes ep:: There was nothing explicitly wrong with it, and the character designs are great, especially Mao. But I'm much too disappointed over it not being what I expected to keep watching. It would have needed to blow me away for me to keep going, instead it was just "okay". Dropped.

At least watch episode 2. I didn't finish ep1 for over a week, because the first half was decidely "bleh"and I had plenty of other shows to watch. Latter half was okay, but episode 2 was distinctly better.

Also, I see no signs of any romance happening with the guy, this is a 4koma cute girls show that happens to have a guy in it. That changes the dynamics a bit but I reeeeeeally don't see any romance happening here. At all.

[something]

Eh, maybe later. It's just too huge a step down to try to sit through another episode of hoping it'll get good right after watching the amazing Vividred. Perhaps if I run out of other things to watch (which is very unlikely, granted).

[Draneor]

I thought it was OK. Some amusing moments. Some that fell flat.
Purple is by far the most interesting character to me (followed by the green twin-tail loli in the opening who hasn't even appeared yet). I suspect there is more to pink than meets the eye. I don't like loli Hermione nearly as much as I should, I guess.

[Suwako Moriya]

Also, I see no signs of any romance happening with the guy, this is a 4koma cute girls show that happens to have a guy in it. That changes the dynamics a bit but I reeeeeeally don't see any romance happening here. At all.

If there is any romance in the series, it will probably be more along the lines of a side note for the most part. With it not really mattering until maybe near the end of the source material.

[Suwako Moriya]

So Mao went from biting everyone to biting just Kyoro. I have no idea what to make of this.

Twister is the greatest game ever! If only Megumi's clothes would have resisted less. What am I saying?

So Kyoro can beat every girl at arm wrestling except for Kirara. Figures she'd be the strongest of the four. With Mao being the weakest of the four strongest.

On a side note, where did that line originate anyway? I know about Gravity being the weakest of the four fundamental forces it's part of, but I'm not sure the line was based on that.

Drunk Kirara licks people as opposed to kissing them. Whatever works or doesn't.

Since the show referenced two of the sisters in this episode, might I suggest having them appear soon? That would be nice. Speaking of sisters, why am I not surprised that Mao is older than Megumi? Really, one should have seen this coming.

[Suwako Moriya]

But I'm much too disappointed over it not being what I expected to keep watching. Dropped.

What? No! This is actually good. Way better than, for example, Seitokai no Ichizon 2, which is horrible.

Not sure if I'd use "horrible" to describe Ichizon 2, but to be honest the series does feel like it has lost some energy between seasons. Regardless the more important thing is that I'm obligated to second (or third or whatever) the idea of GJ-bu being good.

[Fencedude]

Mao is way, way too cute.

Really though, I just want to listen to Megumi talk all day long.

Kirara...why do you speak cat...

[HitokiriShadow]

Needs more Megumi talking.

What on earth is Kirara anyway? She sure doesn't seem to be a human.

As I suspected, we get a new ED this time, and it stars Shion. And an exploding/time-space-collapsing room or something. It was a kind of weird but rather nice ED.

[Fencedude]

Megumi in a maid outfit.

My life is complete.

[HitokiriShadow]

Well, that wasn't as good as previous episodes but it was hardly bad and had its moments. And it had a decent amount of Megumi talking, so I can't complain much.

Best part was actually the very beginning with Priest-Mao. I loved how she said the lines.

[Suwako Moriya]

It was nice to see a variety of outfits in the episode if nothing else. Megumi makes an effective maid.

A real maid! Someone is happy. Others are not. So Mori is the first support character to appear. Now we just need the imouto to appear already.

Figures, even in this show the females have double standards. I realize that's the joke of the whole sweat thing, but even so it's kind of sad to realize it.

[HitokiriShadow]

Megu let her hair down but we don't get to see it. That's too cruel.

The Santa Clause segment with Megu and Shion trying to get Kyoro to shut up was the best part. "Ahem ahem ahem ahem ahem"

The rest was okay but nothing stand out. Well, other than the kotatsu part for black stocking/thighhigh fetishists.

Kirara gets the ED this time and it was mostly pretty boring, especially compared the Shion ED weirdness, but then she busts out dancing and that last bit was pretty nice.

[Fencedude]

Such a tease, dammit.

Also goddamn that sakuga in the ED sequence.

[Suwako Moriya]

We're denied Megumi with her hair down? How can this series be so evil?

Mao's belief in Santa must not be shattered. I wonder about one thing. Do characters like Mao manage to avoid information that would reveal Santa is fake or do they just assume the information is a lie?

Having a Mao on your lap isn't a bad thing.

Clearly someone takes Valentine's day very seriously.

Well, the next episode is one to look forward to.

