Where is this series going?

I’m completely torn when it comes to Kyouran Kazoku Nikki. On one hand it’s laugh after laugh after laugh. Every single episode has been a chuckle fest with one of the craziest motley crew of a cast I’ve seen in a long time. However, on the other hand, with each episode I keep asking myself, “where is this going” and “what is the point of all of this nonsense?” Kyouran Kazoku Nikki is random nonsensical comedy at its best. With a cast that includes a talking lion, a biological weapon, a masked shinigami, a sushi-loving jellyfish, and a loli you’d think this was anime-original episode of Hayate no Gotoku. The series is complete wackiness that works incredibly well. The absurdity and randomness shown throughout seem nonsensical, but they are written so well that it doesn’t seem out of this world. Often times zany jokes can go overboard and thus lose their effect. If someone told me about a short story arc involving bipolar monkeys, floating castles, and loli kidnappings, or about a character who was an assassin chef at a Chinese restaurant, I’d watch just to see how badly it would screw up. In the case of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, it works.

What really keeps this series from completely derailing are the characters. At first, the cast really seems like it was pulled out of someone’s ass. Where else would you find a brash nekomimi loli god as the main character? Nevertheless, stick all the weirdos in the same room and you’ve got a solid cast that compliment each others’ personalities. Other than Kyouka, who is extremely eccentric to begin with, none of the characters’ personalities or quirks ever seem overwhelming or excessive. Even the side characters, such as Shinigami-san or Muiyakey the pirate, flow well with each episode’s general theme and play off the rest of the cast.

Yet, even with the wackiness working out, the characters remaining entertaining, and the laughs continuing, there is still lack of direction and an overarching storyline–and this is through 10 episodes. At first I thought the short 1- or 2-episode story arcs were just to introduce the characters and to get us acquainted with them. Unfortunately, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki has been nothing but unrelated short stories. As much as I enjoy the zaniness, it’s hard to keep my level of interest high when there isn’t anything of substance to look forward to. I was hoping the introduction of Odessa Ei and Kyouka’s past would finally get a story going, but that ended abruptly after only 2 episodes. I’m still trying to stay optimistic considering I have only seen 10 episodes so far, but there has been zero mention of saving the world from the Child of Enka and the Cozy Family Operation (the story’s apparent main story). Instead, it’s been the adventures of the Midarezaki family.

When I first tried out Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, I was really attracted to the zaniness; however, the lack of a main story and any direction has slowly dulled my interest. Zaniness and nonsense are great, and more times than not, I welcome it, but some order and direction is needed. Cheap giggles and Kyouka goodness can only carry a series so far.