Anime: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe

<< I am going to preface this review by stating that I have read through the entire manga...many, many times! So I might be biased by that in this review >>

Animation - 4
Nothing particularly special. The backgrounds are nice, but what makes them magical is not the art or its animation, but the characters' reactions to their world. This OVA is even getting a little old, so by modern standards it should look grainy or subpar.

Sound - 7
The music is a combination of J-pop with light bossa nova themes. A few of the songs I really liked, in particular, "Toi Machi" in the first OVA, and "Summer's Child" in the 2nd OVA, but again the music is not what sells me on the YKK franchise, nor, I think, will it sell you. (though the franchise may sell you on the music!)

The sound effects are a little better. Although not to the extent of Mushishi, YKK immerses you for almost its entire length of the sounds of nature along a temperate seacoast (think Chesapeake Bay). It adds to the extremely reflective, existentially loving nature of the show.

Story - 10
The first half of YKK's greatness. The story of the show is basically Alpha's waking life, with a few sections about one of around 5 other major characters. Alpha is not a particularly ambitious or wild or violent or sexy person, you might think that a story based on someone who runs a cafe that hardly anyone ever visits would be boring. But...you'd be wrong. Alpha, in a very subtle way, shows through her actions and thoughts how being alive in the world is really a gift, and her love for her friends and neighbors, is very touching, as is her romance with Kokone, which feels appropriately different but equally deep, subtle, and honest.

Alpha will teach you all over again the beauty of the sound of rain, or the tenderness that you feel for your younger brother, or grandfather. The story is, put simply, a riff or improvisation on the theme of "spiritual love" itself. (It is also pro-gay, so if you don't like lesbians...well who doesnt)

The story also has those beautiful little 'unsolved mysteries' of both plot and character tucked into it that make rewatching/rereading so rewarding. Story is a 10.

There is no fanservice in this OVA.

Character - 8
Although the OVA does not get to the deepest elements of YKK's characters, it should give you a taste and a sense of how deep they are once you read the manga. None of the characters say much at one time, and so you get just a little more of sense of their opinions and thoughts with each sequence. They mostly speak through their actions.

The only criticism I have here is that there is not a whole lot of inner conflicts in YKK. There are a couple tense conversations, but you will not see them in the OVA, and the story is not really about conflict anyway. The only long-term tension for the entire story is basically romantic tension between Alpha and Kokone. So there is little drama to speak of.

Rewatch Value - 10
Watching YKK's OVA or reading its manga is not an entertainment, it is a ceremony. If you have ever enjoyed watching the sun go down over the sea, and you miss that feeling, YKK will bring it back in an instant. If you ever loved spending a summer with your family when you were a child, and you miss that feeling, YKK will bring it back in an instant. If you have ever sat in the dark and listened to the rain, YKK will give you that feeling too, no matter how many times you have watched the OVA before or read the manga before.

Enjoyment - 10
See above.

Bottom Line:
This is the animated version of the best manga out there...It's got everything there should be in a timeless work of art. Extremely subtle, deep characterization, very philosophical conclusion, and presents spiritual love as the highest virtue. In my biased, skewed personal opinion, it blows away all else in this well-organized anime database.

But don't take my word for it. Go download the fansub of this and check it out.

(In other words, Holy Shit, I agree with Gambit?!)

When I started watching Quiet Country Café, I was almost positive that the anime would be pretty much identical to the original anime in mood and tone. I was fully ready to post up a 4 sentence review saying something along the lines of, “This is exactly the same as the original. If you liked the original OVA, you’ll like this one too.” However, what I found was something that’s actually quite different, in its own subtle fashion.

As I stated in my review of the original work, I found the original Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou’s mood to not only be calm and cheerful, but also depressingly claustrophobic. However, I certainly didn’t feel any of that here. In this OVA, a certain seemingly disastrous event occurs (yes, something actually HAPPENS in this one) which acts as a catalyst for the main character to embark on a kind of spiritual journey. This outing manages to be surprisingly uplifting; while watching the original OVA, I felt that the main character was trapped in an imaginary prison, yearning to break free and explore her surroundings. In this OVA, she does just that, and the results are very satisfying.

