Laughing Under the Clouds

The story is set in the early Meiji period, when carrying swords was forbidden by the government. Those who disobeyed were sent to a secluded prison in the middle of a lake. Three brothers were assigned to transport criminals across the river to the prison. That is a loosely and briefly translated synopsis of the anime series. I agree with Monoxid that this is a typical fantasy-historical bishounen. The soundtrack is not very interesting and the animation is too colorful for my taste. However, unlike my fellow reviewer, I did not find the characters too endearing. The only one I tolerated was the eldest brother Tenka and Kinjo, his friend who lives with them. They did not bother me that much. I found the middle brother annoying, and the youngest one was almost unwatchable at times. The only slightly interesting female character, the teacher (not counting the bishoujo warrior), gets minimal screen time. I started watching this show because I was interested in what would happen in the prison and what Tenka had to do with it. However, after watching a few episodes, I slowly got tired of that too, and since I had enough of watching pretty boys, I quit after the fourth episode. I am going to award this show one star because it is not altogether bad and considering the genre, it might even be good. Anyway, I am not going to watch it again. 2.2/10. (10/24/2014)