[something]

Episode 2:

This is still kinda boring, which this kind of show should never be for me, but it was an improvement on episode one. There's potential, but everything moves so slowly that it's not really getting there. Still, I have like three more episodes available, might as well keep going. I want to have faith in the studio that brought me Yuru Yuri, I guess.

Right now Mao is the best because of sheer cuteness (twintails!). Shion is kinda amusing, and Megumi's scheming is nice. Kirara barely even existed until the drunken licking. Kyouya is super boring but not offensive.

ED was great, but the OP is... not very. The animation is fine but I don't like the song.

[something]

Episode 3:

- Deredere buchou.
- Hah, ultra troll buchou. She broke Kyouya. That was harsh.
- Oh god she did it again. This is by far the best joke of what I've seen so far. It's also sooooooo mean. The first time he really walked right into it, but the second time was total entrapment. :sd:
- Aww, Mao gets sad when she thinks he's angry. She's adorable. So I guess this segment worked since I actually felt some sympathy for Kyouya.

Ah nice, multiple EDs. Shion's was great.

This show is not blowing me away yet, but is gradually getting better. Looking at Amazon, its preorders really started catching on when this episode aired and have been strong since, so I guess this was the turnaround episode. Not sure I'm there yet but it's definitely watchable.

[something]

Episode 4:

- Tabletop buchou.
- So I'm realizing we haven't had a single scene outside of the club room, unless I forgot something in episode one. I wonder if they can keep that up for the whole series.

- Maid Megu. She has huge boobs.
- Well that was bold, Kyouya. But I'm sure she'll crush his dreams somehow.
- Heh, yeah, of course.
- "How long has he been standing there? How badly were his expectations crushed?" Haha, god Mao is so mean. And so adorable about it.
- Or maybe Kyouya has a butler fetish.

- Oh god Hamster buchou.
- And a real maid this time.
- "She's a real maid! I wouldn't be able to die peacefully if I didn't ask her to twirl!" :sd:
- ...Mao adjusting her thighhighs for no reason oh my god more please.
- Kyouya said what I was thinking - motorcycles and long skirts sounds like a bad combination.
- Of course the entire culture festival happens off screen, so yeah we're totally getting the whole show in this one room.

Shion ED again. New one next time maybe.

[something]

Episode 5:

- Is Kyouya going to end up brushing every girl's hair by the end?
- Well Megumi makes 3 out of 4. But we don't see her with her hair down, boo. Maybe later.

- Kyouya, being "manly" and "wild" does not work for you at all.

- Of course Mao believes in Santa.
- Those girls have remarkable shoe accuracy.

- And suddenly it's new years. Shion is going to be graduating soon if this pace keeps up.
- Kotatsu-cam. Legs everywhere!
- Boo I wanted to see Megumi's legs under there too.

- A Valentine's Day filled with despair for Kyouya.
- Mao feeds off his despair like sweet sweet nectar.
- Maids to the rescue.

Next time, imouto rampage.

I think my favorite aspect of this show is that Mao breaks her archetype a little by being he most mischievous one. Megumi is too, so it runs in the famil, and Shion aids and abets Mao's shenanigans. But Mao's character type is generally just the but of jokes, not the one playing the jokes on other people. She's much more the latter than the former, which is a lot of fun.

[HitokiriShadow]

Yaaaaaaay, its an imoutopocalypse! They finally arrive! They're all fantastic, I have no idea which one I like the most.

Holy crap, scenes outside the clubroom! Imouto Mode Mao was quite fun, and Kasumi had some pretty nice timing. Almost disappointed that was dealt with so easily, though clearly the lies told there will become an issue in the future.

And I love Seira's psychic voice (I don't buy Mao's explanation). And Geri was too cute. And Kasumi confirmed for massive Brocon.

Next time we'll finally meet the green-haired girl, Tama.

[Fencedude]

That was certainly Imoutotastic.

Kasumi's amazing, but Geri-chan is the best.

[Suwako Moriya]

An invasion of imouto is a good type of invasion. Been waiting for these girls and Tama to appear. Ok, we have to wait one more episode for Tama. To be fair, I have heard she wasn't exactly introduced early in the novel.

Geraldine is adorable with the way she says things. Also, I didn't give much thought about it before, but I'm going to take a wild guess that Kirara is Canadian in part or full.

Seira's psychic voice is kind of cool and she does look awesome. However I hope she's not going to be type-cast into the "hater" role. The character who only exists to hate the lead character for being in the same universe as someone they're fond of.

Kasumi is just wow. She's probably the most attractive of the three. Her hair is amazing. Although I do wonder what would happen if she found out the truth about Mao.

Also, the title indicates four imouto. So either the fourth is a joke towards Mao pretending to be an imouto or a reminder that Megumi is technically an imouto. Even if she's also an onee-san. Wait, is there a term for middle sister in Japan?

