An ordinary, cute girl named Kobeni suddenly finds that she has a fiancé, and that he and his little sister will be moving in effective immediately. Minakunin is an interesting flip of the over-used instant girlfriend theme, in this case an instant boyfriend. However, strange mysteries surrounds Kobeni's betrothed, does it have to do with Kobeni's amnesia following a childhood accident?
This is a rather slow-paced hybrid between a slice of life and a romantic comedy. The first few episodes are excruciatingly slow and nothing seems to happen. Assuming you can weather this drought, you'll be rewarded with a slightly more involving plot and characters that may grow on you eventually. While by no means an outstanding show, Minakunin comes across as a reasonably enjoyable show with good (albeit late) character development. The OP is a pretty good synopsis of the show's overall atmosphere, if you're looking for a litmus test.
Animation:
Minakunin has reasonably good animation qualities. The show is cast in a moderately saturated palette which strikes a balance between the comical and the serious; it works well for the winder scenes. Backgrounds are reasonably detailed, again with the outdoor winter scenes particularly well done. While the show does have pretty nice backgrounds, the characters (and especially the character shading) aren't drawn to the same level of detail; this is aggravated by thick character outlines that make it really apparent that the characters are superimposed in front. Character styling is a bit on the basic side and you won't find facial animations as convincing as in P.A. Works productions. This is neither an action based nor an ecchi based show.
Sound:
One of the most memorable points of the show (if you watch it enough) is the OP with the extremely catchy opening sequence, the main melody otherwise is average at best. The ED is not as strong with no real melody and an almost audio-drama like presentation. The BGM is subpar; there isn't any over-arching theme and often it doesn't even have any presence. The combination of slow, bare-bones BGM, occasional sound effects, and dialogue-heavy scenes are a recipe for falling asleep on a show.
The VAs do a reasonable job though many are newcomers. I will point out that I found Wataru Hatano's lethargic presentation (perhaps intentional) quite dreary at first, and sleep inducing later on. Thank goodness the energy of the other female characters compensates for this lack of energy.
Story:
There isn't anything really innovative about this show. Yes, the story focuses on a heroine rather than a male protagonist for once, but it fails to really take off with the idea. Instead, you'll find the show toying around instead with the supporting cast, whether it is poking fun at Benio's imouto-complex or Mashiro's ridiculous fear of aliens and unidentified creatures. All of this is wrapped in a slice of life package with brief moments of romantic comedy.
The show has an overarching central plot line but it develops so slowly that you might as well be watching a snail move across your screen. Seriously, if you aren't finding the characters funny early on, you're in for a lackluster experience. The show finally picks up some steam half way through the show before, finally, kicking into normal gear in the last two episodes. I'm all for character development usually but not at the expense of completely ruining a show's pacing. Expect a reasonable climax and believable conclusion though in my opinion it took way too long to get there. The show does leave a lot of open questions unanswered but I'm not sure I'd want to stick through another season to find out.
Character:
At first, Minakunin strikes me extremely similar in overall atmosphere to Acchi Kocchi. Both shows start out rather slowly and contain little plot. Both shows also feature slightly unusual relationships between the protagonists, with more humorous supporting characters spicing things up a bit. However, Minakunin succeeds in one area that Acchi Kocchi falls short; it presents the heroine as a relatable, dynamic character. Kobeni's beliefs and feelings change substantially through the series, though this is mostly felt late in the show. There are definitely some elements that don't feel completely realistic but then again this isn't meant to be a show like Sukitte Ii na yo.
There are a few supporting characters, and they are mostly well utilized. The weakest character in my opinion is Hakuya, his personality reminds me of a lazy walrus who is forever sunbathing. I think the only person to give Hakuya a run for the title of most emotionless lead role is Yuu Narukami from Persona 4.
Value:
This isn't a particularly bad show. But it likewise isn't a particularly good show either. If you're looking for a relatively light, ever so slightly moe, and comedic show, you might give this a shot. If you're more focused on deep romantic relationships or plot progression, this won't be up your alley, an overall decent watch in a relatively mediocre season.
