In an earlier post I said that The Eccentric Family (Crunchyroll) was my favorite anime of the Summer 2013 season. Nothing has happened to change my mind. This is a splendid adaptation of a fine old-fashioned comic novel.

The comedy does at times veer a bit towards tragedy but it never crosses the line (and there tends to be some of that in all great humor.)


It’s funny. It has great characters. What else does it need? Oh yes, the visuals are great. It would almost be worth watching this just for the Kyoto scenery.

(Yes Kyoto does look like that…and if you tell me that some of the people walking around there are actually tanuki, I won’t necessarily contradict you.)

Some people think that this is a weird story, but if you allow for the fact that the main characters are quirky little animals who impersonate humans in order to have mischievous fun, then I think it makes a lot of sense.

You just have to make
this dull world more interesting.

Some people love to claim that something is boring.
That habit is the most boring of all.
It’s easy to complain about stuff
but it doesn’t do any good at all.

That sort of useless waste of time
runs in our idiot blood.
Just party on and on and the more you do
the more awesome will be your days.

You just have to make
this dull world more interesting.

The things you find for yourself in this world
quickly turn it into a little paradise.
Before you know it
you live a life of pure ecstasy.