Synopsis
Paripi koumei is a story between an intelligent tactician kong ming and an amateur singer eiko. It’s genuinely a fantasy-type anime. The anime is based on China 3rd century’s historical wars.
Watch Paripi Koumei Online
Official Site
Review
The story
It’s about music, no romance no action, no boobs. It’s straight-up an actual representation of the current music scene. There are already so many distinguished and talented artists that making a newcomer actually debut takes more effort than picking the next star player of Barcelona.
There are certain plot twists that are predictable, yet they remain healthy and affect the characters realistically which was quite nice to see. Each episode begins with one of Koumei’s legendary stratagem being cleverly adapted into the real world and I will admit, I would never take an interest in Zhuge Liang kong ming if it wasn’t for this anime.
The characters
As a typical isekai start, Kongming does enjoy the benefits of coincidence in the first three episodes xD like Eiko picking him up and her singing to him, the manager being a Chinese history nerd, etc. but the later parts have clear and absolutely perfect attention to detail on the music peeps the fact that they have their mutual admiration and stories of what inspires them is quite nice to see.
I could go on about how many characters are just great and entertaining. But the three that really shine, are Zhuge, Eiko, and the manager themselves. Zhuge is charming, confident, but one thing extra, is that he’s a very great talker. Eiko, bless her, you’ll honestly be cheering her on throughout, while her managers supportive in its own right, and it’s only fitting that he’s a ThreeKingdoms nerd too. Just all round perfect, and there is more to come for sure, but one thing is for certain. The overall balance, and connections, it all blends together so nicely.
The art
A good depiction of modern Tokyo is a rare sight! The cityscapes in anime look really dull compared to how Tokyo really is. And hence it was awesome to see an actual good background and vibrant nature of Tokyo being reproduced in this anime.
The character design is not original by all means, but it is consistent throughout the whole show. The animation of the songs and the natural soft expressions of Eiko when she sings conveys to the viewer perfectly that she loves to sing, and the art and body language of the rap battles also makes for a really tense and exciting atmosphere!
The art in Opening gets the highest budget and rivals that of Kaguya, the Ending doesn’t have the best art, but it’s better than most corner-cutting Endings we see these days.
The sound
Ok this should easily be a 10, but some may say that the repetitive nature of some music used does hurt the anime a bit but, it is to be expected since they have singers that are not the VAs sing for the character and licensing multiple songs is going to be no easy feat, yet that is also a strength of paripi koumei, the songs are sung by actual singers and are perfect, Not to mention the 90s inspired absolute banger of an OP which I am sure is in everyone’s playlist by now.
Overall
Paripi Koumei is a winning combination of outstanding music, fabulous dynamic presentation, screwball comedy. And consistent character development, with a unique premise. On paper, it looked like it couldn’t make the magic last an entire season, but it went the distance and beat the odds. It would’ve been witty, endearing, stylish, and insightful even without the dazzling music, but the music is what makes it truly special.
A great anime that is a must-watch. It really revives the dying party culture and is a great depiction of the music industry! Everyone should give this a try.
