Audience reviews
18 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
SgtSalamander
Moyashimon is an anime which starts out strong, with the makings of something really special, but seriously loses the thread, spending its last few episodes burning whatever narrative pacing or coherent characterization it had, all in service of a weird, anticlimactic ending that leaves the viewer confused and generally unsatisfied. As such, it is, in a word, disappointing. Analyzing the story, let's begin with the positives- the first 8 episodes are funny, educational, and atmospheric in that peculiar way only anime from the mid-2000s can be. It takes its admittedly bizarre concept and forges something unique with it, making you feel intrigued by the nature of microbial life as they encounter it each episode, and developing the setting of the agricultural university as something character…
Read at the sourceSuperJohnDoe
Another great anime to relax to. While the premise is almost forgotten about for half the show, the mellow slice-of-life tone and the characters' chemistry was more than enough to keep me invested. I love fermented foods too, so this anime was a rare but wonderful surprise for me.
What I didn't expect was the sudden, but eventually welcome change of tone in the last two episodes. The agony and struggle to find one's place in the world can be intense and seemingly endless at times, but the anime ends on a very positive and optimistic note.
The colours and animation were solid too, something you wouldn't expect from such a chill anime. There's a lot of attention to detail and not two characters look the same. Brilliant show, overall!
It's also very rare to see so many sex jokes that aren'…
Read at the sourceLegendAqua
Sawaki can see microbes, he's also a university student...in an agriculture university. This is the Tales of Agriculture with LOTS AND LOTS OF FERMENTED FOOD...
Tadayasu Sawaki voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi is an interesting main protagonist with an interesting ability, heck even his setting he's set in a breathe of fresh air, university, instead of high school and at that though he's the typical dense protagonist but this isn't a romance anime. Sawaki is the the narrative focus of the anime and the only one who can obviously see the talking microbes. Again, Sawaki's ability to see microbes is the most interesting thing about him especially with how he could utilize it to make a few bucks while being in university, but what with Professor Itsuki and a few others already knowing about his ab…
Read at the sourceKynov
If we’re talking about anime industry right now, we probably know what the characteristic of anime industry, one of them is making normal things into cute (girl) things. Moyashimon is one of the anime that use the characteristic, they change the appearance of microscopic organism like bacteria, into a cute chibi creature. There is nothing wrong with that moreover it makes us to see the microscopic organism in the different way and Moyashimon showing what microscopic organism are and how useful they are in our everyday life. In this anime, you’re not just watching for entertainment but also learning about microscopic organism in the fun way.
Moyashimon story began when Sawaki and his childhood friend Yuuki Kei goes into agricultural university, he is not just an ordinary student, he is som…
Read at the sourcevigorousjammer
Moyashimon is a lighthearted show, one that doesn't take itself too seriously. At times it was interesting, and enjoyable, yet at other times it made me question why I was even watching it.
Like any slice-of-life anime, I feel the characters are the most important aspect, and the characters in Moyashimon are all written fairly standard. They're very much based around your standard anime archetypes... yet, most of them also have a specific trait that props them up, differentiating them just enough to keep them from being overly generic. Still, this only makes them slightly more interesting... changing them from one-dimensional characters to two-dimensional characters.
The story of the show tends to follow these characters in a new plotline with each episode. There is an overarching plot a…
Read at the sourcegwern
_Moyashimon_ is a great concept, with a disappointing execution. The bacteria element is almost completely unused or used in completely trivial ways, and while the spring festival was a very funny pair of episodes, the rest is just bland or like the protagonist's cross-dressing friend, unexplained and unmotivated.
Read at the sourceSchrodingersMatt
Moyashimon sports a basic but acceptable animation budget, and for the most part it handles itself just fine. The character designs could almost be called generic, but this is one of those rare cases where color choices make all the difference. The colors are toned down, almost a bit dirty-looking--perfect for an anime set at an agriculture university--but the character designs are still very easy on the eyes. Other than that, the animation is consistently fine, holding together when it needs to be serious and reserving its shortcuts for the sillier moments when they can be used well. Then there are the microbe designs, which are kept simple, cute and marketable. It doesn't look great, but there's an earthy charm to it, and that's nice to see.
