Well, it’s quite literally the 11th hour for this, but for r/Anime’s July anime swap (which you should join) I received Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! and watched it. Though, considering the time I took I think it’s likely more apt to say I savored it. Coming from this era of anime- and specifically light novel adaptations- there’s a very specific (and acquired) taste involved with them. Oftentimes it means you’ll gladly binge the work, but other times you’re stuck waiting for the mood to properly strike. How can someone properly love twin-tails if not properly prepared to do so?
Now, with my excuse justification out of the way, it’s time to actually talk about Gonna Be The Twin-Tail!. In the most interesting ways, it is undeniably a relic of its era. It’s hard to find something so earnestly stupid these days, in all honesty. It’s an affliction of idiocy that is proud and unwavering in its expression, which is sorely missing from more than a handful of series masquerading as something of quality. Accepting the limits of your intelligence comes with benefits, however. Lean into it, and you arrive at parody that doesn’t require wit or preparation to execute- all you need is to be yourself, and it will flow naturally. That doesn’t mean it flows well, though, as for one the production of Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! was certainly something.
It’s a surprisingly funny collapse, but one that makes sense in hindsight when you account for the age (or lack thereof) of Production IMS. Having dove headfirst into production in 2014 with a suite of 3 other heavy hitting productions, Gonna Be The Twin-Tail ultimately drew the short stick as the final work to be released in the year, and paid the price for it. Impressively, as I’ll speak on later, the earlier pieces of the series have some exceptional work, but later on it can… bottom out. I was first alerted to the collapse of the TV release by my good friend Blue, and had to go on a chase to find out more. Unsurprisingly, not many people are willing to hold onto a shoddy TV release when a perfectly good BD edition exists. Anyways, here’s a few side-by-sides of the TV release (specifically episode 9, where the majority of issues existed) versus the Blu-Ray.
Putting that up there, you really get a picture as to what a collapse looked like back then- and it unfortunately brings to mind memories of The Witch and The Beast’s awful run that brought on a delay. With them being totally different collapse though, it’s interesting to see how time is a factor in comparison to quality. Anyways, as I said above, despite the nature of this beast Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! still had some surprisingly good work. I mean, Nozomu Abe- you know, the new Megumin Explosion Guy- actually did key animation on the series. You can check out the below for a (presumed) cut from them, or head to Sakugabooru to watch this (confirmed) cut from Hirotaka Tokuda.
It’s a far cry from being an overly well animated series, but I’d also say that in its BD release it’s hard to say that it even comes close to scratching the bottom of the barrel for seasonal anime these days. There’s just an intensely fundamental difference in production standards that doesn’t allow it to fall so low… which is even more interesting when you consider the overall typically lacking storyboarding throughout. In all, there’s very few names of note, and the storyboarder credits are much the same. Of course it has its moments, but they are rarely born from the creative talent of the storyboarder exclusively. Much is in the hands of the animators, and is expressed as such- like the short little cut of an animated environment below.
All in all, it is an undeniably mediocre production, kept afloat by individual efforts that really screams of that older approach for anime. This is no anime that will stick Kazunori Ozawa into a tiny little cut in its first episode, no. However, it’s also a series that doesn’t push the limits of itself- which is a good thing. It has no qualms with re-using animation here and there, and is perfectly happy with “satisfactory” as a level of quality. Sure, that makes pieces like the final episode fall completely flat, but it at least ensures that you’re not left with a production stuck in limbo or outsourcing everything to a Korean studio (even though Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! does have one such episode). It’s a measured approach that has a sense of responsibility to deliver a respectable product, even if that means completely re-doing an inordinate amount of cuts for the home video release.
Alright, with my little rose colored retelling of “the good old days” finished I suppose I should get heading towards the story… but I don’t really want to. Not because it sucks, but because it’s something that’s rather pointless. Unlike other series like Sasaki and Peeps or Invaders of The Rokujouma!? which aim for genuine territory (and succeed), Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! recognizes its limits and sticks squarely within them. With that in mind, it’s the story of a high school boy that loves twin-tails more than anyone else, and not a whole lot more. It’s got your side of shameless ecchi, it packs in as many tropes as it can with its all-but-one girl cast, tries its hand at humor, and reserves the rest of its resources for perfectly excessive twin-tail discussion and appreciation.
Put another way, if you were to represent the content of Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, twin-tails would be the bottom of the pyramid, and story would bounce around somewhere near the top. Because of that it’s hard to really pin anything down. It’s humorous, yes, and I’d also say that it does a good job of playing with the ridiculous nature of effectively twin-tail adjacent fetishes, but what else, really? There’s no detail in its battle system, nothing too overly creative with its cast- it is simply a collection of well put together monologues about twin-tails (and some adjacent aspects of otakudom) in varying circumstances. And that is very much not a bad thing.
Gonna Be The Twin-Tails! is an anime whose enjoyment comes from being able to sit back in your chair and allowing it to siphon off IQ points from you. It’s not a mind-melting comedy that will reduce you to neuron activation every other second, but nor is it the kind of stupidity that hurts. It’s a very innocent strain of idiocy that infects you, but you need to be in the right mood. The kind of mood where you don’t mind plopping down on the couch and just watching something. In line with that mood, Gonna Be The Twin-Tails! is a rare series that does not need to be experienced to be enjoyed. Borrowing from some internet language, it’s an incredibly weeb-ish series, but its presentation and delivery squarely fit into “coworker series” territory. Something entirely inconsequential, something that does not inherently require brain function to process or be enjoyed.
It’s something that feels missing in today’s anime climate. Everything aims to be an outstanding, well presented, and decidedly unique work that attempts to draw your attention to it. Yes, even things like the genuinely painful A Nobody’s Way Up To Exploration Hero. While Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! occupies (dangerously) close territory to series like these, its truly incredible dedication to itself and originality lets it shine. It refuses to pretend it’s something it’s not, and in doing so gains a great deal of value- though not quality. Does that mean Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! is for you? If you’re itching for the stupidity and earnestness of a mid 2010s anime, it’s hard to really say no. It’s a delightfully moronic trip back in time- but should definitely be preceded by works like Invaders of The Rokujouma!?.
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