DIY Means Do It Yourself!!

Do It Yourself!! (Do It Yourself!! -どぅー・いっと・ゆあせるふ-) is a slice of life anime about girls in a DIY club. It’s an original series animated by Pine Jam. You may know that studio from Gleipnir or Gamers!

As far as the plot goes, there’s not much to this series. It’s about a DIY club at an all-girls school and they do DIY projects. These projects start off small. But, by the end of the series, the club members build an entire treehouse together.

Now, what makes the series a bit more interesting is that it takes place in the future. Or, at least in an alternate reality from our own. It takes place after the fourth industrial revolution. Basically, that means they have more advanced technology than what we have today.

So, that’s why the DIY club is so special. In this future, people rely more on technology and less on their own two hands.

Going along with the whole future technology vs. the old way of doing things are the schools featured. Our protagonist goes to Gatagata Girls’ High School, which is a traditional school. But, Gatagata is surrounded by Yuyu High, a school that embraces the latest technology.

Normally, you’d expect this to lead to an “us vs. them” plot. And, it does to a very small extent — the protagonist’s best friend believes technology is the future. But, the DIY club at Gatagata isn’t only made up of Gatagata students. Even girls attending Yuyu show interest in DIY.

The point of Do It Yourself!! isn’t to say one way of thinking is better than the other. It doesn’t say technology is bad or something to be wary of. Instead, it’s all about finding a balance. There are benefits to both sides.

The DIY Club

Rei “Kurei” Yasaku is the president of Gatagata’s DIY club. At the start of the series, she’s the only member of the club — aside from the club’s advisor, Haruko-sensei. Rei’s family runs a hardware store, which explains why she’s interested in DIY.

Serufu Yua is the protagonist of the series. When said in Japanese (Yua Serufu), her name sounds like the words “your self.” That could have been a neat little easter egg. However, for the first half of the series, Serufu explains this to everyone who will listen to her. She’s also, unfortunately, the worst and most annoying character.

Takumi Hikage is the third member to join the DIY club. She’s also the most forgettable of the group. Takumi is a shy girl with glasses — a nerd. But, at least she’s better at DIY projects than Serufu is.

Juliet Queen Elizabeth VII “Jobko” was who I thought would be the best character. I mean, with a name like that, how could she not be? She’s a very short girl who I believe is from America — she’s foreign and speaks English. She also intended to go to Yuyu but applied to Gatagata by accident.

And now we get to the true Yuyu High members of the DIY club. Kokoro “Shii” Kouki might be my least favorite character. And the only reason I don’t like her is that she thinks she’s a cat. She meows and makes cat faces.

Miku “Purin” Suride is the actual best character of Do It Yourself!!, not Jobko. Purin is Serufu’s childhood friend. They’re opposites in just about every way imaginable. For example, Serufu is a mess, and Purin is stylish and cute. Also, while Serufu has real pets, Purin has a robot jellyfish butler.

Do It Together!!

At this point, you may be wondering “is Do It Yourself!! a good anime?” In theory, yes. I like the topic, art style, OP, and some of the characters. But, in practice, it wasn’t nearly as good as I thought it could have been.

The individual episodes weren’t that engaging. I never wanted to sit down and watch an episode of Do It Yourself!! And when I was watching the episodes, I was waiting for them to end. Slice of life anime don’t have to be boring. But, for the most part, I’d say this one was.

Also, there’s the issue of Serufu. If she wasn’t the protagonist, the series would have been better. Like, if she didn’t exist at all, that would be preferable. Make Rei the protagonist instead and you automatically have a better series. Serufu doesn’t add anything of value.

Okay, maybe it’s not correct to say she doesn’t add anything of value. She’s someone for people who aren’t good with their hands to identify with, I guess. But, I’m not sure why you’d want to identify with someone who always hurts herself and isn’t very smart.

I also would have preferred if Do It Yourself!! took more of an educational route. It does explain how to do some things. But, it would have been better if it leaned more into that aspect of the series. Think of how Laid-Back Camp featured small camping tips in a lot in season 1.

The series even could have featured simple DIY projects for viewers to try at the end of each episode. The Let’s Make a Mug Too model may have worked, as well. That series had half-length episodes that were accompanied by live-action episodes. This is another way to actually get people into DIY.

Conclusion

I gave Do It Yourself!! a 5/10 in the end. That rating may be a bit harsh. But, I just didn’t think it had enough entertainment value to be worth rating higher. And I know people who dropped it because Serufu is so annoying. It’s not a series I would recommend.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting this blog at the Heika tier this month. And I’d like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.