Rather than the usual bouncy music I normally…
Read at the sourcePaulwillson26
Having an anime about microbes is a strange concept yet Moyashimon makes it work. Mainly because of its strange a wonderful cast. When an anime gets the characters right it shows.
The story is based around Sawaki who can see microbes which look more cute and cuddly than what they do under a microscope. Sawaki joins an Agricultural University with his friend Kei where he meets a motley crew of strange individuals which includes his professor and his graduate student, the violent yet insecure, Hasewara who is probably the most interesting character.
Anyone who has been to or is at university will identify with Sawaki as he starts off very innocent but with the help of his friends is able to stand on his own feet and adapt to life at university.
Despite the strong characters Moyashimon has…
Read at the sourceAria34
When I first heard about Moyashimon I was really excited. I thought the concept was quirky and interesting. But now I'm kind of wondering what my other reasons for finishing the show were other than 'it's only eleven episodes.'
The animation varies. It looks great in some places, okay in others, bad in some.
The sound is good; the voice actors are talented and they do a good job while the background music was nothing special.
Getting past the 'how is buying a super-special aphrodisiac, advertized as something will turn your intended target into a sex slave that will not be able to resist you, any different than date rape?' question (no joke, the protagonist and a couple supporting characters actually pursue said aphrodisiacs for 2/11 episodes), the story is kind of all over the place…
Read at the sourceskankfish
The initial idea for this series is very good, and the designs for the microbes are intoxicatingly cute (and still litter Japan).
However, the story for this series is dismal, the pacing is wrong and the episodes are disconnected thin excuses for narratives. The story goes nowhere and is forced to rely on it's characters, all of which are weak bar the microbes, which get nowhere near enough screen time.
I'm biased; I think slice-of-life is a waste of my time, but to be honest I wasn't expecting some run-of-the-mill coming-of-age life-decision-making cutsie univeristy trash when I read the synopsis.
Really dissapointing use of a great idea.
I liked the series, and still do, just because of the premise. But I hate it for dragging itself out for 11 goddam episodes. A 1- or 2-episode OAV w…
Read at the sourceMarquis_D_Luffy
Rare ideas are few and far between. That sentence was redundant, and this one explaining it is supercilious. But at the same time, had I not said either, the concepts wouldn't have been introduced to your mind.
Moyashimon works in a similar way. The idea behind the show is simple, innovative, and original. A first year university student is capable of seeing microbes and micro-organisms (even viruses), distinguishing them, and even picking them out. The art design of the microbes was cute, fun, and gay (I use that term under the classical definition), and the character that went along with the microbes was entertaining. The show itself builds it's entire base around this idea, the characters themselves wouldn't even matter (aside form Itsuki), and this is probably Moyashimon's greatest fl…
Read at the sourceSplendiferous
In its everlasting quest to turn everything it possibly can into an anime of some sort Japan has now created a slice of life anime based around the ups and downs of a young man attending Tokyo's Agricultural University.
Rating stories in slice of life animes are somewhat pointless, save rating the concept. The concept here is undoubtedly unique, I have yet to see, or even hear about another anime centered around agricultural shenanigans. The story basically comprises of Sawaki and his other first year friends attempting to fit into university, and meeting a delightful cast of characters along the way. There are small dashes of pseudo-romance, but the main focus is comedy.
On comedy, this show performs. It is absolutely hilarious, although somewhat mature at times, being subtle at points…
Read at the sourcesupermario23
Jeez, talk about misleading. After stumbling upon this show with the funny-looking creatures headlining it, I thought it was a poorly done children's show or something. Even reading the synopsis didn't help improve my hastily conjured prejudgment of the series. But, after watching it, I have to say I was more than pleasantly surprised.
