In my many years of reviewing anime, I have come across a crop of shows that I refer to as ‘nothing’ shows. There is a huge amount of talking, but nothing really happens. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as some of them are character and plot driven and tell a fascinating story. But it can run hot and cold.

Our latest offering, “Oshiete! Galko-chan” (“Please Tell Me! Galko-chan”) is also a short-pull series, in that the episodes only run for about eight minutes. But they pack a lot into these shows. Our cast includes (right to left), the aforementioned Galko, Ojou and Otako. Yes, they are very iconic, as they are, respectively, a gyaru, an airhead and an otaku. But they go beyond those limitations and tell some interesting tales. This came off for me as closer allied to “Daily Lives of High School Boys”, another ‘nothing’ show, but with a definite edge to it.

Each episode opens with a question, and sometimes it is quite provocative, like ‘do big breasts make you float?’ They are not afraid to talk about tampons and pubic hair and bowel movements, as though these are things you normally talk about, along with the weather and sports teams. The still above was referencing that you can find your nipples by grabbing your ear lobes and moving straight down until your arms are even. Galko is also very busty (you can kind of see it here) and the boys wonder if she is the largest in the class or if Ninuko is larger than her.

We do get a bit of the boys as well, as their interactions help move the series along. Charao, Otao and Supoo are rather thick-headed when it comes to girls and relationships, and some genuine humor is derived from that, especially when Bomuo comes to class with bed head and Galko tidies him up really nicely. What would you do if the prettiest girl in class started fixing your hair? There isn’t any meanness in the show, more of an exploration of things. Why does Galko come to class tired every morning? Does she have a secret lover and she has to scamper to school to be here on time?!!? Why does she wear a man’s shirt and not a ladies shirt?

Episode Seven is your pure fan-service show, when they go to the swim park, so EVERYONE is showing off their assets. The only problem with the show is that since it is a short-pull, you may have problems trying to catch it through the regular channels. I mean, you could knock out all 12 episodes in an evening, and this is a show that would benefit from binge watching, as you see the complicated relationships unfold. But Adult Swim would never air it. It is worth hunting down, even if it is just for those daring questions they ask.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork           8 (Fine execution of it)
Plot                  8 (More than meets the eye)
Pacing              8 (Strong throughout)
Effectiveness   8 (Has a lot of heart)
Conclusion      6 (It reaches a ‘coupler point’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service     5 (A similar show would be “Maburaho”)

Overall            8 (I would have liked more episodes)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Is it true?