…and surprisingly enjoying it.

I started watching because Gargron started watching it and mentioned that it was good.  I figured it wouldn’t hurt to pick it up, so I did.  I won’t say it’s any sort of anime masterpiece, but it certainly isn’t a painful experience.

I’ll preface this by saying that I don’t really love ecchi.  I try to keep my ecchi viewing down to one series at a time, if I watch any at all.  Why is this?  Well, mostly because it’s embarrassing if anyone else sees my watching it, and by keeping it to one series at a time I can cut down the chances that people will see!  Yeah.

Anyway!  Needless to say, this series has a good bit of ecchi.  Actually, it has a lot of ecchi.

The premise is that the main character, Yuto, is a descendant from a line of demon hunters.  Himari is a member of a line of demons that protect the demon hunters of Yuto’s line.  As such, Himari’s duty is to protect Yuto.  However, Himari is obsessed and in love with Yuto and has been since their childhood, which Yuto cannot initially remember.

Yuto’s goal is to live peacefully and not let the small war between his family and the demons continue; he’s a pacifist.  And as he goes about life with this mission in mind, life does everything it can to stop him.

First he meets Shizuku, a powerful water demon.  Then Lizlet, a tea cup personified.  Kaya, a zashiki-warashi who is jealous of Yuto’s relationship with Himari, etc., etc., and on and on.  Again, Yuto has some issues accomplishing his goal.

But the confrontations are interesting, the story keeps me watching, and I love the way the series plays with the camera sometimes.  It’s remarkably eye-catching and helps to dramatize the right moments.

I find myself interested in seeing what crazy demon Yuto will run into next.  What troubles will he face?  Will Rinko, his childhood friend, be jealous again in this episode?  Will something spicy happen between Yuto and Himari?  These are some things I ask myself, and I think they’re fairly essential to any good anime.  They’re the indication that I am being kept engaged.

Now, I won’t argue that the premise is the most original.  I won’t argue that the characters don’t all fulfill some sort of fetish.  I won’t say that Himari’s cat-like characteristics doing damage to Yuto’s cat allergies isn’t a rip-off of Nyan Koi!, but that doesn’t mean this anime isn’t interesting anyway.

After all, there is only so much originality you can have.  There is only so much more you can do or so diverse the characters can get.  If  the series doesn’t go new places it’s okay, because every series doesn’t have to do that.

The point of watching anime is to have some enjoyment, and Omamori Himari causes me much enjoyment, ecchi fanservice aside.  I recommend it if you feel like killing some time with a fairly fun anime, but don’t look for deep meaning in it.  It’s just not a requirement of this series.

–

On a relatively unrelated note, the artist of that sketch, Isao, has gotten surprisingly good wickedly fast. Isao might be joining the ranks of Gofu one day.

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Not to worry, it was just a training exercise!

Or was it?

The beginning of Sora no Woto’s fifth episode left me wondering even more about what the series was going to contain for us viewers.

The first indication that the series may contain more than it seemed was the ghost in episode three, which I didn’t notice until Scamp mentioned it, personally.  And in episode 4, we’re handed two things: the idea that the tank may actually get repaired and Kanata’s quick (immediate) improvement with her trumpet.

Usually I wouldn’t label that kind of improvement as anything but irritating, but for it to happen so quickly in the series, there must be room for more serious things coming soon.  After all, Kanata’s ineptitude with the musical instrument was an important plot device.  For them to kill it so quickly would be a major error, I think, unless they were planning on bringing up something else.

Sure, there are still silly things in Sora no Woto as well, for instance, Noel’s letter from Pro Fessor.  But it’s the less than silly things that make me wonder, and it’s the balance that’s keeping me interested.

Is anyone else looking forward to seeing where this goes, or is it just me?

I’m kind of thinking there will be an actual battle towards the end of the series…though, how everyone will fit into it and how it will end, I cannot guess.

And since I’m on the subject…

I’m impressed with Sora no Woto in general as well.  It has nice backgrounds, the art has kind of grown on me, and I’ve distanced it from K-on! in my mind, and the characters are as I expected, which is, for the most part, a good thing.  I especially like lazy Noel.  Her Professor joke was adorable.

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I’m not planning on doing episodics, but I did have some things I wanted to say about the episode, since it’s my projected favorite.

First of all, it’s still win.  This episode seems slightly duller in color than the last, but that might just be me?  I didn’t go to look at the other one to compare.  I know some people were complaining about animation quality, but, eh, I think it’s fine.  The show has maintained good enough quality for me.

My main concern when starting this out, was that I wouldn’t find it as amusing and fun, because I now know the plot, and I’m not going to be quite as shocked as I was when I viewed the first episode.  Luckily, I was still entertained very well by this one.

Class A vs. Class F in a five on five showdown!

