First Thoughts – Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime or Snow White with the Red Hair is a new anime produced by Studio Bones (YES ❤ ) about a female herbalist named Shirayuki with rare red hair. And just like her rare hair color, shoujo anime nowadays are also become more and more rare. Especially GOOD shoujo at that. Thankfully, this anime has given me some hope.

All I can say from the first episode, is that it’s cute. There’s a very distinct fairy tale-ness to this which I adore. I’ve yet to find a good Snow White based story and this would be the first. The characters, the dialogue…I’ve seen it all before but I still like it. Why? Because it’s a fairy tale. It’s impossible for me to grow tired of them. The stories I memorized as a child, the various versions and adaptions I discovered growing up…Akagami no Shirayuki-hime fits in that category and I’m loving it so far. That’s not to say the first episode is too predictable. I was guessing different things that could happen within it and I was wrong everytime -which is great.

And the characters! A big YES to that. If red-haired heroines become a trend I have absolutely no problems with that. I love how Shirayuki embodies both spirit and courage, yet is still gentle.

One of the very first shots is of her reaching for beautiful flowers when suddenly the camera pans over and she’s actually grabbing a type of herb to use in her medicine. I thought that was so clever and already revealed so much about her character!

Although I’m somewhat of a fanatic when it comes to fairy tales (Blame Disney ❤ ) I still didn’t see the small twists here and there in the first episode. It’s clever, cute, and personally, I’m enjoying it so much it’s practically sinful. I cannot WAIT to see more of such a charming anime!

First Thoughts: Daily Lives of High School Boys

I’ve been looking for a good comedy anime and Daily Lives of High School Boys (Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou) MORE than delivers!

I can’t stop laughing! It’s so funny I had to pause the episodes a couple times!

I love it. There’s really nothing more to say.

I’ve only seen the first episode and it’s already becoming one of my favorite anime. That’s REALLY saying something. I will definitely be writing a review of this in the future! XD

First (and Final) Thoughts: Akame ga Kill

Spoiler warning, but I don’t recommend even wasting the time to watch this anime. Read on to learn why~

So, I read about Akame ga Kill some time last month and had absolutely no interest in watching it. The only reason I watched the first episode was because I was at a friend’s house and he had the grand idea of putting it on.

My initial disinterest remains strong.

The characters are very generic and I couldn’t help but think about Power Rangers whenever they showed up. While the art and animation is good, it’s wasted on such a boring series. The “twist” that occurred in the first episode really wasn’t a twist at all. Just some more sadistic villains with no motivation to do what they do. I’m sick of the whole “I’m better than you, so I can do what I want” excuse for a legit form of motivation, too. And the death of his best friend was a very dry, emotionless scene. I can’t feel bad for characters that were only mentioned and never seen. That’s not how it works.

Also, every girl in the series looks like they can be in a harem. Shallow pandering, anyone? It’s only the first episode and they’ve given plenty of boob shots. Oy.

The episode slowed down for a few scenes too which tempted me to skip….a lot.

The only relatively good things I found were (as mentioned above) the art, animation, and also the ending theme.

To sum it up, the episode was an utter borefest. There was nothing that caught my attention, nothing that got my heart racing, generic characters galore, and the story is neither interesting nor well-written.

I have a two-episode anime rule, but since my friend made me watch it out of my own volition and I had no initiative to look it up from the start, I’m going to screw the rule this time.

Dropping this series like a hot potato feels great.

First Thoughts: Nobunaga Conerto

And the first episode has finally been subbed! Whoo!

Well, the first time I read the description of Nobunaga Concerto, it sounded like it would be pretty good already. And lo and behold, it is! (At least, the first episode was).

Funny, interesting, and very enjoyable! Even though the “idiot protagonist” trope is way overused, I’m a sucker for it every time. The main character, Saburo, is just so enjoyable to watch and has a lot of room for development.

