farewell, midori-san !

at first we believe it as somewhat a joke. it turns out however, that things were absolutely real. anyway, a very, very, very depressing day it was today as midori-san has recently announced her [ surprise ] retirement / hiatus from the cosplay scene - going as far as terminating her account at curecos [ which is no longer available by the time of this post ] with both her mixi and twitter profiles currently pending for termination really soon. not to mention that her upcoming photoshoot set will be the last of her it seems, and thus it is safe to assume that there will no longer be a midori kanda -the cosplayer- on the upcoming comikets, aside from her attending the event as a casual attendee from now onwards v.v

that said, there has been a number of loss within the cosplay scene lately; [ our former number one favorite ] ibara-san's [ surprise ] indefinite hiatus and the recent passing of saya-san [ which was mourned by many worldwide ]. for us, this will also be another great loss indeed as midori-san technically is one of those irreplaceable gem and among the few masterpiece-level layer i [ rayneholde ] have seen [ and love ] in my seven years history as a cosplay mania. however depressive it was, here at +ophanium we chose to understand and respect this very decision of her, as well as wishing for her best on all of her future endeavors from this day onwards [ while at the same time we'll keep on praying for her to make a comeback anytime soon ]

[ a message of farewell from midori-san, via curecos ]

FAREWELL MIDORI-SAN ! AND KNOW THIS THAT YOU WILL FOREVER BE OUR GREATEST FAVORITE OF ALL TIME ! and also, thank you for all the amazing works you have done and shared with us over all these times / years + good luck on every endeavors you wish to proceed from now on^^ our undying love and support will forever be yours - rayneholde / zange / BakaBoredom

p/s : this post may be lacking in emotional context greatly as we are currently at great loss of words at the moment. still, just to show you folks how [ greatly ] sad and depressed we are, this post was not submitted as an intermission where and when it should be so.

ikoku meiro no croisée : first impression

IKOKU MEIRO NO CROISEE
studio : Satelight
director : Kenji Yasuda
serial run : July 4, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : 12
hime's priority rank : 07
zange's priority rank : 07

hands down the most 'moe' series of the season; +not to mention that this title is one of the most heartwarming and most emotionally-driven entry above all this summer [ alongside usagi drop of course ] - of which once seen and indulged, one couldn't help but to empathize and to root for yune's well being and growing adeptness to her new, alien surroundings. thus with all that has been said in favor of the series, ikoku meiro no croisée definitely is a worthy addition to your summer watchlist; should you were yet to induct the series onto yours at very this point of time. long story short, we highly recommends this, yeah.

technically, ikoku meiro no croisée should fell under the slice of life category, but what made it more interesting is the setting in which the whole story premise took place at; france - or to be much more precise, a thriving business district somewhere in france. i wasn't much a fan of history myself, so i am not quite familiar with most of the things and elements that is featured within and throughout the series. yet one thing i know for sure is that i certainly fancy the overall mood, feel and environment of the settings; just as much as i did with gosick and chrno crusade, to name a few.

anyway, the first episode did quite an impressive job at provoking my emotions, particularly right before the end of the episode which saw main character yune [ willingly ] letting go of her mother's keepsake yukata so to redeem over the unfortunate accident she had caused prior. yune herself is an easily adorable character by default, and her bright, optimistic look at her new life and surroundings has definitely won my heart and attention greatly. and better not to ignore the fact that she's overly cute as well, especially when she walks about with her wooden sandals on - giving off her distinctive 'knock's over hard floors.

essentially, ikoku meiro no croisée is particularly written with the message [ or to the concept ] of understanding each other out regardless of differences whatsoever; a message that is simple but were often overlooked at, yet still and forever is relevant enough - especially in this very time and this very world we are living in as of current. it may be viewed as yet another sweet, uneventful series that is churned out for the casual audience / otaku mass - but in all earnest we have come to believe and perceive ikoku meiro no croisée as more than what it seems outwardly.

