Summer 2010 Pilot Reviews: Ookami-san, Amagami SS & Mitsudomoe
Urgh it’s a boiling summer – and anime is starting. I doubt it’ll be making me cooler but at least it should distract me for a while, hehe.
We’re kicking off Summer 2010 and so far, so good. Here are the pilot reviews for *long inhale* Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi, Amagami SS & Mitsudomoe!
Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi
The first of Summer 2010 I watched – I had no idea, what I was going to be watching but I almost had deja-vu when I instantly recognized the narrators voice and then later many other voices from other productions from the same studio – J.C.Staff.
J.C.Staff, from what I’ve seen from them, have never really excelled in terms of animation quality, and using the same voice actors from not so long ago is frustrating but not off putting – after all it’s the story that’s most important.
To start it gives off the cutesy action feeling of a slapstick-comedy but quickly changes till you get the feeling that this is exactly what it claims to be – a Romantic Comedy…. erm.. more like Comedy Romantic right now but it was quite funny and Ookami-san herself gives off a very “awesome” feeling as she kicks ass with those neko-gloves of hers – but when Akai Ringo gets involved it soon becomes apparent she may have a sweet/soft side the audience could fall for if it’s played on well enough.
It definitely has potential – if it doesn’t last too long. 7/10
Amagami SS
AIC, to me, reminds me of “Nyan-koi” and “Mayoi Neko Overrun”, the former was a pleasant surprise but the latter was rather bad and… the thing they have in common is that they have a Cat-theme. Yes, I’m aware AIC also produce other anime but it’s definitely nothing compared to what Amagami SS should have, production-wise.
For a change we’ll instead be getting a romance anime based on a dating sim by Enterbrain.
The last full-on “romance” anime that reminds me of this one is Kimikiss ~pure rouge~ which came from J.C.Staff and its animation was pretty boring and plain though the story helped it through it’s 24 episodes. Now in Amagami SS’s case what I was immediately struck with was the lovely animation that confronted me – non-deformed character designs, nice backgrounds and well done buildings and a first 5 minutes that showed that AIC aren’t joking around – they can do this kind of thing if they want to, very well too.
I like the characters I’ve seen so far, specifically I like how Junichi, the male protagonist, and how despite being inevitably introvert from heartbreak you watch him suffer right at the beginning, he still has balls and doesn’t crap his pants when girls talk to him.
Did the first episode as a whole leave much of an impression? Production-wise, yes. Story-wise…. not so much. The plot, despite it being a change from what we usually get out of romance anime of late (it’s not a comedy), it still needs to develop.
It’s already confirmed for 24 episodes and looks destined to have its many story arcs and a lot of romance so I have high hopes for this one to get better as time goes by. 7/10
Mitsudomoe
The somewhat precocious and sadistic girl Mitsuba, the somewhat lecherous muscle girl Futaba, and the somewhat mysterious girl Hitoha. Better known as the (mischievous) Marui Sisters, this is the story of how these three triplets go about their days in Class 6-3 with their cute yet wild antics. – AniDB
This anime starts off by introducing a new primary school teacher, Satoshi Yabe, and how he looks forward to his days with his class. But, as the plot implies, it’s about these three “problem children” – the “most dissimilar triplets you’ll ever see”. During the episode they play a game of Nandemo Basuketto (Anything Goes) and things kick off straight away as you quickly learn of the unique characteristics of the three girls – and inevitably – hilarity ensues. The game is actually preceded by a martial arts masterclass from Futaba Marui that’s actually awe-inducing from the combination of the unexpected violence and fluid animation from Bridge.
As some of you might be wondering, the idea of 3 different girls in a classroom is indeed like “Kodomo no Jikan” but let me assure you it’s nothing like that – don’t expect any of the loli/perversion/drama that you find in Kodomo no Jikan but do expect the teacher-endangering antics that will be reminiscent of it. I expect it’ll be a comedy from the beginning until the end and it won’t lace its storyline with anything more because it doesn’t need to.
It’s the most I’ve laughed at an anime in quite a long time and for that reason I sincerely hope it can carry on this way so I can give it at the end the same score as I’m giving it now. 8/10
Expect more reviews soon, if I find the energy to do them!
- Senseito
Related posts:
- Spring 2010 Pilot Reviews: K-ON!! (Season 2), Arakawa Under the Bridge & Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou
- Spring 2010 Pilot Reviews: Working!, Angel Beats & Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
- Lots of Baka-Wolf Stuff, Update on Summer 2008, and a new fansub groups in the works.
Filed under: 2010 - Summer, Action, Anime, Comedy, Reviews, Romance, Senseito's Blogging
It’s a tad late to start my own post about my summer watches, sorry. I started writing one last month, but after ranting on for 700 words about only 3 shows I didn’t continue with, I gave up. I watched around 11 first episodes and dropped most series immediately. Here’s a quick run-through.
I dropped: Occult Academy, because it was daft and boring; Ookami-san, I agree it showed promise but not enough; Nurarihyon no Mago, because it was weak and obvious; Asobi ni Ikuyo, because it was only intriguing at the climax of episode one after 20 minutes of cringe-worthiness; Shukufuku no Campanella, because it was “terribad” in every way; and, Tono no Issho, harmless 1 min sketches that I didn’t find amusing.
I picked up: Shiki, despite glaringly out of place character design this show has some depth and affective atmosphere; Highschool of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead meets Battle Royale without the intelligent satire or the wit. Censored violence, deplorable fan-service, brainless spectacle, and overblown melo-drama, this is pure exploitation – exactly what a zombie anime should be; Sengoku Basara 2, dumb and silly but the over-the-top action and character’s ridiculous grandstanding has made this a guilty pleasure, I marathon-ed season one in advance; Amagami SS, the first episode intrigued, whilst 2 and 3 I really enjoyed, the fourth was rubbish and I fear this 4 part cycle will continue for each romantic interest. The realistic quality of the relationships was reminiscent of the superior True Tears, but the soft-core sexual tension and control fantasies creates an interesting erotic atmosphere; and, Mitsudomoe, the characters aren’t sexualised per say, but the crude sexual humour in a show with mainly children feels a bit odd. That said, it’s rare for a “comedy” anime to make me more than grin but I often laugh out loud during this.