I see haqua :3(c) k.y ko
I was skeptical at first. In my preview for fall, I did say I want to actually skip this show but Glo made me changed my mind. I didn't read the manga and didn't know that it exist until then so I didn't know what to expect. All I know is that this is a show about a boy who is obsessed with dating games. I don't play games so I thought that I can't relate to him but I was wrong. I find myself keep coming back to watch the show because of Keima. He's definitely your average geek, with burning passion to match.
The story itself is nothing out of ordinary. His peaceful gaming life was interrupted when Elsie, a pretty normal looking devil, came from out of nowhere with demand that he helped her. His mission every week, or every other week was to make a girl who was possesed with a loose soul fell in love with him. By sealing it with a kiss, he set them free from the loose soul and one step closer to have that wretched collar off of his neck. He has saved 4 girls from succumbing to the loose souls. Unfortunately none of these girls were memorable except for the library girl. If I didn't check my diary, I would not have remembered them. The highlight of these otherwise boring episodes were Keima's antics. Thanks to him the comedy was pretty consistent and I ended up liking this show because of that.
Having said that the episodes featuring Kanon were hopeless. I dunno why they dragged the story for three whole god damn episodes. It was boring as hell. I almost quit. Glad that I didn't though because I would have missed the library affair. That was romantic.
The final episode of this show however was something totally different. It almost feels out of place but at least we got to see the real Keima when he's at home. God of Conquest mode is EPIC. Enough said.
As for the art and animation, it wasn't bad but not good either. The character designs didn't stand out which made them kinda forgettable. The production team definitely did not pay much attention to details. Everything is kinda one dimensional. But when it comes to Keima's antics, they didn't hold back. Most of his theory was shown in elaborate manner with different kinds of art style. It sure left me entertained.
The characters, despite kinda forgettable, were quite diverse. We have kuudere, tsundere, yandere and other type of -dere that you can think of. And of course Keima himself. Keima doesn't give a damn about the real world. All he cares about is the girl in the dating games he played. He dealt with the real life girls because his life was on the line. He's the enigmatic anti-hero. Not your typical archetype character. This quality of his made him shines as a unique and thoroughly entertaining protagonist.
(c) wakaki tamikiHiro Shimono might single handedly guaranteed the success of this show. Casting him as Keima is perfect. I couldn't think of any other seiyuu that can do a job better than him. Err... Scrath that. Actually I can. Sugita is awesome with monologues but I'm not going to take credits away from Hiro. Unfortunately this is harem and I don't usually paid any attention to female seiyuu and since none of them had a real stand out performance, they are as forgettable as their character designs. TWGOK make up for it lack of soundtrack with the impressive opening from Tenmon. The full song is 8 minutes long and different parts of the song is used for different chapters, while the unused part is used for background music in addition with other instrumental tracks. It definitely helps creating the right atmosphere for the show. As for the ending, if you paid close attention, it was sang by the said girl of the episode so there are 4 versions: Ayumi, Mio, Elsie and Kanon. I still find it boring though. Keima ED on the other hand... that was freaking great.
Towards the end, it was revealed that this show will get a second season and looks like Elsie's sister or comrade will be joining soon and make Keima's life more miserable. At least she doesn't have personality as boring as Elsie so at least it is something to look forward to?
I don't think this show is a success so have this kind of show getting a sequel when I'm still waiting for Working!! and Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu sequel... it kinda pissed me of actually #nobutreally.
Average is probably the right word I guess when it comes to expressing this show. Despite the painfully lagging episodes in the middle, I still enjoy this show. If nothing else, it is quite entertaining. If you are looking for something light and don't mind average show, than this could worth your time.
art & animation 6/10
story 6/10
character 6/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7/10
2 comments:
At first I was kind of disappointed with the adaptation. The manga was wayyy better in my opinion. But as the series went on, I felt like it kept getting better, and in the end, I liked it as a whole (except for stupid episodes where cake is being made. Cake is detrimental to all of anime.)
The manga is still better. I'm writing reviews for all of the episodes finishing up and I'll probably finish the post sometime in 2011. Hopefully before then though.
Cake? What?
See what I mean about how forgettable this is?
I'm not gonna spend my time on the manga either but haqua seems interesting enough for me to tune in for second season
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