So now to wait days to experience what Tama is like. How will I pass the time? Or right by doing the usual stuff I do. Which is sadly not being productive in anything.

[Fencedude]

Tama appears! Uesaka Sumire GETTO

Also, OMG MEGUMI WITH HER HAIR DOWN

MY GODDESS

[HitokiriShadow]

Yay, Tama finally appears. And she just.... kinda suddenly starts showing up at the club, no real intro, she's just there. Certainly a different way to do it.

We also got to see Megu with her hair down. And getting it brushed is apparently a very erotic experience.

[something]

Oh another show I appear to be heinously behind on. Argh.

Episode 6:

Mao knows what's up. You can never have too many imouto.

- Mao, the imposter imouto.
- Megu, the real imouto.
- Seira, the most imouto of the Amatsuka imouto. And very protective of her sisters.
- Kasumi, the Kyoro imouto. The real imouto meets the fake imouto. Kasumi's jealousy was adorable. Also really, really scary when silly Kyoro talks about brushing Mao's hair.
- Jill, the broken English imouto.

- Mao's casual clothes when Kyoro visited her house were cute as hell.
- Woah, casual Megumi too. Hair not quite down, but in a nice braid.
- Hahah, Mao is totally aware of Seira's evil side.
- Kasumi is trying to indoctrinate Kyoro into imouto love. Sounds familiar.

Kasumi confirmed for best character.

[something]

Episode 7:

- Sumipe is totally pulling out her Dekomori here. I'm so okay with that.
- Tama is a magician. Also, uh, when does the show plan on actually introducing her properly?
- There we go. Kidnapped. Likely by Shion.
- Poor Megumi. Being around someone like Tama must drive her mad.
- So she sets out to fatten her up. :sd:

- Mao has cute legs, but Mao has cute everything really.
- Shion, what kind of books are you reading?
- Oh Megumi. You stepped right into that one. Literally. Being Megumi is suffering this week.
- But finally we see her with her hair down. Hell yeah.
- I love Mao's and Shion's amusement at Megumi's discomfort.
- Heh, the girls are fighting over who gets Tama on their lap. Shion wins!
- Tama even calls her Shion-neesan now! Shion is starting to corrupt her more yay.

ED is very cute.

[something]

Episode 8:

- Mao's secret is out.
- Haha and now Kasumi is coming into the clubroom. Uh oh.
- Oh god and her introduction goes a little oddly.
- And Mao is keeping up the ruse. o_O
- Kasumi seems gullible but clearly knows more than she lets on. I think she's just building up justification for her inevitable murder spree.
- ...Kasumi bites so cutely.

- Pool? POOL? Yes!
- Oh my god with Kasumi too? Heavenly.
- WITH ALL THE IMOUTO!? YES!
- I looooove Jill's Engrish, now that she's speaking less stiltedly. Plus yay, written communication.
- And then Sera-chin! Heh, I'm surprised Mao was actually able to order her around, but Her love for her older sisters is pretty legit.
- Leave it to GJ-bu to have a swimsuit episode with no pool or ocean in sight. :sd: Awesome swimsuits all around, though I dunno about Kasumi's. Looks like something Akiyama Yukari should be wearing.
- And lol so much Mori spinning.

Kasumi reconfirmed for best character. But goddamn, the imouto in general made this show a hundred times better. If they were around from the start I could damn well be importing this right now...

[something]

Episode 9:

- Mao worrying that she might make Kyoro angry, awww.
- Haha, Shion is prescribed a daily dose of Tama-chan. Kyoro, you're a good doctor.
- Megumi, please don't kill Tama.
- Nurse Tama works oddly well.
- And now it's Kyoro dress-up time.
- Kyoro is totally into the finished product. And he looks a lot like Kasumi.

- Haha, now we combine spinning maids and hair brushing, this show's two favorite gags.

- Tama is a miko? I'm so down with that.

Decent episode but it suffers from a distinct lack of imouto. But the preview promises next time will rectify that!

[Fencedude]

TAMA IN A BOX

IMOUTO'S IN HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

This episode was basically flawless. Also lol Jill elbowing Kasumi in the gut.

[Fencedude]

Dammit, we got cheated out of seeing Kyoroko again!

Also Sasuga Jill.

[tytan88]

Best Episode of the series. the whole thing with Kyoro drawing pictures of each of the girls was priceless.

And girls in halloween costumes!

[something]

Episode 10:

- Tamanabe! Heh at first I thought it might be Kyoro in the box, then figured maybe it would just be a cat, but it ended up being something much much better.
- Maozilla is adorable.
- Haha, does Kyoro have a death wish? Drawing these images in the club room is really asking for pain.
- What I find most amusing about this is how the girls are mad at the time, but then quickly convert over to amused observer mode after their turn is done. That's part of what makes the hair brushing segments amusing too. It's a lot funnier than it would otherwise be.
- Ahaha Megumi's biting mode is adorable.
- Aww they should have done Tama too. That segment was hilarious though.

