First Impression: Gin no Saji: Silver Spoon

The only reason I'm excited as fuck for this show is because it's produced by A-1 Pictures. I hope this show can somewhat compensate for what is lacking in Servant x Service. On top of that, this is the only show that is featured in noitaminA for this season. That should be a good sign, isn't it?

My first impression was Moyashimon. That's what this show reminds me of during the first few seconds what with the agriculture theme going on. However, it is in my opinion, more enjoyable. Or maybe I'm just biased as fuck because it's my favorite studio that is producing it XD

err... yeah, don't asked about the fanart. I just thought Hachiken looks cute as a trap

Anyhoo, it's about Hachiken who enrolled to a agriculture school just because it's a boarding school and doesn't want to go home. The other students have either ambition that has something to do with agriculture or simply taking over their family business. He has zero knowledge on agriculture and expected to ace the normal subject. I LOL'd when he called the others dumb but when they started to talk about science, he was left eon's behind.

Seemingly Hachiken has trouble adapting to farm life especially when he has problem eating an egg when he found out that it comes from the anus (technically it's called cloaca). However, it seems like the farm life suits him best. He has four team members that are pretty helpful too.

I love the comedic part and the plot is definitely something that most of us aren't familiar with, unless of course if you are into agriculture. I think it's fresh and appreciate the fact that they weren't pretentious about it. It showed how hard the farmers/agriculture people work for us to get all the food on our table.

Thank you A-1 Pictures for fulfilling my expectation for this show. I enjoy it a lot and this one is going to stay in my must watch list.

Episode: 11
Aired: Summer 2013
Producers: A-1 Pictures

arts & animation 8/10
story 9/10
characters 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 8.6/10

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First Impression: Servant x Service

This show is automatically in my MUST WATCH list simple because it's produced by A-1 Pictures. Why? Well, that's my most favorite studio, is why! But then again, there are several shows from this studio that I dropped like Oreimo for example because there's character that I cannot tolerate in it.

Servant x Service sounds just like a show that I will try to avoid. In my head, anything that has the word servant and service in it's title has ecchi written all over the plot. But I have faith in the studio. Even if there are fan services, I hope they remain classy.

And I was right. The only fan service you'll get is the bouncing of melons. I'm okay with that.

But the plot is weak. Too weak. The animation was average too. It somewhat doesn't really feel A-1 Picture-ish. I expected something more... well-developed.

It's about this three characters being employed at civil service office, with their hopeless supervisor. Each has personality of their own: Lucy wants revenge because of her name (like I said, weak plot is weak), Miyoshi is timid, Chihaya is stoic, Ichimiya is somewhat useless imo and Hasebe to liven up the dull office. Nothing much going on. Hopefully they'll develop some romance between Lucy and Hasebe along the way but I doubt it.

You know that a show is average as fuck when you can't find any fan made drawings of them. Mediocre is a pretty fitting word to describe this show.

But because it's A-1 Pictures, I'll try my best to keep up with it. I hope it won't get any stupider though.

Episode: tbc
Aired: Summer 2013
Producers: A-1 Pictures

arts & animation 6/10
story 6/10
characters 7/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 6.6/10

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First Impression: Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter

Lets be totally honest here. The only reason I'm checking this out is because this show is produced by A-1 Pictures otherwise I wouldn't be bothered at all. Mecha is just not something that is appealing to me especially since it looks like this show is targeted for children under the age of 12 >_>

This fanart can be so misleading and yet so appealing for pedophile
(c) Ama Mitsuki

My intuition was right though, this show is just ridiculously bad that I feel sorry for being an A-1 Pictures fan. It's about a city of AI cars where even kids can drive a car as long as they have their drivers ID. Then somehow later on in the episode, they have mecha fighting. I just don't get it and like I said, this shit is terribad.

Or maybe it wasn't. They just decided to use the Transformers idea and adapted it to become an anime because this is certainly what this show is all about. They just renamed it to Gyrozetter. Urgh, awful shit.

The pace of the story is all over the place and the use of CGI is too obvious for the car. It was messy from start to finish, from the arts to the story itself. I wonder how the fuck did A-1 Pictures agreed to produce this. Maybe Toyota, Nissan and other Japanese car manufacturers are sposnsoring this show though as they clearly used Prius and GTR cars as part of the show's characters, so they did it for money? If they are, I am terribly disappointed.

I'm dropping this and putting this away in the anishit pile.

Episode: tbc
Aired: Fall 2012
Producers: A-1 Pictures

arts & animation 5/10
story 4/10
characters 4/10
sound 5/10
enjoyment 3/10
overall 4.2/10

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First Impression: Sword Art Online

One of the few anime I look forward to this season for the simple fact that it is produced by A-1 Pictures. Yes, I am officially a studio-fag now.

Sword Art Online is a virtual game that allowed the players get into the game and mentally moves their body like they normally would. It was the first day the game was released officially and thousands of players gathered in that virtual world only to be trolled by the creator: they can't log out unless they clear the game. If they forced it then they are dead. If they didn't survive the game, their dead as well. 

a daughter? already? >_>

Our protagonist, Kirito, was a player for the beta version so obviously he has some advantage. He kinda has  a complex - most possibly an extreme introvert. So it would be interesting to see him overcome all his inner conflict. I can't say much about the other characters because the only one they have introduce is Klein who is a noob and the first friend Kirito made in SOA.


Watching SOA somehow reminds me of Brave Hearts. Go figure. Also, the virtual online thingy, if you are a big fan of D.J. Machale's Pendragon series, then it should occurred to you that Veelox and SOA shared something similar. Kirito even said it himself: He thinks that the virtual world feels more real than the real world. I know some if not most of us can relate to that.


Being a biased jerk that I am, I can't find no fault in the arts, animation, seiyuu, BGM, OP or the ED which means I like it. As I have said in my preview, this show is definitely a must watch show for me.

I'm pretty sure most people disagree with me but meh who cares.

Episodes: tbc
Aired: Summer 2012
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Game, Romance

arts & animation 7/10
story 7/10
characters 8/10
sound  7/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7.2/10


p/s: Personally, I thought the title was dumb. 

