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IDMOS: Kimono’s Townhouse
By Master Flare | August 24, 2007
Sometimes I really wonder if I should be the one who is in control of what comic we read next. Today is one of those times. Usually this comes up when I’m looking for the next week’s selection. I stumble across new webcomics in the oddest places, and sometimes my link clicking habit (although not just with Wikipedia) actually ends up being somewhat helpful.
Yesterday I came across a different comic though Studio Foglio’s news page aka LJ in a somewhat accidental comment. There are a lot of things about it that I don’t typically go for in a comic: being posted on LiveJournal, using photo stills instead of drawn images, and being part of a very specific sub-culture. Despite this, I still was moderately impressed by the comic, and hence the review.
The comic I’m talking about is called Kimono’s Townhouse. And no, the sub-culture I’m referencing is not crazy otakus nor Ichiroya freaks :P This actually has to do with My Little Ponies and collecting their stuff, or at least other minatures relating to toys. Of course, this collecting of stuff isn’t the plot of Kimono’s Townhouse. Just that the whole comic is created with the toys and things that the author has acquired and made throughout the years. And if I had ever thought I could make a such a cute comic out of my dolls and other toys, my mother wouldn’t be having a massive yard sale as we speak.
The story to Kimono’s Townhouse is mainly a slice-of-life deal. Kimono, who has just bought a three story house, needs a roommate to help pay off her house’s mortgage. Thus steps in Minty, a rather hyperactive pony with a job in tech-support. Obviously, this leads to the expected roommate shenanigans, although I think most of the time it is played to a normal level, rather than being extremely out of proportion like many webcomics. That is to say, I can see these kinds of things happening to anybody, rather than it being something unrealistic like Brights Brightly (Kimono’s potential love interest) being abducted by aliens and Spackles the Duck ends up saving the day. *shrugs* I think I prefer it the way it is. Adding a touch of reality to talking plastic ponies makes things more believable.
Another thing that adds to the reality of the comic is the characters. They don’t break character too much, except for in the beginning where Minty goes from seeming dumb with computers to actually being rather knowledgable. The two main characters seem quite like real personalities, such as Kimono being a high achiever and moderately intelligent, but also being somewhat socially awkward and a little bit shy. Some scenes are actually rather touching due to how well the characters come across. I find that rather impressive, considering there are only so many poses and facial expressions that you can get out of a pre-made My Little Pony figurine.
This ties in quite a bit with the art. It’s not art in the traditional comic sense of drawings, but just the same photography is still considered art. There are two parts to this. One is the composition of the piece, with the poses of the ponies and the angles of the shots. I think this is done rather well, except for at time where the lighting seems odd or there is too much shiny glare on the plastic figures. Also sometimes the colors of the ponies seems off between panels, although I am going to attribute this to more as problems with the customization of ponies rather than something to do with the photography. Still, that is a part of the art. However, you could have perfect looking ponies and pictures but yet something would still be missing. I think one thing that really makes this comic is the background and props. There are ton of little things that half the time artists don’t include in their pictures and that you would never expect to be a real accessory for a toy, yet there they are in the panels of these comics. Crazy little things: punch bowls at parties, little cardboard shipping boxes, tiny laptops, floppy disks, and mini-Wiis. Even little toy sized water heaters. Where does the creator get this stuff?! I found myself asking this question probably far too often, but I think all those little details really make this comic, at least art-wise.
As for the writing, it also comes off as rather believable. It seems like most of the speech and events comes from some part of the author’s life, and I find this make the comic rather easy to relate to. The humor come in many forms, from jokes involved in both ponys’ jobs and hobbies, internet humor, geek culture, and even a little bit of relationship humor. I think this week’s comic page is a good example of this, at least in my opinion, as I’ve had this happen to me with online aliases and it involves a good bit of comic book humor, and there is a bonus joke with the commercial that appears next on the tv.
I find it difficult to give this a rating because I can think of so many reason why people wouldn’t like it. My Little Ponies is probably going to turn off a lot of people, and then I find a bit of it is probably more girl humor than something guys will relate to. I could be wrong, but that’s my impression at the moment. At the very least it’s not something I’d pick for the weekly selection here, even though the photography element of the comic would provide something interesting to get a perspective on from everybody. So my vote for this comic is an 7.5 out of 10. Pretty decent, although not for everybody. There has been quite a bit of improvement so far in what I have seen, and I can only hope it keeps getting better. Definitely going on one of my comic reading lists.
[As an admin note aside, I've been meaning to provide an example of a full fledged webcomic review that isn't related to the weekly suggestion. This comic was short, and worked out better than what I've been planning for a Girl Genius review. This does not mean everyone else has to review Kimono's Townhouse. But it does mean that you can feel free to review whatever other webcomic you wish. I'll probably come up with a better tag for this type of review than "I Do My Own Stunts," but that was the best I could come up with for an indepentant full comic review without being too redundant with words.]
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