Himouto! Umaru-chan
| Episode Count | 24 (12 for Season 1) |
| Season | Summer 2015 |
| Genres | Comedy, School, Seinen, Slice of Life |
| Source Material | Manga |
| Rating | TV-14 |
| Streaming | TBD |
Words can not describe the amount of vitriolic hatred that this gremlin conjured up when the first season of Himouto! Umaru-chan dropped. I was scared when I decided on a whim to show this to a friend. He ended up liking it more than me.
Umaru Doma is the perfect high school student. She's beautiful, her grades are top of the class, she's great at sports. Everyone looks up to her. But as soon as she's alone at her home with her brother, she's a completely different person. Which in this anime, is shown literally. Within the first minute of episode 1, we see her transform from proper high school girl into that thing. At home, she's a lazy spoiled brat who munches on potato chips, drinks cola, plays video games, watches anime, you name it. Before I continue, I should address that Umaru doesn't actually morph into the size of a cat. It's just a visual indicator for the audience to show the difference between her outside and inside appearances.
I would say that the first episode is a litmus test for if you will like it (it's certainly Umaru at her most annoying) but Himouto! Umaru-chan's true strengths are in the side-characters. Nana Ebina is the shy cute one, Kirie Motoba is fascinated by Umaru's indoor form, and best girl is Sylphynford Tachibana who hopes to beat Umaru and prove her superiority. They are where the heart of the series is, because of course Umaru herself can't carry a whole series.
Himouto! Umaru-chan is a comedy that anyone who's ever had a sibling should check out.
- 0215MADman
Himouto! Umaru-chan is a show that’s divisive amongst anime fans and really what it comes down to is: Is the concept of a girl who is secretly a little gremlin who does nothing but freeload off you, play video games, and subsists on a diet of junk food and cola oddly endearing to you? If it is, then you’ll like it, and if it isn’t you probably won’t. I dunno, this show managed to worm its way through my brain in a way that I managed to find it cute and entertaining instead of annoying, so hey, I’m giving this show my approval. Also Sylphinford Tachibana is best girl, there will be no further discussion.
- akasinan