dantalian no shoka : first impression

DANTALIAN NO SHOKA
studio : Gainax
director : Yutaka Uemura
serial run : July 16, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : 13
hime's priority rank : 08
zange's priority rank : 08

THIS SUMMER; YOUR GAINAX GOES BONES

the gosick of summer [ twice more so than kami-sama no memo-chou was considered to be ], and a very promising entry by gainax yet again. also, it may be a bit too early for me to write this up but i have come to consider dantalian no shoka as [ probably ] the darker entry this summer [ by dark i meant for it to be in league with mnemosyne or at least, puella magi madoka magica of winter ] of which otherwise were being overwhelmed by [ brilliant ] colors and genki fluffiness [ even the critically renowned blood franchise as well fell prey to the latter with blood-c ].

at this point of time, the story seems rather intriguing much to my interest. and being a fan of fictional works concerning on grim visuals, occults and such, i found myself to become quickly attached to this new series as much as i was then with the aforementioned mnemosyne and shikabane hime [ another series by gainax, co-produced with feel ]. the first episode itself was shrouded in the kind of mystery that i would favor quite the most, added with the slight gosick-esque taste that is most apparently felt from the primary character dalian [ of whom herself seemingly is an amalgamation of victorique, a certain index and al azif ]. the plot itself feels rather familiar on certain parts of it, but i have to write it here that dantalian no shoka did a really fine job at keeping my interest intact, enough to proceed on keeping up with its future episodes in weeks to come.

presentation wise, gainax always is the kind of studio that has been known best for delivering its all on each and every one of its anime produces to date. and dantalian no shoka - like its previous predecessors then - still is no different of course, and were just as good looking and fluidly well animated indeed. the overall artistic direction seem to share much of its look and concept as its [ bones produced ] spiritual counterpart gosick, but only with a much grimmer look that is slightly in contrast with gosick's which was more flamboyant and elegant, so for me to write. the background music were also one of its biggest charm, most especially that particular vocal piece heard while the leading male protagonist was driving his way to the mansion he has just inherited from a will.

i shall be putting my greatest hope and interest onto this series just as much as i did with the rest of them summer series currently listed on my highest priority list, and possibly this one could become a surprise hit in the same fashion as panty and stocking with garterbelt did on me last year, as well as puella magi madoka magica and anohana was early this year.

nekogami yaoyorozu : first impression

NEKOGAMI YAOYOROZU
studio : AIC PLUS+
director : Hiroaki Sakurai
serial run : July 9, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : ?
hime's priority rank : 04
zange's priority rank : 04

AIC SURE DO LOVE CATS, AREN'T THEY ?

this could easily become my number one favorite comedy of the season, too bad for it however is that there are plenty others of its exquisite comedic quality, and nekogami yaoyorozu simply happened to arrive quite late into my list - thus having to accept itself being ranked a bit lower than others for the time being. anyway, this one as well went for an impressive start much like mayo chiki ! did, made more impressive with the inclusion of an ensemble cast [ following the path of dog days and kampfer ] made of highly notable seiyuus of the now such as kanae itou, haruka tomatsu, yui horie, ayana taketatsu, rie tanaka, aki toyosaki, kaori mizuhashi, asami shimoda and most important of all - satomi arai [ ~judgment desuwa ], among many others.

frankly speaking, this one is a surprise hit for me, and i wasn't at all expecting to fast becoming a fan of it. if previously i found myself absolute [ comedic ] entertainment from penguin musume heart, nekogami yaoyorozu on the other hand is the most befitting title to fill in my hunger for something that is both absurd and ticklish since the former. not only that it provides comedic relief in between plot-driven series during my weekly anime marathon, this series also had plenty of simple yet meaningful message embedded into it - not all that important they were but for those who are willing to learn a bit more about trivial stuff from a slightly different perspective then this certainly is the series you peeps should be looking forward to invest some time and interest into.

