Back in 2007, an anime by the name of Doujin Work began to air. As this was near my first years of watching anime, I was quickly introduced to the show and began to watch it. Unfortunately, due to restrictions and other difficulties, I was forced to stop watching the series. Under normal circumstances, the story would have ended there. However, there was something intriguing about this anime; something that left me regretting my actions of not watching this anime. I don’t know why or how this occurred, but it followed me for a good five years of watching anime.
Skip to July 2012. As I surveyed the Exhibit Hall of Anime Expo, I came across a booth selling anime DVD sets. Sitting in the corner was an anime that caught my eye, as if it had been waiting there for me to find it. Doujin Work was sitting there, staring back at me, just reminding me of my past and my inability to finish the show. Just as quickly as I saw it, it was gone; I had purchased the copy to end this curse, finally able to end this chapter once and for all.
As I began watching this 12 episode series, I quickly became immersed in the humor and dialogue that I had enjoyed in the past. The story centers around Najimi Osana, a young girl who discovers there is profit to be made writing and illustrating doujinshi, a Japanese comic that potentially contains adult material. This realization leads her to begin creating doujinshi, and allows the viewer to follow her in the process of making a good work of art, regardless of how successful the process proves to be. In all honesty, I found the writing to be hilarious, and the scenes great and comical. While the show revolves around doujinshi, there is no adult material in the show, and fan service doesn’t play a large part in the humor. The jokes and humor are spot-on, and had me laughing moment after moment.
An unfortunate circumstance with this anime would be the length of each episode; each episode follows the time span of fifteen minutes or so, and this include the opening and ending of the show. While I would have enjoyed longer episodes, the series didn’t need more time to cover story or anything, as there was little story to begin with, but could have added more laughs and humor to the show. I’m pretty content with what the show brought to the table, but it could have been more. In the place of those extra ten minutes or so was a segment of live action video, revolving around the two main seiyuu in their attempt to create doujinshi. I didn’t particularly enjoy this part, mainly because I feel the anime would have been more enjoyable to watch; the live action scenes felt more like DVD and BD extras than extras to the episode.
In terms of the opening and ending themes for the show, I loved the opening song from the first moment I heard in back in 2007. It’s always been a song that puts me in a good mood when I’m feeling a little down, and it’s a good way to start watching a lighthearted series such as this. The ending song also seeks enjoyment, although doesn’t stand to be as memorable as the opening. Either way, I enjoyed both the music and the animation to both, and definitely set the mood for the show.
I didn’t have as much to say about Doujin Work as my other impressions page, mainly because that was a collection of thoughts for over sixty episodes of a single series. While Doujin Work doesn’t last as long as other series, I think that may be one of its strong points. Packing a lot of humor and hilarity into each episode, I can gladly say I recommend this series to anyone who wants a good laugh. I will end this on a good note, and hope this video will cheer you up, as it did me for the past five years.