Yume Tsukai was on my Spring 2006 anime preview list, but it kinda fell off the radar due to the huge number of quality shows already out. I finally checked out the first episode. So is this anime as dreamy as the name implies? Is this show a sleeper hit, or a real yawn!? Okay, enough with the puns, onto the post:
Yume Tsukai is about to “dream users,” Misako Mishima and Touko Mishima. Every once in a while, people’s dreams will make it to the real world and run amok. Their job is to fight the nightmares using polymorphed toys. I guess you could say that the plot is pretty original.
In this episode, they battle an evil teruteru bouzu and help reunite a lesbian with her sporty idol. Is it just me, or does every single anime need to have a token lesbian? Not that I’m complaining… Basically, we’re introduced to the whole system of tracking down nightmares and beating em up.
The story sounds interesting on paper, but I thought the episode was really boring. I think the pace was just too slow. Or maybe the idea is to give the anime a dreamy sort of pace… Sure, there was a fight with the giant teruteru bouzu, but most of the episode was just dialogue and paper airplanes.
This anime seems like another episodic type to me. Every episode, they’ll probably solve a different mystery and fight another dream. I’ll probably end up getting bored of the show if that’s the case.
I said in my preview that the character designs looked cool, but in the anime they’re just kinda dull. I guess it’s more of a style thing than actual animation. The designs look more like they came from an 80s anime like Ranma 1/2. Not that Ranma 1/2 is bad, but the style is just kinda dated to me.
The animation itself wasn’t bad. But a transformation sequence without a panty flash? Blasphemy!
Speaking of dated, the OP has an older style feel to it to. I like the traditional instruments that they use. In this case, the OP is appropriate for the anime. The ED vocals need some work. I think it’s sung by the seiyuu. They’re not quite “Koi no Mikuru Densetsu” bad, but they’re getting there…
Download the OP: “Yume Meikyuu~Hikari to Yami no Dance~” by YoKo
Download the ED: “Kodou” by Ayako Kawasumi and Kei Shindou
While I like the concept of Yume Tsukai, the actual execution is pretty dull. The characters seem kinda boring, and the pace is way slow. I might give the next episode a shot, though. This anime could just need some time to develop…