ichiban ushiro no daimaou : [ not so ] first impression

ICHIBAN USHIRO NO DAIMAOU
studio : Marvelous Ent. / Artland
director : Takashi Watanabe
serial run : April 2, 2010 - June 25, 2010
total episodes : 12
hime's priority rank : 11

NOTE : BEST WATCHED UNCENSORED

funny how i kept on forgetting to write my first impression thought for this one, and if it wasn't for shin-dono reminding me on this i might've totally forgotten to do so :P anyway, ichiban ushiro no daimaou are one of those critically panned [ i assume ] series for spring 2010 based on the reaction / reception given by the aniblogging community so far. i know a lot of peeps find the series enjoying [ as much as i do ] while others doesn't. well it's a matter of preferences but all in all this one series here is one of the many spring 2010 series that i find to be quite amusing, if i must say myself.

story / plotwise, it is your usual comedic harem fare set in a modern fantasy setting; imagine a blend between zero no tsukaima, rosario+vampire, mamoru-kun ni megami no shukufuku wo ! and the recent winter series ladies versus butlers ! - the reason why i came to pick the latter is that both this and ladybato took their place within school environment, with [ nearly ] the same misunderstanding gags going on in both of them. as per many other harem series aired so far [ with the exception of some great ones which i rather not disclose their titles here ], the recipe found in this one series here may have been repetitively used over and over again to the point of [ almost ] achieving saturation, but like it or not there is something about the series - mainly in regard to how it plays with ithe misunderstanding-laden gags and characters - that has driven me to completely fall for this one.

sai akuto, the male lead of the series is one of those rare kind of male leads we get to see from the comedic harem genres as of lately, and it is best if i were to group him with the likes of arima teppei [ of princess lover ], hakuoro [ utawarerumono, although this guy here is on a much higher value / league in the harem genre ] and michishio nagasumi [ seto no hanayome, though the latter may not be quite of a perfect choice here ]; he is less irritating and is more interesting / amusing enough to catch my interest and attention right from the hilarious revelation of him as the future maou [ king of demons ] - ironically, his greatest goal is to become the next pope :D . as for the female characters, so far i wasn't much enthusiasted on some of them yet save for the 'emotionless' liladan [ android ] korone. the sadistic busty senior fujiko etou also managed to nab my attention and i am certainly interested in learning more of her character following her seemingly dark role / past in the series.

[ nomnomnom ]

the comedies / gags / hilarities are ichiban ushiro no daimaou's most prized / defining aspect, and could as well raise and expand its potential if the series were to keep its comedic momentum until the end of its 12 episode run. art / execution wise, i highly favor the character design especially the girls [ oh god i couldn't make up my mind and choose - if only based on their designs alone ] though their hair colors were a bit too vibrant as slightly opposed to my taste. anyway, the animation / visual execution on the other hand however is pretty decent, much like those seen in kampfer and to love-ru but not as disappointing as akikan !'s which i rather not be reminded of.

haiyoru ! nyaru-ani

HAIYORU ! NYARU-ANI ONA
studio : DLE Inc.
director : ?
serial run : Mar 17, 2010
total episode : 9
score : ****

/FORK STAB

first there was demonbane, and now comes nyarlko and her merry party - oh how i wish there would be more stuff based on the lovecraftian lore such as this in times to come. anyway, haiyoru ! nyaru-ani is a series of [ extremely ] short flash animation based on the light novel 'haiyore ! nyaruko-san', but unlike the light novel it was based upon, the ona primary function were aimed at promoting the sales of the said novel; thus these shorts may feel more like product commercials instead of actual anime. this, however doesn't mean that the ona weren't any fun nor entertaining as i myself had plenty of good laughs from it.

nyarlko is the moe-fied version of the outer god nyarlathotep [ dubbed 'the crawling chaos' ], an ancient malevolent deity from the cthulhu mythos [ of which is one of the greatest psychological horror work ever conceived in mankind history ]. unlike her evil incarnation however, nyarlko is an easy going [ alien ] otaku girl whose actions served as the backbone for the many gags found within this short anime. together with her on the ona is mahiru-kun, a normal human boy who served as the tsukkomi of the pair, often there to give nyarlko some nice fork stab in case she went and did something stupid much to his chagrin, and the kuudere of the series, cthuko of whom is the moe-fied version of cthulhu, the slumbering [ evil ] god of r'lyeh. interestingly, cthuko openly addresses her love for nyarlko [ read : shoujo-ai ] ever since they both were still in the space kindergarten and this is what has triggered my interest into this anime the most :3

