Anime: Miss Monochrome The Animation

Miss Monochrome is about an android who has a single purpose in er... existence, to become a top idol. Unfortunately, she lacks common sense and thus seems to achieve everything other than being an idol. While not as painful as Watamote, it's like watching what you know will be a trainwreck in slow motion. It's a really shallow show that will probably kill some brain cells of more-involved viewers. If you really, really want to hear Yui Horie's voice through a vocoder, then perhaps this is the only place you'll find it. If you're not particularly interested in hearing her voice pitch up and down somewhat randomly, I recommend watching something else.

Animation:
The animation is fairly basic but reasonable. Coloring and effects are fine and, like an actual android, she has no facial expressions or emotions. Don't expect much in either action or ecchi here. I feel like the majority of the series budget might have been spent on the ED.

Sound:
As with many other animation shorts, Monochrome has only an ED, though a fairly good one by Yui Horie this time. BGM is actually fair though nothing in particular stands out.

Yui Horie is an amazing VA with an incredible history of extremely popular characters. I'm not sure Monochrome is going to be one of those given her intentionally monotone performance. The voice effects are interesting but not really a substitute for good VA work.

Story:
Unlike many other animation shorts, Monochrome attempts to maintain a semblance of a greater plot. Though many of the episodes are self contained, there are various events that have effects on later episodes, building up somewhat to the second to last episode. It's a surprising level continuity given the otherwise simplistic approach of the plot and character interactions.

This is a light comedy with some funny scenes and just maybe one or two dramatic scenes. However, I found both of these inferior to that of a full length show.

Character:
Monochrome wants to be an idol, and will do anything to get there. Often, this involves pointless activities that have nothing to do with being an idol. There's no real character development beyond the one-sided rivalry between Monochrome and Kikuko, which isn't really well explained until late in the series.

Value:
As Monochrome fades away with her battery charge, this series will most like fade into oblivion as the seasons pass. Even for an animation short, there are better picks out there. Though Yui Horie is great, she's done better elsewhere.