Kappa Mikey is a show that a lot of people don’t like but I feel don’t like it for the wrong reasons. The shows centers around a young American actor named Mikey who just can’t catch a break in the world of acting here in the USA. But all of that changes when he wins a contest that makes him the new star of the hit Japanese action show LilyMu. Now what makes this show interesting is the animation style. Mikey looks like a typical American flash animation while everyone else looks like typical anime characters because the show takes place in Japan. I think one of the best parts of this show are characters and their personalities. Mikey is cocky, egoistical, self-centered, and comes up with a number of wild schemes that usually get him in trouble but he’ll realize his mistakes and fix them. Gonard is the lovable dim-wit who eats everything in sight and serves as Mikey’s best friend. Guano is this strange purple creature who serves the director of the show but usually gets stressed out by work and the antics of his friends. Lily has split personalities, on screen she’s nice and kind, but off screen she’s mean, selfish, and has a deep hatred for Mikey because the show was originally about her. Mikey also has crush on her. Mitsuki is the kind and sweet girl who represents the Yamato Nedeshiko (a regular Japanese beauty) and has a crush on Mikey. Finally we have Ozu the executive producer of the show who is scary and always yelling at the cast. He also has a Yes Man who follows him around supporting all of his ideas and actions.
The reason why I think a lot of people don’t like this show is because they see it as anime making fun of anime that makes little to no sense but in truth it’s actually a satire of an anime that’s making fun of anime stereotypes. Yes, there are a few jabs at anime and American animation as well but it’s nothing that I think is harmful, it’s all in good fun. I approach this show from two different standpoints, one, as a fan of American animation, and two, an otaku and both sides agree that the show is good. Yes, the show pokes fun at the anime culture with its various parodies but they’re not harmful in anyway and I think its alright to laugh at something you like and look at all the obvious things that might have missed or overlooked while watching an animated show. Kappa Mikey is just taking all of these faults in anime and exploiting them to their foolish but still making the effort not to insult the art form. A lot of otakus out there may not like this show but to me I liked it and thought it was okay.