the characters featured were drop dead exciting and amusing, and i especially enjoy the hilarious interaction between nyarlko and mahiru-kun so to say. thanks to this i will certainly be looking forward to the manga that would be made from this light novel later - well there should be one in the nearest time possible [ else i'll be raiding santa's house this christmas ]. besides, it'll be uberly nice if this were to be made into a full fledged tv anime in the near future. anyway, the one absolute cool thing in regard to the series is that the gags and comedies featured on the series are mostly memorable as it relates heavily to the otaku culture in the same fashion tackled by both seitokai no ichizon [ like it or not, nyarlko = kurimu ] and lucky star. +not to mention the gags and episodes may be very well brief but indeed they had left quite a lasting laugh and impression even long after i've been done with my watch on this one.

[ say hi to your evil god nyarlathotep ]

graphics and execution wise, being a work of animation that is conceived mostly on flash, the animation itself may not be as fluid nor well executed as your usual cel-based anime but it is this very execution used for the series that helps in heightening the absurd comedic mood of the series. interestingly, there's a few scenes in the series with controlled violence [ which comes in the form of bloody fork stabbings ] depicted, but good thing is that they weren't being over exaggerated like most other comedic titles did with theirs, and this the aspect which has made the mild-guro scene found within the series to be tastefully priceless; for example, in the moments when nyarlko gets her usual fork stab treat from mahiru-kun :3

[ cosplay ] sue : kazari uiharu

layer : Suu / Sue
character : Kazari Uiharu
series : To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
score : *****

INB4 SATEN FLIP

this definitely is the best uiharu-get so far - and believe me, i have yet to find any [ others ] that could rival this magnificently done piece by suu-san. and once again, two thumbs up and a standing ovation from us at +ophanium.

costume wise, hers may have been bought from a pre-made costume boutique [ this is just my assumption, and thus it is dismissible once proven to be invalid ] still i must write it here that the built is very precisely well done [ especially the fabrics which is of the right choice ]; there were some pre-made seifukus which doesn't really stand out in their built - especially around the collar flaps most notably. and in case that suu-san personally made this one herself [ she does made her costumes by herself from time to time ] then i must greatly praise her tailoring skill indeed.

accessory wise, the flower hairband atop her head seems to be a bit large than the ideal dimension seen from the original character design, and the accessory itself attracted way too much attention to itself, not to mention it had as well made her head look psychologically heavier :P . anyway, straight on to the ultimate winning factor of this wonderful cosplay - the character likeness point for this uiharu-get of her is exceptionally high, almost as if uiharu herself had been magically summoned to IRL from the novel / manga / anime she came from.

suu-san may had not been known much outside of japan cosplay community [ i wonder if there's any fanpage / blog made in tribute of her ? ] but her recent cosplays are among the best the japanese pro-cos scene has to offer. and what's more cooler is that she often got paired up with the outstanding cosplay idol midori kanda-san, and the two had made some of the best photoshoots i ever had in keep.

[ cosplay ] moko ichinose : kyou fujibayashi

layer : Moko Ichinose / Merino
character : Kyou Fujibayashi
series : Clannad
score : *****

UR GONNA GET SCOOTER'D

i wonder if shin-dono would approve this as he can be very strict when it comes to his waifu kyou-tan - i myself however is in great love over what i'd saw from moko-san's take on the delicious tsundere kyou, and i greatly believe that some of you might as well be feeling the same as myself :3

once again, a pleasantly wonderful cosplay-get by moko-san, from her costume [ which looks like they were handsomely constructed by herself ] down to her fitting look as the character itself [ this, i greatly have no doubt upon ]. btw, i dunno if its just me but the color for the top jacket looks a bit pale, but still aren't that much to jeopardize the overall presentation anyway. her wig is certainly well-sculpted [ with the right color chosen, bravo~! ] albeit the 'air intake' didn't really stand out much, but again this as well doesn't drag the entire character portrayal down in a chronic sense.

