Uchuujin MuuMuu

I see that my little darling, Uchuujin Muumuu, is being unfairly criticized by many here. Let me set the record straight.

Animation: 8
Artistic direction: 7
Technically, nothing spectacular, but OLM delivers a sparkling series that is pleasing to the eye and accessible to all ages. The artistic direction plays on the absurd by deliberately emphasizing the childish side, both in the visual aesthetics and in the musical accompaniment.

Story: 8
Development: 8
Learning: 10
The story is presented as a “B” series: an alien arrives to use Earth to his advantage, but ends up discovering that what he can learn from humans is worth more than that. Nothing revolutionary, then, but ... it's effective. The character development, although classic, succeeds in making each member of the GERH club unique and endearing. Their colorful personalities create such a warm group dynamic that you almost feel like you're part of the team. The only slight downside is a few discreet ecchi touches, which may put off the more prudish viewers.

But the main point is elsewhere: Uchuujin Muumuu shines above all for its educational value. Thanks to characters like Tenkubashi, each episode becomes an opportunity for fascinating discussions about everyday technologies that we tend to ignore. The explanations, vivid and sometimes exaggerated, are clear enough to captivate while conveying real knowledge. You come away having learned something, and above all with a new perspective on the world around you.

All in all, Uchuujin Muumuu is a wacky, funny, and informative series. It will entertain young and old alike, while perhaps awakening in some a new curiosity for this very special science.

As for me, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a second season. But until then, I'll miss this little weekly rendezvous, just like I'll miss this cheerful gang. This isn't goodbye, just see you later.

Me and the Alien MuMu — Educational with a yes, adult consumerism with a no.

The game of life likes to play hooky with us homosapiens a lot, and yes, fate may have struck on luck a few times, but more often than not, it always ends up being weirder than it is. And sure, I don't mind educational content when it really matters and isn't offensive by any stretch of the imagination, knowing its target audience is aimed at kids. But when the

The publishing company itself behind this series has a rich history with its target audience aimed at PG-13 level teens, with series ... that range from the classic Hellsing to the legend that is Satoshi Mizukami's works of Hoshi no Samidare a.k.a. Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, and Spirit Circle. I have to doubt if mangaka Hiroki Miyashita and his series of Uchujin MuMu a.k.a. Me and the Alien MuMu, really deserve their nightly anime primetime slot that should've been nuked for another.

A girl and her cat — while it's not the kind like another show this season (comparing it to Ame to Kimi to a.k.a. With You and the Rain), it certainly comes off as jarring as we're introduced to Sakurako Umeyashiki and her alien cat MuMu, who has crashed onto her house from his planet in the cosmos, seeking refuge and wanting to learn about Earth's technology as a way to combat the opposing faction that he is chased out of. Seems simple, but Earth's technology advancement is progressing so much that it needs a human brain to translate the notion of "How It's Made," and that's where Sakurako comes in as the bonafide human to kindly explain the Earth's technology rhetoric to him, all while he's just bleeding resources out of the poor girl.

On an Earth with an average human and a talking cat, both Sakurako and MuMu face quite the character cast that would shape their views as they go. The university college that Sakurako goes to is a haven for the Human Regenerative Study Group that's led by the eccentric senpai of Wataru Tenkubashi, whom he claims is the university's most infamously "resourceful" person for whacking away at electricity, along with getting close to the not-so-airhead young man Akihiro Tsurumi, his fatso alien cat Decimal, and the always jealous girl Miwa Samezu, who bitches around trying to make herself relevant to the former, which Sakurako is always surprised by (with a similar romantic rhetoric to Busu ni Hanataba wo, a.k.a. April Showers Bring May Flowers). With more characters at stake, it's definitely a class of students that can be as calm as educational technology can be, with the casual problems on the side.

When you expect something decent like this anime, it's just an average production you'll get from that front. With OLM's usefulness when it comes to kiddie shows, as well as an OST that piques just about the level of interest as a young and growing kid's mind, it's easy to see why this show just doesn't intrigue a sizable audience, other than the fact that educational content within adults of this day and age just is not a formula that can be gelled together decently (though Sabasister's 1st OP is somehow kind of good).

I mean, Uchujin MuMu a.k.a. Me and the Alien MuMu, is definitely a show you can let the young kids watch and not incur senses of violence or harmful scenes whatsoever, but I've got to give a question mark to people who gave a green flag to this anime adaptation that it should've been marketed to kids instead and aired when the day is still bright, and not adults who have a much better comprehension of anime in general to watch this late at night.

An electromagnetic field this show is, but it just could not sync to one another seamlessly and breaks out at times. It's decent at times, but for the most part, it's just meh.

A great way to teach kids the very basics of how consumer electronics work, and perhaps provide some inspiration and confidence to fix and maintain their items later in life. For younger children who have only just started learning about electrons and magnetic fields in school, they'd likely benefit from watching it together with an adult, in case they have any questions or lack the background knowledge to understand even the simple explanations given in the anime.

There's a nice balance between the story and the educational parts, and it all ties in together seamlessly, which is likely to keep children's attention even during the parts ... that aren't meant to be funny. The art style is cute and colourful. The story and characters are simple. Both beneficial and entertaining for kids.

There are some darker themes present.
(SPOILERS:)
A war wiping out an alien race is mentioned several times, and at one point there is the threat of a spaceship exploding and potentially destroying the whole neighbourhood. At some points they go into a bit of detail about the aliens killing each other over the rights to land and resources. However, this is all presented in such a way that the vast majority of children who are old enough to understand the very basics of electronics, will not get scared when watching this show.
(END OF SPOILERS)

Sometimes the characters get hurt, but there is nothing graphic. Violence is very rare.
(SPOILERS:)
At some point, one alien cat is held in a chokehold by another alien cat while he is threatening him. This scene is mostly funny, but there is some concern that kindergarten-age children might find it so funny and harmless-looking that they imitate it on other children.
At another time, a man ends up with a hole in his skull from an alien abduction, but the audience does not see how this happens, and the hole in his skull is only shown in an X-ray picture from the hospital.
The show also assumes that the audience is old enough to know what is dangerous, and what not to imitate.
(END OF SPOILERS)

Not recommended for adults, as the humour and story seems meant to appeal to children. The explanations are too simple for an adult to gain much from them, and a 2-minute web search on each electronic device mentioned, would be more beneficial.

Edit: Unsure why this was rated PG-13, likely not harmful for younger children, especially with parental guidance. Personally, I would enthusiatically show this to any child who already understands that violence is bad, and that playing with electricity can lead to death, and knows that electricity works by electrons and magentic fields.