plotwise, nekogami yaoyorozu aren't any different from those series in the likes of kannagi and kamichu !, for example - though i must say that it is leaning much closer to the former than the latter; a comedic slice of life story concerning earth bound gods and their daily toils and quirks - tweaked extremely into various hilarious ends. for the most part of it, most of its characters were pretty laidback and easy going in terms of their very attitude - despite being dutiful god themselves - and some were even reckless much, as in the case of gonta - of whom curiously owns a military force at his own disposal. despite this however, the majority of its characters were equally interesting and worth paying attention for, most especially mayu - the primary god of the series herself.

the overall art direction were averagely decent at best, but the cute and criminally adorable character design however won the most presentation points from me, on behalf of the series. still, the most impressive aspect of nekogami yaoyorozu of course went into its voice over department - done with much taste and personality via them seiyuus for each their own respective characters - as heard and felt from the glorious efforts put forth by haruka tomatsu [ impressive screams of agonies is impressive ], satomi arai [ dat badass god-mom ] and ayana taketatsu [ desuwa~ ].

mayo chiki ! : first impression

MAYO CHIKI !
studio : Feel
director : Keiichiro Kawaguchi
serial run : July 8, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : 12
hime's priority rank : 02
zange's priority rank : 02

TEANA LANSTER + FUMINO SERIZAWA = SUBARU KONOE

simply put, mayo chiki ! by default is one of my instant favorite this summer, as well as being one of the three summer series to which i've been greatly looking forward to since their initial announcement last spring [ the two others being blood-c and baka to test to shoukanjuu ni ! ] - and thank god the first two episodes aired so far has magnificently justified the amount of hope and anticipation i had put forth into the series, while at the same time doubling [ or more like tripling ] up the amount of fun and entertainment beyond my initial expectation set for the series. also, i find it hard not to fall in love with this one due to the overly-enormous amount of moe generated from the primary character of interest [ konoe subaru ] alone - so much that each of its episodes [ being the first two aired so far at this time ] simply worth countless number of re-watches from me just to [ repeatedly ] experience subaru's extremely high grade moeness .

to make it all the more awesome, mayo chiki ! is being produced by feel, that particular studio which had done such amazing jobs on nagasarete airantou, kissxsis and yosuga no sora previously, not to mention that the director himself is of the lol-tastic 'hayate no gotoku' fame as well as the visually / emotionally impressive short 'kowarekake no orgel' - and thus, the more reason for such high expectation from me to be set upon this series indeed. and besides, the scriptwriter herself [ reiko yoshida ] is best known for a multitude of outstanding series listed on her expansive resume - namely series such as k-on ! [ haters gonna hate, heh ] , blood+ [ one of the best vampire fiction ever produced ], rec [ outstanding drama, yet mostly overlooked for its brief runtime ], shinigami no ballad [ a highly underrated gem ] and of course, aria [ one of the greatest slice of life series, ever ! ] among many others.

mayo chiki ! to me started off pretty smoothly much to my utmost delight [ pretty much tasting like a refined version of mm ! ], and the first episode itself definitely is one of the strongest introduction episode aired for the summer block so far. it's not just that, the first episode also had me thoroughly entertained without fail, and although the series seriously reeks of familiar cliches, i must firmly write it here that mayo chiki ! has made very good use of those without tasting any stale nor obviously redundant, well from my perspective that is. that said, another [ major ] scoring point for the series is that most of its featured characters were hands down interesting right off the bat, especially that elegant ojousama [ kanade suzutsuki ] who turns out to be quite a [ omega level ] sadist later on, even more so than mio isayama of the previously mentioned mm !.

