First of all: what is this I don't even. That's the first thing I have to say on this note. And writing this review is going to be kind of weird when I'm busy watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood because I'm almost done with it. The intensity at this point (seriously, I'm watching Mustang fight Envy in episode 53) kind of doesn't mesh with the light-hearted Ben-to.
The Basics
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Genre: Comedy, Action
Aired: October 9, 2011 to December 25, 2011
Directed by: Shin Itagaki
Producers: AT-X, David Production
Closing Theme: Egao no Housoku by Mariya Ise
Review
The Story: I'll be totally honest. This anime has one of the most thoroughly baffling stories I have ever seen in a series. And I don't mean baffling as in confusing (Persona ~trinity soul~, I am looking at you)...I mean baffling as in WHAT AM I WATCHING? But in a silly way. You remember those food fights in the cafeteria? Okay, we never actually had any of those in my school, and for all I know you never did either, but I'm just going to run with the idea that everyone has seen one in a movie or something at least. If not, that's what Youtube is for.
Ben-to is the anime that takes food fights to an extreme. Basically, you have your typical male lead, and this time he's named Yo Sato. He goes to the grocery store, as people tend to do when they want food, and since he's pretty broke, he gets really excited when he sees a half-priced bento. The next thought is to grab it and that just doesn't end well—he ends up unconscious. Turns out that people literally fight over the half-priced bento at the supermarkets. Probably because they're crazy. Or hungry. Or broke. Or an excellent combination of the three that should never be questioned. So, instead of repeatedly getting his butt kicked by the other people who want those meals, he ends up joining a club to get better at the fighting and be part of a group for getting them.
Also they call the people who go after the Bento “Wolves” and some of them have like, titles to suggest that they're famous and it kind of makes me giggle.
The Characters: The characters might actually baffle me even more than the story, and I'm not sure if that's scary or impressive. Maybe a little bit of both. (Side note: Roy Mustang is a badass. And tiny worm Envy is adorable but I still hate him. Now, back on topic...) So the main character of Ben-to: Yo Sato. He really is the typical male lead, so I can't say much about him.
Then there's the women of the series. They're everywhere. Which is normal, yes. So there are three main girls: Sen Yarizui (aka the Ice Witch), Ayame Shaga (the Beauty by the Lake) and Hana Oshiroi (not worthy of a nickname). Of the three, Hana is the craziest by far. She basically gets into the fight for bento because she wants inspiration for her writing (I really hate how anime tends to portray writers...I have yet to come across a good one) and there's a lot of times that she ends up randomly writing yaoi—yes, she a fujoshi. Half the time her fantasies involve the main character. I can't help but wonder what he would think if he could read her mind. He'd probably be scarred for life. Moving on: Shaga. She's the main character's cousin, and evidently she's part Italian. I decided not to question it, because I think there comes a certain point where you just have to stop questioning the things that happen in anime. Otherwise you'll go insane. That's just how it is. But this character...well I think she exists mostly to show off her boobs. Those things are impossible to ignore. So she's a badass with breasts. (Badass for this series. Comparatively speaking, she's got nothin'.)
Then there's Sen. The Ice Witch. She earns her name. She's quiet, doesn't talk a lot, and when she does she's very quiet. Despite that, she tends to kick some serious butt. If someone takes her on, they're probably going down. And people just LOVE taking her on, because proving yourself against the strongest is like, a mark of awesomeness or manhood or puberty or Autobots. No, Autobots have nothing to do with this, I just wanted to mention them.
Aaaaaaanyway. Those are the main people. And I like them, but I have to be honest: they are so far from special. Like they're just pure...I can't remember the word. You know the kind of character that you see everywhere and you just know what sort of person they're going to be right away because you've seen roughly ONE BILLION of them? Well every character in this anime is one of those. So don't get your hopes up.
The Action: All right, for a ridiculous series that's based on the most absurd idea I have ever heard...I will say that it had good fight sequences. And yes, those fight sequences totally took place in various supermarkets and there was basically always a bento flying around (much to my disappointment, they did not use the bento smack each other in the face, which I totally would have done) for someone to grab onto.
So, superbly animated kicking the crap out of each other for food. Only in anime.
Conclusion?: This series is just...odd. I mean, it wasn't confusing or anything—there's really not space to get LOST in a story about who gets to take home the bento. I just gave a serious explanation of the series in seven words right there. I just don't really know what to say about it.
It was supposed to be a comedy. Now, apparently I was missing something, because I don't think I laughed a single time throughout the entire series. I've come to the realization that the humor and I just weren't meshing last fall, because the other major comedy (Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai)...I didn't laugh at that either. So you should take my advice with a grain of salt, because I know plenty of people who really did enjoy this series. This is my view though: Ben-to was a series with a stupid premise, a stupid setting and characters who weren't good in the least. There was no real plot and nothing to make it worth watching. Maybe the boobs, but if you want boobs, there are plenty of other places to go.
My rating: 5/10. Again, take my words with a grain of salt. It just didn't suit my tastes, and that happens sometimes.
(PS: It's 8 eight hours later—I went to bed halfway through writing that review—and I now remember that the character word I was looking for is TROPE.)
(PPPS: I'm pretty sure the guy in the last picture got his start in Pokemon.)
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