Doujin Work 02-03/Manga: Vague Semblances

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Somewhere in the middle of it all there's plot. The story almost moves forward as Najimi creates and sells her first doujinshi to the tune of a bunch of comic misunderstandings and innuendos.

The latter part is of course what most of each 15-minute episode focuses on, as major gags manage to get stretched to nearly the whole length of the episode, especially in episode 3 (where it is misunderstood that Najimi created a baby instead of a doujin). And yet the jokes last instead of getting worn out.

Some may criticize Doujin Work for being too simplistic, or too predictable - too 'been there, done that', as naturally dirty jokes have been around since the beginning of mankind, and there have been doujinshi-making anime done before. (again, regrettably, which I haven't seen)

But there's a certain benefit that comes with the simple nature of the anime combined with it's short length. Like a lot of slice-of-life anime, it's a good relaxing anime, where you can just sort of watch and laugh, instead of staring at it in disbelief wondering why won't that guy wise up or why that guy's made of of paper or why that girl fell out of the tree. It's not complex, because it doesn't need to be. It's inventive enough to take a joke and run with it. And yet, there's still a little bit

If there's one complaint about Doujin Work that's valid, it's that it's not faithful enough to the manga. Although it's arguable which one in itself is better...

(remember kids, it's not over until you see the -CCY tag. ^^)

The manga is a bit different, 40 strips in, compared to the anime, 3 episodes in. In the manga Justice seems much less of a Tall Cool Guy and more of a pervert, constantly misconstruing things even moreso than in episode 3 of the anime. He seems far too eager to make love to either of the Najimi/Tsuyuri (yuri, lol, etc) pair, which is quite frankly very disturbing until you learn, at one point or another, that he goes to the same school that both of the girls go to.

Which doesn't explain why he dresses very proper and is seven feet tall, but it makes him seem like less of a lolipedofin.

The school part is also different in both, as they are in college, and thus, older in the anime version. Yet, the anime version is ironically cleaner for having less dirty jokes than it's manga counterpart, which stretches the 'sex, but not really' cliche surprising far, even at one point pulling a Moetan (duckkake, natch. Probably NSFW if people watching have a dirty mind.).

It's a shame, because a lot of the jokes in the manga are pretty good when they're not overdone, such as Justice overhearing Tsuyuri and Najimi playing an eroge over the phone (during a H-scene, rightfully), and joyously accepting the invitation to come over and 'join them'.

Still, Doujin Work (anime) does what it can quite well with it's roughly clean content, while still pulling off a shred of story in there. As opposed to other 4-koma adaptations such as...er...um...ah...Lucky Star, Doujin Work does have a slight air of mystery to it, as we try to figure out who the hell Justice really is (and what he's doing in the OP), what's the name of Najimi's stalker who's probably in love with her, what Sola is doing here when she shows up for 5 seconds an episode, and why Tsuyuri is so damn awesome.

The jokes in the anime are mildly predictable but still have slight twists, such as Tsuyuri playing along with the 'Najimi's having a baby' gag in order to mess with Justice's head (admittedly, I thought she bought it too), or the 'buy a doujin, get a hug' joke, that keep it fresh enough for a simple-minded blogger to enjoy.

Oh yeah, and for some reason Doujin Work likes to have that Paper Mario style to it, where characters flip as if they were 2D cutouts. (especially notable in Episode 3) Nobody knows why.

So if you enjoy light-hearted jokes and don't mind getting a little dirty, Doujin Work will probably be right up your alley. If you're daring (and don't mind getting a little dirtier), the manga (40 pages scanlated so far) is entertaining as well. Protip: The manga is made by Hiroyuki, doujin artist of "A cat is fine too" fame...

-CCY