[ all images are property of mpzero ]

intermission : my stance in anime

[ author's note : this post rant here was generated spontaneously on a whim, thus the paragraphs might not consistently relate / reflect each others out v.v +one more thing, this entry certainly is not directed to anyone specific, though it can somehow be read that way :3 ]

i personally enjoy observing people, their lives and surroundings, which is why i have such a great deal of interest in the slice of life genre. character-driven stories were always my favorite, even if they were lacking in all the actions and mindblowing plot that keeps me glued to my seat, as long as the series i'm about to watch possesses some emotionally and / or psychologically engaging interaction / progression for its characters then i am certainly in for them, big time. and to date, most [ not all ] modern moeblob titles falls into this very genre. +not to mention like with many other anime fans out there, i will only seek for series which gave me the best entertainment i could possibly get, and lucky me my taste aren't much biased / pessimistic that it would limit my encounter with the many titles available out there.

don't take me wrong, i love deep and thought provoking stuff as well - those with concrete and magnificently-crafted plot / story, as apparent from my liking on series such as serial experiments lain and durarara !! - just to name a few. and yes, adrenaline-packed sci-fi / action series such as ga-rei zero, code geass and darker than black [ again, just to name a few ] were among my favorites as well, despite myself being more inclined towards the drama / light comedy genre. well, the darker and gruesome they were, the more i am drawn to them [ as for the drama / slice of life genre, the more tearjerking / heartwarming / emotionally-touching they were, the more i will be in love with them :3 ] but still when i am in need for some fix of entertainment so to ease my mind off the hard day i just went through, it'll be these slice of life / comedies that i would often seek to first.

anyway, i may have criticized a lot of series throughout my years following them animes, but frankly speaking i only did those to series which i have watched and experienced first hand without having to rely on others' judgment and / or opinions, let alone to simply hate and despise certain titles / genre for all the hype it has generated from itself [ e.g. the hater / 'elitist' bandwagon heh- ]. i prefer myself to be standing in an open stance when it comes to anime [ or any other form of interest i had taken a fond liking to, for example, music ], and instead of focusing to just one or two specific genres i am more inclined to savor all those which is available, for i believe this would help in making me a better / more appreciative / understanding fan for this particular form of visual entertainment, although i must sincerely admit that i do have titles / genres which i am not quite fond of :3

[ yuki nagato fanart credit : hajime-ill-1st-san ]

k-on !! : first impression

K-ON !!
studio : Kyoto Animation
director : Naoko Yamada
serial run : April 7, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : 26 [ +1 DVD / BD exclusive ]
hime's priority rank : 01

INB4 ENDLESS UNTAN EIGHT HIJACK-

and so the moerrific series them 'elitists' love to hate and troll is back for another fuwa-fuwa season, and to rub some epic salt to their ever bleeding wounds, k-on !! now comes twice the package [ a total of 26 episodes ], thus prolonging their [ them 'elitists' ] so-believed 'torture' this time around :D magnificent move by kyoani if i must say myself, and i am very well happy over this *claps along yui*. anyway, pardon this seemingly rude first para of mine, i just felt like putting a slight poke on the ever ongoing dramu which has since engulfed both the fans and the haters of this very series... now if you please excuse me i have some brief thoughts to write on for k-on !! :P

okay now we're back with another term at sakurakou, and this time around the senior members of the titular light music club is on their third and final year, with azusa being the only junior who would inherit their legacy once the fab 4 were to graduate by the end of the series [ i almost had small, emotional tears at the end of lucky star, and i believe i'll be having another again for this one, later x3 ]. will azusa and the rest of the club members get to round up some new members to carry their dream forward ? or will azu-nyan be left alone in the way mio herself had imagined [ ref : first episode of k-on !! ] ? we'll be finding that one out pretty much soon, but for now let's just enjoy the company of five for the time being :3

the animation as well as the graphic presentation were as elegant and sleek as the first, as always kyoani really did put through a lot of effort and emphasis on their visual execution and this is what makes them stand out the most from the many other studios out there alongside studio khara and bones [ just to name a few ] which i consider to be among the best the mainstream anime industry had to offer when it comes to visual presentation quality. well there has not been much change made to the accompanying background music, and we were pretty much listening to the same score [ didn't paid much attention on them though so do correct me if i'm wrong :9 ] for this new season.

