Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
joemaamah
Maybe a little eccentric, but certainly not weird. One of those titles I've been getting around to for ages. Now I am kicking myself for my foolish procrastination.
The artwork is very appealing. Colorful, crisp, not avante gard, but you can see there's been some love poured into this. I found the animation was about the same. It's not screaming, in your face, shonen spaz out. But there is quallity rendering throughout. There is a fair touch of CGI, but it's very well blended in for the most part. Can't say I remember any of tthe usual cost cutting sequences today's studios beat us with about the head and shoulders. Overall it was much above average.
There's quite a cast of characters. They center around a family of shapeshifting tanukis who blend in with human society and sometimes min…
Read at the sourcepumpkinboy
It's hard to believe I haven't heard about this anime from anyone else because after watching this, I'm just so thoroughly impressed. Uchouten Kazoku must have one of my favorite story and characters pretty much ever. To start, the storyline is kind of run-of-the-mill, but the absurdity and quirkiness throughout the show is really well done, and it reminds me of those mystical yet well-grounded stories I read in Mushishi. It's just a really good and entertaining setting to unravel a story with. Next, each of the brothers are well made, unique, and complete characters. There's lots of nuance and history behind each character, and the way each of their stories unravel is well done, like in Baccano, or Monogatari series. You know it's good when it feels like any of them could have been the ma…
Read at the sourcemha_hater_No1
I was onboard with this anime at first. I "got it", the tanuki are carefree, and they accept being eaten by humans. I understand that people adapt to the realities of their lives if it is all normalized by their society. I got all that. HOWEVER, I stopped getting it when they Tanuki react to their trials and tribulations as would any normal human being, except when it comes to being vengeful or hateful.
I understand that many Japanese people believe that being hateful is wrong, but hatred and vengeance is a staple of human society, the reason is purely evolutionary. It exists in all creatures, not just humans. When someone does you wrong, you hate them because they hurt you of course, but the evolutionary reason you hate them and want to harm them is to PREVENT MORE harm being done to you…
Read at the sourceLovelyTekki
I am sorry, I really wanted to like this one. Why does a unique show with a beautiful aesthetic, great music, and some really good ideas, have to be brought down by a seriously uncomfortable romance and a story that fails to deliver?
The Eccentric Family follows the story of a family of tanukis, on a mission to uncover the secret of the father's death at the hands of humans. Now I will say that the one aspect I liked about the cast of characters is that the tanuki family felt very tight knit, like a true family. They are, well, weird, but that doesn't change their love for each other. In that aspect, the show did something right.
Also, giving credit where it's due, it really isn't like anything else. and the visuals, as I mentioned, are beautiful. The scenery always looks vibrant and inh…
Read at the sourceOglopy
Watching Uchouten Kazoku was nourishing, like a good stew (which is a major piece of the plot!). The world is enchanting and very Totoro like (there's definitely a catbus parallel). The sacred and profane whirl around together in the city where humans, tengu, and tanuki exist side by side. The characters are likable and multifaceted- even those that 'shouldn't be', like Benten, who is both terrifying and childlike, existing between and outside all worlds. The mythical Friday Fellows, a secret group that feasts on tanuki at every year's end, pose a great danger, yet their meetings are oddly mundane- an old men's drinking club. I was so pleasantly surprised by this one- it's one of a kind.
Read at the sourceHarisrox
Adapted from greatly talented author Tomihiko Morimi's novels with the same names, comes this show which tells a story of Japanese raccoon dogs rather known as "Tanukis". Tanukis have been significant in Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absentminded.
The author having all of the above traits of this animal in mind wrote a peculiar and entertaining tale that is sometimes heartwarming and fuzzy, or sometimes is supreme and anarchic. The story surrounds a family of tanuki, the Shimogamo family. They have the ability to transform into anything they wish, from humans to any animate/inanimate object. The family must balance between living carelessly, maintaining re…
Read at the sourceEzekiel_01
On saying goodbye, our great father split his blood into four. The eldest inherited only his sense of responsibility, the second inherited only his easy-going personality, the youngest inherited only his innocence, and me, well, and I inherited only his idiocy. What held us, diverse brothers together was the love of our mother, deeper than the seas. The farewell we bid our great father, sometimes, one heartfelt separation can unite the ones left behind.
