Christmas is a time to have fun. It’s a time to reminisce with family over the past year or so. Because of these, I’ve decided to give you an insight into one of the most unique pieces of animation I’ve watched thus far.
There She Is!! is a Korean Flash cartoon series that has somehow made it’s way onto MyAnimeList. The series is based on a Korean comic strip called 어떤날 – literally One Day – which was published between November 2000 and March 2002 on a Braille newspaper. It follows the story of an anthropomorphic bunny and cat who are in a relationship together in a world where such relationships are a taboo.
The easiest way to describe There She Is!! is by comparing the watching experience to watching 5 AMVs (Anime Music Videos). Each episode features the animation with some sort of K-Pop being played as the dialogue. It sounds bad on paper, but the experience itself works really well. The music has the sound of the late 90s early 00s, thanks to bands such as Bulldog Mansion and Witches, bringing more out of the reminiscing than just the use of Flash animation.
The characters involve a male cat called Rabi who tries to obey the unacceptability of cats and rabbits loving each other, a female rabbit named Doki who is usually happy and is in love with Rabi and also Il-ho, the leader of the Jjntta Set who is initially introduced as an antagonist. It’s quite unbelievable, actually, how well the characters are developed within this show – the developement is arguably much better than that shown in much more well-established anime.
The animation itself is actually really high quality. I was surprised to see how smooth the animation was and how detailed the movements were. I don’t know whether I initially anticipated something like Foamy or something along similar lines, but I was most definitely wrong. The design of the characters, and of the settings, are simple but adorable. They’re still able to convey so much emotion despite only having the basic outline of a face and it’s this, in my opinion, that makes it so touching.
As many online have said, for a story with no dialogue, it’s message comes across loud and clear, with no actual need to know what the lyrics of the music are. Most people in today’s modern society are familiar with the concept of “forbidden love” and the bigotry that a lot people have to endure. There She Is!! is a series dedicated to this sort of relationship. It’s a powerful message and one that makes me believe that everyone should watch this cartoon.
Do I recommend this show? Absolutely. It doesn’t matter if you want to experience the nostalgia of Flash animation or early 00s K-Pop. It doesn’t matter if you want to watch it for the message. Whatever your intentions are, gather your loved ones around your PC and watch it. It’s probably one of the most heart-warming things you’ll see this Christmas.
Rating: 9/10
This post was written as the fourth installment in my #12DaysOfAnime posts! #12DaysOfAnime is a challenge taken on by loads of anime bloggers, vloggers, podcasters and other people on many different platforms. We just have to post twelve consecutive posts about anything anime-related for the twelve days leading up to Christmas!
Keep an eye out for my other posts that will be a part of the #12DaysOfAnime Challenge! These will cover a variety of topics such as anime reviews, conventions and much more, so there’s going to be something a little different every day!
Hope to see you around!
