Sotsugyou M

Ah, a day in the life of five talented young musician-friends in an all-male boarding school. Basically, that's what "Ore-tachi no Carnival", the short two-part anime OVA for Sotsugyou M (or "Male Graduation") is about. During their senior year at Seiryuu High School, the five bishounen who make up the band simply called M find themselves targeted by the head of the student council for an upcoming anniversary festival.

Bad-boy Tougo Arai, feminine Simon Takagi, quiet and stable Shou Nakamoto, rough-and-tumble "big brother" Yuusuke Kato, and obnoxiously adorable Mikimaro Shimura seem almost oblivious to the planning of the school's celebration - until they are suddenly invited to a dinner party graciously hosted by the head of the council, Paris Kusanagi (a young man even more womanly in appearance and demeanor than model Simon). Only Yuusuke and Mikimaro seem intrigued by the prospect of dining in Kusanagi's manor - the other three are wary. However, when it's demanded that either all or none attend, the boys of M finally agree, somewhat reluctantly.

However, once they are at the party, M finds out that this was only a set-up, in order for the Student Council to persuade them into participating in their anniversary festival's stage production of Little Women. In order to make the show an instant smash hit, Kusanagi insists that the famous boy-band members take starring roles as the women. Naturally, the boys decline. Only to find Kusanagi has planned for their refusal - by setting a trap! M is caught in a basement prison room in the manor, and when their best efforts to hold out prove in vain, and M reasonably talk the idea through, they have no choice but to agree to star in the lavish, well-funded production.

The boys are immediately met with fanfare, a strict drama club chief, and page-after-page of scripts to memorize. Not to mention the flouncy dresses and full costumes! Even worse, the boys begin to doubt themselves, and conflicts arise between everyone during rehearsals - until finally Tougo disappears on his motorcycle, unable to cope with the idea that he may be useless to M. Will the age-old saying prevail: the show must go on...?

Sotsugyou M originally began as a shoujo radio show and drama CDs, which spawned video games, music CDs, manga and novels. In askance of the popularity surrounding all that, as well as the fangirl favorite seiyuu-unit created by the five main voice actors for the M boys - the well-known group Entertainment Music Unit (E.M.U.) - this animated short was made to appease the audience. So frankly, unless you're already a fan and familiar with the characters and their relationships, this anime is disappointing and silly.

However, if you do happen to get a hold of the manga or play the game, you will probably be more than thrilled to see your beloved bishies animated! There is also a lot of history and inside jokes (ie. the production of Little Women was chosen because the M boys are those classic characters' male alter-egos) you'll miss out on unless you delve more deeply into the "Male Graduation" world.

E.M.U. fans will appreciate the use of the character image songs played in the background, though - and of course seiyuu fans will love the cast: Midorikawa Hikaru (Tougo), Okiayu Ryotarou (Simon), Hayashi [Canna] Nobutoshi (Shou), Ishikawa Hideo (Yuusuke), Sakaguchi Daisuke (Mikimaro), Takeshi Kusao (Kusanagi), Miki Shinichirou (Yukinojou - drama club director), Nojima Kenji (Aoi - student council) and Morikawa Toshiyuki (Kasumi - student council).

Yaoi fans will appreciate the cast of nothing but pretty boys - go ahead, let your imaginations run wild! Plus the character designs were of course gorgeous, and the animation well enough.

Myself, even knowing about all the titles ups and downs, I didn't much care for this title. It had it's cute moments, and a few times I laughed out loud; otherwise, it was just a bunch of pretty boys dressing up like girls for a school play. Not very engrossing. And none of the characters stood out as appealing for me, their relationships (in the anime) bland and trivial. But then, I've never been big on high school dramas.

The only thing I liked very much at all and found memorable was the inside joke for seiyuu Canna Nobutoshi and Morikawa Toshiyuki - check out the scene after rehearsal between Shou and Kasumi, where Kasumi says that he likes Shou's determination and "gutts". Berkserk fans will giggle at that. I know I did.