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First Impression: Uchuu Kyoudai

This show is better known as Space Brothers and though it has been several weeks since it was released (I remember downloading it before I went to Korea), it is only know that I have time to sit down and check out the show. I said in my preview that I look forward to watch this show (because it is produced by A-1 Pictures) but since horriblesubs named the torrent in English, I totally missed it. Orz.

Without further delay, let see if I am right about this being a good show that is worthy to be in my "must watch" list of anime this season.


Uchuu Kyoudai and A-1 Pictures definitely did not disappoint me. It is what I expected it to be and much more. The story is pretty simple; it revolves around two brothers who made promises to go to the moon and Mars when they grow up. Mutta is the older brother of the Nanba household and Hibito is the youngest. The two of them are pretty tight since their childhood days, always doing things together. As an older brother, Mutta always trying to be one step ahead of Mutta, which is how he ended up promising that he's going to Mars when Hibito said that he's going to the moon during the night they both saw UFO, which pretty much sparked this story.

The setup for this show is in the year of 2025. Naturally the boys are all grown up and Hibito is already an astronaut working with NASA in a mission to the moon. Mutta on the other hand just lost his job and unemployed after he butthead his employer when he made fun of Hibito. He was pretty lost with his purpose in life until Hibito helped him out by reminding him about the promise he mad when they were kid. He also (with the help from their mother) sent Mutta's resume to JAXA (Japan equivalent to NASA) which apparently is quite impressive because Mutta was accepted to be their next astronaut.

What I like about Uchuu Kyoudai is the realism about it. It was easy for Mutta to given up simply because he was born on a bad date but he never really take that as a set back but embraces it as part of his responsibilities as an older brother to stay focus and be one step ahead of his younger brother Hibito, who unlike him, was born during an auspicious day. This allow the show to open up a deeper discussion about destiny and personal attitude.

The art and animation for Uchuu Kyoudai are not really familiar to A-1 Pictures' other productions. Usually they produced really pretty and astounding animation but for Uchuu Kyoudai, they choose to be a minimalist. This can clearly be seen for the character designs that are lot less details than what they normally do, and less clean as well. Not that it's a bad thing though because even though they sort of look oldskool/nostalgic (that of BECK), it somehow works brilliantly with the concept. After all we are going back and forth to the past (1996 - 2006) and present (2025).

The art isn't the only thing that is nostalgic about this show. The OP and ED complimented that feelings really well. It is like the OP and ED were specifically chosen to resonate with the two protagonists. The oldskool rock of "Feel So Moon" OP definitely fits with Mutta while the more recent modern rock vibe can be detected in the ED of "This Wonderful World" by Gira Mundo which of course fits Hibito, the younger brother.

As for the seiyuu, can't say that I am a fan of Mutta's voice. I thought he sounds too old for his age. I'm not taking anything away from Hiroaki Hirata though. I am just saying that someone like Tomokazu Sugita would have been perfect playing the role of a mid 30's man. No complains for Kenn though. Hibito is rather perfect in every sense of the word, no?

This show is lot heavier and deeper than any other anime I've seen so far for Spring. It takes a fresh and realistic approach at the lives of two brother without any hidden undertone. I love the ideas of what they want the audience to experience by watching this show: of desires, choices and decisions that we made in our lives, and if they affected the path that we once chose as a child. It is also of hopes and dreams. Ain't that the beauty of being alive?

Why am I being so poetic all of a sudden?

Alright then. End.

art & animation 7/10
story 8/10
characters 8/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 7.8/10

p/s: Did you know that this show is an adaptation from the same titled manga Koyama Chuuya which won two manga awards as well as nominated for several more? Well know you do.

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First Impression: Tsuritama

Surely by now you would have known that I am a fan of A-1Pictures. They didn't come out with any anime last season so I was really looking forward to watching two of their anime this season and Tsuritama is definitely one of it, especially so since it is featured in noitaminA and Tomokazu Sugita is one of the seiyuu. But then I started notice people's reactions to the show and though it doesn't dampened my excitement, it sure does rings some warning bells in my brain, just so that I won't be disappointed at the end of this episode.

Having said that, I can understand why people are whining about this show, especially you boys: it is featuring the story of four boys. If they were girls, I am sure the reactions would be different indeed.


Well, thank goodness that I didn't let others' opinions influenced me because I ended up enjoying every second of Tsuritama and dare I say it that my faith in noitaminA has been restored!

It is a show that I can't figure out how it will end after watching the first episode which is always a good thing. Predictability can be so cliche and I am not that good at dealing with cliche shit. Tsuritama starts with a tale of dragon with five heads that darkened an island with horrors and such until a goddess appeared one day from a purple sky. The dragon then fell in love with the goddess and before I knew it, there's Haru, one of the boys, who claimed himself to be an alien. He certainly has abilities of controlling people using his water pistol and communicating with fish. It looks like he was searching for something until he found Yuki, whose grandmother is quite hawt to be honest, and has some panic issue. He wants to be normal but has problem dealing with attentions. He transferred to the city by the sea because his grandmother got a new job there. The two of them are Natsuki's classmate. Natsuki is the prince of fishing - oh did I forget to mention that this show has a lot to do with fish and sea? - and has quite a cold persona, which is his charm in my opinion ♥

The first time they met, they were brought together by Haru who brainwashed them to go fishing with him. Yuki seeming has found something in fishing that might help him with his panic attack - and friends too - something that he always wanted.

But they are being watched by Akira, some sort of a prince who is always with a goose, and surrounded by bodyguards. It is still not clear who he is and what his deal is but the episode definitely got me interested in finding out more about everything.

I think Ryota Ohsaka does a really good job at voicing Yuki, given the fact that he is a novice. Yuki is not a one dimensional character and if he can carry his character well, I'm sure he has a bright future as seiyuu right in front of him. Needless to say, given the 1 minute introduction, was enough to makes me giddy of Akira simply because of Tomokazu Sugita. Haru's voice is rather annoying but I think it fits perfectly with the kind of character that he is which says a lot of his seiyuu, Miyu Irino. Kouki Uchiyama deep and serious voice makes me fall for Natsuki so yeah needless to say, I am a fan of all four :D

Everything about Tsuritama is vibrant and bizarre, starting with the character all the way to the animation and arts, which I must say, is something that I love to see in many other A-1 Pictures. It gives the feelings of watching a mix anime between SHAFT and Toei animation. Speaking of which, Tsuritama is directed by Kenji Nakamura, the same genius who directed Mononoke and C. Knowing this just makes my expectation for this show grows exponentially. It is rather careless of me, I know, because this could end up to be another Fractale but hey as long as I'm entertained, I won't complain much.

