Monday, January 27, 2025

Shimoeta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist-Part 4 Episodes 10-12

An attempt to bring down Gathered Fabric leads SOX right into a trap and a shocking betrayal.  With then opposition crushed, White Peak takes his insane fetish to the next level by taking an entire school hostage.  Outnumbered and outgunned, Tanukichi and Ayame will have to pull out all the stops and form some questionable alliances to bring down this freak who’s giving SOX a bad name.  Will the Dirty Joke Terrorists become the heroes society needs or is this to be their final battle in the name of freeing this Boring Society where Dirty Jokes Don’t Exist?

Like I said at the end of last weeks set, I didn’t think we were going to see a full culmination of SOX’s crusade to bring the lewd and naughty legitimately back to Tokyo over the span of three episodes.  What we did get though was an immensely fun showdown between two groups of perverted crusaders filled with action, humor and even a payoff to a slow building romance.  The Series Finale might leave a lot to be desired, or maybe just could have been omitted altogether.  As far as epic showdowns in finales go however, Shimoneta delivered the goods.
 
I have been pretty upfront about how I feel about some of the excessive depictions of certain fesithes in this show and much like the rest of this series, millage on those fetishes in the finale might vary with how uncomfortable you’re wiling to process.  Anna is still a source of true cringe when it comes to her sex obsessed delusions with Tanukichi…and honestly that got old a really long time ago.  Anna’s depiction has been pretty one note and an annoying note at that.  Her actions are borderline disgusting to look at and any subtle message about her deranged state of mind is…well its Shimoneta, this show is all about not doing things subtle.  White Peak might be the only one who matches Anna’s insanity when it comes to underwear of a certain kind.  Like wow how can anyone stand to be in the same room with this guy when his odor should make you vomit pretty easily?  In short, have a strong stomach for some of the Shimoneta finale.
 
If you can look past that bit of awkwardness, everything else is a freaking blast.  The finale kicked off things with a series of bus hijackings, courtesy of Gathered Fabric, that I never thought would amount to anything serious.  The way there were handled through was classic Shimoneta from Anna using her superhuman capabilities to incapacitate one and Fuwa using her intellect to sus out that the hijackers weapons were fake so the passengers could take them down without worry (she was just using science and deductive reasoning, she’s no hero, her words not mine, how humble).  Probably the funniest bit was when Goriki was forced to surrender his underwear only to reveal what he really wears underneath…which cause massive hurling from everyone who looked (Tanukichi even used it to his advantage in the last episode).  It’s one of the few gross out Shimoneta moments that I could not stop laughing at.  Also the sight of Fuwa aiding the police in identifying a hijackers weapons from a neigbhoring vehicle, very Speed inspired, I love it.
 
The big showdown between SOX and Gathered Fabric was definitely the highlight of the finale.  Everyone got their moment to shine whether it was Anna and Blue Snow teaming up to bring down White Peak, Otome using her amazing art skills to trick her kidnappers and save some students (while also getting alot of inspiration along the way), to Kosuri getting brought down a peg after betraying Ayame and the others cause she though they weren’t doing enough as SOX.  I’m disappointed she got let back into SOX so easily but hey I trust Ayame.  Speaking of trusting, Ayame and Tanukichi were more in sync than ever, bringing out the best in their love for Dirty Jokes and in each other.  The show hasn’t really focused too hard on any growing romance between them but the signs have been there.  Seeing them basically admit their feelings for each other through naughty word play and cute blushes is probably the healthiest showing of affections in this entire show (especially your counter example is a sex desperate Anna).
 
The thrilling and fun as heck final battle kind of made the final episode of the series kind of unnecessary.  It boiled down to a treasure hunt for a vault containing something that could change the Dirty Joke Crusade forever.  And what was found was nice, could even belong in an 18+ museum.  Getting there though?  I’ll be honest, the final episode should have been Episode 11 cause Episode 12 feels like a bonus OVA episode of Konosuba that, while it’s still fun, doesn’t really go anywhere or advance any plot (or in Konosubas case is kind of pointless cause the episodes content will be repackaged and readdressed in the following season).  SOX just finds something very beautiful and resolves to keep it hidden from Anna and the Decency Police until the day when Dirty Jokes and Porn are legal again.
 
And that’s it, that was Shimoneta.  It’s another one of those shows that lacks resolution and leaves itself open for a very needed sequel.  Despite that, it was a very fun, raunchy and incredibly crazy ride.  The show leaned heavily into full on Hentai territory a lot, especially when it came to Anna and Tanukichi.  The societal commentary was interesting and seeing this pure and sheltered world get exposed to the subject of the birds, the bees and the concept of free love and sex always produced the best reactions.  The characters were great too from strong leads like Ayame and Tanukichi to the spin off worthy appearances of Fuwa and Otome.  Not every character was a hit (Kosuri).  Not every joke landed and sometimes the gross out factor was a bit much even for me.  As far as fun, turn your brain off and watch comedies go, Shimoneta is a win and it definitely gets bonus points in the English dub for getting the VAs behind Panty and Stocking to lend their talents to a show they’ve proven works with the right voice and the right writing.  Hopefully we get to see the SOX revolution grow and grow until it frees the Boring World where Dirty Jokes Don’t’ Exist.
 
8/10

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