[ your future club president, azu-nyan :3 ]

overall, the new season had took off on quite a good start - for me that is, and i am certainly glad to know that my wait and anticipation isn't at vain as the first episode itself had pretty much taken me for an undeniably fun ride. also, k-on !! exactly retains the same mood and spirit as of the first season [ as expected ], and hopefully it will pleasantly remain this way for the remainder of the second season^^. well of course this may not be the best series that was ever made in the anime history for as far as i'm concerned but one thing i am greatly in sure with is that it definitely is one of the best [ regardless of what others' view on the series is ] slice of life comedy to ever hit the screen since azumanga daioh :3

p/s : oh and before i forget this, i am certainly hoping for there would be some new insert songs made for this one, and i am much enthusiastic over what their titles would be, and for that we can surely count on everyone's favorite HTT bassist mio :3

mayoi neko overrun ! : first impression

MAYOI NEKO OVERRUN !
studio : AIC
director : Tomohiro Matsu
serial run : April 6, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : 12
hime's priority rank : 07

NOMNOMNOM I CAN HAS DELICIOUS CAEKS TSUNDERE NAO PLZ ?

i am always a fan of kentaro yabuki-sensei works [ even if he wasn't the original artist for this series ] and so i definitely won't allow myself to miss the chance of giving this one a watch, despite all the harsh criticism it has gotten itself from the anti-moe faction of the anime fan community. well yes i certainly understand that too much of moe would eventually kill the industry but still there are those who find stuff such as this to be highly appealing to their interest, much like those who had taken bottomless liking to dark, psychologically-intriguing series [ for example ], no ? besides, all these moe shows aren't often without substance, and i greatly believe that it is much too early for us to pin them down unless they had [ obviously ] been proven to fail right off the first episode :3

anyway, tsunderes with extremely violent behavior excellent kicks and punches were my [ ultimate ] weakest spot, and thus to have an existence such as fumina within the series definitely is a divine blessing for me ever since the armlock-freak minami of the baka-test fame. not to mention the near-similarity in design between fumina and teana lanster [ of whom is listed in my top 5 fave ] were among the main driving force which has gotten me all interested into the series. that, and the character design + art direction + graphic execution combo were simply magnificent, with exact fluid animation that has kept me well anticipated ever since the promotional trailer aired prior to the coming of spring.

the series promises some pretty good LOLs [ aside from the great cast of seiyuus ] and incoming dramatic-progression based on the first episode so far, and i am greatly approval of that. +of course being of the harem genre this one series here may obviously lack on freshness etc but the genre has been somewhat [ extremely ] saturated lately so any slight hint of originality on the story / plot would definitely be a great blessing. still however i personally find mayoi neko overrun ! to be much entertaining [ for me, at least ] especially in its comedy sector, although the impact may not be as strong as its predecessors nyan koi ! and sora no otoshimono was; well we still got around 11 more episodes to go so let's hopefully wish for mayoi neko overrun ! to catch up with the brilliance and the magnificence of its [ aforementioned ] predecessors anytime soon :3

[ your number one 'most irresistible tsundere' for spring 2010 ]

p/s : i just happened to notice that peco - the original artist / character designer for the series - is the same artist who've worked on the lovely art of sono hanabira ni kuchizuke wo, the yurilicious visual novel series of which i've been a fan of. well this certainly has taught me something; next time do pay much attention on details such as this, especially in regard to stuff that i am greatly fond of x3

kissxsis : first impression

KISSXSIS [ TV ]
studio : Munenori Nawa
director : Feel
serial run : April 5, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : ?
hime's priority rank : 10

AS ALWAYS, KEITA IS ONE UNGRATEFUL B-TARD D:

well it's the same formula repeated over and over again; keita gets angry over his [ blood not related ] twin sisters, only to realize their good will and came to warm to both of them later on - i guess there is nothing new for you to expect from the series, save for the expanded character pool which now includes some others that has been left out [ arc-wise ? ] from the dvd-exclusive ova. oh well, having been a fan of bow ditama-sensei's work ever since mahoromatic, there's definitely not a single reason for me to ditch this one out, regardless of the multitude of harsh criticisms the series had gotten itself from the anime-fan communities ever since the time of the original ovas - i am fine for the series being as how it were, and none of your trolls would corrode my faith and interest over this one title here, har~! >D

my thoughts on the series are not without complaint, however. honestly said i personally favor the previous set of OP / ED themes [ especially the extremely lovely ED hoshizora monogatari ] which is waaaaay [ anymore a's and i'm in for a headshot from zange-chan :3 ] more befitting of the series' mood instead of the present ones - too bad feel has decided not to carry them forward from the ova for use on this one, and i am deeply saddened for that. anyway, i am superbly glad that the main selling point of the series [ which is the 'incest'-based fanservice ] has not been tuned down, yet and hopefully it'll remain the way it is for the rest of its 12-13 episodes run :3 - okay so i purely watch this one for its fanservice, so what ? at least i am being honest with my watchlist unlike you 'elitist' who might [ openly ] condemn this series but instead is closely watching it out of hypocrisy :E

