Back Street Girls

Biggest problem with this show is the animation. A lot of anime tends to have more stilted animation, but every frame looks really good. This show however seems to take that to a bit of an extreme, where you rarely see any movement in any of the shots other than their mouths or with an effect put on the screen, effectively looking a bit more like a slide show rather than an anime. I think there are at most 5 shots throughout season 1 that didn't do this. However, for how relatively lackluster and uncanny the animation is, they didn't slack off on the writing. The characters all play off eachother really well, leading to some funny and genuine moments between them, and the premise is very interesting. For what it lacks in visual flair, it makes up for in good writing and still manages to be entertaining despite that flaw.

The premise is simple. Three Yakuza underlings failed once too often and are given a choice, have their organs harvested and sold OR get a sex change and become idols.

If the image of a tough gangster yakuza shaking his tosh and singing "love love bu-nny!" isn't funny to you then something is just wrong.

The jokes are fun and so over the top that you just can't help laughing at the character's suffering. As season one progresses it gets even more absurd and ridiculous.

The one issue with it is the ending. The season doesn't end so much as suddenly stops. I do recommend watching it in the original language (japanese) with subtitles as the dubbed voices don't always land the delivery.

This anime series is funny and interesting, it is certainly not for everyone and especially not for kids. Sometimes the jokes can be repetitive and boring, but what gets me is the reaction from the other characters. So watch the first few episodes if you like it then you gonna like the rest of the series, if not then you don't need to watch the rest.

This show is a hilarious satire of idol culture, but still gets you invested in its characters. I was rooting for the GOKUDOLS throughout watching, in addition to their rivals. The intersection of idols and yakuza was an entertaining and fun mix. Great timekiller, and a funny, quick series to watch.

Though masquerading as a crass comedy about Yakuza members turned idols by a sadistic boss, this show offers a remarkably brutal critique of the idol culture it portrays. The literal emasculation of the three Yakuza members reflects the cultural emasculation of Japan following the second world war in an attempt to downplay the war crimes of the nation. I don't think that its an accident that the mastermind if this emasculation is an American, referring likely to the US's efforts to forget Japanese warcrimes to set them up as a viable ally against the Soviets. The show also highlights the truly abhorrent conditions with its own tongue-in-cheek comedy. Such a framing device makes the expose more palpable to both local and western audiences. Acknowledging such mistreatment represents a vital beginning step for the culture of Japan. Furthermore was the representation of the rampant objectification and misogyny in both Japan at large and idol culture comes to light in the characteristic brutal satire of the Gokudolls. A large number of the 'fans' of the Gokudolls are shown to be slobbish and disgusting wastes of men. Their internal ugliness made physical. This show is a sadly overlooked and under appreciated satire, especially by those who refuse to acknowledge the problematic aspects of anime.