NUKITASHI THE ANIMATION

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ActionNukitashi: Nukige Mitai na Shima ni Sunderu Watashi wa Dou Surya Ii desu ka?
MANGA ComedyNukige Mitai na Shima ni Sunderu Hinniyu wa Dou Surya Ii Desu ka? Comic Anthology
MANGA ActionNukitashi R: Nukige Mitai na Shima ni Sunderu Watashi wa Dou Surya Ii desu ka? R
OVA EcchiNukitashi THE ANIMATION OVAs

REVIEWS

• 

  wargamer3003

  100/100
  Time for the minorities to rebel!

  Nukitashi or Nukige Mitai na Shima ni Sunderu Watashi wa Dou Surya Ii desu ka? is a Nukige parody, a hentai game parody. A Nukige is a game focused on sex, with the plot serving only to move the story between H-scenes. This is where the premise begins, with the protagonist Junnosuke, who believes that you should only have sex with the person you love and tries to avoid sex for as long as possible. About two generations ago, the Perverted Law was created by Hitoura Toshiaki to put an end to the declining birth rate. This law forces all residents of Seiran Island to be having sex whenever possible. At first glance, it might seem like a paradise, but behind the curtain lies a reality that’s far from friendly.

  Nukitashi has a subtitle: “Is the Island Utopia or Dystopia?” which creates one of the major debates surrounding the island. Seiran Island is a pleasure paradise, many people there are happy, and it boasts one of the best healthcare systems in the world. However, it’s also a deeply hostile place toward minorities.

  The people born on Seiran Island have little contact with the outside world. All of Seiran’s media and networks are self-contained and entirely controlled by the SHO government, meaning that very little information enters or leaves. The government always knows where each person is, even anonymously. As a result, when residents are confronted with unfamiliar values, they tend to react with confusion or denial, something made evident in the guillotine scene of episode 1, where people are baffled by others choosing not to conform to the island’s values.

  Most members of the FS come from underprivileged families. The SHO offers scholarships to students who join the FS, in exchange for serving as the government’s “police.” Yet, despite that connection, the FS stands as an independent organization that acts on its own. Beyond that, they’re not just a unit, they’re a family. So when they see the NLNS trying to destroy the life they’ve built, the obvious choice is to fight back. Still, just like the protagonists, they too are a minority. Even while standing on opposite sides, both are struggling for a place where they belong. And because they’re still young, unity is their greatest strength.

  Nukitashi is, at its core, a story that tells you not to conform, to resist and to rebel. That final scene, with everyone fighting together, beautifully captures this message. It’s a message that rings especially true for the younger generation, urging them to find their voice and stand their ground.

  The main focus of Nukitashi is a social commentary on minorities and conformity. The sequel to the original game, Nukitashi 2, even ranked second in a greatest visual novel of all time award, coming in just behind Clannad.
  The anime ended on a cliffhanger, so we’ll just have to wait and see what season 2 has in store for us.

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• 

  AngeVNs

  88/100
  Great anime about an equally hilarious, hype and surprisingly deep sex-heavy setting, but not the best adaptation

  This review will primarily be from the perspective of someone who read the original visual novel. However, this won’t be one of those typical "original source material elitist" reviews because I think Nukitashi is one of the better-executed visual novel-to-anime adaptations, despite its changes. I believe it’s pretty well done as a standalone, though I do have some issues with it.

  Starting with the animation studio Passione, they were the perfect fit for a crazy setting like this. Given that they’ve worked on projects like High School DxD Born and Interspecies Reviewers, and with a setting where public sex is mandated by law, silly sex puns abound, and over-the-top goofy jokes are unlike anything else, it was great to see this in anime form as someone who experienced it through the visual novel. Thankfully, Passione’s art style complements Nukitashi’s fairly unique style perfectly.

  In general, the anime does a great job of capturing the spirit of the original visual novel. The over-the-top comedy, as mentioned, shines through, but so does the surprisingly serious focus on character development and social commentary within the setting.

  Whether it’s the main characters joking around or tackling legitimately serious topics—like how they navigate loveless sex, evade the "sex enforcement police," or rescue an adult-aged loli from a pedophile—the anime balances that weird mix of hilarity and surprising seriousness that the Nukitashi series is known for. Even in the weakest episodes, the great humor, fun interactions, and fight scenes made every episode at least enjoyable in some way.