[ brofist ]

moving on to the visual / presentation aspect, i for one has greatly fell in love with kousuke kawamura-sensei's captivating character design [ yet another scoring point for the series ] which slightly reminds me of those seen in ookami-san to shichinin no nakamatachi [ from last year's summer block ] and another fantastic 2011 produce infinite stratos - imbued with plenty of dramatic expressions that handsomely conveys the emotion as well as the very personalities of each of its respective characters. overall, mayo chiki ! technically is bestowed with gorgeous art direction, extremely fluid animation [ +application of additional dramatic effects ] and high level of attention paid on most of its [ background ] details, complemented with dynamic [ yet not quite artistic as yumekui merry was ] cinematography / camera works.

baka to test to shoukanjuu ni ! : first impression

BAKA TO TEST TO SHOUKANJUU NI !
studio : Silver Link
director : Shin Onuma
serial run : July 8, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : ?
hime's priority rank : 03
zange's priority rank : 03

frankly speaking, we don't have much to write about the sequel for our next first impression post here. but still, that doesn't mean we're lacking enthusiasm for the new series. no. in fact the second season was among the top 3 series we're so looking forward to this summer, and thankfully it seems that the series will be sitting firmly on its current throne, judging from the wonderful start it had with its very first episode. if you're already a fan of both the initial season and the two episode ova which precedes the former, then we're so greatly sure that you'll be loving this one as well, much as how we come to love it from the get go.

from our initial glimpse of the first episode, baka to test to shoukanjuu ni ! - in all due respect - has managed to closely reflect and emulate the content quality and recipe of both its predecessors, albeit not as highly potent as the ova was earlier this year, as well as slightly lacking on the visual presentation aspect as far as the first episode is concerned. that said however, we managed to acquire for ourselves some good laughs from the first episode, while at the same time were overly delighted on the slight development / growth in himeji's character; of whom seems to be more selfish, [ slightly ] outwardly open / outgoing this time around - compared to how she was [ in the first season ] then.

the idolm@ster : first impression

THE IDOLM@STER
studio : A1 Pictures
director : Atsushi Nishigori
serial run : July 7, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : ?
hime's priority rank : 05
zange's priority rank : 05

a pretty chaotic start, but i loved it anyway. frankly speaking, i haven't played the [ intensely popular ] game from which this series was adapted from, nor have i seen the previous mecha-flavored series [ idolm@ster : xenoglossia ] aired many years back prior, thus i am pretty much out of the loop [ of knowledge ] in regard to the series and its merry ensemble cast, still however, that won't stop me from fast enjoying the series, most especially for the creative approach of turning the first episode into some sort of a mockumentary that helps in introducing its diverse pool of characters to great effect.

best thing bout this series is that each and every of its idols has very, very prominent traits / personality / character and presence to themselves; an aspect of which i greatly favor to indeed. and although the cast is pretty huge, yet i can see the effort put by a1 pictures to democratically share the limelight between the characters - albeit there are those characters who received less yet adequate spotlight for their own benefit. a high percentage of the cast were made of upbeat, lively bunch while stoic ones were carefully snucked in to give proper balance. i myself particularly is a quick fan of kugyuu's character iori, as well as the uberlax miki and the 'elegant' takane.

the idolm@ster, in general provides a very interesting look at the idol industry; well truthfully it may not be accurate enough in depiction, but still it is very interesting to look and have a glimpse at - much like some other industry-tinged works such as rec, koe no oshigoto and bakuman, just to name a few. that, and i certainly found my fun and delight in seeing these girls working and trying their best at striving and achieving for their dreams / ambition - while at the same time giving out inspiration and one particular message; that in order to become the best, a lot of effort and hard work need to be given out in exchange for excellence and recognition.

the overall visual presentation quality is certainly on par with most other productions done by a1 pictures so far; namely sora no woto, kannagi and working !! - three of which bears striking resemblance [ in mood and look ] to the idolm@ster. cinematography-wise, the camera works for one were truly utilized to their best here, plenty of creative cinematic shots thrown every here and there, but perhaps this is due to the mockumentary styling of the first episode that is to emulate the sleek, artistic taste and feel of an actual [ entertainment ] documentary.

usagi drop : first impression

USAGI DROP
studio : Production I.G
director : Kanta Kamei
serial run : July 8, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : ?
hime's priority rank : 06
zange's priority rank : 06

