Natsume Yuujin-chou San
Short Synopsis: Our lead character can see youkai.
Oh, it’s wonderful to see this one back again. It still has the dreamy atmosphere it always had, and the way this episode started off with another episodic story was great to get back into it again. It’s a basic, but very charming story about another youkai who met Natsume’s grandmother a long time ago, and this episode once again did a great job of showing her story while keeping things simple. It may not have been the best episode so far, but it had a lot to like. The animation still is really good, and this episode also stressed some of the character development that Natsume went through in the first two seasons. It’s a very relaxed episode that did its job really well. Oh, and it also was great to see Nyanko-sensei again.
OP: Well built up song with a good use of instruments, though the visuals are a bit unremarkable.
ED: Simple and relaxing, fitting this series perfectly.
Potential: 90%
Yuriyuri
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a random junior high school girl.
Well, here we go again. Here’s the thing: this first episode of Yuruyuri wasn’t half bad. It’s an episode of a bunch of random junior high schoolers goofing off, but it had a number of good jokes, it made sure that its characters, while annoying, weren’t at least one-sided stereotypes and this pretty much was the best animation we’ve ever seen from Dogakobo. It could have been much worse, but the thing is: this remains a show in which nothing happens beyond the antics of a bunch of cute girls. I’m not saying that that on its own is bad, but those series tend to have one really, really big disadvantage: they get incredibly repetitive. Take A-Channel: it could have been decent but devolved into an onslaught of boob jokes and characters repeating their quirks over and over. Denpa Ona? Nice coming of age drama until the characters just kept repeating themselves and the horny aunt just kept hitting on the male lead. Astarotte no Omocha? Heartfelt until it couldn’t stop talking about panties and generic romance cliches. And the thing is: the first episode of Yuruyuri has yet to show any hint that it won’t follow the same path. It only had a few bad fanservice jokes, but you can bet your hat that once they run out of jokes they’ll start groping boobs on a daily basis. On top of that, the main character is a complete airhead. And while she was far from the most annoying airhead out there, there really is little what you can do with such a character in the long run.
OP: The usual generically upbeat j-pop song that will get annoying really fast.
ED: This just feels like the second part of the OP song…
Potential: 45%
Ikoku Meiro no Croisée
Short Synopsis: Our lead character gets to take care of a young Japanese girl.
Oh my god. That was almost too adorable. This was once again an unbelievable first episode. This time in the incredible undeniable charm that this episode has. This goes beyond being just cute: just about everything about the lead female is just ridiculously charming. The animation isn’t trying to be anything big, but it is really consistent and does a great job of bringing the cast alive, plus you can also see the amount of detail that has been put into the background art. The lead character isn’t just an ordinary character: he’s a blacksmith. His shop is full of all kinds of interesting designs and furniture and a lot of attention was put into making the art as authentic as possible. Heck, the creators even got a number of fluent French voice actors as the narrator and vocalists. I really have to say that Satelight are making brilliant use of their French roots and connections here. Overall: Sato Junichi did it again. This once again was brilliant characterization. Although I do have to say that it is very dramatic. It needs to take care not to devolve into melodrama as the show goes on.
OP: A bit of a mundane OP, but quite well animated.
ED: Adorable. Just… adorable.
Potential: 90%
Now this is a “moe” show I can sign on with. It’s cute but not fanservicey, and despite seeming flimsy as a premise, at least it feels like it’s trying to tell a simple story rather than being a vehicle for half-hearted mystery/drama.
I’m just glad it didn’t turn out to be a “lost foreign child” drama, or a “slave child” drama (though there is still potential for those of course). The biggest bonus was that they dropped that whole “French people talking in Japanese” thing earlier than expected.
It looks like the perfect wind-down show, frankly.
pedobear show
I love the soundtrack, it kinda reminds me of Aria’s
“That was almost too adorable.”
= Anything that is too much is bad…. but I won’t mind for this one. Haha! Soooo cute xD
” That was almost too adorable”
you know psgels,you are allowed to use the word “moe” 😉
We already lost Psgels to moe…not that I mind with this one, really :))
wow a anime in my country !! i need to see this one 🙂
@totoum You’re using the term moe too liberally. Cute and moe are not interchangeable.
scruffy is right.
I thought that A-Channel was very sweet in the end. I do agree that in the middle (the beach episode was the WORST with the karaoke following close) it got bad, but the last 2 episodes IMHO was awesome. It focused on Tooru and Run, with Tooru realizing that once again she would be faced with a year apart from Run.
to female viewers: how do you perceive a show like “Ikoku Meiro no Croisée”? Totally cute, or completely uninteresting?
Since the anime seems to focus so much on Yune, and is probably targeted to a male audience, I wonder how females relate to that character?
Can’t wait to see Natsume Yuujinchou. I loved the first two seasons so much.
And I got to see the first episode of Croisee the other day. What a fun little show. This may be my favorite for the season (that or Natsume).
I noticed nobody comments about the particular decorative style of Claude’s ironworking — which is also the style of most buildings, houserooms and furniture we see in the anime. It’s a pity, because such works of fine art are definitely worthy of proper appreciation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_nouveau
This link should lead you to al the info you need. ^_^
@Alexs: As a girl, I found Yune absolutely adorable. And I don’t think the show is geared exclusively for a male audience- did you forget the blacksmith? 🙂
Yeah Natsume is back!!!
This is for ikoku meiro!
I at first thought that this was going to be a kind of boring slice-of-life series, but it was a new series and the idea of the actual setting being in France and not Japan, peaked a small interest. So I watched it, and soon found myself being drawn in to slap that boy’s head upside! Haha, I was immediately drawn in to cheer the little girl on to prove herself with her different values and traditions. It happened but also learned that claude had his own charms as well.
Both characters appealed to me at the end and the series has become a series to look forward to watching every week.
And can I say, Yune is by far the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen. Her character design may seem like the generic chibi girl design, but I feel like there’s something different about her. And her disposition is something that can’t be rivaled with against any cutesy character out there! 😀
i have to see this anime… @_@
Natsume is back! Its simple and beautiful just as before. I am currently mourning the loss of the teacup…
I so wanna see Natsume Yuujinchou 3 soon *_*
@AlexS
“how do you perceive a show like “Ikoku Meiro no Croisée”? Totally cute, or completely uninteresting?”
= totally cute and completely interesting.
Seconding what evolstar said, that the backsmith bishie’s enough fanservice for the gals, haha!
But I honestly would still like the show, even if Yune only looked plain and Claude wasn’t handsome instead.
Whoops, I meant: completely interesting
GOSICK character designer Takeda Hinata,
that Takeda’s original manga “Ikoku Meiro no Croisée”.
Yune is visited to Homestay in the France, from Japan samurai era.
Please see story so kind-hearted.
@ Scruffy : never said they were,some people do find cute and adorable things moe though.
But since moe is such a vague concept it’s nearly impossible to use the term “too liberally”.
Just because for some reason psgels uses it only on fanservice shows that pander to otakus doesn’t mean that’s all it is.
Natsume was sooooo adorable and sweet! I can’t wait to see more episodes!
I can forgive moe when the character is of the right age. 8 year olds can act like 8 year olds and get away with it and look cute. 16 year olds acting like 8 year olds is creepy and disgusting.
I really liked “Croisee” but can’t help but think it would be so much better if Yune were a little older – or at least taller. Say, more Holo fro “Spice & Wolf”-sized. While it’s true that in the 19th Century Japanese people were smaller than Europeans, I found the exaggeration of that size difference…jarring. She looks six, and I’m sorry, by six-year-old Japanese girls don’t just travel across the globe with old Frenchmen…do they?