- Hey, they didn't flip the golden arches.
- Megumi offers a challenge! She will fatten Tama up!
- So eating like 30,000 calories of cake a day = Tama loses 100g. A truly fearsome warrior.

- SUDDENLY COSPLAYING IMOUTO
- Halloween is best celebrated on days other than October 31.
- Oooh they created the GJ-bu Chuutoubu, the subject of the followup novel series. Too bad this isn't selling well enough to get a sequel following them.
- ...Kasumi is a very trusting person. Doesn't even ask why Mao-chan has a high school uniform.
- HAHAH oh wow, Jill can be nasty. Poor Kasumi, getting in her way is dangerous.
- "OOOOH! Jesus." lol Ore-man.

Imoutos better be in the remaining eps too.

[something]

Episode 11:

- Kyoro is very pushy about eating mikan. Leave Mao alone to her pickiness!
- Heh. Tama sees a cat outfit set and knows exactly what Mao is planning.
- GJ Kyoro. Your unintentional reverse psychology will get us NekoTama!
- But first NekoShion. What are you talking about Mao, she's adorable!
- Then suddenly it turns nito crossdressing extravaganza. BUT WAIT, WHERE IS MY NEKOMIMI TAMAKI?
- Shirou! Maou! Kei! Kira! And Kyoro is a jerk and doesn't indulge Tama. ;_; She's the most normal, sane one of the group, show her more respect! ;_;
- Aww, no Kyoroko this time.

- ...Kirara's cough is stupidly adorable.
- Shion-sensei is on the case.
- Holy shit, Jill is amazing. "MY SISTER!" Then she princess carries Kirara out of there at top speed.
- Kyoro is sick next and lol Sera "disinfecting' everything.

- Valentine's Day again already.
- This time he gets chocolate. (Though Tama winds up eating most of it...)
- The Amatsuka family is complicated.

Last bit was kinda slow but I liked the first two. But no nekomimi Tama makes me sad. ;_;

[HitokiriShadow]

Geri is officially Best Imouto.

Also, Canadians are kinda terrifying.

[Fencedude]

Its over ;_;

Fantastic finale, absolutely perfect for the show. I just wish it could have gone on longer. Here's to hoping the Chuutobu spinoff really does get an anime.

[something]

No Yama no Susume tonight. ;_;

Episode 12:

- Oh man this is weird. Crunchyroll is acting up right now so it keeps pausing when I try to play at 1080p, so with all those silent pauses where nothing happens in the opening scene, I couldn't tell if it was CR a acting up or the episode just pausing for effect. Especially because CR kept pausing only dueing the pauses. :sd: After sitting there staring at the screen for like 10 seconds I realized it wasn't the episode this time... down to 720p for today I guess.
- Aww graduation.
- I'm kinda surprised they even aired the OP this week after an opening like that. Really cool opening though.

- ...Just how early did they get to school?
- Shion has angered the vending machine gods!
- Kirara's text conversation is adorable. And Kyoro is flabbergasted.
- "GROOMING PURIIZU." <3
- Oh thank goodness her ears came back, it just wouldn't be Kirara otherwise. Also I think Kirara was the first one to survive hair brushing.
- Mao is a ten yen coin!

- Daaaaaaamn, Mao, Shion, and Kirara look stunning in their hakama. Especially Mao.
- It's nice to see a club anime where there isn't just one member left behind when the third-years graduate. We still have Megumi, Tama, and Kyoro.
- Hahah, Tama and Megumi simultaneously deciding to capture Kyoro's flustered face.
- Spinning high school girls! I'll take this over spinning maids personally.
- Once you've graduated, your uniform instantly becomes cosplay.
- Damn, the GJ-bu graduation scene was perfect. Perfectly understated, matching this show so well.

Now that is how you end a slice of life school show. Simply perfect. I really wish this sold well enough for a sequel to be at all likely.

[stardf29]

Compared to the other graduation episodes of this season, this one was really low-key and understated. Not that that's a bad thing at all, as that is precisely what this kind of show was, and it fit with the rest of the show.

Final Thoughts

This show is pretty much the definition of "low-key". There are no fancy action scenes, no particularly high-level comedy, no sense of trying to be anything serious or dramatic, just a guy and a bunch of (ridiculously cute) girls hanging out together at club. At the same time, this show also shows why "low-key" is by no means "bad": it's just a nice show to unwind to. And that's all I really have to say about it. It is a ridiculously cute show, though.

Final Score: 8.0/11.0 - Rather good, not much to it, but an enjoyable show all the same.