"A HEARTWARMING MASTERPIECE" - ZANGE

simply is one of the strongest entries this summer, and perhaps is the [ only ] series that is to continue forth the excellent [ heartwarming ] legacy left by hourou musuko and ano hi mita hana no namae o bokutachi wa mada shiranai of the last two season. also interestingly, i find it hard for me myself to find any fault to the series nor any reason for me not to be in love with it right off the bat - a similar trait shared together with spring's emotionally captivating bittersweet juggernaut, anohana. and not to mention that rin is a really adorable character herself x3

plotwise, usagi drop is an excellent drama with quite a high taste on realism in sense of plot and storytelling; rin kaga is a six year old illegitimate daughter of a recently deceased elderly man, with not a single person in the family of her late father were interested in taking her in for care, save for daikichi - her single, 30 year old nephew being the only person of the family that is kind enough to shelter her in. the overall portrayal of the family and their reception of / reaction towards rin really hits me well, and i find it more than easy for me to sympathize with the fate that befalls rin, abandoned [ or more like unwanted ] by the rest for just being a child conceived out of wedlock.

production / execution wise, usagi drop truly is a gem, a highly gorgeous visual masterpiece that is beautiful in every single aspect of its visual presentation. the animation were neat, the character design were highly appealing as well as quite reminiscing of the dated yet classic style of the late 90's / early 00's while the magnificently detailed background + scenic camera works + artistic [ overall ] art direction were expressively + exquisitely done much in the same fashion as hourou musuko and aoi hana was then. and yes of course, the watercolor touch of the visual for the greatest part of it were indeed the most impressive aspect of its visual presentation - highly complementing the mood, nature and atmosphere of the setting / story.

to sum our thoughts up, usagi drop definitely is going to pair up well with ikoku meiro no croisee as two of the most heartwarming series this summer, and nevertheless will stand as one of the most beautifully crafted anime ever produced for 2011; the year in which many brilliant masterpieces were churned and delivered to close [ if not total ] perfection, much to our great delight :9

yuru yuri : first impression

YURU YURI
studio : Dogakobo, DAX Production
director : Masahiko Oota
serial run : July 5, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : ?
hime's priority rank : 01
zange's priority rank : 01

FUWA FUWA YURI TAIMU

take a free-spirited slice-of-life series in the likes of k-on ! for example, and further spice it up with over-the-surface mild yuri undertones; i believe i just found myself my [ ultimate ] number one favorite this summer; even successfully ousting blood-c from its throne over at my summer 2011 watchlist. simply put, i'm a great fan of both slice-of-life and yuri genre, and having them both blended / mixed together within a single series will definitely garner in more than enough attention and appreciation from me, indeed. not to mention that to make it all the better, dogakobo does seem to know how to play it well with their take on yuru yuri, and i am certainly pleased with what i have seen from the first episode so far, yes i truly am.

of all the things that made this one such an awesome treat for me were the leading characters themselves - for each and every one of them excellently had a life and solid personality of their own, strong enough [ in term of personality ] that i could easily found myself drawn into the highly amusing interaction between the characters, much in the same neat fashion i was then with k-on !, baka to test to shoukanjuu [ good thing that the second season is just around the corner ] and a-channel - just to name a few. the same can be said on some of its supporting characters as well, especially the two feuding childhood friends in akari and chinatsu's classroom and the seemingly yuriphile [ glass-wearing ] student council member seen on the closing minutes of the first episode.

the comedic content so far were lightly entertaining and amusing at best, albeit not in absurdly funny quality [ on par with something akin to seto no hanayome or kemeko deluxe, again just to name a few ] yet. kyoko, most apparently provided much laughs for the series with her obsessive mania on mirakurun as well as her inclination towards light yuri. the series has also made excellent use of its aforementioned light yuri aspect to considerably delightful effect, added with the total lack of male presences within its very setting and the inclusion of character such as chinatsu of whom successfully invoked the petite sœur archetype often found within splendid yuri works such as maria-sama ga miteru and aoi hana among many others.

