Keihin Family: A moving story about family ties and the warmth of everyday life

Keihin Kazoku - Comprehensive evaluation and recommendation of Keihin Kazoku

■ Public Media

Keihin Family is an original anime series that was distributed on three mobile phone carriers from January 14th to August 14th, 2009. The 32-episode series is directed by FROGMAN and produced by Keihin Family Project, Toei Animation Co., Ltd., Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc., and DLE Inc. Copyright is owned by Keihin Family Project.

■ Story

Keihin Family is set in Keihin Grand Solenase, a super-futuristic tower apartment building that towers over the Keihin skyline. The protagonist, Totsugawa Satoshi, is a 39-year-old man who works at a small advertising agency in the city. He is a typical middle-aged man who is proud, vain, and full of complexes. He laments his own situation, which is far below his wife's annual income, is manipulated by a poor junior colleague at work, and cannot hide his infidelity from a fellow designer; he is on the path to a life of complaints. But Satoshi is appointed head of the apartment building association, and spends his days being manipulated by the eccentric residents. This work depicts the communication patterns of modern people from a realistic, yet comical and loving perspective.

■ Main staff

Takagi Juri and FROGMAN participated in the voice cast, and the music was by MANZO. The script was written by Murakami Daiki and FROGMAN, with Horiuchi Takayuki as the brain and Yamawaki Kotaro as the chief assistant. Kinoshita Hiroyuki, Oorui Tomoki, and Toda Kazuhiro served as executive producers, Sakano Shinpei, Konuma Takeshi, and Harada Takuro as producers, and Matsuura Hisashi and Saneyoshi Kenjiro were in charge of promotion. The film was produced by Keihin Kazoku Project, Toei Animation Co., Ltd., Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc., and DLE Inc., and directed by FROGMAN.

■ Main Characters

Satoshi Totsugawa worked for a major advertising company during the bubble period, but mistakenly became independent as a commercial planner. However, he closed down after two years and got a job at a small advertising agency in Kawasaki City. He is characterized by his proud and ostentatious personality. Emi Totsugawa is a charismatic food researcher (specializing in eggs) and Satoshi's wife. She is somehow crazy about the useless man Satoshi, and has a maternal nature that accepts everything about him and embraces him. She has a brilliant career, graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the top of her class and earning an Oxford MBA. Takeo Totsugawa is Satoshi and Emi's eldest son, a healthy, intelligent, and straight-grown kindergartener, just like his name suggests. He respects his parents and calls them "Papa-sama" and "Mama-sama." Shuzo Okura is Emi's father, and although he hardly speaks, he seems to dislike Satoshi.

■Subtitle

The subtitles for each episode of Keihin Family are as follows.

• #1/ "Union Leader Election" (2009/01/23)
• #2/"Don't Stop Kissing Me" (2009/01/30)
• #3/"Rebellion without a Real Cause" (2009/02/06)
• #4/"Turn Around and Around" (2009/02/13)
• #5/"The President's wise decision" (2009/02/20)
• #6/"From the Country of the Upper Room" (2009/02/27)
• #7/"I hate it" (2009/03/06)
• #8/"Haneda Airport" (2009/03/13)
• #9/"Foreign word business" (2009/03/20)
• #10/"The Dosu Blue Bird of Happiness" (2009/03/27)
• #11/"Master Blaster" (2009/04/03)
• #12/"School Play" (2009/04/10)
• #13/"Rocket Sale" (2009/04/17)
• #14/"Breaking the Happiness of Sleep" (2009/04/24)
• #15/"Wildcats never sleep!!" (2009/05/01)
• #16 / "The apartment garbage war breaks out!" (2009/05/08)
• #17/"Kaneko's Love" (2009/05/15)
• #18/“Encyclopedia” (2009/05/22)
• #19 / "Continuation of the Encyclopedia" (2009/05/29)
• #20/“Regional Currency Crisis” (2009/06/05)
• #21/"Emi's Brilliant Day" (2009/06/12)
• #22/"Heisei Born" (2009/06/19)
• #23/"Shuzo's Depression" (2009/06/26)
• #24 / "Chasing! Miyazaki-san" (2009/07/03)
• #25/"The Mysterious Elevator" (2009/07/10)
• #26/"Magic Mirror" (2009/07/17)
• #27/"Turn left?" (2009/07/24)
• #28/“Education Law” (2009/07/31)
• #29/"Big Fish" (2009/08/07)
• #30/"Final Floor" (2009/08/14)

■ Evaluation and recommendation

Keihin Family is a work that comically depicts the difficulties of human relationships and communication in modern society. The main character, Totsugawa Satoshi, is a character that many viewers can sympathize with, and his worries and struggles provide an opportunity to reexamine one's own life. The character of Satoshi's wife, Emi, is also appealing, and her maternal love and kindness add depth to the story. Furthermore, the interactions and episodes with the apartment building residents are an exquisite blend of humor and realism, making it never boring to watch.

The strength of this work is undoubtedly its balance of realism and comedy. It depicts events that could occur in everyday life, but adds humor to them to entertain the viewer. The subtitles for each episode are also unique, and are designed to attract the viewer's interest. In particular, episodes such as "Union Leader Election" and "The Apartment Garbage War Breaks Out!" are praised for depicting the real problems of apartment life, but also for not forgetting to include laughs.

The music by MANZO also adds excitement to the story and plays a role in drawing out the emotions of the viewers. The voice actors' performances, including Takagi Juri and FROGMAN, are excellent, bringing out the individuality of the characters. The script is also well-written by Murakami Daiki and FROGMAN, and the story unfolds skillfully, so viewers won't get bored.

One reason we recommend this show is that it has a good balance of humor and realism. It depicts events that could occur in everyday life, but adds humor to them to entertain the viewer. The subtitles for each episode are also unique, and are designed to attract the viewer's interest. In particular, episodes such as "Union Leader Election" and "The Apartment Garbage War Breaks Out!" are praised for not forgetting to include laughs while still depicting the real problems of apartment life.

Another big plus point is the appeal of the characters. Each character has their own personality, such as Satoshi Totsugawa's worries and conflicts, Emi's motherly nature and kindness, Takeo's purity, and Shuzo's silent presence, but as a whole they give the impression of a family bond. The interactions with the apartment residents are also enjoyable, providing viewers with a new perspective.

Lastly, Keihin Kazoku is available on three mobile phone carriers, making it easy to watch. It's perfect for busy modern people to enjoy during their commute or break. Overall, Keihin Kazoku is a work that can be recommended to many people for its humor, realism, charm of the characters, and ease of viewing. Please give it a watch.