Series Review- Sekkou Boys

Confession time; this is actually the first idol anime I’ve watched. As it’s a series of comedy shorts (7 minute episodes) parodying idol anime, I don’t know if it was the right to go into the idol genre like this stone cold, but the idea of idols who were actually made from stone had a statuesque attraction.

Sekkou Boys follows the adventures of an idol group made of 4 Greco-Roman statues; St George, Mars, Hermes, and Medici, and their reluctant manager Ishimoto Miki as they start at the rock-bottom, and attempt to obtain success in the world of entertainment. Miki and the idols may have a rocky start, but they learn to get on as the series progresses.

Each of the Sekkou Boys has a personality loosely based on the famous figure they are modelled after with some of their own quirks. For instance, Mars is a ladies man, but also tries to run a marketing scam on the side, and St George attempts to be a serious and responsible leader, but also has a terrible sense of humour.

The behaviour of the idols is interesting. In some ways they are just like statues; a human needs to move them around and you frequently see them being pushed about on a luggage trolley, but they can also eat, drink, and pick up objects in spite of them not having arms. While to me it felt a bit inconsistent, it was used to good effect when it came to jokes.

The comedy is a mixture of puns, quick-witted comebacks, and just poking fun at the absurdity of having an idol group made of statues. The show definitely doesn’t take anything about the situation for granite.

Visually, it’s quite interesting to see the Greco-Roman stone busts interacting in the world of anime with its shiny eyes and expressive faces. The statues look very much like statues, while the rest of the setting is fairly standard anime, with animation which I’d say was pretty average; not amazing, but at the same time not poor.

I really enjoyed the ending song Hoshizora Rendezvous (星空ランデブー) (Starry Sky Rendezvous). Based on my minimal experience of idols, I felt that this had a suitably idol-esque tone and tied in with the rest of the show. It’s also kind of catchy!

While it’s mostly light-hearted comedy, I think that there’s also a message about learning to get along with and appreciate those around you, even when they’re not who you thought you wanted.

Overall, I didn’t find any aspect of the show to really stand out, but it’s decent entertainment. I’d recommend it to fans of comedy shorts. I can’t comment on how much of a parody it is of the idol genre owing to lack of knowledge, but it may also be funny to those who like idol anime. It does make me want to watch a real idol anime so I have a basis for comparison.