Also, I’m not familiar with Japanese history in the least, so I love how they gave a short description when introducing new characters. The background art is also beautiful and well drawn.

Something I love about Nobunaga Concerto is that it seems to take on an older anime kind of look. The style somewhat reminded me of Prince of Tennis so it’s hard to believe it came out just recently.

One of my favorite things about this entire anime is the ending song. My favorite band of all time is a Japanese rock band named “One Ok Rock”. The lead singer of One Ok Rock has a little brother who has his own band called “My First Story”. The brothers both have a similar voice, so I immediately realized My First Story was singing the ending song. It was a personally awesome surprise. 🙂

But there were also a couple things I wasn’t very fond of.

For one, the animation style is…different. It kind of seems like as if they used 3D models for the characters rather than actually drawing. The character movements can come off rather stiff.

Also, I found it unbelievable how Saburo isn’t very surprised with traveling back in time. He goes along with his new situation very easily like it isn’t a big deal. Also, there’s a chase scene where he has to ride a horse which I was confused with. I’ve never ridden a horse myself, but I doubt it’s as easy as Saburo makes it look.

None of the characters seem to ask questions about him either. Even when he brought out his modern day school bag and took out items from his own time.

Overall, the first episode was fun and interesting. Even with some aspects that weren’t executed well at all. It’s given enough to convince me to keep watching, which is sufficient.

I’ll be taking a look at episode 2 next time. 🙂

First Thoughts: Usagi Drop

The first time I heard about  Usagi Drop (Bunny Drop) was when it was mentioned in one of DraconisMarch’s YouTube videos. It looked like something I would adore, so I checked it out.

Now, whenever I watch anime, I always have the Sticky Notes feature open on my computer so I can write my thoughts as I watch. Then later, I can write reviews or first impressions off of my notes.

With Usagi Drop…I completely forgot about the Sticky Notes. I was enjoying myself so much I didn’t want to pause the video to write.

I’ve only seen the first episode and I’m already enchanted with this anime.

It’s a shame it isn’t more popular. I’ve been wanting to find an anime like this and Usagi Drop more than satisfies. The art and animation are both terrific, while both Rin and Daikichi look like very promising and interesting characters.

I will most definitely be writing a review on this anime in the future. 🙂

First Thoughts: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

I feel really late having just started this show now, but hey. Better late than never, eh? I recently finished the first episode of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and was pleasantly surprised.

The whole “magical girl” genre has never really appealed to me, but since this anime got some outstanding reviews, I decided to finally check it out. From the first episode, this Mahou Shoujo seems like your average magical girl anime. If I wasn’t aware that it gets much darker and psychologically intense later on, I would’ve dropped it.

However, I DO know that it starts to pick up around episode 3, so I’ll try my best to stay with it.

From the first episode I wasn’t surprised by the yuri tendencies but I would rather do without them. The opening is actually a favorite of mine because I adore the song. The art is great and the animation is solid. I can see hints here and there that this series is going to take a dark turn soon and I can’t wait for it. Also, there’s something different about the characters that I can’t quite put a finger on. They haven’t done or said anything that takes them away from their character tropes, but there’s something unique about all the characters introduced so far. I can’t explain it…

I don’t really have much to say for right now only that I hope this anime lives up to its reviews….

In the mean time, I’ll do my best to continue watching and possibly write a review of my own in the future ^^

First Thoughts: Ao Haru Ride

When I read the description of Ao Haru Ride a couple weeks ago, I was ecstatic. I was looking forward to another great shoujo romance anime. Possibly something that even rivaled Kimi ni Todoke.

Boy was I disappointed.

Then again, it was pretty foolish to set my standards as high as expecting a Kimi ni Todoke.

Ao Haru Ride seems to be just another generic school romance.

Already in the first episode there seemed to be a trend of unnatural changes in dialogue. For example, the scene in the very beginning where Futuba and Tanaka/Mabuchi take shelter from the rain. Futuba hints to something about a festival and Tanaka walks over to give her his gym shirt for drying off…

I understand it’s a shoujo, but reason should still apply. Nearly everything the characters said was unnatural and/or just plain cliche.