Yes, I know that I am biased as fuck. Aren't you?

Which mean I love the OP and ED too, especially the ED ^____^

Like I've said, it looks like I am most likely gonna spend my Spring watching A-1 Pictures anime and nothing else.

art & animation 10/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 10/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9.6/10

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First Impression: Working'!!

The most anticipated anime for the Fall, at least for me it is. I have been whining for a second season ever since the last episode of the first season was aired in June last year. I am just head over heels in love with this show. Imagined how fucking ecstatic I am when I heard that A-1 Pictures finally coming up with the new season in Fall.

(c) Inojita Mukamo

Working!! is a character driven show and most probably the reason why it appeals to me so much to even named it as my number one anime of 2010. I just love how the characters in these show interact and complimenting each other. Just thinking about them makes me want to gush and what not. Uguuu~♥

The first episode of the second season continue from where it left of. Inami still has issues dealing with men even though he can interact with Takanashi pretty casually now. Poplar still takes offense when people call her tiny and pet her head. Yachiyo is still gay for Kyouko. Takanashi still has weak spot when it comes to anything that is remotely cute. Yamada is still as clumsy and address herself as a third person. Kyouko is still a useless manager. Souma Satou-san are still as cunning but only cuter :3

Others might be put off with the fact that nothing changed but I am glad. Their eccentricities what makes this show awesome and if they changed that, then this show will be just like any other slice of life anime. I certainly don't want that to happen. As for the plot, I am sure they will pick up soon enough.

Oh fuck it, I'm not gonna say anything more because I'll just be so fucking biased about it anyway lol. But I have to say this: Takanashi comparing Poplar with a bug gotta be the highlight of this episode for me. It just comforting for me knowing that Poplar is just to happen to be his fetishes and nothing more than that. Heh, you see, I'm a pro Inami/Takanashi shipping...

lol I'm so hopeless sometimes.

So yeah, needless to say, I can't wait to fap to this show every week. What a great Fall this is going to be ^____^

this can be misinterpreted in so many ways lol

art & animation 10/10
story 9/10
character 10/10
sound 10/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9.8/10

p/s: for a different take on this first episode, read what Glo thought about it.

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First Impression: Uta no Prince-sama - Maji Love 1000%

The second anime produced by A-1 Pictures for this season. Naturally I feel oblige to watch this show just for that reason alone, though I must admit that I'm not looking forward to the story itself. I think the studio can do much better than this. I hope the bishies are fappable enough to make up for what it's lacking. Pfft, who am I kidding. There will be BL in this show! I demand it!

What klux-sama wants, klux-sama gets!
(c) Porry

I expect a lot of things but I didn't expect a show about J-Pop idols. I should have but it just doesn't cross my mind. Since I'm not a fan of J-Pop (only J-Rock) and is much more familiar with the K-Pop, I found this show extremely hilarious. It's like watching behind the scene shiznit about the groups, which quite frankly I don't mind at all. Watching them perform on stage with groovy dance moves like that, and fans chanting... yup definitely K-Pop idols. 2PM perhaps? They definitely fits the bill. lol they should used their song for this show instead of the first ED of Ao no Exorcist.

These six idols are students at Saotome Academy, the most prestige performing arts school in the country. There they met this lucky bitch named Haruka who is the subject of their affection for some reason that's lost to me. Who gives a fuck about her anyway?

Since A-1 Pictures produced this, I know I won't be disappointed with the characters. They are known for beautiful, pretty and hot characters and for a harem show, they definitely make the characters desirable. I certainly want them boys to be in my pantsu so naturally that warrants me to be jealous of Haruka who by the way, looks a bit off with that pupil of hers. She reminds me of Paprika but in term of personality and likeability, she is the tasteless gum at the bottom of Paprika's shoes.

Meet my new fappable characters
(c) kanzaki8

The story itself reminds me a little bit of La Corda D'oro Prima Passo and Miracle Train. It is predictable from the get go but I convinced myself that I'm not watching this for the cliche story line but for the characters and possibility of BL. To be honest, I tuned out the part that has Haruka and only focus on the boys. I am so used with yaoi that doing that is a cinch which mean I am enjoying this one more than I should have.

In order words, I am disappointed at how bad the story is. Not to mention that aside from the character, the animation and arts are definitely below the usual par that A-1 Pictures set for his anime. It's like this show has the lowest budget in all of their anime. Well, can't blame them really. I won't spend so much on shit like this too.

Oh well. I'm being honest here. I am gonna watch this because of the bishie characters as well as the seiyuu. If those aren't your thing, best to stir clear from this show.

Watch at your own risk.

arts & animation 5/10
story 4/10
characters 6/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 6/10

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First Impression: The iDOLM@STER

Like I said in the preview, the only reason I am looking forward to this show is because my favorite animation studio, A-1 Pictures, is producing it. I know that the game hit it big and I understand why they pick this up. I just hope that this is not as bad as I thought it would be though. Girlish anime isn't really my thing.


In the first minute of the show I was a tad confused, thinking who the hell do these girls talked to. All I see if subs of questions asked and then it hit me that this is a show about girls wanna be idol and thus it is as if we, the audience, are the one interviewing the girls about their routine etc. I can't really say that the idea is appealing because I think it's kinda stupid and pretentious.

That's pretty much how the show goes. We get to meet the wanna be idols and see their activities at home or at the 765 Production studio. It appears that these girls are "aware" of us scrutinizing their daily life to become an iDOLM@STER. Some are more forwards while the others are camera shy. Some even play around trying to enter-frame at every chance they got. It may add to the 'realness' of the situation but I still think it is stupid.

Since there are 12 idols plus the producer, etc, I can't keep up with the characters or their names. Some stands out more than the others like the girl with stuffed usagi or the girl who sleeps a lot. The place is a havoc since each and everyone of the idols have different personalities. They don't exactly get along well with each other either. I certainly DO NOT WANT to be in that closed space with any of them. I just might bite their head off for being too annoying.

