Review: Doujin Work (ドージンワーク)

The main protagonist (left) in her first Comiket ever, selling rape hentai doujinshi for her friend (right).

In this post, Nodame Cantabile will have a new challenger in the form of a short anime titled Doujin Work. Doujin Work turns out to be a very good comedy anime, but is it good enough to unseat the ‘Anime of the Year 2007’ incumbent? Read on to see the outcome.

The quirky characters that helped the main protagonist in her quest to make money in the dark world of doujinshi writing.

Story:-
Our main protagonist was lured into drawing hentai doujinshi for money. But to actually makes money, she has to be good, and unfortunately she is not. Therefore she has to work hard at improving her skills at drawing nude characters (which were never shown in this anime) in order to achieve her dreams, with plenty of help from like-minded friends of hers.

Let’s get straight to the point; the quality of the story in this anime is definitely not its strong point. In fact I think a similar anime reviewed here before, titled Comic Party has a better storyline (at least for its first season). But what Comic Party lacks and which this anime has in abundance is good quality humor. This anime could do with more humorous one-liners, but there are many good slapstick comedy stunts here, plus the main protagonist has great tendencies to get involved in many awkward but funny situations due to the School Rumble-esque misunderstandings. For what its worth, the thin story did flow very well with flawless scene transitions and good pacing (has some reference to real-life dating simulations games too), but you have to really ignore the amount of Comiket events the cast went to though.

Character developments in this anime is quite good considering the length of this series. The main protagonist, her overbearing childhood friend, her friend that wrote rape doujinshi titles and also her rival that wrote extreme yaoi doujinshi titles are all great and interesting characters in this anime. The director has really done a very good job here considering that this anime is just basically a 6-episode series (12 episodes that are 12 minutes in length to be exact). The ending is average and predictable, and that would be the only overt weakness of this series.

The main protagonist and her yaoi-loving rival.

Character Design:-
Character designs in this anime is decent overall, with the rape doujinshi writer being the best of them all. She also has black hair, and that’s a bonus.

Voice Acting:-
This is where this anime really shines, because voice acting in this anime is great. All the recurring characters has great voice acting gigs; I cannot even choose who is the best amongst them. Definitely a positive point for this anime.

Music:-
This anime has also done great in this regard. The OP theme is very good and the ED theme is not far behind, while the OST is quite decent too. Another positive point for this anime.

Despite the fact that she sheepishly wrote hentai doujinshi, the director has not shown any of her works to the audience.

Animation/Direction:-
The animation in this anime is good, even in fast-paced scenes. Choreography did not apply in this comedy anime. The director has done a very commendable job despite the thin storyline this anime has.

Conclusion:-
8 out of 10. Nodame Cantabile still retains the ‘Anime of the Year 2007’ title, but Doujin Work is a recommended watch if you want a good laugh and do not have too much time on your hands.

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2 comments on “Review: Doujin Work (ドージンワーク)”

Hey.
I’m gonna comment on all the blog I read here.
First of all, read the manga. This, in comparison to the manga, is terrible. The animation isn’t even all that great, it’s killer slow, and the voice’s don’t fit the character that well. Same goes for Azumanga Daoih
Second of all. Don’t compare two different fucking anime’s. Comparing a harem anime to a K-ON DOESN’T WORK. IT JUST DOESN’T.
Third, do you understand a real story line? Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu has a terrible plot line (seriously. It’s the same shit over and over). How the hell does it get a 7?
Also. Half of the anime’s you like are slow. REALLY SLOW. Like, when you watch them you say “Screw this. I heard it’s good, but still, I don’t want to go through all this other crap.” What pisses me off more, is that you say “These are fast paced.”