[ meet azunyan tokunyan chinatsu-tan ]

production / execution wise, i find it easy for myself to mistake yuru yuri on being a kyoto animation produce; prominently due to the sweet, neatly eye-catching character design [ which certainly reminds me of those design seen in k-on ! and ore no imouto ga konna ni kawaii wake ga nai ] and the sleek, outstanding overall look / design / art direction of the anime itself. simply put, yuru yuri for one definitely is a visual masterpiece this summer, alongside others of notable quality in regard to their visual presentation / execution.

kami-sama dolls : first impression

KAMI-SAMA DOLLS
studio : Brain's Base
director : Seiji Kishi
serial run : July 6, 2011 - ongoing
episode count : ?
hime's priority rank : 10
zange's priority rank : 10

HINAMIZAWA MUCH ?

contrary to my other first impressions posts, this one was conceived straight from my watch of the first episode; truly a promising start by kami-sama dolls it was, and i will certainly be looking forward to following the series religiously in weeks to come. anyway, i gotta admit that kami-sama dolls started out pretty much vague and slightly confusing to me during its first ten to fifteen minutes [ discounting the OP ], mainly due to my infamiliarity with its story premise and the original work from which the anime was adapted from. but as the first episode progresses on and some of the details of the plot being fleshed out in their slightest, i found myself to be drawn closer and closer towards the series - much in the same fashion as i was with durarara ! back then.

the first episode was pretty thick with mystery; all those details regarding the 'gods', their controllers known as 'seki', the village itself and of course that seemingly psychotic guy named aki - all which demands for elaborate explanations to be made in the nearest time possible or else risk on losing my interest and patience into the series. and unlike some mind teasing battle-driven series such as [c] - which bores me out and had me dumped em out from the first 15 minutes, kami-sama dolls however has excellently managed to hold my interest intact by interweaving both the intense and humorous parts together as it goes; even during serious fight as seem during utao x aki confrontation right from the first episode.

however, the first episode does seem to feel kinda rushed - especially in regard to the aforementioned aki x utao confrontation which again led myself into another mild confusion i had during my watch of the episode; did the seemingly tough [ and outwardly grim and dangerous ] aki got himself bagged by the more inexperienced utao ? d'oh. that aside anyway, for me, kami-sama dolls' leading characters are quite interesting at this point, save for the male lead [ kyouhei ] of whom i wasn't quite interested in - yet i am certainly rooting for him to enter into a serious relationship development with the primary [?] female lead, shiba hibino - they both certainly do look best together, definitely.

[ shiba hibino; MAI BUSTY WAIFU™ ]

the character design for the best part of it were pretty neat and well suited to my taste and preference, and i especially love the look and the level of details paid / spent on the background - most definitely on the outdoor night views which were just as sleek and good looking as those of durarara's, darker than black's and higashi no eden's just to name a few. not to mention i simply love the idea of having the 'gods' chanting out haunting melodies whenever they're being controlled to perform offensive / defensive actions by their respective seki. overall, the whole production value of kami-sama dolls truly deserving of my thumbs up this season, and hopefully it will stay this good for the rest of its run.

blood-c : first impression

BLOOD-C
studio : Production I.G.
director : Tsutomu Mizushima
serial run : July 8, 2011 - ongoing
total episode : ?
hime's priority rank : 09
zange's priority rank : 09

KYOU WA II TENKI~♪

and so the new blood project commences to my greatest anticipation and delight. and frankly speaking, for me, the first episode went almost exactly like blood+'s was then, albeit blood-c however went for an extended slice-of-life approach for its initial episode which might certainly suffocates those who expected for some intense action + blood to start pouring in and bodiless limbs to go flying about from the get go; which already was the main standing issue with some anime fans since the pre-airing of the series' first episode last week. many were disappointed with the mildly uneventful start of the series, that however wasn't the case with us here.