I didn’t think the battle would happen so quickly!  Which makes me wonder what the plot will be beyond this point, and I’m excited to wait for it to show itself.

A few points to nitpick: character development is at zero right now.  We know nothing about the characters, and Himeji’s liking someone was a total shock to me.  What!?  There was no hint of that before.  I hope this gets improved eventually.

But overall, I’m still excited about it.  Unlink Ookami Kakushi, which I have now dropped due to Clingy Girl, this doesn’t annoy me in the least, and it has some truly enjoyable points.  For example, the end of this episode, which I won’t spoil, and Aki’s hand being glued to the desk for a majority of the time.  Seeing him walk around with it was just fun.

Related posts:

1. Drrr!! / Ookami Kakushi / Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

Well, I finished my round of first episode watching for the current anime season, and I’m pleasantly surprised.  Some of the shows I watched did not sound very good from other blogger reviews, and some of them have been overhyped, but I haven’t chosen anything to drop yet.  I even added something to my list unexpectedly yesterday, which is interesting because I generally try to keep the number of anime I keep up with low, so I won’t be as likely to get sick of it or lazy about watching it.

I already talked about Sora no Woto, and will not be repeating my impressions, except to say that I plan to watch it for a while more.  The following reviews will be of varying lengths.

Anyway, reviews ho!

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

I’ve decided to start the round of impressions posts off with the one I added at random.  I only chose to look at it because of Hideyoshi, who is a very cute trap.  Honestly, he’s not a convincing trap, nor does he try to be one, but I’ll forgive him for it.  I haven’t seen a decent trap in a while anyway, which is sad.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu was a show that really surprised me.  I didn’t look to see what it was about, nor did I look at the genre, but then I started watching it, and it was actually fun!  I didn’t have an expectation for it, but I didn’t expect it to be fun either.

It’s basically about a class full of dumb kids (class 2-F) at a very strange school.  Why is this school strange?

a) The rooms are either luxirious (2-A) or falling apart (2-F)

b) It allows for Exam Summon Battles (or something like that, but I don’t remember the name), in which one class may fight another.  The prize is possession of their room.

Yes, these are real battles.  Students summon chibi versions of themselves, whose attack/hit points come from the scores on their last test.  Class F holds an ESB against Class E during the first day of school, so their hit points are based on the placement exam, which got them into their class in the first place.  Class F is bound to lose to class E!  But luckily, they have Himeji Mizuki, who should have been on Class A but was ill on the day of the placement exam.  I won’t give all of the details from that point on, but it’s fun.

I don’t have a lot more to say about the characters.  I think they’re going to be interesting idiots, as we often see in anime, but I’m still excited to watch them.  Basically, this episode surprised me, this show will likely end up as my favorite, and I recommend anyone else try it out as well.

Durarara!!

This show was one that everyone was talking about as being a great show before it aired, and generally continuing to praise it after it aired.  Personally, I think it’s had a little more praise than it’s due.

I can’t compare it to Baccano! as everyone seems to want to, but I can tell you why I was excited about it.  Basically, because Suzuhito Yasuda did the illustrations for its light novel.  I love Suzuhito Yasuda’s manga, Yozakura Quartet, and I like his artwork, so I was hoping that some of his greatness could rub off on this show (if that’s not too bizarre).

I was a little disappointed.  Basically, the story is about a boy, Mikado, who moves to Ikebukuro to be with his friend Masaomi.  The entire first episode consists of them walking through the city, and Masaomi telling Mikado about all the people and groups in the town he will need to avoid.  There is actually a pretty small number of them, and it could have been covered easily in about five minutes.  But no, it manages to last the entire time.  However, the explanation was cut with two things.

The first were a couple of conversations taking place in a chat on some computer somewhere.  I found them to make the episode a little bit confusing and annoying, mainly because

a) I wanted to know who these random people were, and I didn’t

b) I couldn’t keep track of or remember anyone’s name, so I was worried the entire time that I could be missing something crucial just for not being able to recall a name.  I don’t, however, think I did.  I sure hope not, anyway.

The second was the plot device to introduce us to the Black Rider, a headless girl who rides a black motorcycle.  OooOOoooO~  But, silliness aside, I think she was introduced rather well.  She killed everyone involved in some sort of kidnapping scheme, then rode off.  Where Mikado then proceeded to see her riding down the road.  His first urban legend!  Masaomi seemed excited, but I personally wasn’t.

Anyway, that’s enough summary.

Looking at the characters…I’m kind of worried about Mikado.  For one, I can’t remember his name, and I have Wikipedia opened in another tab for every time I forget it.  He’s a very plain boy; quiet and non-assertive.  That sort of character doesn’t usually bother me very much, but with Mikado, it was just too much. His voice reminded me of Italy from Axis Powers Hetalia at first, which definitely doesn’t suit him.  It got better though.