if some of you had seen both mahoromatic and fight ippatsu ! juuden-chan !! before then ye might've noticed that all three series retained the same [ moelicious ] character design as well as the eye-pleasing art style [ and color pallette ] for their visual presentation, despite being produced by different production studios respectively. +ironically all three series were based on works by the previously mentioned bow ditama-sensei; and this pleases me well as much well deserved justice has been done to him in regard to the animated adaptation of his works :3

arakawa under the bridge : first impression

ARAKAWA UNDER THE BRIDGE
studio : SHAFT
director : Akiyuki Shinbou
serial run : April 4, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : ?
hime's priority rank : 04

BADASS KAPPA FTW-

a very intriguing series at its best, arakawa under the bridge promises us a much adventurous ride for spring with its largely eccentric plot / story in line, and definitely is a title that should not be missed by all you anime fans who were reading this overview of mine as of now. also, when it comes to groundbreaking [?] comedies such as this, there can be no other director nor studio that can pull off an effort as best as shinbou-sensei and shaft. for some [ most especially casual anime watchers ], arakawa under the bridge might be a bit of a hard candy to bite on, but unless you are willing to try then i assure you that you are about to lose some precious visual experience in case you are to disregard this one title here from your spring watchlist.

from the look of the first episode so far, the series is built on an unorthodox concept in which several 'short episodes' [ which makes up for a single story arc, not unlike those based on 4koma ] were thrown together to constitute your usual 20++ something episode run. that, however won't disrupt your enjoyment as the story progresses linearly in the usual fashion, only to be briefly interrupted by eyecatches denoting episode numbers for each part of the story. that aside, graphic-wise arakawa under the bridge may not be the best shaft has to offer [ unlike titles like maria+holic and bakemonogatari which were among those that is visually-brilliant ], but the art direction and [ visual ] style as well as the character design seen from it so far definitely suits the overall mood and concept of the series well.

now on to the characters, as far as i have seen [ and read on various spoilerrific sauces on the net ] they were interestingly made of a deeply intriguing party of disturbing and exotic ones, from a pitiful self-proclaiming alien girl to the aforementioned badass kappa and a guy who seemed to have a star for his head, and what drives me to be more enthusiastic over them is the yet to be explored interaction between this seemingly weird characters and the impact they would deliver to the main male lead in the episodes to come. as with +o's other spring favorite kaichou wa maid-sama, the comedies thrown for this title here is made of pure killers, eventhough some of them might not be memorable enough to leave a lasting impression to ye, but still at least they aren't as easily forgettable as those of b gata h kei :3

[ my 'alien' waifu, ye peeps can go claim the manly kappa and starhead-kun instead :3 ]

[ raw dojin ] admired beautiful flower

downloads : [ volume 01 | volume 02 | extra ]

ADMIRED BEAUTIFUL FLOWER
circle : Hito no Fundoshi
derivative work : Princess Lover !
release : 2009
volumes : 2 + 1 extra
score : *****

here's another raw dojin up for grab, and this time we'll gladly be sharing with you peeps a nicely produced dojin based on the ojousama-laden harem series princess lover ! [ we certainly find the mentioned series to be highly enjoying as well as mildly-refreshing much like the visual novel it is based from - anyway, we'll post a brief overview on the series later :3 ], and though i wasn't yet familiar with any of hito no fundoshi's work[s] prior to this one here still upon my first peek into the admired beautiful series i was taken aback with its outstanding art / presentation, though i am not much enthusiasted over the old guy x girl plot-get.

working !! : first impression

WORKING !!
studio : A1 Pictures
director : Yoshimasa Hiraike
serial run : April 4, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : ?
hime's priority rank : 02

INB4 TENMA-HIJACK ON POPLAR-CHAN :3

[ note : the late posting for this first impression here were purely intentional, as to coincide with the spring airings ]

the pilot episode were originally [ pre- ] aired somewhere in march as part of the promotion for the series; and the said episode basically is a character introductory one, as we the audience were guided through the unique employees and settings of the family restaurant wagnaria in which the entire premise of the anime took place in. okay, so first off we were introduced to the female lead poplar [ weird name is weird ] whose looks were a bit younger than her supposed age, and poplar is shown to be in desperate lookout for a part timer, until she somehow bumped into shouta, a proud minicon [ actually it's lolicon, but he opted to go by the more safer minicon term ] who would soon discover that he's going to be in for one helluva ride as the new employee for wagnaria.