Also, the plotline seems a little better than before. In the original, I found the moments of beautiful serenity to be somewhat at odds with the moments of absolute tedium. There seems to be much less of the latter in this latest installment; in the original OVA, there was an absolutely painful scene in which the main character spent 5 minutes making a cup of coffee, but in Quiet Country Café moments like that are small if they even exist at all.

Furthermore, I found the music to be a significant improvement over the last OVA. Both the JPop songs and the instrumental BGMs work much better, and are just flat out nicer to listen to. Unfortunately, the animation isn’t really better. The difference between the two animes is a pretty clear example of the strengths and weaknesses of computer-aided animation. While the new OVA has brighter colors and more nicely defined character designs, it lacks the incredibly nice detail in the animation that the original OVA had. In this one, movements are less fluid, there are less visual touches to make the animation seem special, and the characters “stick out” in front of the backgrounds more. While the animation is still pretty good, it wasn't particularly impressive either.

However, all in all I think Quiet Country Café is significantly better than its predecessor. The nicer mood, the more engaging plot, and the superior music, combined with the fact that this anime’s style takes getting used to before you can really like it (insert lame metaphor regarding coffee here), allow for a much more pleasurable experience.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is an anime where actually nothing happens ... and that's the charm of this anime.

The animation is smooth, colorful and subtle, exactly what this anime needs. The characters are nicely shaped and everything feels almost nostalgic, as if you've been there before.
Although the appearance of the oji-san looks a bit weird, that's the way he is drawn in the manga as well.

The music is good. It's not something you will find yourself listening to on your discman, but it fits the anime well. It gives a feeling of a fairytale, and sometimes it feels as if it's composed by an amateur talent. Improvised, still beautiful and extremely satisfying, relaxing.
The voiceactors are very good; their voices suit the characters pretty well, especially the voice of the oji-san. Even Alpha has a voice which kinda suits her character, although not perfectly.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou doesn't really have a story. And that's the charm, the strength of this anime and the manga as well. It tells the story of Alpha, the robotgirl who's running a cafe - where hardly anyone comes to visit.
It's the daily story about a robotgirl in a post apocalypse world, without having any references towards science-fiction. It just looks and feels familiar, friendly but always peaceful, as if it's a perfect world. The strength of the anime is to keep that atmosphere and to let you drown in that beautiful feeling of peaceful living. So even though nothing happens, it doesn't bore. Why does it get such a high mark then? Because even though there isn't any story, the way things are told is very good. It brings the atmosphere even more to the front.

The characters are utterly kawaii, without being sickening sweet, or clumsy. It's just the way they behave which makes them normal - and therefor, very attractive. The characters all live a normal, human life, even Alpha herself. Since they try to deal with their own lives, you'll start to like them since they are as human as we are. But since they're in such a peaceful world, they become only more and more cute. Is there any character development? Not much, but the anime progresses too slow to involve any development anyway. After all, 'Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou' means 'Yokohama shopping diary', which means that the story goes day by day. Moment by moment. And with 2 episodes this doesn't allow any development.

Just a little note; after the anime finishes and you'll get to see the ending song, keep watching. There is still something after that, in both episodes.

Is this worth rewatching? Definitely. Since this anime is ageless and timeless, you'll be able to rewatch this over and over again. You don't have to worry about knowing the story already, since the story is insignificant. The reason for rewatching it is to feel peaceful and happy, drowning in the atmosphere.
Is that enjoyable? If you like action-series then this isn't anything for you. If you can stand a series which doesn't show a story, but instead focuses on the daily life of a girl, then you will truly love this one.

And for everyone, even if you don't like manga, I urge you to read the manga. It is available on edonkeynetwork on http://www.mangareactor.tk and it will make you even more happy than the anime.