This is just like watching a reality TV searching for an idol. We had one in Malaysia called Akademi Fantasia who used the same format as this anime showing everything from them eating their meals to practicing their vocals and dance. I hated it too.

Having said that, I have warm up to Makoto. Her personality shines through. Miki seems to be among the most popular one though and I can see why.


The cast for this show is huge, given the nature of the game and the genre itself. Since it is mainly featuring female seiyuus, I am not really familiar with any of them except for Rie Kugimiya who is doing Iori Minase. I guess Glo has a solid reason to watch this show now.

As expected, the idols performed the ED and as expected the song is typical idol song that isn't really my cup of earl grey tea. The dance training is nice though, thanks to the fluidity of the animation.

I am on the fence with this show. It's not bad. It is just terribly boring unless you are into the games, or a nerd who jerks off to these 2D girls as hobby. Thankfully they introduce the producer at the end of the episode. At least it has a male cast now so I won't be feeling too neglected. Maybe I'll end up enjoying this. Maybe I don't. *shrugs*

A-1 Pictures did a splendid job with the adaptation. Though I think the approach is stupid, I have to admit that it's different. Even I was taken for a ride with this documentary way of doing this show. The weakness of this show show is also the selling point of this show: the content (read: iDOLM@STER).

art and animation 7/10
story 5/10
characters 6/10
sound 6/10
enjoyment 5/10
overall 6/10

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First Impression: Ao no Exorcist

Ao no Exorcist is the only anime that I look forward to the most because of two factors. Factor number one is the fact that I have read the manga back when I was a manga whore so I know what to expect and I expect greatness because the story is fucking awesome (though I have forgotten most about it). The other factor, if you have not guess it yet, is the fact that A-1 Pictures is the one producing this show.

I am three things: anime tard, Sugita slut and A-1 Pictures' whore. Explain a lot, doesn't it? LOL

http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=1704054

As expected from A-1 Pictures, the start of the anime puts me at the edge of my seat where a bunch of priests praying to protect the Assiah but one by one they were burned to crisp. But this show is not about them, this show is about the twin Rin and Yukio Okumura who have opposite personalities. Yukio is the smart and obedient one while Rin is the rebel who always gets into trouble.

The Abbey where Rin and Yukio live provides exorcism but Rin doesn't believe in ghost and demon until he saw one himself. That's the beginning of his adventure. Little did he know that he's the offspring of Satan. The day he learned that, he also saw Father did his exorcism and finally he was told the truth about himself. Now that the demon knows where and who he is, Rin will be hunted down. Shit is about to get real people!

Fuck, I'm soaked.

Ao no Exorcist is not all serious shit. It plays with emotions too. When Rin was embarrassed in front of Father, I feel my cheeks heat up as well. And then there were the clumsy side of Rin that made me chuckled. He's cute like that. The same goes for Yukio. I can really feel his concern for Rin and I can't wait to see him playing his role in this whole premise. Gah, twinsome is awesome.

http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=1704054

I dunno who Nobuhiko is since I'm not familiar with his previous works but since he does Rin so well, I better look out for him the next time I watch an anime. Yukio is voiced by Jun Fukuyama who is famous for his role as Lelouch so Yukio kinda has that kind of charisma. The rest of the cast will definitely makes this show a huge success, like Hiroshi Kamiya and Kana Hanazawa who are yet to make their appearance. Both the OP and ED are outstanding. Uverworld, whom I know and come to like thanks to Bleach, does the OP and since I learned that 2PM is singing the ED, the conceited old me like it right away. Credits to the music director as well for the appropriate BGM.

There is no need to sing my praises to A-1 Pictures for the great art and animation. It was expected of them and once again, they delivered. It was flawless. The character designs are just like that of the originals and the backgrounds were very detailed. To say that I'm impressed is an understatement. Thank you A-1 Pictures for not disappointing me this time around.

I'm going to recommend this show to everyone not just because I am a biased fucker but also because I think great anime ought to be shared. I already have friends that I can spazz to so that just makes watching it even more enjoyable. Love. Love. Love.

art & animation 10/10
story 10/10
characters 10/10
sound 10/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 10/10

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First Impression: Ano Hana

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai or better known as Ano Hana is the other anime that is featured in noitaminA time slot for Spring 2011. This is also one of the anime I most look forward to because it is produced by A-1 Pictures studio. The other one is Blue Exorcist. This is the second anime from A-1 Pictures that made it to the noitaminA slot after their first attempt with Fractale.


In term of the story, it kinda reminds me of Fractale which in a way is not good at all. We all know how over-ambitious Fractale was in term of how deep it was trying to achieve. Thankfully, Ano Hana do not take place in another system/era/dimension but here on earth so it will rule out that over-ambitious shit. This one is much simpler and it won't need much over-the-top explanation with stuff that will only confused us further.

To put it in a less complicated way, Ano Hana is about a dead girl named Menma who haunts Jinta's life during this one summer (they did not specified when). Menma was one of the Super Peace Busters members from Jinta childhood. There are four other members, Popo, Anaru, Yukiatsu and Tsuruko. On one unfortunate day, Menma dead (possibly drowning) and Jinta basically took it the hardest as their group drifted apart. His grades plummeted and he didn't even go to school anymore. He is pretty much an anti-social nowadays. Maybe it is worth noting that (a) everyone in the group kinda can tell that Jinta likes Menma. Anaru and Yukiatsu were jealous so it was obvious that there were love-triangle going on. (b) Menma has a wish an in order to grant her wish, these six friends have to be together again. (c) It also has to do with Jinta's remorse of not being able to apologize to Menma. I can see how this will progress into one great drama if it's done right.

Needless to say, the arts and animation is fucking marvelous. Once again A-1 Pictures has exceeded my expectation. I just love their love for details. If you are familiar with their works before you know exactly what I mean. The background and character designs are flawless.

The background music that accompany certain scenes are appropriate and liven up the mood for that said scene. The OP sounds good but it will need time to get the feel of it. But I really want to talk about the ED. When I first heard it I thought "wait a minute, why does this song sounds so familiar?" so I searched my anime song library and found that the same song Secret Base ~ Kimi ga Kureta Mono ~ was once used by other anime. That anime is Kyou no Go no Ni. I remembered because I have always like the song.