Masaomi was a very happy guy, and he is currently carrying Mikado.  The rest of the characters were just kind of shoved into the episode, and I don’t have an opinion on them.  Hopefully, they will be expanded upon.  I mean, my current favorite is Simon, and that’s just not how it’s supposed to be.

Overall, I’m a little unhappy with this series.  I was definitely expecting more, but I suppose it’ll pick up in time.  I’ll watch for a few more episodes, but if it continues to be this dull and forgettable, I plan to drop it.

(Also, I’m refraining from mentioning how some of the characters look like they walked out of Yozakura Quartet.  I mean, Touka?  Akina?  What are you doing in Durarara!!?!)

Ookami Kakushi

My first thought on this show was Ryukishi07 x Peach-Pit?  Yes!  My thoughts after watching the first episode?  Hmm.

I’m sure the show will be entertaining, but I’m not so sure that it will be all that great.  So far there has been a bell motif that is very much overdone, irritating and cliched characters, and predictable points of “eeriness”.

Characters in this series could really have been done better.  I think Ammy over at We Love Maids covers it well, and in a much more condensed manner than I would have managed.  Of course, I will say a couple of things.

Isuzu is a character that should never have been born.  When she was thought up, she should have been dismissed.  I do not like her, will not like her, and cannot stand to watch her.  I wish she would get killed, but she’s too central for that.  Irritating, clingy girls are not my cup of tea.

However, Nemuru is a little bit better.  She’s the exact opposite of Isuzu; a quiet, evil, loner type of girl.  I won’t say she’s a better developed character (not yet anyway), but at least she doesn’t irritate me.

And since I’m ranting, I do dare to say that the wheelchair girl, Mana,’s obstinance was annoying too.  You can’t wheel down a step that high and expect to be safe every time.  Seriously.

The glasses girl was so boring I forgot both her name and her existence.

And the characters weren’t even that cute.  I mean, I’m used to seeing Ryukishi07’s characters as not cute, but generally charming, however, these were not.  The Grim Reaper type character was, but I’m not sure she counts right now.  I just expected more out of Peach-Pit designs.

But I’ll move on.

The episode itself was a pretty basic beginning episode.  New guy comes into town, new guy is shown around town by cute (sort of) girls, a couple of hints to the rest of the series are presented (New Town vs. Old Town rivalry, a killing after which the person is said to have “moved away”, etc.), and other pretty basic things.  It wasn’t extremely enjoyable to watch, but I didn’t hate it either.

I think I’ll end up watching a couple more episodes and see how this goes.  I just can’t get into the Ryukishi07 animes (though I’ve been enjoying the Higurashi manga version), I suppose.  I finished Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, but I never finished Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai.  Which was the more important one, it seems.  And I didn’t finish Umineko either.

—

To sum it all up, I love Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, Durarara!! needs to improve or I’ll be dropping it, and Ookami Kakushi is on the border.  Weird Winter season, and I wonder how it’ll turn out.

(P.S. I used all non-official art so that you readers could have a break and see something new.)

Related posts:

1. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ep. 2
2. Ookami Kakushi 01 Impressions
3. Winter 10 Anime Watchlist

One episode down, multiple more to go.  I will tell you now that I plan on watching this series all the way through this season even if it kills me!  Though, I doubt it will.

I am going to talk about the show, my impressions of it, and my thoughts on whether it’s really like K-on! or not.  I may be just one other blogger talking about that, but I do think it’s worth mentioning.

Here’s a basic summary of what people said about this show and what I thought about this show (before it aired).  They said things to the effect of, “it’ll be a K-on! ripoff, it’ll be stupid, it sounds just like K-on!”.  I thought, “it looks like K-on!, and maybe it is K-on!with guns, but a little moe never hurt anyone.”  You can see my entire Winter preview here.

Anyway, a quick summary of the first episode: Kanata Sorami, a young soldier with a trumpet, travels to a town, spends some time wandering and participating in a rather odd festival, meets Rio Kazumiya, not in her solider uniform at the time, and basically does nothing for half of the episode.  It’s revealed that she gets lots easily, and she loses Rio’s bell necklace to an owl.  Later, she goes to find it again, and she has to be rescued by the soldiers.  She wakes up at their base, and she trumpets in the morning (poorly) at Rio’s command.

Watching this first episode, I was struck with a couple of different thoughts, which I’ll be covering.  First of all,  I like it.  It’s definitely a moe focused show like K-on!, and while the first episode didn’t include a lot of action, I’m not unhappy with it or surprised.  It’s an introduction episode, neh?  I think I would have liked to see more of the other characters, but that’ll come in the next episode, I presume.  I’m most looking forward to meeting Kureha Suminoya, the black twin tailed girl.

I’ll probably make another post about the show in a couple more episodes, once some things happen.

Now, on to some more fun stuff.

Sora no Woto: K-on! with guns?  My verdict is no.  It’s not like K-on! at all, and there aren’t even guns.

