I’m a fan of deadpan comedy characters. The comedy market is just so saturated with wacky and hyper characters, in all genres, that deadpan comic relief is usually a huge breath of fresh air when it’s pulled off well. For example, I think the funniest character in Fruits Basket is Hana with her censored threats of electric wave attacks and monotonely explaining that she’s failing her tests with a soft smile.
Just because you’re a deadpan character doesn’t mean you can’t be ‘goofy’ and that is perfectly highlighted with the character Agiri from Kill Me, Baby!
Kill Me, Baby is a series about two girls; a ‘normal’ girl named Yasuna and an assassin named Sonya. The series is basically a bunch of skits typically involving slapstick with Yasuna being the brunt of Sonya’s abuse, but the only reason Sonya abuses Yasuna is because she purposely annoys her.
Agiri is a lesser seen yet also prominent character. She’s a ‘ninja’ who typically pops up from nowhere with some odd ninja technique that is usually just a trick or to try to sell ninja items to the girls. And despite how it may seem, it actually appears that she is a legit ninja. Her house is even traditional styled and is covered in traps and tricks.
She was definitely my favorite character on the show and even though she wasn’t in the spotlight as much as Yasuna and Sonya, she stole the show everytime she was on screen with her sneaky little smile and her light yet cheerful voice that never changes no matter what the situations.
While Sonya and Yasuna’s schtick tended to get old after time, Agiri kept coming back with weirder and weirder ninja tricks and sillier ninja items. Some of her tricks actually seem legit, which makes them all the funnier when they’re shown to just be a cheap trick somehow.
Agiri herself seems like a bit of airhead, and she seems to prove this time and again, but she also outwits the girls on several occasions, leaving them baffled and me laughing either way.
Now say ‘bye’ to the nice people, Agiri.
The Anime Madhouse 