Literature F*ck YEAH!!
The review title is both a reference to the series' narrative of censorship and a nod to its heroine's bawdy brand of humor. So if you're the type that's easily offended, or if you don't care for sex related humor and fanservice, turn back now. This show ain't for you.
And with the obligatory advisory warning outta the way, on with the review.
First off, wow... I can't believe I'm a year late finally seeing this and it was only thanks to a certain clip on YouTube that I even became aware that it existed. And from that clip, two things were readily apparent: that it was funny as hell and that I was gonna enjoy it.
From the show's premise, I'd have expected Shimoneta to be shameless fanservice romp. But surprisingly, the amount of T&A you'll see is actually minimal. Aside from a particular scene in episode 4, the majority of the fanservice is actually done with the characters' clothes ON. Shocker.
Instead, the series mostly relies on the banter and character interaction between its two protagonists: Ayame Kajou, who steals virtually every scene, due to her sharp tongue and penchant for sex related puns. And then there's Tanukichi Okuma who, sadly, is your typical generic male lead. Luckily he gets to play off of Ayame a lot in classic 'funny man/straight man' fashion.
As for the narrative itself, it never takes itself seriously and, when it does, it's usually not for long. What it does do, is set the tone with news broadcasts of various decency measures being proposed and scenes of public reaction to "ero terrorist" activity.
Other highlights include the art and animation; particularly during fight scenes. While the quality isn't quite the same as Legend of Korra's or Moribito's, they're fluidly animated and very well choreographed. And even then, the show's humor shines through. Such as the main antagonist being a panty clad parody of Makoto Shishio.
Really, I think Ayame would liken Shimoneta to surprise sex: It was unexpected, but good. Would definitely bang again.
Literature Wisdom walking hand in hand with idiocy.
This is technically an arc review, in the sense that I watched the first six episodes of the anime adaptation and could tell that they corresponded to the rough contours of what was probably the first novel of the book series. But I've seen little to indicate that anything I'm about to say wouldn't remain relevant for the next half of the show or later titles.
Now, the most important thing to know about Shimoneta is that it's a comedy, and that lots of complaints can be, if not fully silenced, at least countered by the fact that it's supposed to be funny. Yes, most of the characters are various kinds of stupid or unsympathetic to varying degrees, but on some level they're supposed to be, so that they can be the butt of jokes and we can laugh at them without empathizing with them too much. And their ridiculously totalitarian society is pretty implausible, but it's supposed to be an attempt at satire rather than a serious work of science fiction. And yes, the plot is thin and contrived (everything about the main character being shanghaied into terrorism in particular begs several questions), but whatever, that's at least kind of the joke.
An unfortunate core problem, though, is that a lot of the jokes just aren't funny. The main heroine's literally just spouting off fuck-words in particular is witless and dull. It might have been better in the dub, where comical sound-effect censorship did a lot to liven up events, and where the use of baby-talk euphamisms replaced the Japanese version's ultra-clinical language to good effect, but unfortunately the main heroine's writing (I don't want to blame a performer who was probably just doing what she was told) worked even worse in a spoken medium where I could understand the dialogue.
And let's be clear: the joke that made me laugh hardest in the entire program was a literal rape joke, made by the best character in the form of the artist. I have a strong stomach for Black Comedy if it's actually funny and not just "wow this would make people I hate so offended!"
Also, much hay has been made of the main character's being just generally kind of spineless and unlikable, and I unfortunately agree. If nothing else, the simple fact that he instantly falls out of love with the woman of his dreams when he's forced to confront the reality of her as a person rather than the shadowy dream he imagined her being when they barely knew each other puts him in a pretty bad light.
Finally, there is a strong intellectual undercurrent to Shimoneta, and it's not all a failure. I appreciated the ways in which the main antagonist has become a dangerous, predatory figure not because of abuse or mistreatment, but simply because a lack of proper education or experience has ensured they can't meaningfully distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The one genuinely chilling moment in the show came when their parent gushed obliviously about the world "pure" children like them would one day create.
But, again, the fact that the show's a "comedy" once again undermines things. Rather than, you know, actually taking meaningful action to actually accomplish anything, the main characters "fight the power" through throwing out porn or trying to trick classmates into saying dirty words, things that realistically would either fail to actually accomplish anything or just form an even more distorted view of human sexuality.
In the end, I wouldn't really recommend it. There's some good stuff in there, I guess, but you can get most of it by reading the trope page here with spoilers turned off in a fraction of the time.