Category: Nurarihyon no Mago

Nurarihyon no Mago – 03

by psgels, posted in Nurarihyon no Mago



This episode really was surprisingly good for something that just started out as a mere build-up episode. I mean, first of all this episode introduces itself as another one of those episodes like the first, in which Nura again has to keep youkai out of the sight of his friends. It’s not the most exciting at all, but necessary for the future of the series and to get to know these characters.

But as it wen ton, it made the whole premise of this series a lot more interesting, now that an onmyouji joined his class. If used WELL (and not as some sort of gimmick, that’s important here), this new girl could make this series a lot more dynamic now. My first impressions about her so far are positive: she’s someone who knows what she wants, and she didn’t waste any time to search for any places with youkai in it. Now that she actually knows that there are youkai inside Nura’s house, she’s bound to visit there more often. I also doubt that she really didn’t find Nura’s grandfather suspicious.

I think the weakest link in this series are Nura’s best friends, but really: I’ve seen much worse. They actually serve a purpose other than being annoying, they give Nura a reason for wanting to be a human, and as long as they’re well fleshed out, I don’t think I’ll mind them too much. I think my big problem with them is that they’re morons. Unlike the new girl, they didn’t seem to pick up any of the hints, despite being fans of the occult. I know they’re kids and all, but being kids doesn’t make them total morons.
Rating: * (Good)

Nurarihyon no Mago – 02

by psgels, posted in Nurarihyon no Mago



Most of the shows this season are energetic, over the top and fast-paced. I think that it’s because of that that this series is quite refreshing. I men, for a shounen series, it’s got a pretty calm and relaxed atmosphere, while the foundation it lays for its future drama is serious and well thought out.

It has unfortunately some production issues, like in this episode the point at which Yuki-onna tripped and the point where that snake youkai revealed his intentions: they could have been animated more solid. Overall though, I’m really liking what this series is building up to, with on one hand Rikuo’s alter ego that he has no idea of, while pursuing the life he chose for and on the other hand there’s the politics between the different youkai clans. This episode also used the youkai’s nature to cause trouble quite well in its drama.

The animation… is of course not that good, but that was to be expected. Deen’s staff has always been more a collection of artists, rather than animators, and that really shows here in this series again with some of the intricate youkai designs, plus that really cool-looking snake head in the action scene of this episode. I’m also really digging the soundtrack. The composer, Kouhei Tanaka turns out to be incredibly experienced, with a wide variety of different series he worked on. None of those really turned out to be memorable, but you can see (or hear) the care he put into the soundtrack here. It’s varied, yet very atmospheric. It could be his best work yet if this goes on.
Rating: * (Good)

Some Quick First Impressions: Digimon Xross Wars, Tono to Issho and Nurarihyon no Mago

by psgels, posted in Nurarihyon no Mago, Some Quick First Impressions

Digimon Xros Wars

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is the legendary hero who can save the world from an invasion of Digimon.
Well, so this was going to be the biggest question-mark of the season. It’s digimon… but focused on an even younger audience. Would that really be able to work? Well… after watching this episode… it seems that the creators intend this to be one of those cheesy mecha series from the seventies and eighties, and I don’t mean that in a good way! Battles descend in flashy transformations in which the good guys are able to wipe out hordes of evil digimon at once, everything is unnecessarily spunky. The direction unfortunately also sucks. Things just… happen. There is no build up, no attempts to create suspension of disbelief, it’s just an adventure of a bunch of kids who happen to have superpowers. I will say this though: it is better than most other kiddie shows. There’s a hint of drama, and one or two scenes actually didn’t have cheese. But yeah, let’s face it: this one’s never going to be as good as Digimon’s first season. I know it’s a kids’ series and all, but that’s no excuse to look down on them and treat them like idiots.
OP: Decent enough.
Potential: 10%

Tono to Issho

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a famous person in the Sengoku era.
So… if you were wondering whether the tv-series improved on the OVA… don’t bother. IT’S EXACTLY THE BLOODY SAME! Seriously, as it turns out, the tv-series is just going to consist out of the OVA, chopped up into episodes of ninety seconds. I mean… eh?
ED: The only thing new, but still crappy.
Potential: -70%

Nuyarihyon no Mago

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is the grandson of some lead of some large youkai family.
Some shows go all out with their first episode. This one didn’t, but there still is enough to like left. This episode was wonderfully subtle for a shounen series. There’s no overacting, there is no fanservice, the lead character isn’t some cocky idiot who charges into fights, and yet the drama that’s there is handled really well. The characters get to say what they want to say without going over the top, and this episode already established the lead character beyond a mere caricature by showing how he chose to grow up as a normal human, despite the house full of youkai he’s raised in. I especially want to praise that soundtrack, which turned out to be really atmospheric and added an extra layer of emotional depth to the dramatic scenes. The series still is a bit childish, as we see a lot of scenes of middle schoolers, hanging out with each other, but there was nothing bad about them. There were no obvious stereotypes or characters who abuse their own gimmicks, it pulled no cheap tricks, nor were the characters acting way too stupid for their own good. The youkai designs range from cute to simple to actually quite beautiful and well drawn. Overall, a solid start to a series that surely is still holding back a lot of its cards.
OP: Decent at first sight, but it has this innocent charm to it.
ED: Um… yeah. Why does this work so well?
Potential: 85%