Though I am not familiar with the cast (except for Haruka Tomatsu, whom I know from Kannagi), I think they all are great at what they do. I can still hear Yukiatsu's mumbling Menma's name at the end of the episode. I guess it is fair to say that I am immediately attracted to him even when I saw him for the first time as an envious child.

Well, what can I say. Ano Hana tore at my heart. In fact I am still teary eyed as I write this post. It just hit so close to home I guess. I have friends like that in my childhood that I met every weekend or during school holidays. We were gang ho about everything and pretty much conquered the hill near my grandma's house. It consists of larger group with age varying from 9 to 12 years old. We pretended that we were cops or sometimes the robbers, we built cardboard houses, we had our own leader, just like Super Peace Busters. Life was blissful back then since we knew not where our paths will lead us. But then, one of us was killed by wild dogs when he went up the hill by himself and since then the hill was off limits to us and thus we drifted apart. Ano Hana made me missed the good times that we shared on that hill playing without worries. It also makes me want to meet those old friend of mine who I know not where they are anymore since my grandma moved away and so did most of them. Even the hill is long gone now.

Whether it's because noitaminA, or A-1 Pictures, or the story, or the similar experience, I can honestly say that this is the best debut I have ever seen in a very long time. The story might be simple but it is still so engaging. The premise is solid and most important of all it delivers real emotions which possibly is the selling point of Ano Hana. It reaches out and touches my heart. To say that I am mightily impressed is an understatement.

This show is fucking brilliant.

no, she wasn't giving him a blowjob. This is not Asterotte's Toy

art & animation 10/10
story 10/10
characters 10/10
sound 10/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 10/10

p/s: this is the longest first impression post I have ever wrote ^__^

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Fractale

I have high hopes for Fractale but with each passing episodes, I feel the hopes dwindling to nothingness. The only reason I watched from week to week was because of Sunda but they fucking killed him in the last episodes.

Everyone, meet the late Sunda and Enri Granitz

The story itself was what made this show lacking. It evolved around Phryne, Clain and Nessa and it shouldn't be so. Phryne and Nessa are the key to reboot the Fractale system. If Phryne didn't ran away and be a jackass about it, people won't have to die unnecessarily. Though she is (literally) a slut it is still no excuse for her to be so fickle about every damn thing. If she agreed from the very beginning to be the key and didn't change her mind every god damn 4 seconds, then the Temple will not declare wars on Lost Millenium (they are the one who are against the Fractale System - but not really). Sunda and Dias wouldn't have died.

As you can see, I'm very pissed right now and rightfully so. I am filled with rage when Clain ended up having a happily ever after ending with Phryne (with Nessa's personality). Damn these kids.

I can't believe I said some really nice things about her in my first impression post. 10 episodes later I have nothing but hate for her.

Characters wise, they are not lacking in term of personalities (except for the plain Clain). The character designs also helped built each characters' personalities while the voice actors compliment those characters, giving them souls. Thanks to her splendid performance as Nessa, I think I am a fan of Kana Hanazawa now. Credits for Yu Kobayashi as well for her job well done as Clain though I still wonder why didn't they pick a guy for the job.

The OP/ED, BGM and sound effects for this show is highly commendable. Both the OP and ED are sang by Hitomi Azuma. There are three songs featured in the single CD titled Harinezumi but I never heard the other one. Like I said, towards the end of the show, the OP grew on me and I can even sing along to it. Having said that, my favorite remains with the ED despite the poor Engrish pronunciation.


If there is one thing that blow me away regarding this show, it's the art and animation of the whole thing. I mentioned this several time during in episodic reviews. A-1 Pictures is really good at delivering these sort of stuff. Some of the scenes looks like they came from a beautiful painting, and the camera angle for certain scenes really stood out. Kudos to the animation production team. It was splendid.

But sadly, for a show that is featured in noitaminA, it certainly didn't live up to expectation. I am not entirely sure whose fault is it but if the story didn't evolved around Phryne, it could have ended up as a fabulous show. This show pretended to be deep when it's not. Yamakan totally lost the plot. I rage at how conceded it turned out to be.

arts & animation 10/10
story 7/10
characters 9/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 7/10

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First Impression: Togainu no Chi

Finally, the show I have been waiting for this season! I am reading the manga and have enjoy every moment of it so far, especially the doujinshi *chuckles* So yeah, because of that fact, I'm going to be overly critical with the anime because I know how the story goes already. If the studios fucked up, then I'll know for sure.

Speaking of studios, this is the only anime that is produced by A-1 Pictures Inc. this season so I expect really good stuff here. A-1 Pictures Inc. has never disappoint me so far so I hope they won't start with this one. A-1 Pictures collaborate with Aniplex and Picture Magic. I am kinda worried though when I found out that Naoyuki Konno is the director for this show. I was worried that this might turned out like Dance in the Vampire Bund *shudders*

(c) 8055

One of the many reason why I like Togainu no Chi is because how bloody and bad ass the series is. There will always be fights, and killing, and such. It is definitely my type of anime.

Togainu no Chi takes place in after the third world war or something and Japan was divided into two parts, the north and the south. Those on top just made matter worst. They are hungry for power and money and doesn't really care to unite the country again. At Toshima (used to be known as Tokyo), Vischio has taken over the ruling. They created a game called Igura where they used tag as prizes. You must pummeled your opponent until he's dead and collect his tag. If he isn't dead the "cleaner" will take care of that matter. The small tags can be exchanged for drugs or other necessity. The five special tag will determined you as a winner which mean you have to defeat Il-re, the famous King of Toshima.

It was good that I read the manga first hand though because the anime jump straight into the action and it seems like they are getting into the details how Akira ended up in Toshima with a mission to kill Il-re. Basically he was framed by the police for a crime he didn't do. But it is not like he has much of a choice. Its either torture in prison, or fight for survival in Toshima. The purpose of defeating Il-re is to get to Vischio and annihilate the drug company.

Akira sure is lucky to meet Shiki in his first night at Toshima. Otherwise he would have been dead fighting the drug induced assholes. Shiki brings carnage to the show y'all!