having been designed and co-produced by the renowned creative team clamp, blood-c certainly is high on taste of the latter; even so that some fans has went on to liken the series with clamp's previous [ animated ] works - most prominently their most recent anime adaptation; kobato. saya, the main female protagonist for one has been given a complete redesign for her character; almost alienating the classic image of said character that has already been embedded in the mind and memories of the franchise's longtime fans, such as myself. it was a good move however as the redesign somewhat gave out a fresh, updated look and feel to the character although it does as well eroded out the nostalgia some of us had of her.

visual wise, blood-c is a pretty scenic series, with a handful of still shots of the surrounding settings cleverly captured and utilized to fill in the gap in between scenes - budget saving filler frames to which i am certainly okay with as long as they were done in quite tasteful fashion as portrayed in the first episode. the overall art and look of the series were really easy on eyes and certainly good to look at, from my perspective that is. the action sequences on the other hand were neatly choreographed and executed / animated, as often expected from production i.g, yeah. and i gotta praise heavily on the monster design factor as the jizo statue-esque chiropteran was really scary to look at, as well as kind of creative in terms of its offensive behavior throughout the breathtaking battle scene.

there was a huge number of mystery and questions raised and left without proper elaboration from the first episode alone, most especially in regard to the second half of the initial episode which itself was a surprise ride in every respect; the oracle, the aged ones [ i would love to assume that these were the same as the classic chiropterans found on the original animated movie and previous series, blood+ ] and saya's backstory of course which currently is the greatest mystery of all [ foremost, saya's now a miko, seemingly born into a human family yet still retained her classic serious business vampire mode ] - should a retcon to be in active effect; assuming that production i.g. had chosen to reboot the franchise anew instead of providing a direct sequel to the canon.

p/s : those twins are made of win.

ro-kyu-bu ! : first impression

RO-KYU-BU !
studio : Project no. 9 / Studio Blanc
director : Keizou Kusakawa
serial run : July 1, 2011 - ongoing
total episode : 12
hime's priority rank : 11
zange's priority rank : N/A

SO I HERD U LIEK GUILTY PLEASURES ?

originally excluded from the initial release of our summer watchlist - mainly due to the series being of the sports genre, and none of us here were fan of said genre [ added with zange's lack of interest on anything 'loli' ], i was somehow inspired to take a peek at the series upon realizing that some of my favorite seiyuus were together on the same boat [ kanae itou, kana hanazawa, mamiko noto and yoko hikasa among others ]. and thus, what initially started out as a slight, curious peek has somewhat turned into a full-on watch, and i am here to say that this series has safely had itself inducted onto my summer 2011 watchlist - to my own surprise myself, yeah.

universally, ro-kyu-bu ! gets quickly panned by most anime bloggers who feared of being labelled as paedophiles for having contracted [ even slightest ] interest into the series - with all sorts of arguments in defense of it being hastily dismissed - the usual kind of thing you get to see at the start of each anime season within the aniblogosphere. still, nevermind the bias - as ro-kyu-bu ! can be quite entertaining at times; though in terms of entertainment value it might not be as much as the upcoming sequel to the comedy juggernaut baka to test to shoukanjuu.

plotwise, ro-kyu-bu ! kinda feels like an amalgamation of bamboo blade, saki and softenni to me; the kind of sports anime which doesn't delve into the main subject at full - much less to let us into all those technical stuff [ whistle ! / slam dunk etc ] in regard to the respective sport in feature / it endorses. anyway, the story is simple and easy to grasp / digest [ albeit being cliched enough ], and seems to be more adamant at focusing on the girls and their friendly chemistry together which i assume would be the main topic until the end of its run - and i am certainly fine with this. also, there's a handful of fanservices which could otherwise steer away huge percentage of its audience, and so for those who has yet to give this series a try; you have been warned indeed |3

presentation wise, ro-kyu-bu ! is the hoshizora e kakaru hashi of summer; a festival of colors [ mainly on the primary character themselves ] with bright, vividly cheerful visuals complemented by visual novel-ish character design that has [ and still ] saw a steady rise of use at late. well i for one certainly favor them background design which doesn't look as decent as hoshikaka was as the latter progresses further in its run then.