- by Shimogamo, Yasaburou, 3rd Son of the “Great Tanuki of Kyoto”, Shimogamo, Souichirou
Uchouten Kazoku or Eccentric Family is a story about a strong family bond that is pure, heartwarming, and inspiring to see. Because of this show bizarre premise, it caught me off guard. I thought this show will be a goofy, comedic, and nonsensical ty…
Read at the sourceQuirky_analysis
Note: this is from a video review, look for links on my profile page.
Uchouten Kazoku is an attempt at having a social commentary while parodying familiar circumstances with chaos thrown in. It wonders whether different species might have inherently distinct hierarchies and methods at interacting. Do humans or oni only respond to the same visual representation? Might everyone be able to escape danger if, like the mythical tanuki, they were able to change that physicality? How did the skies unleash unfettered imagination for millennia, how different are winged creatures from other walking existences? Is this truly a natural flow among life, or is it merely a delusion seemingly attaching itself to reality? Is fun an inherent quality one should pursue? How common are presumptions made at fac…
Read at the source_demonpox
The Eccentric Family could be described as a modern fairytale, since it has this fantasy plot set into a city-life installment.
This anime is nothing more or less than a fun ride. It's a pretty laid-back series, in a good sense, because it allows you to immerse in this fun world without being too attached to it. In this universe, there are three kinds of creatures that roam through Kyoto: tengu, tanuki and humans. The story is centered around the Shimogamo family, with a special focus on Yasaburo, the third son and the most laid back one of the family, and his weird adventures. Even though this unusual family tries to live a peaceful life, the death of their father still affects them up to this day.
The first 10 episodes do a great job at fleshing out the characters and their relationshi…
Read at the sourceNoobstar21
Non-traditional and brief review:
Wow. I ran across this anime randomly and it was a bit slow to start till I figured out what kind of show I was watching. Someone in some forum post asked what this was, a 13 part movie? That really changed my outlook on it after the first couple of episodes. It really felt like a movie! I felt this show encapsulated the messiness of real life...enemies, friends, enemy family members but still in all family members, pride, ego, tragedy, love and the trappings of whether or not one is or should be ambitious in life.
I thought this show was going to be the typical sort of fantasy anime that has some action, and characters powering up in big battles, a touch of romance and comedy, coming of age intertwined with the story, and generally a feel good "we defe…
Read at the sourceLaLeLuLiLo
Eccentric family follows Yasaburou the third son of his family who also happen to be tanuki. They live in Kyoto where tanukis, tengus, and humans live side by side of each other. While the tanuki and tengu are aware of each other, the humans are oblivious of their existence. Yasaburou spends most of his days not doing much other than lazing around or taking care of an old tengu. While this is the story, the plot of the show is Yasaburous older brother being elected as leader of the tanuki, and yasaburou having to deal with a women named Benten and the Friday fellows who eat tanuki once a year and were also responsible for his father's death,Souichirou. The show places emphasis on the mystery of souichirous death, but not on the who since it was already obvious but more on the the how and t…
Read at the sourcecomputerquip
This is a story of a Tanuki who is the son of a great Tanuki. Literally, the entire season is more about his father than the main character. But let me back up a bit to explain these characters...
You have Yasaburō, the main character is a Tanuki, who'm I'll refer to as Yasa for sure.
You have Akadama, the Tengen considered a professor in this season for reasons I'm not sure of.
You have Benten, a very weird girl who is never explained.
You have Sōichirō, who is the father of the main character.
You have Soun, who is the brother of Soichiro. He's the main antagonist.
The rest of the characters are pointless to even mention as they have no effect on the storyline what so ever.
For some reasons I guess, the main character takes care of his professor, Akadama, who has lost his wings as…
Read at the sourcexisue
OVERALL: 7
In short, simply put, Uchouten Kazoku has a beautiful world setting, art style and well established characters. And these aspects I like alot, however, it is such a shame that overall these elements when tied with the plot it presented, never really drive to a satisfying end or resolution as beautiful as it's small moments are. I really really want to love Uchouten Kazoku, because I love it's characters, but it does not refine itself equally overall.
STORY: 6
When you take an overall glimpse of the plot, it's pretty shallow and petty. But the shows does a great thing of overlaying that with some great dialogues that explore zen perspectives of life, death, acceptance of roles, family, and identity. But those moments are so well crafted compared to this basic overall plot that…
Read at the source88expert
I pick this series up as I saw there is going to be a second season coming in the spring 2017 season and BOY!!! I GLAD THAT I PICK IT UP!!!!