I love how bloody this show is ^^
(c) sena

In the manga, I always like Akira and Gunji the most. Two very contradict characters. Akira is the quiet type kind of guy who lets his action speaks louder than his words. He's a good hand-to-hand fighter which is why he was sent to Toshima. Akira who have never known fear before practically pissed in his pantsu when he met Shiki for the first time. LOL, the anime totally changed my mind about Shiki. I like him before but not to this extend. Shiki is the dude who always clad in black and carries a katana around. He kinda works for Vischio and the upper up by distributing drugs or something (can't really remember) but he's a good guy. Keisuke is Akira's friend from back home. He's a wuss and obviously gay for Akira. He is pretty annoying for a guy because he's so weak. But that will change in the future. Hmm, so far those are the only characters that worth mentioning in this episode right?

I love the fact that the anime gets the character designs right. I love how intense both Akira and Shiki eyes are because even in the manga, that part of them kinda pushed through. Kudos to the production team for getting the essence of their character right. It feels like they pop right from the pages. The animation is awesome as well. The fighting is bloody and the punches and kicking and all the slick moves are smooth and fluent. Kudos again because ultimately Togainu no Chi is all about the fights.

As for the seiyuu, I can't say that I am please with the fact that Tomokazu Sugita is doing my least favorite character of the series, Keisuke. Let me point out though that I almost didn't recognize Tomokazu because he sounded so different from what he usually does. I guess this goes to show that he has the versatility as a seiyuu. And who knows with him as Keisuke, I might end up liking the guy. If I never paid attention to Hikaru Midorikawa before, I certainly am now. I love Shiki's voice and I think this is a big break for Hikaru. I expect to hear more of his voice used for the protagonists in the future. I surprised myself when I don't recognize Akira's voice at all. He shares the same seiyuu as Gilbert Nightray in Pandora Hearts. I love Gilbert. I should have recognized his seiyuu Kousuke Toriumi. Another seiyuu that I have to put on my map.

I like the rock/metal sound of the OP music from GRANRODEO. It suits the theme of the anime, dark and gloomy. As I listened to the background music, I found myself drumming to the beat. They cleverly used percussion and made it suits the feel for any particular scenes. I already made up my mind that I'm gonna like the ED the first few seconds I heard it. It just has that certain quality that I always fall for. It is also kinda catchy. So yeah I'm quite happy with the overall sounds for this show.

Thank you A-1 Pictures Inc. for finally brought me an anime that I will follow this season. And thank goodness that I have more good feelings about this show compared to what I first thought about Dance in the Vampire Bund. Speaking of that show, doesn't Kira kinda looks like Akira a lot?

art & animation 8/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 9/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10

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Sora no Woto

(c) akai toshifumi

Plot? Story? Does it even have one? If it does, I certainly have missed it. It should have been about military stuff. At least they need to toughen up and not to be so nonchalant. It certainly lack the urgency of a war. They ARE still at war, right? They don't even wear their uniform like they should to. Just look at Rio's and you'll know what I mean.

After the first episode, I sincerely thought that they will dwelt more on the trumpet shit. I was so far from the truth. That's how much this anime has deviate from the first episode. Was it bad? Well, I certainly don't like it but I do know some retards out there that think Sora no Woto is a masterpiece. Ah how we have degraded ourselves and succumb to emoe-blob-shit. I blame it all on K-ON!

Sure, they attempted to make the last few episodes to have a tiny little bit interesting development but it was too late because I can already tell what's coming. Even with the small usage of trumpet cannot salvage this series, in my opinion. For example, the typhoon episode... we all knew that Kureha and Claus will make it. Where was the excitement in that >_>

Most of the episodes bore me to death and I would have fallen asleep. In one episode, all Kanata ever did is sit in front of a phone and waited for it to ring. Speaking of waste of time, that.

The characters themselves are extremely ordinary (although with too much moe). The only character that stands out imo is Kureha. I found her annoying at first but gradually she grew on me. She's the only one who take her duty as a soldier seriously. Like when they met the Roman's spy, she had the right mind to report her but the rest of them were all about being humane. For fuck sake, she's a fucking spy invading the enemy's territories! *sigh*

The sound and music. Hmm, not really a fan of its OP or ED. Too much of moe. I mean, at least they could try and make it seems like they are really in a war or something. The good news is I kinda like the Amazing Grace trumpet song. It kinda grow on ya without you realizing it. Brainwashed? LOL



No complained for the seiyuus either although I do think that Rio sounds like a man sometimes.

I would have dropped this series if not for the art and animation. They were amazingly details and fluent. The background is one of the most gorgeous looking scenes I’ve seen in a while. It is breath-taking. Even the CG usage was a success. I guess at least there's one thing that A1-Pictures did right.

At the end of the day, I couldn't appreciate this show because the similarities to K-ON! is too much. I might have missed a lot of things because of my cynical view but I can't help it and I don't give a damn really. Some says that it has lots of potential but I think they wasted it trying to shift to moe. Don't do it again, A1-Pictures.

Arts & Animation 10/10
Sound 9/10
Story 5/10
Character 6/10
Enjoyment 6/10
Overall 6/10

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First Impression: Occult Academy

Oh, another show from A1-Pictures? Heh, I know I'm going to like this just because of that. The first minute of the show was intriguing enough to make me nods in approval. This is another show that I look forward to this summer just because the story promised something different.

The academy is linked with demon, spirits and other dark stuff that it got the nick name of Occult Academy. On the day Maya returned to the academy, it was to attend his father's funeral and take the responsibility as the new principal of the academy. She wants to destroy the academy and has her own reason for that. At the end of the episode, she met with a naked guy who literally fell down from the sky (rather gracefully I might add) and so the adventure begins!

Hehe just like the synopsis from chartfag says, this show is a combination of horror and comedy. The transition was done seamlessly and effortlessly making it so entertaining. For example, at one point Kozue was devoured by the evil spirit and in the next second she was chanting "megane megane" in a really retarded you-can't-help-but-laugh situation. Not to forget the flashback of Maya doing some scary stuff that I couldn't help but find funny and adorable at the same time. The dialog/script was pretty casual and honest too. It is definitely one of this show strongest point in my opinion. At one point Maya even used Porco Rosso as reference and I think that was awesome and totally honest. I would called someone Porco Rosso too if he/she fits the description XD

I also particularly like the character designs. It is something fresh and the movements are all very fluid. Even though they all look normal but they have this certain quirks that makes them likable, This means that I like the arts and animation. You don't see these kinds of animation too often. I dunno. I'm just getting a really good vibe is all and may be biased because this is developed by A1-Pictures.