that has been written, working !! basically is a character driven slice of life comedy series just like how lucky star, k-on ! and sora no woto were, with its character pool being made of some really interesting ones; a badass female manager [ she doubles up as a gang leader, i suppose :3 ] who'd chase away her customer in case they went and stir some issues with her and / or her employees [ particularly those concerning her age ], a mild-mannered katana carrying bishoujo [ and why is she carrying one has yet to be fully explained ] and an androphobic girl who would hard-fist [ INAMI PUNCH~! ] your face out [ think of it as her form of skinship or 'greeting' ] just for being in close proximity with a male. anyway, if you had been observing this paragraph well you'd notice that i wasn't really paying much attention to the male employees of wagnaria; well it's not like they're boring or whatever but i am more driven towards the ladies as they're much more intriguing + eccentric so to say :P

the comedy here were pretty much well done [ there wasn't much of 4koma feel to it if i were to write myself ] and the series had gotten my thumbs up and greatest approval for that. at first it wasn't that much apparent but once the episode went into its second half the funny part of the series went to kick in well much to my and your amusement. the art / character design were highly reminiscent of those seen in a1 pictures' latest best selling moe-works kannagi and sora no woto [ as well as the upcoming black rock shooter ova by ordet ]; and with this said it is safe for me to assume that the current a1 pictures is the next kyo-ani in rise, and thus for those who are highly allergic to moe-shows such as k-on ! etc it is highly advised for you peeps to keep your distance from this particular series here, unless you're willing to open up your mind a bit and savor in the goodness which working !! has to offer :3

there's a bit of tenma [ of sukuran fame ]-feel which lingers around poplar's character, but i've decided not to stress on that one as of yet as i wasn't really quite sure of it for the time being; nevertheless the two really does share almost the same personality and aura around them.

angel beats ! : first impression

ANGEL BEATS !
studio : P.A. Works
director : Seiji Kishi
serial run : April 3, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : 13
hime's priority rank : 05

HARUHI, NOW SOMEWHERE UP IN THE HEAVENS, AND WITH GUNS IN HANDS :D

the first [ and foremost ] thing you need to know about angel beats ! above every other is that jun maeda is in the house, and this surely prompt us, or more precisely those who were already familiar with his previous works [ air, kanon, and clannad - the epic drama trilogy ] to be looking forward toward the [ hopefully ] guaranteed excellency of the plot / story for this series here. next, would be that no matter how you look at it, the main female lead of angel beats ! [ yuri ] greatly mirrors your dearest haruhi suzumiya perfectly, from her character design straight down to personality etc, even some parts of angel beats ! presentation seems to borrow / parody heavily on those of suzumiya haruhi no yuutsu, particularly the eccentric 'club activity' [ i'm considering the battlefront whatever as something akin to a club for the time being ] as well as the bonus gig thrown in the later half of the first episode

anyway, there has been no mention of the intentional haruhi parody by the production team from the materials scattered over the internet so far [ or perhaps it was just me ] but still the parody / similarity-ness taste is certainly there - even if it weren't intentional at all; first there's the SSS [ aka the afterlife battlefront ], which i had came to view as a direct parody to SOS-dan, save for the fact that SSS boasts a bigger, more competent army membership than the 5 member SOS-dan. secondly, there's the girls dead monster, an in-series all female band which is the afterlife version of enoz / ho-kago teatime etc etc and finally, as i had written in the first paragraph above, the main female lead yuri herself is a splitting image of your beloved 2D god haruhi. well i guess haruhi is now the epitome of the so-called great 'leadership' in pop culture xD oh and don't forget kyon and yuki, they're both here too :3

initially i first thought that the series should have been worked by kyoani [ since they were very well known for producing outstanding adaptation for key's products as apparent from the aforementioned epic drama trilogy ] but somehow the impressive presentation given to us by p.a. works had left me more than glad enough to give them my seal of approval. the background imagery stood really well, but still something as nice as this would never fail to host a flaw or two; in angel beats ! case, the character design for the anime seems to be rather inconsistent at time... but worry not, i won't nag much on that as long as it didn't went straight down fail like those of akikan ! :3 i haven't paid much attention on the music as the story had caught my entire focus really well, with its mysteries and such and that pretty much signals the writer's successive effort in capturing / grabbing the mind and attention of his / her audiences :3

