Anime of the Week - Himouto! Umaru-chan

It's been a while since I got into animé at a safe distance (you do NOT want to see me addicted to it, for sure), and when I did, I decided to keep it on a light, comedic genre at the time (now, I've moved on to the likes of Shimoneta and Assassination Classroom, among many others). 

One of the two incredibly awesome, cute, funny, and relatable animé I've come across is this one. I introduce you to Himouto! Umaru-chan. 

Here's a bit of the story to catch your attention. 

The whole series (which started as a Manga - this animé was created to promote it I think) revolves around Umaru Doma, the perfect high school girl - straight A's, beautiful, and graceful. When she gets home though and puts on her hamster hoodie, she transforms into a crazy, lazy, junk food-addict otaku who leaves the housework to her incredibly patient and responsible brother Taihei (I'm the elder of two kids, and even I don't know how he does it). 

She's usually with her friends Nana Ebina and Kirie Motoba, and sometimes, her self-proclaimed "rival" Sylphinford Tachibana (self-proclaimed because as their rivalry is one-sided and Umaru sees her as a friend anyway). 

Umaru throws tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants (at home, anyway), obsesses over "cola" and video games, and stays up until morning playing or surfing the internet - honestly, a typical teenager these days with the exception of the cola addiction. On good days however, she can be a complete angel (also, me, hahaha).

I came across this animé while surfing Hulu, and since it had high ratings plus a relatively cutesy art style, I reckoned I'd give it a try. I expected nothing special, but no matter how bland some reviews on some sites were, I was hooked. After finishing the series, I kept replaying everything over and over again.

I guess the reason why I love this animé is the fact that I relate to almost all of these characters, even the side ones. There's a bit of me in every single one. In Umaru, I see my gamer, addictive, academic oriented side (on her good days). In Ebina, I see my introvert personality and my awkwardness at being complimented by anyone. In Kirie, I see my "-dere" sides (Can't decide between Tsundere or Dandere). In Taihei, I see my responsible, elder-sister personality, and in Sylphynford, my need to reach the top but always being obstructed by someone better.

It bothers me how much I can actually relate to Umaru. It really does. 

Especially with this one. Man, I stay up late for some of the dumbest games and videos.

So there.

If you're not an animé person, it's fine. Himouto! Umaru-chan is a series that you don't need to be a fan to enjoy. Just watch the first episode and see if you want to watch more. You can watch Umaru via Hulu (or Crunchyroll if you prefer their service).

Next week, there's another animé I'll introduce you to, and that one has more feels than this one. If you feel like this one has no lesson to teach you, that one will.