The OP and ED will grow on you though have you seen the ED? Something different again. Like! As for the seiyuus, I am not familiar with any of them but they are really in their niches with this one. Kudos.

I really do enjoy this one and just like Highschool of the Dead, I couldn't wait for the next episode. This is going to be the fourth series that I'm following this summer which mean this season is decent so far. And to be honest, I am enjoying this one more than the other anime at the moment.

art & animation 10/10
story 10/10
characters 10/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10

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First Impression: Kuroshitsuji II

Shouta-con detected. FUCKING FAT and UGLY shouta-con at that. Urgh, I want to puke.

Obviously Alois has got different dark background story compared to Ciel. Or is it? I got the impression that Ciel was raped by a gang after his parent's death. So maybe they aren't too different after all.

Except that I think Alois is more sadistic and sinister. He fucking poke the eyeballs of his maid so leisurely. I feel bad for him when I thought he was being fucked by a fucking fat and ugly shouta-con. Now I think he deserved it.

The feel of this show is different from that of the first season. Sure both have it dark side but at least I don't sense any evil with Ciel and Sebastian. But with Alois, evil reeks out at every corners. Ciel and Sebastian fought the bad guys. With Alois and Claude, it feels like they are the bad guy. Ciel and Sebastian treat the people (even the enemy) with respect. Alois just fucking kicked them in the butt.

We got to see familiar faces like Droit who seemingly has taken the role of Grell for being an annoying jerk. And obviously there is Sebastian who for some reason need a black tea from Alois' mansion and he has Ciel in a trunk. Ciel seems like he's unconscious though. Heh, mystery!

Looks like it is Ciel/Sebastion versus Alois/Claude. I have no complain :D


The animation is decent. It was very reminiscence of the first season of Kuroshitsuji so you get the feeling of consistency there. In one particular scene, when Claude started dancing on the ledge and changed all the curtains and shit, the animation was very fluid. Coupled with the classical music, it turned out to be very entertaining indeed even though it was very illogical. I guess you just have to believe that these butlers can do anything. They are demons after all.

They got me with the plot on the get go. It was all very mysterious and dark. They don't bother with lengthy explanation. They will let the story tells it all. The characters of Alois and Claude are pretty convincing so they rocked that I guess. And I thought Claude sounds familiar. I did my research (just look at MAL for info actually) and found out his seiyuu is Sakurai Takahiro, the same seiyuu that did Kusuriuri, Kira, Kanda Yuu (what's with the K?) and Maximelien. Nice. Now I have less reason to dislike him. Kalafina did the insert song for the show so obviously it will be a hit. I need time to get used to the OP and ED though which are done by The GazettE and Matsushita Yuya respectively.

Well, I enjoyed the first episode. Look forward to the second one.

Art and animation 8/10
Story 8/10
Character 8/10
Sound 8/10
Enjoyment 9/10
Overall 8/10

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Kannagi Special

It is a fact that I am a big fan of Kannagi because of Nagi, and also Jin. Sorta.

This is the unaired special episode of Kannagi that never is only available if you purchase the DVD Vol. 7 of the series. I have it since they first came out. I did a spring cleaning today and found it buried among the new season’s anime. Without wasting anymore time, let’s enjoy the show.

I am a big fan of the OP and still imitates the dance moves whenever I hear the songs. In the OP, they showed that the characters were making a film, or some sort of a commercial featuring Nagi and her step sister, Zange (I almost forgot about her -_-)



Well, guess what, we finally get to see the behind the scenes of that said commercial/film. Or so I thought.

Takako and Shino found one hundred thousand yen on their way to school. What are the chances right? Right. But then again, they have a god with them so anything is possible.

Since they are in the art club, Takako decided that they should make a movie. She who I forgot was a perverted lesbian, quickly gave the leading role to Zange because she seduced her so. What a slut.


They all chipped in an idea of what kind of movie they wanted to make. Somehow Takako managed to include everyone’s idea into making the film or rather Akiba did. Akiba was responsible for the script. He impressed us all when he finished it in 15 minutes time. Like I said, when you have a God with you, anything is possible. Having two Gods around? It would make everything seems so simple!


They started shooting on the weekends. Once again, Akiba stepped up and became the director. I guess only the scrip-writer would know which camera angle is the best for what scene.

The film: Nagi is the justice force while Zange is the evil queen of some outer space dimension. Nagi was just out of prison and has come to rescue Jin. Zange and Nagi had a fight when Tsumugi appeared. She is the thirteenth doll chakra and the source of power for Nagi.


The film was not able to be completed on the same day and somehow they all ended wearing swimsuits. Fanservice is part of film-business nowadays anyway. Heh and Nagi confidently wear hers and doesn’t even care if she is a pettan. This is why I like her so much. She’s someone I can relate too. But either or, Jin got all the glory!


While I'm drooling for the boys ^__^

look at the shiny butt that belongs to Akiba =3

The typhoon (which caused them to change into their swimsuit) was relentless. They stuck in a classroom and the electricity was disconnected.

Jin tripped on a DVD that Akiba lent for the making of the film. It was overdue. Tatako forces him to return it even in the chaotic weather and Akiba being an otaku, took his job as the director seriously. It turned out to be quite a dramatic scene in this special episode.

They should have abandoned the film idea that they have and just shoot whatever they were doing instead. Make it a documentary or something. I don’t care but yeah, it is definitely more interesting. I’m not saying that Akiba’s story aren’t but they were all constrained by the dialogue and other elements, especially the budget.


At the end, the only one left standing was Jin and Nagi (as it should have been). This is the romance that I am talking about. They don’t need to be forced. It happens because it was meant to happen. Fate.


I really like the symbolism that they used. How the rain stopped, and the cloud cleared away in front of them. This is the kind of romance that I crave for, with a twist of course, like that of Mikiya and Shiki.

This episode makes me smiles warmly from start to finish. It reminds me why I like Kannagi in the first place. The character was honest and they don’t exaggerate, except for Zange, sometimes.

