Summer 2024 Anime: SHOSHIMIN: How To Become Ordinary

Synopsis

Kobato decides to become an honest, humble citizen after enduring a bitter experience known as “wisdom work.” He forms a pact with Osanai, his classmate with the same goal, and they plan to enter high school leading quiet lives. But for some reason, inexplicable events and disasters keep happening around them. Will Kobato and Osanai ever manage to live ordinary, peaceful lives?

(Source: Crunchyroll)

Comments

Alif Naufal H. (The Indonesian Anime Times)

Coming from the writer of Hyouka, Shoshimin series is…interesting. It tells the story of two people: Jougorou Kobato and Yuki Osanai. Because of something that happened during middle school, they now aim to be ‘ordinary’. They don’t want to stand out and try their hardest to avoid being the center of attention. Kobato’s “extraordinary” traits in particular (ironically) stand out the most; he’s smart, tends to act like a know-it-all, and can’t help but “play detective” whenever he finds something that catches his interest. As far as episode two, there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary in Osanai, aside from the fact that she seems to be enjoying cakes a little bit too much.

Shoshimin series seems to follow the same core concept as Hyouka, and as such retains the core qualities of it at the same time; It’s a mystery anime with low stakes, where the protagonists try and solve small cases they encounter as they go on their daily lives. The second episode, for example, has our protagonists rack their brains over how their friend made three glasses of really good hot cocoa while only dirtying a single spoon. I really like how Honobu Yonezawa always has a way of presenting the mundane, daily life as something interesting in the stories he writes; while many might find it boring, I find it really relaxing to watch sometimes and perfect for relaxing during a day off.

Visually, the first thing that I noticed when I started watching the first episode of the Shoshimin Series is its use of the 2:1 aspect ratio or CinemaScope. There’s not much anime, if any, that uses this aspect ratio outside of movie-scale productions, so it genuinely surprised me when I saw it. That said, the animation in this anime does look like a movie production and the use of CinemaScope almost feels like it’s justified. Every frame of it looks stunning, despite the simplicity it’s trying to emulate with its minimalistic approach. The same applies to the character designs by Atsushi Saitou, which are simple but allow for a wider range of expressions.

All in all, Shoshimin series is a really good ‘spiritual successor’ of Hyouka by the same author, and if you’re craving for a similar atmosphere as Hyouka, you’re definitely in for a treat. Especially if the animation manages to maintain its quality all throughout its runtime.

 Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times