First Impression: Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko

Lunatic Woman and Vernal Man? I have to check the dictionary and find out what vernal means before I realized that the subs screwed it up. It was supposed to be Electromagnetic Wave Woman and Adolescent Man. Orz...

(c) murayama kousuke

When I saw the first ten minutes of the episode, I was reminded by at least four different anime: Shinryaku! Ika Musume, Durarara, Yozakura Quartet and Kanon. Shinryaku because of the obvious relation to the sea at the beginning of the episode. Durarara because Makoto was just as excited as Mikado. Yozakura Quartet because Makoto kind looks like Akina and Kanon because Meme just reminded me of Minase Akiko.

I'm not sure whether this is a good sign or not but from what I can tell, I like where this show is going. The dialogue is witty and I appreciate clever jokes. Well it's not jokes per se more like Makoto's monologue as he accessing his surroundings including the people he met which include his aunt Meme who kind of an airhead but not really and the self-proclaimed Erio who could be his cousin or a crazy girl Meme picked up somewhere. The interesting thing about this episode for me is the fact that Meme pretends that Erio who is wrapped in a blanket, does not exists. It makes me doubt that she exists until Makoto points it out to her. She didn't treat Erio like a human being either which is worth noticing.

Makoto is like any male teenagers with raging hormones. He checks out the cute girls in his class, planning on spending wasting his pocket money, etc. I like the fact that his brain concludes that God is far just because even though Erio is beautiful she lacks in the mental department which mean he can treat her without bearing any special feeling (yet). It would kill the mood for me personally if he falls in love with her at first sight. That would be retarded.

Shaft is known for the quality arts and animation and they do not skimmed on this project. The director cleverly use different camera angles and perspectives to create an atmosphere for the audience. Some of the background scenes were really pretty as well. As for character designs, they definitely go all out with Erio because I have to admit that she's fucking fappable to. The other females are just as pretty. I sense harem in the making.

I am not sure about the whole "I'm alien thingy" plot though because I felt like it has been used too many times. If Shaft can bring in something different to the table then this show has the potential to be solid and entertaining. For the first episode, it was okay.

art & animation 9/10
story 7/10
characters 7/10
sound 6/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7/10

Posted in: denpa onna, first impression, shaft, starchild records