To begin the comparisons, I’ll start with Kanata.  She has a penchant for getting lost, which I can’t say Yui has.  Yui has more of a penchant for getting into any sort of trouble possible.  Kanata is not, as of right now, lazy or dependent on other people.  She’s a nice girl without being a complete airhead (though she is a little airy sometimes).  In addition, Kanata does something stupid by trying to catch, and later following, the owl that steals Rio’s necklace, but she does at least have great care for other people, which I can’t say Yui does.

Basically, if it wasn’t for the artwork, I wouldn’t even try to compare the two.  I do, however, fault this show on its artwork.  For K-on!, it worked well because that show was all about moe anyway, and the artwork complimented that.  While the art in Sora no Woto is not exactly the same as K-on!, it is ridiculously similar, and I don’t think it works as well here.  However, I look at series more for their characters and plotline than I do for their artwork.

Additionally, I left my volume on while watching this episode, which I don’t often do with anime.  I can’t say I disliked it, and I’ll probably continue to listen to the show while I watch it.  It is music based, in a way, I suppose.

To sum it up, I like the show.  I like the characters alright so far, and I will continue watching.  Since this show is one of those sparking debate lately, I recommend everyone give it a chance.  On a normal basis, however, I would probably still recommend it.  The show looks like it may end up being a hidden gem.  And the people already claiming otherwise have started off biased against it, or it’s just not their genre, and they shouldn’t try to kill it for the rest of us.

__

Sidenote: I had a fun time looking at this anime’s website, if you want to check it out too.  It’s where all my images came from.  [This]

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Alright, well, I’ll start my blogging here off with a quick review on this equally quick film, Cencoroll.  It’s a post to warm up to things more than anything else.

I didn’t expect a lot when I sat down to watch this.  I thought, hey, it’s a short film, it’ll be a quick watch, so I may as well spend some time (26 minutes!) on it.  My thought is, basically, that if you like short stories, you’ll like Cencoroll.  If you don’t like them, you probably won’t.

Because Cencoroll is a very cute short story…with no background information and little character development.  You basically have to take the characters as they are, sit back, and watch without thinking too much about what they’re leaving out.  Which is basically what I’ve been learning as I read those one-shots I occasionally post reviews on.

Anyway, the basic story in Cencoroll is as follows: Tetsu a boy with a monster companion, Cenco.  Yuki runs into Tetsu one day, and she finds out about Cenco.  She is intrigued by the fat white thing, and when Tetsu has it transform into a car, she wants a ride.  Tetsu is a very cautious boy, and he doesn’t want to get involved with this girl who has discovered the secret of Cenco, so he is very unhappy with Cenco, who likes Yuki, obliges.  (Simple summary)

After that there’s a battle, some cute/touching scenes, and a very nonchalant attitude towards everything that goes on.  But I won’t give away what few spoilers there are to give.

Moving to something else, I definitely like Cenco the best of the characters.  He could eat me without fully opening his eyes, but I still like him!  He’s lazy, but he’s actually kind of cute once you look part his…monster traits, and he’s probably the most developed character in the film.  Yuki’s just a happy girl, Tetsu is just a moody guy, but Cenco’s personality actually has shifts.

Now, interestingly enough, it was artwork that got me to watch this series.  I mean, if Tiv (image board link, because it’s a scan. Tiv’s site.) does an illustration for something, it must be worthwhile, right?  I’m a fan of Tiv’s work.  I’m pretty sure the film had an article in a magazine or something similar to that, and that’s where this image came from.

Basically, the film is short, it’s cute, and it’s an interesting concept.  It doesn’t make a big deal out of itself, and actually progresses quite calmly.  I said earlier that it would help to like short stories if you want to like this film, but I do think it’s worth trying out, for anyone.

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Hello, readers, I’m mefloraine, and I run Paper Flower.  I’ve decided to hop onto this blog and see where it wants to take me.  I’m quite happy to have the opportunity to expand my blogging, don’t mind the intrusion, etc.  Basically, I get to write to more people!  So I’m going to see how it goes.

Since I’m going to be talking about my anime exploits here, I think I should mention a few things.  I am not a dedicated watcher.  I do not sit for six hours a day at my screen to watch anime (though, I do sit for more than six hours a day at my screen in general).  However, I hope that I’ll be able to present a relatively interesting view on the anime that I do watch, and possibly cover some things that aren’t being covered already.

Anyway, I’ll move off of that subject, since you’ll be seeing my posts soon enough anyway.  I am a very art based person, which you see a lot on Paper Flower, but I’ll try to have a nice balance, and more towards the non-artistic side, for you all here.  Oh, and you can find me on twitter too, as mefloraine, if you want to.

(If you’re wondering about the random image, that would be me.  Or, my persona.)

See you again once I post something real.

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