So all in all, get a real sense of taste.

ranpha on 19th September 2010 at 2:58 pm said:

First thing first, unless a manga-based anime I reviewed here is really, really good (like Bokurano) or has great potential (like Oofuri), I won’t read their manga version. The anime itself has to stand on their own, or else, why on earth they are made?
—
I don’t really see why Princess Lover cannot be compared with K-On, even if they are not in the same genre. Both of them have (or doesn’t have) all three characteristics I look for when I review any given anime. In fact, if my mood is good, comparison between Highschool of the Dead and Doujin Work is going to be inevitable hahahahaha!
—
For Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, did you ever read the review? I do say that it starts well but it doesn’t last. And I believe I do say its storyline is just average. It scores high (it should be 8 out of 10 if not for the terrible animation technique they used) because of the humor. I always have a thing for a good humor anime; why else do you think the likes of Hale Nochi Guu and this anime can score high? And mediocre humor anime like K-On score low? And the fast-paced Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei even become an ‘Anime of the Year’ holder. Where is the story in that series? I am still looking actually! A very good humor anime can score very high in this blog.

Storyline is not everything in this blog. If an anime has a nearly non-existent storyline but has a great main character it will score high (read: Urusei Yatsura). If an anime has a normal and predictable storyline but has great presentation, it will also score high (read: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – 10 out of 10 even). If an overhyped anime doesn’t have anything in it except fluff, it will score low (read: Minami-ke).

But in the end, what you may like I don’t like. Minami-ke is apparently liked by plenty of people (holy shit, three seasons), but that series is acerbic to me. And don’t get me started on Haruhi Suzumiya (thank god I watches it not on TV airing chronology). After all, reviews are by definition, just opinions.

Reply

Somebody with an actual brain on 19th September 2010 at 2:10 pm said:

Hey.
I’m gonna comment on all the blog I read here.
First of all, read the manga. This, in comparison to the manga, is terrible. The animation isn’t even all that great, it’s killer slow, and the voice’s don’t fit the character that well. Same goes for Azumanga Daoih
Second of all. Don’t compare two different fucking anime’s. Comparing a harem anime to a K-ON DOESN’T WORK. IT JUST DOESN’T.
Third, do you understand a real story line? Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu has a terrible plot line (seriously. It’s the same shit over and over). How the hell does it get a 7?
Also. Half of the anime’s you like are slow. REALLY SLOW. Like, when you watch them you say “Screw this. I heard it’s good, but still, I don’t want to go through all this other crap.” What pisses me off more, is that you say “These are fast paced.”

So all in all, get a real sense of taste.

- ranpha on 19th September 2010 at 2:58 pm said:
  
  First thing first, unless a manga-based anime I reviewed here is really, really good (like Bokurano) or has great potential (like Oofuri), I won’t read their manga version. The anime itself has to stand on their own, or else, why on earth they are made?
  —
  I don’t really see why Princess Lover cannot be compared with K-On, even if they are not in the same genre. Both of them have (or doesn’t have) all three characteristics I look for when I review any given anime. In fact, if my mood is good, comparison between Highschool of the Dead and Doujin Work is going to be inevitable hahahahaha!
  —
  For Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, did you ever read the review? I do say that it starts well but it doesn’t last. And I believe I do say its storyline is just average. It scores high (it should be 8 out of 10 if not for the terrible animation technique they used) because of the humor. I always have a thing for a good humor anime; why else do you think the likes of Hale Nochi Guu and this anime can score high? And mediocre humor anime like K-On score low? And the fast-paced Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei even become an ‘Anime of the Year’ holder. Where is the story in that series? I am still looking actually! A very good humor anime can score very high in this blog.
  
  Storyline is not everything in this blog. If an anime has a nearly non-existent storyline but has a great main character it will score high (read: Urusei Yatsura). If an anime has a normal and predictable storyline but has great presentation, it will also score high (read: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – 10 out of 10 even). If an overhyped anime doesn’t have anything in it except fluff, it will score low (read: Minami-ke).
  
  But in the end, what you may like I don’t like. Minami-ke is apparently liked by plenty of people (holy shit, three seasons), but that series is acerbic to me. And don’t get me started on Haruhi Suzumiya (thank god I watches it not on TV airing chronology). After all, reviews are by definition, just opinions.

My collection of short anime reviews

Contain spoilers that you may hate, but never biased in any way!