On his first day at Ebisugawa High School, Itsuki Noya goes to the 'Tenmon' club, thinking it's the astronomy club - just the sort of thing he'd be interested in joining. Not quite - this is the Astronomical Club, which is something rather different - but before he realises his mistake, the club president, Kyoko Todayama, decides to put Itsuki through a sereis of bizarre bizarre tests that at least seem to be astronomy-related. After the tests are more or less deemed worthless, Itsuki is made a member, saving the club from being abolished. Ebiten is going to be one of those shows that you have to take episode-by-episode. The basic setup involved the show, led by its 'astronomy' club full of fujoshi (and poor Noya), taking the piss out of a well-known classic series - which works great if you know the show they're riffing off, but doesn't if you don't. Episode one has high Saint Seiya content - not something I've watched much of, and it when straight over my head until Athena appeared. Episode three I didn't even recognised, and fell asleep through. Episode two, on the other hand, does Sailor Moon - which I do get (it's one of my formative shows), and so I enjoyed that one immensely. The series goes to great lengths with its homages, with the OP credits and eyecatches of its targets being lovingly recreated using Ebiten's own characters. It's just a shame that those characters are so.. well, meh. Kyoko takes Haruhi Suzumiya at her Mikuru-abusing worst and cranks it up to eleven; Noya mostly stands around looking bemused at what the girls are up to; Mikuru expy Hanamori provides great eye-candy, but not much else. There are other characters, including the student president who's on a crusade to shut her former club down, but none of them really make much of an impression. THE GOOD: When they hit the mark about a show you really know, it's damned funny. But that's a bit 'if'. THE BAD: Cast are poor. If you don't know the show it's playing off, it'll go right over your head. This'll be one where I watch the opening credits each week to see what they're riffing off - if I recognise them, I'll watch, if I don't I'll skip. Seems the only way to do it, really. Ebiten is streamed by Crunchyroll (North America only).
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