1000https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/NamiyoKiiteKure0415.jpg Nami yo Kiitekure which Ill be calling Wave for short is quite the sleeper in my books. If it werent for such unprecedented times and the resultant cancellation of shows from Spring 2020s catalog Wave could have quite easily fallen by the wayside hovering under a MAL score of 7 for its first few episodes. And what a sad scenario that would have been as Wave has been a refreshing experience through and through. Heres my mostly spoilerfree thoughts on Wave and why I think this show is most certainly worth your time. 1000https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/NamiyoKiiteKure0215.jpg Minimum wage never looked this evil. Wave is told from the perspective of the fasttalking Minare Koda a cynical woman struggling to make ends meet. She works at a curry shop in town with a gay manager whos clearly only keeping her around for cheap labor has a hard time keeping her apartments landlord happy and recently sunk in a considerable amount of money into a scumbag boyfriend who promptly took off with the cash. A shitty boss money problems a bad breakup all these problems led her to the right bar on the right night with the right man to rant to or so it seems. As it turns out the man she met was Kanetsugu Matou a director of a local radio station in Sapporo. He was so impressed with her stutterless delivery and abrasive takes on men that he recorded her epic rant that night and broadcasted it all over Hokkaido to Minares shock. Matousan then offers to sign our stunned amateur on to the station offering her the opportunity to hone her craft the recording booth. Because she has virtually no name recognition and thus has no backing by sponsors Minare is roped into improvising experimental sketches in the dead of night allowing Matou to see how far he can push the limits of traditional radio programming. Alongside this new endeavor Wave continues to put Minares experiences frontandcenter showcasing her plights with her day job and zany life experiences. If youre still unsure of what to expect I would say Wave is decidedly an adult comedy full of pop culture references and absurdist humor with some crude material in the mix. 1000https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/NamiyoKiiteKure0335.jpg The approach Wave takes is a welcome change of pace from your typical slapstick or sliceoflife that youve probably grown accustomed to. Wave packs in a ton of jokes and references with influences from both Japan and the West. Yes the localized gags involving stuff like Japanese pop singers and such went over my head but theres still plenty of solid material here. I for one enjoy comedies that come at you with everything and Wave does just that by also throwing in some unexpected absurdist sketches that had me laughing my socks off. The radio sketches are a fun opportunity for the series to explore strange concepts and creative laughs and theres a sense that the writers are passionate for their love for radio and popular tropes. However jokes can only carry a show so far so its a good thing that Wave has the perfect vehicle for them. Minare Koda owns this show in every scene shes in with her raw energy and great timing. This success is in large part due to her voice actor relative newcomer Riho Sugiyamas energetic line delivery easily puts her alongside the heavyhitters from KaguyaSama S2 in terms of the best VA performances this season. The jaded Minare jumps to conclusions leftandright and her hyperactive monologues invite us into that erratic thought process. Be it in the recording booth or out a bulk of my enjoyment with Wave comes by watching her sweeping changes in intensity and how they elevate the observational humor in every episode. With her relentless overconfidence sheepish embarrassment and animated commentary Minare keeps me coming back to Wave week by week. Now as enjoyable as Wave is it does have a couple of criticisms that Id like to share with you. First of all Wave is very much the Minare Koda Show. Thats by no means a bad thing on its own I think Ive gushed over her enough so far. However the rest of the cast dont really stand out to me and its not for lack of trying. These side characters are present in the narrative but have their conflicts either relegated to the background or in service of Minares OTT reactions. While I had a blast watching Minare carry practically the entire show on her back Waves supporting cast needs to be explored deeper should the story receive future instalments. The other aspect worth noting is the overall tone and writing throughout the series. When its not busy doing radio bits with exes and/or extraterrestrials see: Exhibit A Wave can seem unsure of the kind of comedy it wants to pull off in a given scene. Waves curious mix of observational humor and more surreal setups doesnt gel as well as I hoped at times. It is possible to balance out the two elements in a satisfying way and render me LMAO for full minutes which is does often. But the show has a bad habit of attempting to paint scenes in a realistic light when they would have worked better as comedic moments. Likewise there were points where Wave undercuts more grounded moments with anticlimactic throwaway jokes. I feel that this balance of Waves two halves is skewed in favor of a more plausible perspective leading to the show stumbling over itself and overexplaining certain scenes. Id be glad if the show grows more consistent in working out this formula cause what we have is already so enjoyable. Before I wrap things up Heres a lightning round covering all the other criteria I missed: the animation is serviceable the art and presentation gets some good moments I think the insight into the radio industry was digestible and fun reminiscent of Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na s many tidbits about animation the songs and sound design fit the show nicely. I dont intend to halfass on these topics they just didnt factor into my viewing experience all that much. 1000https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/05/NamiyoKiiteKure0530.jpg Exhibit A: See I wasnt kidding. TlDR: Nami yo Kiitekure is quite likely to have you in stitches. A simply stellar performance by Riho Sugiyama brings our lively lead to life. Minare nails every joke with an energetic ballsy delivery that would make isekai protagonists quiver in their pants. Not all the comedy works but the shows fun take on observational absurdist humor makes for a welcome change of scenery. Wave Listen to me absolutely deserves to be heard. 7/10 STRAY RAMBLINGS SPOILERS: The show sort of gaybashes the manager and its a recurring gag that never really works. Im thinking it could be an issue of dated material as the manga was first published back in 2014. Still the homo stuff wasnt made in good taste here so have this mild trigger warning. My jaw dropped to the floor when I caught Minares rap edit in Gigguks Spring 2020 video. Immediately added Wave to my watch list and found her profile on MAL. Said jaw then proceeded to fall further still when I learnt that she has less than ten VA roles to date Im definitely rooting for her to nail more parts in the years to come fantastic effort. Let me share an example with you. My favorite joke in the entire show was that of the BEST GIRL: Mizuho. Just this once Minare has good taste in romantic interests 1000https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/NamiyoKiiteKure0434.jpg IN A NUTSHELL: Good Morning Vietnam meets Fleabag If youre a fan of Minare I guarantee Phoebe WallerBridge will win you over in the same way. Lockdown does weird things to people so I guess I blog now Thanks so much for making it this far. If you happen to like my verbose overanalysis come check out the other reviewshttps://anilist.co/user/An1meDweeb/reviews Im putting out this season. Also feel free to leave any feedback for me Im still trying to figure a lot of this stuff out. Stay safe see you in the next one peace