Ixion Saga’s second episode was funny, but not as funny as the first episode, which has me a bit worried. Can it keep up its pacing for its entire airtime?
Also, there is only one reason why I picked Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo over Little Busters. It’s a simple reason that could have very easily been fixed, but it’s massively affecting my enjoyment of the series: the female voice actresses! I mean I get high-pitched and all, but you don’t have to feed them helium. It had good parts, but that alone turned this into the show with the worst two opening episodes for a Key series for me. It’s still quite good and I will pick this up if I ever were to drop SAO… but I first need to numb myself to those antics.
As for Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, here is the thing: after watching so many annoying, flawed and poorly done shounen romantic comedies, I want to follow one that is actually done right. That’s another reason why I didn’t go with Sukitte Ii na Yo, by the way. Both series have a lot of romantic tension and good drama, both are quite underrated, but in the end, Sakurasou’s characterization is just better. Add that to Kamisama Hajimemashita and it would be a bit of a romance overload…
What sets Sakurasou apart is the small bits it adds to the characters. They’re stereotypes, but this show fleshes them out in very interesting ways. Like the detail in eating baumkuchen, or saying congratulations with the cabbages. Little Busters for example did not have that: that also had characters who were really trying to be quirky, but there is little variation in them, and it also lacks some of the wit. Granted though, some of the yelling does get on my nerves, not to mention the pointless harem set-up involving that female classmate.
Then there is the genius subplot. In Tonari no Kaibatsu-kun, I could buy the really high grades of the female lead, but not from the male lead. With the geniuses in this series, I can buy it. Shiina has been so focused on drawing and nothing else that it makes sense for her to be this amazing artist. Misaki and Jin meanwhile feel like the kinds of eccentrics that aside from devoting time to study, also devote a ton of time to being weird/chasing girls.
And then there is Shiina. I mean this show has a ton of fanservice, and she is the biggest source from it. With her, this show is pretty much huge wosh fulfillment. What it does better than most other romances is character chemistry, and this especially stands out for Sorata and Shiina. The tension between the two of them is actually surprisingly engaging to watch, especially with Shiina’s incredibly blunt statemtns, and Mashiro being more than just yet another straight man for them.
Also, thsi show is concise. I remember how Nisemonogatari annoyed me with a similar set-up because it just refused to go anywhere with its endless dialogues. An even better comparison would be Denpa-Teki to Seishun Otoko, which also focuses on a guy taking care of a girl with mental problems. The balance between the dialogues is actually good here and the show actually does not drag itself out.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)
Now you got me honestly curious about this series. I’m not watching that many shows this season so more the reason to give this a chance.
Yeah, I indeed hope that I’m doing the right thing here because a lot of people will probably check it out because of this. It will probably all depend on how annoying you find the characters, and thankfully the first episode is a very good indicator for that.
I have to say, I was going to pass this up, but I got to watching it and yes, the characterization, pacing, and antics are all pleasant surprises.
WTF!
I’m surprised you’d even take in interest in something like this. I don’t know if I come off as a typical shounen fan boy, but I normally don’t like series like this, but I feel this is a bit different and it’s rather engaging. I’m enjoying it.
Yeah, probably gonna check this one out very soon..sounds promising enough.
This isn’t a very good reason, but Haru is incredibly intelligent because he didn’t attend middle school so he was cooped up in home with nothing else to do but learn. So he read all he could which leaves him knowing all of the high school material already. Social conventions had to be learned from tv or whatever his relatives told him.
This series has nice colors though.
Ixion Saga’s second episode was funny, but not as funny as the first episode, which has me a bit worried. Can it keep up its pacing for its entire airtime?
I’m watching it if only to see if Fukuyama Jun can keep up his performance. I actually saw him do a pretty decent rendition in Working but I was slapping myself for actually getting fooled for a minute or two in episode 1. XD More than that, I have a strong feeling the other guys in team ED are going to wind up like that too. Can Tomokazu Sugita pull this off?? Note to self: Top tier male seiyuu may now be required to have a believable female voice in their repertoire. I thought it was only the girls that had this requirement. XD Holy cow.
Not to mention the pointless harem set-up involving that female classmate.
Mostly agree with your post except for this. The love rival is a classic romance story mechanic. It’s overused cos it works. How boring would it be to just watch a couple developing on their own like it’s a sure thing, especially right from the get-go. Plus, right now, I see the MC going for the classmate instead. As the title implies, Shiina is like a stray cat he picked up that he can’t leave alone. Will things really progress from there? Also, about the harem, I might have agreed with you about the possibility if that wacky animation nut was also after the MC but it looks pretty clear here that she has a different target.
whuh what’s this, fukuyama jun? checking ixion saga out for his sake if nothing else.
I would kill for an anime with “a couple developing on their own like it’s a sure thing…” because it is SO DAMN RARE nowadays. I understand conflict and all that, but now it feels like I can’t watch a romance anime without it being bogged down with love triangles/rivals.
I just want some good anime with no love rivals! T_T Is that too much to ask?
I must admit that this show is surprisingly entertaining. Sure it has it’s cliche harem situations and all but it has an enjoyment that was sorely missing from the entire last anime season.
I can see why you picked this show over Little Busters!
JC Staff put much more effort in drawing this anime.
The characters are all super cute, and none of them are hatable.
Mashiro’s voice is also very good.
“You are not getting sleep tonight..”
LOL.
This show will be suck, have the typical standar of JC degradation.
What is JC degradation? What is so bad about them?
whens the episode 3 review coming xD