A-1 Pictures has once again successfully produced another favorite anime of mine. They are definitely my favorite studios at the moment.

The art is consistent with the rest of the episodes, and Kannagi makes me a fan of Nagi’s seiyuu Haruka Tomatsu . I am already a fan of Hiro Shimono, Jin's seiyuu, ever since I found out that he's the same guy that does the voice Tajima of Oofuri.

I hope they’ll have a second season and the manga will continue. I mean, I am dying to know what happens when they revealed in the last chapter of Kannagi that Nagi has a boyfriend not too long ago. It created uproar because the fandom all thought that they were cheated, that Nagi is no longer a virgin. I chuckled at the fanatics. Seriously? Though I must say that it ruined the moment for me because if Zange didn’t interfere, Jin would have confessed to Nagi. But then again, wouldn’t that mark the end of Kannagi? I certainly don’t want that to happen. So I guess the drama was necessary.

Jin is so ~nyoron =3

Shit, they should have update the manga like NIAO!!

Art 10/10
Story 9/10
Character 10/10
Sound 10/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Overall 10/10

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First Impression: Senkou no Night Raid

So this was the anime that everyone is making fun of because the mandarin sucks dick. Since I don't speak Mandarin nor do I understand them, I didn't see what was so funny though.

It started off with an interesting action sequence so this series becomes totally acceptable in my book almost instantly. The set up was in Shanghai year 1930s and the hero is a total bishie. This is about a Japanses spy team in the land of China. Each and everyone of them has special ability that made them useful.

Aoi, the bishie has some sort of a wind manipulation power, Yukina is a telepathic, Natsume is a sharp-shooter/sharp-eyes and Kazura... well, his power took me by surprise. It's not so much about his power but the way the animation was made. I am totally diggin it. He's a fucking teleporter.

Aoi, the daredevil

Kazura, the no nonsense teleporter

Yukina, milady of telephaty

Natsume, the quiet sharp-shooter

There is a lot of information to digest though but I'm sure as the episodes multiplied, it will all becomes clear, like it mostly does with this kind of story.

This one is so getting my seal of approval. The animation was sleek. The action sequences were awesome. The plot is good. I couldn't ask for more. At last, a real action anime for the season. If only it has more blood in it, it would have been perfect.

art & animation 9/10
story 8/10
characters 9/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10

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First Impression: Ookiku Furikabutte ~Natsu no Taikai Hen~

This is definitely the anime that I looked forward to the most. I can't get enough of the first season. If you have yet to see the first season, WTF are you doing? Watch it NIAO! Or damn on you.

Trust me. It's worth it. Even Baka-Raptor endorsed Oofuri (I'm just shooting in the dark here but I remember reading he said so when he comment in one of Glo's post in his ISSS or I could just making up story. Either way, Oofuri is great. Period. Those who said otherwise can suck my detached analog stick).

The second season started where it left off in season 1. I remember who Riou is and since I did read the manga (although is way behind the latest chapters), I guess they'll stick with the story from the manga.

This is going to be an intense second season. That much I can tell from the backstabbing and strategy they set up in the first episode.


Knowing this obviously made me nervous as hell for Tajima. Oh yeah, lets established that Tajima is my most favorite character in Oofuri. He is the most energetic and talented player out of the bunch. They would have lost a lot of game in season one if not for him. Abe comes second. And the rest of the baseball team come in third. You might hate the weak-willed Mihashi but I can't bring myself to do so. Yeah sure he can be annoying with his pussiness but he delivers.

From top left: Abe, Tajima, Mihashi, Izumi and Nishihiro.
Botton from left: Oki, Mizutani, Suyama, Sakaeguchi, Hanai and Momoe (the Coach)

In conclusion, I'm going to be a bias fucker and urge everyone to watch this series. You'll fall in love with it, I swear. Even if you don't, you'll learn to appreciate it. I mean, I know nuts about baseball until I watched the first season of Oofuri and now I'm hooked. It makes me interested in sports anime as well.

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

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First Impression: Working!!

I remember saying that I will probably going to like this show. Something about the description kinda intrigued me (hint: the word strange). Also, this is produced by A1 Pictures. I love some of their works (Kannagi and Oofuri to name a couple) so I have quite an expectation for this show as well. I am quite surprise that the first episode is already out. It was scheduled to release on April 4, if I am not mistaken.

edit: It seems like this is a special episode or something.

The episode started off with a busy day at the Wagnaria restaurant and the conversation that followed was about finding a new part-timer, who, you guessed it, is the protagonist in this show.

Taneshima Popura, one of the waitress at the restaurant was given the task to find the new part-timer so she went on the streets but phailed to find one until she met with a stranger, which will (eventually) be the protagonist, Takanashi Shouta, and offered him the job. Shouta mistook her as a lost child (who wouldn't?)

I understand your confusion, Shouta

I got a feeling that Taneshima will be an annoying character that I have to deal with but the show promised lots of other interesting characters so I think they balanced her out perfectly. For example:

• the manager, Shirafuji Kyoko, is a straight forward kinda girl. She didn't do much work and is honest about it as she told Shouta with a straight face. Then she told a customer that she needs to burn the ugly fat when she complained about the restaurant was too hot. That's hilarious. And she's very sensitive when it comes to her age.
  
• Satou Jun who looks so damn cool with his hair covering half of his face. I'm not sure if that's hygienic enough for a chef though since his hair might gets in the food.
  
• Souma Hiroomi, the chatty blue-haired person who seems to be closed friends with with Satou. He's also one of the chef. Apparently the chefs in Wagnaria are all good looking hunks.
• Todoroki Yachiyo, the shift leader who carries around a katana on her waist, even during working hour. She NEVER opens her eyes, that's how fucking badass she is.
• And then there's Miharu Inami who is androphobic. Shouta got punched in the face as a greeting! lmao I have never met an anime character that's androphobic before.
  
• Let's not forget the forgettable protagonist, shall we? Takanashi Shouta is just like any other male out there. I love hearing his thoughts. At first I was afraid if he has any romantic feelings for Taneshima because that would just ruined everything. To my big relief, he is kinda a weirdo ^o^
  

So much win!

As you can tell, this first episode is pretty much an introductory episode for all the characters. I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next episode already.

animation & art 8/10
story 8/10
character 9/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 8/10

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