Moyashimon had an interesting premise. At first glance, you may think it as a run-of-the-mill school slice-of-life anime, or worse, a poorly done microbiology lesson packed into an 11-episode series. To tell the truth, there were times when the show could have gone all the way to either direction, but I'm sure glad it didn't. There wasn't any over-arching plot to it at all--just a group of friends living their college lives; with the clincher that one of…
Read at the sourceArchaeon
If you're like me in that you tend to look for those quirky, odd, and oft times underrated anime, then rejoice, for Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture may be right up your street.
The original manga, created by Ishikawa Masayuki, began serialisation in Kodansha's Evening magazine in 2004, and in 2008 it won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Grand Prize as well as Kodansha's General Manga Award. The anime adaptation, directed by Yuichiro Yano (Mujin Wakusei Survive, Patapata Hikousen no Bouken), and produced by Telekom Animation Film and Shirogumi Inc, was released in October 2007.
The story takes place at an agricultural university in Tokyo (something which I'd never heard of before, and I was surprised to find that it does actually exist), and centres around a first year student named Sawaki Soue…
Read at the sourceUnregistered00
"A potential that has been wasted"
That is how I should sum up Moyashimon. It has a good grip on comedy but there's not enough of it going through the whole 11 episodes. There's some educational elements injected here and there but the lessons didn't attract my interest both in whatever they're teaching and the story itself. What did interest me is it's difference in whatever was being subbed at the time. Let's see, it's called "Tales of Agriculture". Yes. It sounded boring but it did pique my interest.
The simplicity in both art and sound works for the anime for some odd reason. Almost everyone can tell that they busted their budget on the OP which is the best thing going for this anime.
The second best thing going for this anime is the lead character. The funny scenes usually involve…
Read at the sourceZeinzu-sama
Moyashimon is a textbook example of a show not living up to potential. A highly original concept and a very strong cast of characters ultimately let down by a poor plot and a crushing lack of urgency. It does get major plus points for having the balls to do something different, especially considering the anime environment at the time, rich in shonen action and school life shows.
There is no denying Moyashimon is a highly original concept, the story follows Tadayasu Sawaki who has the ability to see microbes with the naked eye, as he enrolls at an agricultural university. One of the key theme of the storyline is manipulation as many of the characters only take interest in him because of his ability. Unfortunately this promising concept is let down by a shoddy plot, that is paced terribly.…
Read at the sourcebjtdevera
This is such a nice break from epic fighting or sci-fi anime. This is just a short and sweet look at the life of an ordinary student with an extraordinary ability.
STRENGTHS:
1. Unique. How many other anime out there feature a kid at an agricultural college who can see microbes?
2. Interesting Characters. All of the main characters are interestingly eccentric, but not annoying, tiresome, or too over-the-top.
3. A nice, fun, sweet little story. It's not the funniest comedy out there, but it had enough laughs in it to make every episode a relaxed, enjoyable experience.
4. Ecchi-esque, but not ecchi at all. You'll just have to watch it to understand.
WEAKNESSES:
1. Minor plot points. For example, the plot twist involving the main character's best friend came out of nowhere and didn't seem t…
Read at the sourcepsygremlin
Every now and again an anime comes along that restores my faith in the creativity of Japanese visual culture, especially given the number of sequels and game-based shows we seem to be getting lately. Moyashimon is just such an anime.
Besides the initial premise, which involves our hero being able to see, and communicate with, microbes, we're faced with a cast of delightful characters, from the leather-clad lab assistant, the saki-obsessed sempai and the rather odd collection of friends and co-students to the slightly insane (and dare I say lecherous) professor.
The first couple of shows might leave you feeling a bit like you've just sat through a science lecture as we delve into the world of microbes (with the advantage of some delightful microbe-enhanced food jokes). Word of warning...…
Read at the source