At this point in time Studio SHAFT has well cemented itself in the hearts of many anime fans with its peculiarity. That is with their anatomydefying head tilts love of symmetry and vectors avantgarde artistic direction and the list goes on. Recently I wondered does my perception of SHAFTs reputation hinge on simple novelty or genuine quality? Is the socalled Shinbou style a dull onetrick pony or remarkable ingenuity? Well I concluded that does it actually matter? Regardless if theres dissonance between originality and experimental Ive come to love the idiosyncratic nature of SHAFT. The departure of some of their talents in the last few years has left me uncertain of their future but the groundwork theyve laid in the past couple decades is entrenched with numerous classics certain to keep their soul fresh for years to come. One of which is a lesserknown and quaint sliceoflife of which youre presently reading a review on. Spoilers ahead. Skip to the end for a short spoilerfree review 520https://64.media.tumblr.com/210f701f5dc2dcd3bb67f98d0c9da5dc/fa86a8a83ae873a053/s500x750/0d8e91e52abbacdd93884e55023563154dfc59a2.gifv The Detective of the Century Along with the Monogatari and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei series Soredemo Machi was another source material that perfectly synchronized with SHAFTs eccentricity. Typically sliceoflife doesnt scream eccentric chaotic or disheveled. And yet the town moves Soredemo Machi is just that. With mystery in mundanity at its core the mystery supernatural and sliceoflife coagulation was a match made in heaven with Shinbous insatiate peculiarity still running high from overseeing Bakemonogatari the previous year. Speaking of Monogatari perhaps fans will find these two series swimmingly striking from the very getgo. That is that Tomoyuki Itamura was the episode director of the pilot so itd make sense to see some resemblance between his work on Monogatari and the very first episode. But enough with finding excuses to go off on a Monogatariesque tangent about Monogatari I still havent delved into the actual story of Soredemo Machi havent I? Rather than exposing the overarching plot its more meaningful to first introduce the peculiar highschool detective idiot savant maid named Hotori Arashiyama. Less of a character more of a condensed personification of a natural disaster Hotori drives the episodes wild with her cluttering antics and dopey personality. The poor souls that encounter her for even a brief moment are in for hell. Policemens testicles be damned and math teachers sanity forsaken this maid detective whirlwind ensures any situation to be blown out of proportion for the sake of the viewers entertainment. Then theres also Chiaki Omigawa who sold 80 of her character for me with her childishly whiny voice bringing Hotoris dumb nut self to life. Central to the entire series youll be hardpressed to enjoy Soredemo Machi if you dont find Chiakis lovably annoying voice appealing. Its a bit as if Hotori herself invaded Shinbous and the individual episode directors minds during the creative process of the show whispering childishly sweet nothings into their ears as they excellently breathed exaggeration and dumbfounded peculiarities in the direction. Dramatic closeups overemphasized motions weird inbetween breaks of Hotoris pet racoon Josephine spouting random nothings and much more. Well these all just sound like typical SHAFT though. Nevertheless these all largely contribute to constructing the narrative of mundanity coexisting in absurdity and viceversa. 520https://64.media.tumblr.com/f33a221739590d7b64aea850a4dc5016/tumblrpkrwliAWo31vip2zbo1500.gifv The Appeal of the Mundane What is this coexistence of mundanity and absurdity you may ask? Well just look around you. The Soredemo Machi manga was in anachronistic order which the anime went further and selected episodic plots in no particular order. The irony of this chaotic order is that it best resembles our mundane daily lives. That is theres no particular structural order to the events and situations we find ourselves in. Shit happens maybe for a reason or maybe not. Theres no resemblance of a solidified plot line in Soredemo Machi its simply a barrage of antics on antics. Though the wackiness does simmer down at times to alternatively offer the mundanity with a comforting sense of tranquility. Theres Hotori and Sanada skipping school for a date Hotori and her younger brother sneaking out for a midnight stroll and Hotoris little brother and his classmates secret date. These occasional switches in tone serve to remind the variety in Soredemo Machi. While variety is of the topic at hand the supporting cast does its best to carry the show and succeeded well. Hotoris main clique comprised of the tsukkomi Toshiko heartstealing Kon and comparativelyscarceyetentertaining Haribara are logical rebuttals against her often irrational remarks and actions. Theres also the everentertaining head maid Uki often the trump card when Hotoris friends fail to keep her in check. And if I may add their voice actors were just as remarkable as Chiakis. Kon and Ukis especially stood out to me. There are several others who make their imprint on the show as it generously allocated the spotlight in some episodes to them rather than Hotori. For instance Ukis late husband wanders around town as a ghost in a fit of melancholy though ending on a lighthearted and humorous note at the end. Though that episode was overwhelmingly supernatural it and other episodes shining the spotlight on the supporting cast upheave the presence of the town of community and of life. After all isnt life about being surrounded by people? 