Quick Review
So here we are another season of Minami-ke titled Okaeri -> Welcome home? I guess they are referring to the series returning for another animated season? My first thoughts when I knew that this anime was coming out were mainly excitement and joy. I REALLY enjoyed the first two seasons and wanted more. Then I saw the picture on for the anime on anidb and that gave me some big doubts about the series before even watching it. The hyped expectations and odd turn of animation did not add up well and left me a bit borderline disappointed.
Season 3 continues in the same fashion as the first two so if you have watched the first two you will know exactly how this anime works. If you haven't well I recommend you watch the first two but it is not necessary since this anime is entirely episodic in nature and does not have any prevailing story that dictates the plot. The only things that continue are the relationships that are built between characters. For new people to the series Minami-ke is based on the everyday lives of three sisters: Haruka, Kana and Chiaki. The show is purely comedy and relies on strings of events to produce most of its jokes.
Unlike the first season which I totally loved this one had its moments but could not and will not ever match its predecessor. The most noticeable flaw was the animation without even giving too many details I would have to say this really took away quite a bit from the series. The animation was bad enough that it distracted me from listening and watching the actual series. All and all I would say its worth watching and definitely still recommend it to fans of the previous seasons. But as I have mentioned don't expect the same quality as before.
Details
Animation
All anime fans always hope that as series mature and gain a larger fan base and release more episodes the animation will get better? But dreams and reality never work out so for us unfortunate fans the animation ALWAYS seems to get a huge hit as animes get longer.
Background
So lets start from the least bad thing in animation. The apartment is the same one we know and love with the same bedrooms kitchen balcony and the like. This is one thing that is important to keep consistency. The only major change for backgrounds was Haruka's school that is located in a completely different high school with university like classrooms?? That was a bit confusing. Overall the backgrounds were alright though.
Motion
They really don't need to move that much in the series and when they do its OK. This is one of the parts where either A) don't really care if its good or not or B) don't notice how bad it is because other bad thing outshine it.
Character design
So this is what really jumps out and you are constantly reminded of. The first thing you notice before even watching the anime is the change YET again in Chiaki's appearance. I just don't understand why and its not like shes growing much she just looks different?? Thats not the biggest problem though the nail in the coffin is the extreme disfiguration and stick syndrome ALL the characters have. They just look wrong in almost every angle or scene you see them in. You get the rare scenes where they look "normal" but this is only in close up shots once they pan out and start showing any movement the ridiculously bad animation shines through. The character designs are the single MOST detrimental thing to this series, if they had made it better I would of enjoyed this MUCH MUCH more.
Sound
The sound was at best mediocre. I didn't have any real preferences for it and it was decent for the most part. The opening and ending were catchy and helped lead in and out the series. That and I should remind viewers that the opening and ending are never at the beginning or end of the show they are always in the middle somewhere. The OST is more or less the same themes used in other seasons so for similar situations you get the same themes. The voice acting also follows suit and works for what they need it to do.
Story
This is not a plot based anime. The story does not matter whatsoever and really what you get out of it is the laugh after a random string of events leading up to the punch line. Theres nothing much to say about the story and I can't give it a good mark since it just doesn't exist.
Character
So without a story the anime is entirely built around the characters. It relies entirely on their relationships and personalities to build each and every joke and mini story.
Main Characters
You have your three sisters 2 of which I believe play a more major role i.e. Chiaki and Kana, then you have Haruka who for me is the boring sister. I say this because Chiaki and Kana both have distinct personalities that cause much of the conflict and humor while Haruka is a normal character and serves more as a balance but really her contributions aren't that great in the series. They actually use her "image" to develop stories rather then the actual character herself like her being the Bancho. I think overall the consistency of the characters continued the series but I for one think the main characters are good but not the best.
Side Characters
I actually MUCH prefer many of the side characters over the main ones. My favorite is definitely Hosaka and Makoto they usually provide me with the most laughs. This season they definitely still produced quality moments and continued to entertain me making me still think quite highly of the character section for minami ke. Also the wide cast of side characters that have a large amount of screen time and development also helped.
Value and Enjoyment
Most of the situations are ones you probably have experienced or could imagine experiencing in real life. That is why I think this series can get many people to laugh cause they can relate. Thus in a way some "life" lessons may be learned, but really nothing too serious or mind boggling. The only chance I would rewatch this is if it were a complete minami-ke run or for specific moments in certain episodes because they are amazing. i.e. curry fairy!! I did enjoy this series just because the love of the previous seasons still managed to rob off and keep me going through this one. Although my expectations have begun to lower slowly. Either way if you watch the series hope you enjoy it.