If there was a concise way to summarize Studio apartment with good light including angelthat’s what it is: a comfortable middle. The show doesn’t bother reinventing the wheel; there’s nothing overly appealing about its rom-com premise, and it ends up being the hodgepodge of Miyazaki Creek and harem you’d expect. Even though the show centers on angels, divine intervention doesn’t apply here because there’s not much about the show that’s divine or charming. But this may be the animation’s greatest strength. If there’s one thing this show succeeds at, it’s that it exists as harmless, heartfelt fluff that serves as an excuse to munch on popcorn. That’s not a bad thing for a series because (let’s be honest) it’s something we all need from time to time. A spoonful of sugar can really cut down on moderate sugar levels.
The premise of Studio Apartment is exactly what we’ve seen other rom-com anime do, and all the plot points and beats fall into very familiar territory. Some may complain and roll their eyes at the predictable plot points, especially when they don’t leave much room for Shintarou to have any interesting chemistry or development with Towa or the rest of the harem. However, the show’s formulaic highlights are not without merit, and are more than enough for fans of harems, Miyazaki, or overall Cute (Like You Really Do) Accept its tried and true premise. Because hey, if it plays, it stays, folks.
When jokes work, they work. I was fascinated by Towa’s innocent attempts to wait on guests at Shintaro’s restaurant when she was present as a customer. I loved that in episode four, the harem reveal their secret supernatural abilities to Shintaro, causing his friend and classmate Tsumugi to reveal a secret of her own: She didn’t wet the bed until fifth grade. Immature? certainly. But it’s the best joke in the show. However, my absolute favorite is Sayuri, the wacky vampire girl whose chuuni has her trying to block people’s sense of smell while trying to trick them into thinking she’s European. I’m interested in weird characters, and the fact that Sayuri appears so late in the movie Cool Makes me wish we could get more of her.
Surprisingly, the show is no slouch in terms of art either. While far from extraordinary, the background art can create some lush environments for our characters to move around in. The blue sky juxtaposed with the verdant trees waltzed in for our Towa, creating a cityscape of pleasant colors. Another scene in episode five shows Shintarou and Tsumugi sitting in a library, where the lighting has a strange allure. Some generic and redundant directional choices may confuse the animation itself, but it doesn’t detract from the art’s occasionally raw quality.
However, Studio apartment This is very much a paint-by-numbers piece. The lack of any real twists here means the plot and characters are as predictable and static as you might imagine. Some Horny Harem Hijinks(TM) were brought in early to implement fan service Quota and ensure Shintarou has some unexpected voyeuristic moments. The monotonous characters are then pushed into comedic dilemmas with (mostly) predictable results, and despite being made up of otherworldly creatures, the harem’s supernatural abilities aren’t quite as capable as they should be and are mostly reduced to mere aesthetics. You might think that a Celestial like Towa would have more to offer than just the ability to fly or Yuki-onna Noeru’s ability to keep things chilly in a few scenes. At the end of the episode, Hisui is revealed to be a kappa, but the identity of the kappa doesn’t really return for the rest of the series. A non-sacred female cartoonist and her artistic dilemma take center stage in one episode, but leave the series soon after they join the fray. There are so many missed opportunities to create light comedy out of these characters and situations, and even something like a holiday popping up in one episode hardly makes up for the lack of creativity.
Overall, there is nothing worth noting Studio apartment. For one thing, it’s not particularly good. But on the other hand, it’s not particularly bad. What you see is what you get and I was never disappointed or let down by anything I saw. It’s a no-frills, non-controversial, twelve-part kit Cute Romantic comedy junk food, nothing earth-shattering. In short, nothing special. But then again, maybe that shouldn’t be the case. Maybe, just maybe, we should be grateful for that.