[ heads will roll~ ]

i read a lot of peeps were criticizing the seemingly unnatural band appearance in the first episode, but i myself had somehow came to understand the necessity of such event from the character's perspective, of course :3. well as mentioned in both the episode and some character-related details found on the net, the band were there as to provide [ tactical ] distractions for them npcs before the SSS can go and lift their meal tickets off them. you see, when there's a pop concert going on, and a very happening one at it the concert goers are prone to lift their hands high above their shoulders / heads in amusement to the beat - as for this episode context, their hands were in grab of their meal tickets which is the primary target / goal of the SSS. now once you understand the ultimate plan, you'll be okay for sure as why would there suddenly be a need to shove in a band into a seemingly unrelated series.

kaichou wa maid-sama ! : first impression

KAICHOU WA MAID-SAMA !
studio : J.C. Staff
director : Hiroaki Sakurai
serial run : April 2010 - ongoing
total episode : ?
hime's priority rank : 08

AND SUDDENLY I HAD THE URGE TO REVISIT SPECIAL A-

is it just me or the shoujo genre [ in mainstream anime particularly ] were being noticeably strong lately; if last winter we get to experience the awesome kimi ni todoke - which i believe had went to touch the hearts and emotions of many, spring on the other hand offered something that seems to be a fitting replacement for the aforementioned series. and to top it all, the maid-type is to return for the main feature role in anime. cool, well i haven't been so happy this much since mahoromatic ~tadaima okaeri~.

kaichou wa maid-sama ! hits the season on a pretty good strong start. the comedy thrown at us so far were hard hitters unlike b gata h kei whose comedy doesn't really appeal much to my appetite, let alone to trigger a lasting lol as well as good impressions right from the start. the plot / story for kaichou wa maid-sama ! may be your usual shoujo fare but i certainly love how it's been treated for the anime, and am certainly intrigued to learn / see more of what were to happen in the later episodes to come, besides, both misaki and takumi characters easily captured my interest and it really didn't take long for me to fall for them from the get go.

i personally favor the character design, as well as the art style / direction seen in this series [ the watercolor art used for most of the background / landscapes were especially lovely ], which i presume to be handled by the same j.c. staff team that has brought us both toradora !, kimikiss and to aru kagaku no railgun [ i firmly believe that there are at least two to three different team operating within j.c. staff anime production department, as noticed from the huge difference in art / animation style amongst its titles ], though i must admit that at times certain parts of the series' presentation went a bit 'rough' especially on the color palette used for the background in several scenes, still however i am finely okay with that.

[ INB4 someone jokes a moe moe kyun~ ]

+ophanium's spring 2010 watchlist : prelude to first impressions

before i went on with our usual first impression commentaries i would first like to post in a quick compendium list of the spring 2010 series of which i will be keeping close track on based on those that i have seen so far. as usual, these lists are subjected to future changes.

HIGHEST PRIORITY
description : these are the series of which i'll be following very dearly week after week without fail; a slight miss on one episode will possibly result in multiple head-desks on my behalf.
- k-on !!
- working !!
- black rock shooter
- mayoi neko overrun !
- arakawa under the bridge
- angel beats !
- heroman
- kaichou wa maid-sama !
- house of five leaves
- kiss x sis

MEDIUM PRIORITY
description : these are the series of which i'll be following week after week without fail just like the priority set above, however i won't be giving myself multiple head-desks should i forgot to get myself updated on the new episodes of those listed here; in fact i'd rather marathon a number of episodes in a go- :3
- ichiban ushiro no dai maou
- hakuouki : shinsengumi kitan
- senkou no night raid

LOWEST PRIORITY
description : being the lowest priority set, these series risks themselves of being deported to the on hold / dropped list based on their respective performance[s]. however, i will still be giving them minor justice by forcing myself to keep on watching them just to fill in the void left in-between the release of new episodes of the two priority set above.
- b gata h kei

WAITLIST / WISHLIST
description : those listed here were either sequels which i have yet to watch over the previous season they were continued from or just those poor underdog titles which has yet to be picked and subbed upon.
- marie & gali 2.0
- gurren-lagann parallel works 2

heroman : first impression

HEROMAN
studio : BONES
director : Hitoshi Nanba
serial run : April 1, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : ?
hime's priority rank : 06

