I’m going to handle the series which I’ll be blogging for this season a bit different from the Spring Season. Back then, I started blogging every good series, but if I’ll do that again for this season, I’ll be overwhelmed. I therefore decided to pick up three series this season. The first will be Otogi Juushi Akazukin, and the last two will be the underdogs of the season. Much like Gintama of the Spring Season.
In any case, I’ve also decided to try out one series raw for each season. In this case, it’s Otogi Juushi Akazukin. And I have to say that I couldn’t have picked a better one. Everyone who wants to start with checking out raws really should start with this series. As it’s a children’s anime, a lot of simple language is used. I have to say that I was able to understand 80% of the episode globally, and I managed to figure out the meaning of 40% fo all the lines spoken.
In any case, this episode was great. It doesn’t follow the OVA anymore, so it finally has the opportunity to show its own storyline. And I have to say, Baru is awesome. The episode was mostly about introducing Akazukin to Erde’s technology and introducing the second musketeer: Princess Shirayuki (I so hope I spelled that right).
The episode starts with Souta waking up, realizing that all that happened was not a dream. Ringo then yells to him, from the corridor. As usual, she made breakfast for the two of them. Souta then gets scared about what might happen when Ringo finds out about Akazukin, so he tries to hide this. In the end, this doesn’t really work, with quite hilarious results. I’m amazed that this show also manages to include some very effective comedy. This only makes this show more enjoyable.
What follows is a very amusing conversation, in which Akazukin and Baru introduce themselves to Ringo. Akazukin also seems to have no idea that her mission’s supposed to be secret, so she blurts it out, before Baru gets the chance to remind her about her tasks. I just love how the dialogues are just so carefree. ^_^
It seems that those creatures from last episode were Nightmares, sent after Souta. We then switch to the little cat, who managed to get his hans on a tin can from a vending machine. Then Hansel pays him a visit, to check up on things, and the cat quickly hides the can behind him. Though this doesn’t really work in a room full of mirrors. ^^ It was great to see Hansel, actually checking out the vending machine, later in the episode. ^^
Akazukin, meanwhile, is amazed by the magic of the washing machine, fridge and the tv. As Ringo has yet to hear the full story, she gets more sceptical by the minute when Baru and Akazukin keep referring to “Mahou”. The TV inspires Akazukin and Baru meanwhile to go out to the town and try out some special food they saw in a commercial. This does mean that Baru has to be put on a leash. He didn’t really like that. ^^;
When Akazukin finds the food stand she was looking for, she attempts to pay with money from her own world. As Souta doesn’t have any money with him, Ringo ends up being the one who gets to pay. Ringo now gets so pissed that Akazukin has to tell her what’s going on. The two of them do have to promise to keep it a secret. Akazukin reveals that she and Baru indeed come from another world. It’s called Fandabere (“called”, not “spelled”. I still have to figure out how you spell that damned word). The world Souta lives in is called Erde. It seems that Cendrillion has escaped from her seal, and now wants to do something bad to Fandabere. I think it has something to do with conquering it. In any case, Souta is the key to reuiniting the magic from Fandabere with the technology from Erde. If she combines these, Cendrillion will probably gain huge strenght, just like the young man in the story in the first episode.
To Akazukin’s surprise, Souta doesn’t get shocked at all, he rather gets enthusiastic. What follows is an extremely hilarious scene, in which a couple of schoolgirls find Baru, and all get incredibly giddy over him. They all want to take his picture, and it doesn’t take long before he loses his temper and begins shouting. I laughed really hard when I saw how he tried to get himself out of that situation. ^_^
What follows is one of Hansel’s henchmen. This time, he comes in the form of a bat. He soon gets joined by another of his companions. Akazukin gets really annoyed when Shirayuki appears. She seems to have used the excuse that Erde was supposed to be a great shopping-opportunity to tranfer worlds. Akazukin and Shirayuki when work together to beat the two bats. (I also loved it when Akazuking declared Ringo as their personal cook on her own).
Overall, the characters in Otogi Juushi Akazukin surely are the elements that make this anime awesome. Especially each of the antics of the characters. Especially Akazukin and Baru are amazing.
Memorable moment: “…wan”