Story: The story is mainly the struggle on how the characters trying to get over the father's (Don't worry their Tanuki) death as he has been cook in a stew. We mostly follow the third son, Yasaburou but I'm glad that we get to see all of the boys struggle. From the shy youngest son, Yashirou to the oldest son, Yaichirou trying to be the leader of the Shimogamo clan and that's basically it. From the tengu that fly high in the sky to the Tanuki just shape shifting to anything and the human just living a normal and peaceful life. The story didn't felt bored as the other characters have a certain charm in them from making the show felt flat. (I will tal…
Read at the sourceCaterham09
Good coming of age stories are hard to come by in any of today's traditional mediums. However the Eccentric family deserves full praise for weaving together a touching story about the growth of an entire family.
Let's start with the story. The eccentric family starts off pretty mild in terms of the narrative, giving the view bits and pieces of a larger overarching plot for the first few episodes as we get to know the characters. It takes place in a fictional version of Japan where 3 species; tanooki, human and tengu all live together (although its implied that the humans do not know about the other two). Tanooki have the ability to morph into any form they can imagine while Tengu control the wind and can fly. There is a rather peculiar hierarchy in the world with the Tanooki being low ma…
Read at the sourcenightcrawlercyp
the show has a great sound and the animations are amazing. I would say that is a reason to watch. But there is one problem: it is boring. I could not really get attached to the characters at all and it seemed the series did not go anywhere. There is a lot of phylosophy and you will see a lot o weird quotes about the nature of life. Problem is I wanted to enjoy this series and I did not find anything compelling me to finish it besides my desire to see where everything is going. The answer is nowhere. As many other recent anime is just an intro to the manga and nothing more. The only thing that is interesting is the apparent love triangle of Yasaburou Shimogamo with Ben Ten and Kasei but this does not get any closer to resolution by the end of the series. Also the only characters that are no…
Read at the sourceKorReviews
I haven’t experienced a true case of post-anime depression in a while, but this one really hit me. Based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi (who was also the author for the book which The Tatami Galaxy was adapted from), it’s a bizarre 13-episode anime, set in a world where tengu fly through the skies, shapeshifting tanuki wander the earth, and humans, as always seems to be the case, don’t appear to be aware of it.
The story focuses around the Shimogamo family of Tanuki, particularly from that of the carefree third son Yasaburo, who is a past student of the proud tengu Akamada, whose other student, a human, joined the Friday Fellows, a small cult-like group who have a tradition of making an annual tanuki hot pot, one of which Yasaburo’s was tragically boiled in. Despite the seeming oddity of…
Read at the sourcesongwind
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Tolstoy's quote could have been written about the Shimogamo family (and their close acquaintances.) Uchouten Kazoku's focus is relationships - between the brothers and their mother; between the Simogamo and their Ebisugawa cousins; between Yasaburo and his teacher; and between the different factions of intelligent beings living in Kyoto.
It was thought provoking, bitter sweet, funny and strange.
It has a bit of a surreal quality about it. The character of Benten can fly and use other Tengu magic despite being human, but no one seems to find this strange. The tanuki are weirdly placid about the idea of being eaten. The humans in the story are also strangely unaffected by the idea of eating a fellow sophont. T…
Read at the sourceEagleshadow
A show so well written and so masterfully crafted, that unholy bobduh gave it 10/10, but also a show that didn't really articulate my media preferences. I could appreciate a lot of it's mastery of the craft through reading bobduh's reviews as I went, and it definitely mattered, and enabled me to further study the craft on this level. I'm not saying I didn't like it. By understanding most of what's great about it, I kinda had to like it. And by having such great writing, direction and production, show itself feels great to watch, even if it's not something that suits your tastes. What I'm saying is that personally a magical realism as a genre and slight lack of spotlighting at places, as well as thematic, made this not as enjoyable as titles I rated 9 or 10.
Down in spoiler section, I'll…
Read at the sourceskysonglark
Where to even start! Welcome to Uchouten Kazoku, set in Kyoto where humans, tank and teenage coexist in a weirdly wonderful dance of living. This show is all about living, living in the here and now and enjoying all of life's wonderful little moments. This is a show about family, adopted or biological, and how family should be cherished and understood, and how brothers should never drift away.
Man, this is a show. Let's start with the art, shall we? Kyoto lives and breathes in Uchouten Kazoku, with every background watercolored and alive and telling us a little more about the world the show has unceremoniously dumped us into. The show rarely tells you anything outright, but everything is revealed like the unfolding of a flower in the little moments of character and sometimes even setting.…
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