YOUR DEAREST CAPTAIN AMERICA, GONE MECHA-NIZED

surprisingly for me the first episode didn't really start with a bang as i hoped it to be, but the overall presentation really does gave out quite a nice impression to my eyes and interest - in fact i'd be more than glad to stick around this title for the entire duration of its serial run [ well even if it were to follow in the 'endless' shounen format which would run for over the 52 episodes mark ]. for starter, i won't praise it much yet nor will i criticize it as i will need to see about 1-2 more episodes before i could properly do so - unlike b gata h kei which initially gave me a not so good impression from the get go, heroman on the other hand seems to promise a lot more stuff up in its sleeves.

the one major thing which had me interested on this series is the presence of stan 'the man' lee within its creative team [ as expected, there's even a brief cameo of him in there, heh ], and having grown up with marvel comics ever since i first came to read one this surely is one of the many driving force behind my budding interest into this one series here; and even if it wasn't for stan lee, the character design [ as well as the studio which produces the series, well i am still pretty much blown up thanks to their recent effort on darker than black -ryuusei no gemini- :3 ] itself is more than strong enough reason to inspire me into giving heroman a serious peek into.

oh hey that is one badass heroic robot if i must say myself. the badass stare it gave as well as the way heroman interacts with its master / operator helps in gaining additional points for me to be sticking a bit longer to the series. anyway, the overall character design were impressively top notch, and there isn't a single complaint from me on that very department. the graphic as well as the cinematic aspect of the series is very much well done as bones' treatment for this one series here indeed is stunning much like most of their previous offerings were [ namely the darker than black series ], and so does the accompanying bgm which i find to be a suitable match to the thick american taste / feel of the series.



p/s 1 : o hai lina the cheerleader is mai waifu~! :3
p/s 2 : is it weird for me to be emotional on that scene where heybo the toy robot got hit on hard by a car ? it saddens me to see a broken heybo, then thrown into the garbage bin - thank god he got himself a nice fix-up later |3

b gata h kei : first impression

B GATA H KEI
studio : Hal Film Maker
director : Yusuke Yamamoto
serial run : April 1, 2010 - ongoing
total episode : 13
hime's priority rank : 14

BEFRIENDING FOR S3X-

when i first notice this title among the series listed in chartfag's spring airings chart, i must frankly admit that i wasn't really interested in it at all, [ although I AM a bit intrigued over the series' plot ] but somehow as i happen to read some of the first impression entries for the first episode that is scattered around the aniblogosphere i later came to pick the series up, particularly thanks to the presence of yukari tamura and mamiko noto among its seiyuu cast [ there would even be kana hanazawa later on, hell yeah~! ].

anyway, ima gonna be treating this series here in the same way as i did with kampfer. sure the plot synopsis reads pretty interesting as we didn't get to see a reverse ecchi that often but somehow upon my first venture into the initial episode i must write it here that the series didn't quite gave out a lasting impression to me; the joke is a okay albeit it feels a bit forced upon - b gata h kei is the kind of comedy series that is mildly fun on the first watch but wouldn't leave a lasting impression over me. the jokes, in particular are mostly forgettable unlike those of seto no hanayome and kemeko dx; just to name some of those i highly favor when it comes to comedy execution.

the female lead yamada is quite bold for a female chara of the comedic-bishoujo quality, and she's much too bold for me to tolerate her presence. surely such character would kill the mood right off the bat for me but still there's something about her that keeps me around for a while longer. oh and one more thing that [ mildly ] irks me is the presence of erogami which i find to be a bit irritating at times; i greatly hate characters such as this for oyashiro-sama's sake. the rest of the chara seems so-so for me, and i certainly won't write anything on the male lead that is the love interest of yamada, of whom to me is a generic dork who doesn't deserve a single line written for him.



the art [ as well as the character design ] for b gata h kei looks pretty to my eyes, not to mention the overall execution seen in the first episode went absolutely fine for me, but that's as far as the series willing to challenge itself with - well hopefully things would remain as it is in the episodes to come; having known hal film maker from all this while the quality degradation thing definitely is nothing for me to fear on. thus summing my boring first impressions [ for this series ] up, it is safe for me to say that i won't be dropping this series yet, not until it happens to disappoint my at some later points in the future episodes to come.