The most successful of Kid’s Station’s Flash shorts, there’s a great temptation for me to just recite my favourite gags from the episodes. However, it’s not just the fact that I find the show funny that’s led me to declare it one of the best shows of the 00s. I’ve said before that I think Akitaro Daichi is one of the best directors for adapting comedy manga, and GMB is Exhibit A for that argument.
While Kosuke Masuda’s manga switches between a variety of recurring characters and one off stories, Daichi executes each as well as the other. The animation is rudimentary for the most part, but Daichi’s key skill is in timing. I think that’s in part why his catalogue of work is so varied yet remains consistently good. He doesn’t just have one rhythm, but can tune it to the project at hand.
In GMB’s case that is often a machine gun rhythm followed by a slower reaction (possibly an over the top reaction shot/scream or a deadpan silence).
Recurring characters include:
- Usami-chan, a rabbit schoolgirl detective who inevitably ends up arresting her classmate Kumakichi multiple times per episode.
- Prince Shotoku and Ono no Imoko, who have gone insane through travelling too long. Historical figures going insane is a recurring theme in GMB.
- Matsuo BashÅ and his apprentice, who are travelling North, and going insane. Of course.
- A manga author whose stories are turned into insane nonsense in a variety of ways by his editors.
There have been three series of it so far, with a fourth due to start soon. Given it’s length and origins as Flash animation, it’s a shame it hasn’t made to streaming sites yet as it’s perfect for the web. So much so that it’s a popular source for nicovideo goofs to use as the basis of their own fan animations, either tracing over existing episodes with characters from other shows or creating their own material from scratch.