  Having a series that constantly puts sex in your face yet manages to be—not titillating, but something to laugh at—is, in my opinion, quite a feat. The way the anime introduces viewers to this world is something I can’t praise enough.

  The main characters are generally well-characterized too. The protagonist, Junnosuke, strikes a good balance of being vengeful toward the island while showing how his harsh actions, driven by his past, are misguided. He also has some goofy, incel-like humor that I find funny to laugh at. Everyone in his—let’s call it a harem—is generally well-executed too, each with their own unique jokes. For example, Hinami wants to be everyone’s big sister despite looking like a loli, Misaki is the butt of jokes about being fat, into anal, or too plain, while Nanase and Fumino are the more low-key feminine types with fewer jokes.

  Even the antagonist group, the FS, is well-executed. The big three—Touka, Rei, and Ikuko—mix clear antagonism toward the main group, the NLNS, with shades of complexity. They’re not entirely bad guys; they’re on this sex-positive Seiran Island for reasons like family or financial issues, and many of them form a kind of found family.

  There’s also a surprising amount of romance, mostly between Junnosuke and Nanase, and I’d say, while a bit fast-paced, it has a surprisingly well-done conclusion. It’s definitely better than the average action series with a secondary romance.

  As much as I’ve praised this anime, I do have several criticisms, both as a standalone and in comparison to the original visual novel.

  While the characters are generally well-characterized, I feel there’s a lot of missed potential with a few. For example, Junnosuke’s little sister, Asane, has a few funny moments early on, but after the first few episodes, she fades into the background and doesn’t get nearly as many funny jokes as she did in the original visual novel, which disappointed me.

  Misaki, while technically better off in the anime than Asane because she gets plenty of funny moments, still feels heavily nerfed compared to the visual novel. I think she’s easily the funniest character—not just in this series, not just in any visual novel, but probably my favorite visual novel character in terms of humor overall.

  I also thought the way Misaki and Fumino were introduced to the main group, while fun, came a bit too late. As a result, I didn’t feel the close bonds between them and the main group compared to the original four members, as they lacked the personal development and screen time due to how much the anime was juggling.

  Speaking of juggling, with just 11 episodes, there’s a lot to pack in, even if it’s mostly about introducing the setting and focusing on Nanase as the main love interest. However, the anime also has to develop other characters, including the antagonists. While they get bits of development here and there, some elements feel too rushed. Since the series focuses on only a few heroines, many characters feel left out.

  Additionally, there’s an unfortunate lack of fight scenes. Sure, we had three major ones, but compared to the visual novel, where the main characters are constantly escaping school to avoid public sex in funny yet intense ways, the anime barely shows this. In general, it feels like the anime doesn’t go as over-the-top with the silliness of the main group hiding from the school as I’d like. The fight scenes we do get are fun, to be fair—I just wish there were more.

  I also have other nitpicks, like how part of Junnosuke’s development from the visual novel—where he was quite bitter toward Nanase for a while, thinking she was a "legitimate slut"—wasn’t covered in the anime. In the anime, he’s super nice to her after the first episode. While it’s good that he shed some of his bitterness, this development could have been streamlined to show his gradual acceptance of the island and its rules.

  Ultimately, many issues come back to the fact that this anime was only 11 episodes. I’m guessing this was due to budget constraints, which allowed Passione and the original visual novel developer, Qruppo, to get greenlit for three different versions to air on anime streaming services, given the intense sexual nature of the setting. However, I honestly think that with at least 12 more episodes, they could have addressed many of my complaints—whether by adding more character development, more fight scenes, or more of the comedy I missed—while maintaining a well-paced structure that focuses on romancing Nanase and exploring the darker aspects of the setting, which are decently developed in the anime.

  As it stands, I think the Nukitashi anime is great to watch standalone. It tells a story about its truly unique setting with themes of sex, body image, minorities, coexistence, and more. If you're interested in the visual novel but unsure if you’d like it, you can watch the anime to get a sense of the setting.

  You can also watch the anime standalone if you want a unique comedy series for the setting’s take on sex in a narrative sense.
  I highly recommend checking out the Nukitashi anime regardless unless you really hate seeing on-screen sex in a story or were hoping for a beat for beat adaptation of the visual novel.

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