I'll Make A Habit of It

If you've read The Anime Review for very long, you'll know that I am a sucker for science fiction and detailed character dramas, usually giving high marks to complex, intense stories that feature great animation. However, if those were the only hallmarks of anime, I'd have a pretty boring hobby! I'll Make A Habit Of It is none of the above, but it is what it is--a television show geared for teenage girls with simple animation, sappy romantic interludes, absurd comedy, and silly characters. But again, if that were all it was, it'd be a pretty worthless show. Instead, I'll Make A Habit Of It is surprisingly amusing, primarily because it does the basics very well. It is not a classic by any means, but the opening six episodes were good for a laugh and a fun evening worth of entertainment.

The plot revolves around Nagisa, a teenage idol singer who longs to have a normal existence. Being so popular, however, causes problems with that, so she decides that she will cut her hair and enter a regular school--as a boy. In similar fashion to Ranma 1/2, we soon encounter all sorts of problems that come up when there's gender confusion going on. To give you an idea...Nagisa finds a boyfriend in the first episode. He's in love with her, but since he's oblivious to her multiple personalities, he wants to challenge her male persona to a duel! As the series goes on, other characters get introduced and we start to see various subplots developing...and some of them are pretty loony.

Now to those familiar with anime, gender confusion is by no means a new subject, and a lot of Habit's humor is based around it. However, it's not the only reason to watch the show. The situations and reactions that occur are simply over the top, and some of the characters are too. For example, Nagisa has a friendly bear as her companion...yep, a blue bear. His existance is somewhat explained by the fourth episode, but he is a kick! Another example of this craziness is shown through a rival idol singer who interrupts every episode with a sidebar at the most ridiculous moments. Why is she even in this show? Who knows? It's just all intentionally wacky. Does it work? Well, most of the time. In a strange way, too, Nagisa's naive manner and longing for romance is sweet...it is usually over the top, but overall, the show is quite cute.

To the negative: animation-wise, this show is pretty much the low end of things. It's basic TV animation with very limited frame rates, so it's nothing impressive whatsoever. The stories themselves aren't original--and some might say that they rip off the afore-mentioned Ranma--but they get the job done. The music is OK, but not great. You'd think that a popular idol singer could do better, but...I digress. The only other negative thing I would mention is that there is a fight sequence in every single episode, and it gets a bit repetitive.

Is it worth your time? If you like comedies or like shoujo titles in particular, and can handle a bit of the absurd, this is probably something worth investigating. I wish that I could tell you that it's something that I would love like Orange Road, but it's just not quite in that league, and I don't think it aspires to be. The long and short of it is that, despite its failings, I'll Make A Habit Of It is fun, escapist entertainment--nothing more and nothing less, and that's not a bad thing.

I'll Make A Habit of It -- mild language, mild adult situations (homoerotic humor) -- B