Bio-Art: Moyashimon (1) Review.

So, before I started Dog Week, I did a Bio-Art feature on Moyashimon. I told you that there would be a review up as soon as I finished the series. Now that I've seen all of the first season, I owe you all said review. Here goes.

Gotta catch 'em all!

Let's make something clear from the get-go: Moyashimon is not a kids' show. Despite the cute Hello Kitty-style microbes,  Moyashimon is aimed at people college age and above. The little buggers are cute, but a lot of the series is comprised of the most KAWAII science class ever, drinking and/or eating weird things, and contemplating what one ought to do with one's life. There's also corny college humor and some adult jokes what, while not too dirty, would fly right over kids' heads like so many microbes. In other words, it's for people who have been, are in, or will soon be in college. You have been warned.

That said, I got a real kick out of Moyashimon.What I thought would be a fest of microbes acting like moeblobs turned out to be a funny show with characters more or less typical of a college campus. Along with learning about all the cool things microbes do in our daily lives, we get to see these people develop, make important decisions, etc. Also, there's a scientist who's a true sadist - complete with a whip in Moyashimon Returns. Yes, I'm into that.

SCIENCE!

Moyashimon makes its points very nicely. One, microbes are everywhere and perform a multitude of functions in our everyday lives, some good and some bad (but mostly good!); college is when you find your real niche in life, even if it's not what you expected; agriculture can actually be a great bonding experience; aphrodisiacs (usually) don't work. It's a lot deeper than one would expect a comedy with cute microbes would be.

Overall verdict? Watch it if college is near and you think microbes can be cute. It is educational, and having an interest in biology is highly recommended. They have a Moyashi-rap in Returns, which brings back memories of the ol' Pokeymanz days. I wish PBS had something this cool. We'll brew you next time!

Bio-Art: Moyashimon.

Ever wonder what it would be like to see the whole microscopic world with the naked eye? If you said "TERRIFYING," you're totally right. Several animated programs have featured some sort of "germ vision," and once you have it, you realize everything has germs.  No exceptions!

Enter Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture. The protagonist of the series, Tadayasu Sawaki, has been blessed/cursed with the ability to see microbes since birth. He and one of his friends from the countryside get into an agricultural university in Tokyo, only to find that one of the professors there knows about Sawaki's ability. After running a few tests, his talent proves legit. Bacteria- and fungus-related hijinks ensue.



Of course, this is Japan. It would be no fun to see microbes that, if expanded, would look like hey just came off an alien spaceship. They instead proceeded to make the microbes as adorable as humanly possible. Seriously, just look at this OP. This has got to be the most KAWAIIDESU show of microbes ever!
 
Then there are the little "Microbe Theatre" bits at the end. These introduce you to one of the main microbes in the episode - literally, they say their names and everything. For example, the spot on yeast microbes shows all the great things yeast does- from miso soup paste to alcohol. They don't mention bread, but that's there, too.

Is Moyashimon good as a series? I'm not 100% sure after only seeing two episodes. What I will say is that, if you're curious about the wonderful world of microbiology and want to see what athlete's foot would look like if it went Hello Kitty, please give it a watch.  These guys do a pretty good job, and now you, too, can have adorable yeast on your cell phone.