Ah, this show passed the second episode test. And you know what, I’m going to blog this thing. It unfortunately has harem elements, but really: this IS the show with the most entertaining action of the entire season. I’m not going to just ignore it like what I unfortunately did with Dororon Enma-kun Meera Meera.
Of course, I was very cautious with this series. Especially after how Majikoi turned out in the end. This second episode kept the balls in the air, and introduced new ideas and characters. And what’s also interesting is that this show is visibly holding back one of its main characters. The blond girl who features prominently in just about every promo material… she hasn’t made a single appearance so far. It takes balls to pull that off.
In any case, what makes this show great is that it’s full of these tiny clever ideas that spice up every episode, on top of being a show about fighting for half-priced lunch boxes that just has to be done every single evening. The huge housewife who used her shopping cart as a weapon was hysterical, but I also love how this show gives everyone nicknames that all seem to have double meanings somehow. Or what about that glasses guy who is just standing there in the background? What’s more: it does the impossible for a harem show: it actually hints at how the different girls have crushes other than the male lead. Hana is a fangirl for the monk guy, and this episode hinted very that the witch and the wizard had some former relationship. Whether this gets actually developed or not remains the question, but still: this is a first.
What also sets this show apart from the average harem: its acting. Finally we have another harem that’s well acted. The characters aren’t annoying idiots but behave down to earth. The scene in which You and Hana just had their cheap ramen and onigiri dinner in particular worked really well. But overall, the characters know exactly how to act without trying too hard. The side characters too are all very likable and interesting. It’s much better than, say, Haganai, in which the characters are just trying too hard to be like their stereotypes. The music is also just fantastic. Some of the best of the season.
Long story short: in the past two episodes I just encountered one flaw: the fact that this is a harem.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
Ben-To – 02
Out of curiosity psgels, why is a harem considered a flaw in and of itself? Done properly it can allow for good, emotionally-provoking drama and character interaction.
Go and watch Sailor Moon, faggot.
“Long story short: in the past two episodes I just encountered one flaw: the fact that this is a harem.”
No, it actually doesn’t. There is only one girl who is actually interested in the main character. There are two more who play around with him, but they’re not really interested in having his as a boyfriend.
What’s the problem with it being a harem?
a fun and interesting episode. Don’t really give a crap whether it’s harem or not
But now hold on guys, this is psgels’ blog. While I agree that a harem in itself is not a flaw, all of this is psgels’ own opinion (albeit sounding like an objective review which we all know is impossible anyways) This is just psgels saying that he (as have I) have had bad experiences with the harem genre and that he would prefer it not be a harem. Or correct me if I’m wrong. But this is how I see it. I don’t know, what do you guys think?
@manyflower
that’s how I see it. I certainly had a lot of traumatic experience concerning the harem genre.
And imo, this show is a harem. If it’s not a harem now — it will be
Psgels,I think one should be glad that someone is taking the harem genre and creating a very solid show with it. Penalizing it for taking this risk is rather short sighted.
I remember eating a half-off bento once to find that the rice was beginning to spoil -_-
in my opinion, harems are overused, forced, unnecessary, short-sighted and very easy to screw up. That’s why I’m still cautious about this series. I’ve seen plenty of series that looked like they were going to deliver an actual interesting depiction of a harem, only to eventually fall back into bad cliches.
The harem as the inspiration for great art
=P
+ it’s frustrating how the guy/ girl never actually ends up with anyone. Too predictable. It’s like… people actually watch the show for such a crappy ambiguous end?!?!
I gave harems a chance too. And so far all of them failed. (to think, BakaTest actually was good for a WHOLE SEASON, for me, and I thought harems weren’t so bad after all. Then the 2nd season came. /facepalm) Because of that, I’m still hesitant on this.
Also it’s funny how for the first time your blogged series & the series I watch are so different. But it’s not like the shows you don’t blog are automatically dropped right?
I really don’t find it interesting, I really don’t know why :S I just can’t seem to get into it as much as I want to. I’ll still watch it. Oh and I wish that they would give the Brunette a face. For now, she’s just a pair of walking boobs and I find that really annoying.
Other than Tenchi, I think harem is basically a bad word.
Ater watching ep.2, I still find this to be a just a silly show and most of the harem shows are still just…….harems.
in the harem ending everyone is happy, is not a bad thing..
I tried, I really tried to get into the first episode but I couldn’t. I got less than halfway and thought to myself, why am I wasting time on this, when there are so many better anime this season? Chihayafuru, last exile, mirai nikki all got me hooked pretty easily.
The second episode got an excellent? what am I missing here? is epi 2 significantly different from epi 1?
Kero: no, the second episode is not significantly different. If you watched up to the fight scenes in the first episode and still didn’t like it, then this just isn’t your type of series.
Even if this was a harem, I would not be deterred as long as the characters stay so awesome. You keep on having these unrealistic characters (tsunderes everywhere!) in so many anime, and now, you finally have people like Oshiroi, who aren’t defined by their quirk, but use their quirk as something normal people would. Normal people generally don’t make that much of a fuss over sharing a meal, if they’re good friends. Compare that to any other show.
(Bye Bye’s character felt rather forced, though – less of a character than a plot element. Oh well.)