520https://64.media.tumblr.com/154aa13d10598f8a9efff68c6e47e9f8/1104efded5ba402e2e/s540x810/43c74df5776565c12c0238ba06a6bb58efcd8523.gifv The Appeal of the Absurd As mentioned before theres a supernatural aspect imbued in Soredemo Machi. The aforementioned episode of Ukis late husbands ghost is one such example but theres also the timetraveler candy episode and dimensionwarping aliens episode as well. Certainly I wont attempt to cram these into a box arguing that these happen in real life as well. Theyre stemmed from fiction rather than mundanity. For the absurdity stemmed from mundanity its present in almost every waking moment in the show. Otherwise normal conversations turn into hysterics and drama. Moriakis lecture to Hotori turns into a psychological mind game of choosing the correct chair that wouldnt be out of place in a Kaiji episode. A simple pingpong game turns into Shinbous brief rendition of PingPong: The Animation. Rather than rattling of every instance of normal situations turned strange its shorter to say that when Hotoris in the room youre guaranteed to see the barriers of normalcy shattered. Perhaps its here that youll find the most striking resemblance to the Monogatari series with their listless conversations somehow turned extravagantly peculiar and dragged out Alright Monogatari tangents are banned from hereon out. 520https://64.media.tumblr.com/667aa67ef9fd68b9bf59b047fd7579bb/tumblro6jio0Shie1u86t2qo2400.gifv Home Sweet Home The last episode in particular hit me with how great the chapter selection choice was for this adaptation. Featuring the least antics and comedy typical to the show a much more subdued tone of melancholy is presented when the plot centers around Hotori being fucking dead. Detached from the mundane Hotori travels to heaven and slowly realizes that shes dead after being hit by a truck. The highlight of the episode possibly the entire show is her silent witnessing to her family and friends reactions to her comatose state. Her friends in denial of her death the popshop owners in anger at the truck driver her father bargaining to the gods with shrine offerings to return her back and the general depressive air hanging around the town everyone encompasses different stages of grief upon the news. The spectacular voiceacting from the supporting cast has the perfect chance to outshine here and successfully does so. And Hotoris usual cheery tone is gone her still squeaky voice now penetrated by the verge of tears and overwhelming sadness. The soundtrack accompanying everyones lines is just as fantastic supporting the already melancholic tone to its full extent. But Soredemo Machi is simply not the same without the enigmatic maid detective so Hotori is unsurprisingly revived due to Gods mishap. Brought back to life life is well and the show gracefully ends on yet another comedic antic. This particular episode might be seen as completely out of left field even considering how quirky the show already is and too jarring of a tone switch. However I loved every moment of it. I think it encapsulated the final overarching theme of Soredemo Machi. That is the town keeps moving. Life keeps moving. Regardless if you the main protagonist in your own life were to disappear and regardless of how impactful your presence was life doesnt bat an eye and keeps moving forward. It isnt as simple and straightforward as a linear path life adapts to whatever change happens and branches off in innumerable branches. Perhaps its too bitter of a thought to entertain but its an unforgiving truth. Though the resolution here was much more forgiving and favorable life is too busy of an entity to stop its track for one person. Regardless of what occurs in your life life all over the world will keep moving. The world itself could end and yet the town keeps moving. https://youtu.be/HWog8IeSLo Conclusion Life is an unpredictable whirlwind and not even God himself could permanently stop it in its tracks. Soredemo Machi condenses this idea and dips it in sauce flavored with absurdity and mundanity. Maid detective Arashiyama Hotori faces the world headstrong with nothing able to halt her as she manages to force normalcy into peculiarity everywhere she goes. Shinbous creativity litters the entire show. Offbeat cinematography lively character animation and uncanny monologues/offsides point to a single thought Ah thats definitely SHAFT. Soredemo Machi was a perfect chance for Shinbou to shine the spotlight on his ingenuity. 2009 was Bakemonogatari 2011 was Madoka Magica and 2010 was Soredemo Machi. Featuring a cast with strong and rich voice acting the characters are sure to hook you in with their just as strong distinctive personalities and chemistry with one another. Though this chemistry is mostly everyone acting as the tsukkomi to Hotoris boke. Mundane situations are turned absurd and supernatural situations are turned even more absurd. Though at their cores these episodes are mundane and thats what makes Soredemo Machi appealing. Despite its surfacelevel absurd antics there lies a surprising genuineness to the show. Surely enough its all spelled out in the title too. Whether we change or not whether we disappear or not whether anything happens or not the town keeps moving. If you decide to watch and finish please also check out the original source manga too Ive written a review for thathttps://anilist.co/review/9253 as well. 520http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj77/YandereGIFs/Soredemo/SoreTest5.gif