The characters were all cloth cut from your generic shoujo archetypes. Futuba even has two best “friends”. I use the word “friends” lightly because what kind of friends would say something like this:

(Well, I guess not all friends of the main character can be as lovable as Yano and Chizuru.)

Not even the love interest has any discernible features.

Even with his image and personality change, he still managed to be a shoujo trope. (He just went from the quiet, sweet boy to the rude, misunderstood type.)

Ao Haru Ride just couldn’t keep me interested at all. Nearly all the sweet moments were scenes you could find in any other shoujo. The only scene in this that I enjoyed was the very beginning where the two main characters were being shy and awkward around each other.There wasn’t anything that separated it from its genre. The characters aren’t memorable, neither is the art or story.

Still, I have a two-episode anime rule so I will be looking at episode 2 next time. Though I’m not expecting much.

First Thoughts: Great Teacher Onizuka

With all the new anime being released, it’s nice to step away and return to the classics. I recently finished the first episode of GTO and was pleasantly surprised. I remember a few years ago when I tried to pick up this series but couldn’t stand the art. It’s weird how your taste can completely change over time.

TEACHER BANZAI!

The story centers around Eikichi Onizuka, a 22-year old, ex-gang member who strives to become a great teacher through practically any means necessary. All the way from torturing his own students in order to get their attention. GTO brings up the topic of the borderline between students and teachers and the need to break down that wall. (With a sledgehammer if necessary…)

Onizuka is definitely…what I wasn’t expecting. Which is both good and bad. He’s wonderfully flawed in many ways (which is a good thing) and his determination and methods of getting his points across are entertaining as heck. While I couldn’t stand how utterly perverted he was, I’ll admit that I did chuckle at a couple scenes here and there. (Teacher banzai!)

The first episode definitely had me hooked. This goes to show that age doesn’t always deter from a well-written tale. While the 45 minute long episode made me fearful of what was to come, I was happy to find the episodes after are all in the normal 23-minute long time frame. I’ve never been a fan of long episodes because I find it harder to stay interested. But even with 45 minutes, GTO had me interested till the very end.

I also LOOOOOOOOOVEEED the twist in the first episode with the class he got! I should’ve seen it coming, but it actually took me pleasantly by surprise. It was great.

So right off the bat, the first episode was enough to keep me interested. Onizuka seems to be a memorable, fun character and I’m a sucker for delinquent anime. The only flaw I’m finding is all the suggestive dialogue. While the fan service isn’t bad, (especially since the art is old fashioned) it’s the mature themes that come into play that can make you feel rather…awkward.

Other than that, I’m hoping to finish GTO to the end and hopefully write a review some day.

First Thoughts: Noragami

I recently started Noragami even though I’d heard about it back in January. The first time I looked up pictures, I couldn’t help cringe. Another cat girl? Really?

But I decided, why not?

The story seemed interesting enough and Yato, the broke and upcoming god looked like a promising character should the story end up being a flop.

The first episode destroyed my expectations. It had GREAT characters, funny dialogue, action, plus incredible art and animation. There was some subtle fanservice here and there, but it was taken seriously rather than perversely. The opening sequence is definitely a treat. Not only did I find the song powerful, the art made my mouth drool. Thumbs up to you, studio Bones. The ending is also a favorite of mine. I knew the sound of Supercell after the first line ❤

I feel like the characters are going to be the driving force of this show, which I’m totally fine with. Even the “cat girl”, Hiyori, is lovable and fun. And Yato is everything I thought he was going to be.

Though with shows like this, they generally have the same set up plot in every episode and it gets kind of boring. I’m hoping Noragami won’t be like this after it got such high praise from a friend of mine who’s particular about anime.

The first episode was enough to get me interested and if it keeps that way, hopefully I’ll be writing a review of it in the future.