Akito’s brother… am I the only one who got Light vibes from him?
Anyway, it’s taken a while, but I’m liking this series quite a bit at this point. After the Nurarihyon no Mago debacle, I really began to fear for series that took their time at the start, but this thankfully proved to be a good example of how to do this. We’ve seen eighteen episodes of development into these characters, and it’s paying off quite nicely at this point and turning Akito and Moritaka especially into well rounded characters.
This episode also reminded me of how this is coming from the Death Note authors: we’re talking about a shounen jump adaptation here, and yet this episode was filled with dialogue (though admittedly it’s not as extreme as it was in Death Note). It’s what made this episode really interesting in any case.
Even though the tone is apparently very different compared to the manga, I do understand now why everyone forced me to blog this show. Even the series’ weak side, the romance, got progressed quite a bit in this episode. Akito and Kaya actually feel like a genuine couple now, and this finally sparked Moritaka to do something about his own as well. The past episodes have also upped the pacing a tiny notch, and if the creators can keep this up for both the rest of this season and the sequel, this could turn into quite a satisfying series in the end.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Glad you are enjoying it, it should only get better from here on out now that we are past most of the awkward parts.
How does this show differ from the manga exactly? Should I also be reading the manga to get the whole picture? Or am I good just sticking with the anime?
I remember the manga moving at a faster pace than the anime does and the romance was always there, but it wasn’t as relevant as the OP suggests. I guess you’re fine with just watching the anime cause it doesn’t stray too far from the source material but the second season won’t start until next fall.