Comedy in any form is a product of its time and circumstances. As a result, revisiting an old comedy series can often be a fraught experience; sometimes a show that used to be funny doesn’t work when watched with a modern eye. With this in mind, does Midori Days — one of the weirdest comedy anime series to ever hit television screens — hold up nearly 20 years after its release, or is it one of those titles best left in the past?
Midori Days, based on the manga created by Kazurou Inoue, ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday between 2002-2004. The series was popular and gained such a sizable fan following that it got an on-screen adaptation in 2004. The Midori Days anime was made by Studio Pierrot, also known for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and Tokyo Ghoul.
The Plot of Studio Pierrot’s Midori Days
Midori Days follows Seiji Sawamura, a delinquent high school student who is often fighting with the school’s bullies and has thus earned the nickname the Mad Dog. His right hand has become the stuff of legend due to his strong punches; however, Seiji’s grades are suffering due to all the fighting, and his reputation means most of the school is afraid of him.
Seiji’s dreams of getting a girlfriend seem impossible to realize, as he scares off any girl he tries to talk to. The one girl who loves him, Midori Kasugano, only does so from afar. One night Seiji says he would do anything for a girlfriend, and Midori wishes to date him. The next day, Seiji makes a startling discovery: his right hand is gone, and in its place is a tiny version of Midori. This unlikely pair must now work together to try and find a solution to the issue, leading to comedic chaos.
Longtime comedy anime fans will know what to expect going into Midori Days. The show’s format is a twist on the standard rom-com format, with a lot of the humor coming from Seiji’s increasingly strange attempts to hide his predicament while the pair deal with the general confusion young love causes. However, the series does feature a lot of ecchi humor and often goes slightly further with it than one would expect, adding a unique edge to proceedings.
Does Midori Days’ Comedy Still Hold Up Today?
Underneath this, however, Midori Days is surprisingly heartfelt. The dynamic between Seiji and Midori is handled well and the dramatic scenes are pulled off nicely, giving the storyline weight and intrigue. It’s hard not to root for this unlikely pair, making it stand out from other romantic comedies where the romance often acts more as a framing device for comedy. On top of this, both characters are interesting in their own right, having enough depth to make their non-comedic interactions fun to watch. A well-written supporting cast makes Midori Days quite well-rounded and packed with fun moments, with a well-structured plot that will hold viewers’ attention until the end.
However, it’s the premise that really helps elevate this series. The idea of being stuck as someone’s hand is a unique setup, and the writers worked hard to extract every ounce of comedy possible from it. Even common jokes are given a new twist due to Midori’s small size and unusual situation; simple cooking scenes are turned into hilarious slapstick sequences as Midori and Seiji struggle to control their shared body. This comedy is massively improved by Pierrot’s fantastic animation. This is even true of the ecchi humor, which often goes in ways viewers don’t see coming due to the reserved Midori and outgoing Seiji having to share the same space.
That said, 2004’s Midori Days has dated in many ways. A few of its jokes are a little near the knuckle today, and early-2000s ecchi generally feels aged regardless of quality. However, this series’ utterly surreal premise elevates it to a level that viewers can’t tear their eyes away from it. Midori Days remains funny today because no other show has used the same core concept, making it stand out from the crowd even in 2022.
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