Some Quick First Impressions: Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, Amagami SS and Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is looking for some legendary hero or something.
Aagh! Dilemma! I’m well aware that this is from the creators of Koukaku no Regios. That series also had a first episode that had quite a bit of potential… only to never realize any of it. This first episode of Legend of Legendary Heroes used a ton of tricks that other series like to use in order to impress wit their first episode. The action-scenes here were the best looking scenes that Zecxs has ever animated, the background art in this series is just gorgeous, but it just screamed “yeah, we blew our budget on this thing”. The comedy was the best I have seen this season so far, but that doesn’t mean that it’s also good. The comedy in this series is of the shotgun type: it tries to deliver as many jokes as possible, of which some of them end up actually funny. Let me put things this way: if this series can fulfill the potential it showed in this episode in its upcoming 25 episodes, then it will be quite entertaining. It’s a tongue in the cheek fantasy series that doesn’t take itself seriously, and the way that the deadpan female lead and expressive male lead keep snarking to each other had both its annoying and amusing moments. The side-characters… they’re varied and can become interesting with a little depth and development. I’d love to be able to give a favourable review for this one, but I know the director and his tendency to not use any sort of potential that’s handed to him. I’ll get back on this one in a few more episodes.
OP: Well, decent I guess.
ED: Again, decent.
Potential: 35%

Amagami SS

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is bland, shy but very kind, so he’ll probably date a bunch of cute girls throughout the series.
Here we have the first of the onslaught of AIC Moe series this season, but at least this one looked to be the most solid. And indeed, whether this series is going to work out right is a little more complex than with Ookami, but this series has a number of huge flaws against it. First of all it’s a harem based on a dating sim, and the creators really spent no effort to defy from the cliches that this series usually suffers from: annoying sister (who he’ll probably get to date eventually as well), the spunky best friend girl, the incredibly popular girl, the weak girl, and of course the male best friend of the lead character. The premise is utterly terrible, but there were a few hints at at least a bit of substantial drama. For one, the lead character isn’t entirely bland, but had his crushes in the past. That’s like an entire novel worth of background for your average harem lead! He also got rejected when he tried to confess to a girl he only got to know on that day, so at least the characters and females aren’t morons here, but in the end, the series is just too constrained by its premise. This episode showed the lead characters hop back and forth between all of the girls that he’s supposed to be dating in the future, making for an incredibly forced first episode. I know that this is by the creators of Solty Rei, which also had a very unimpressive first episode. But really, you can do a lot more neat stuff with science fiction than another one of those shows set just in high school.
OP: A tip for whoever sung this: stay away from English lyrics. You’re not good at them.
ED: Boring j-rock
Potential: 35%

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is socially awkward, completely bland, but actually a pretty nice guy so of course he gets a cute girl as a semi-girlfriend.
Well, so the first real premiere of the summer season… turns out to be a disappointment. I was actually looking forward to how the creators would interpret the fairy tale premise that they had to work with. And somehow… they chose one of the blandest ways to do it. In the end, this is just another one of those series about a weird club in high school, with a tsundere, maid, typical lose lead guy, sarcastic boss, and really annoying best friend. There also is a narrator, and while she sometimes tries to actually say something witty, she loses herself way too often in small boob jokes. The fanservice here is just utterly pointless, bland and uninspired, which makes it even worse. The production values are nice, I grant it that, but this is exactly the kind of moe high school show that I’ve gotten more than tired of by now. If it had something interesting about this episode, it might have been serviceable, but this had just nothing. It was all just bland. No hints at potential whatsoever. This is only for the people who like moe humor.
ED: Annoying j-pop
Potential: 20%

17 thoughts on “Some Quick First Impressions: Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, Amagami SS and Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

  1. As always, I’m waiting for your higher potential scores to decide which series to follow. Thanks for the hard work, psgels.

  2. alas,JC. staff rarely does any serious stuff…but when they really at it (Utena,Honey and Clover,Nabari no Ou,Aoi Hana) they really fires in all cylinders.

  3. Um… regarding Amagami, don’t just think ‘just another dating sim anime’. That was my initial preconception based on the summary, character designs, etc but it appears the visual novel was rated much better than you would expect for one in the high school romance genre. This generally means it has a really strong story or excellent writing.

    Combined with an established director and good production values it should be worth keeping an eye on.

  4. …..or popular, highly likable characters.

    Many visual novels are highly rated for neither a strong plot nor great writing. Remember that with bishoujo games, attractive characters (not just art, but personalities, relationships with the protagonist and other characters, etc.) are driving forces, and they can sell entire products.

    In the non-ero sector, Kimikiss and Amagami are top character titles, but they aren’t noted for being particularly plot-oriented. Amagami is famed for its salaciousness, with thrilled fans commenting that much of the protagonist/heroine interaction is even sexier than a lot of eroge.

  5. So it’s basically popular due to Otaku-pandering instead of anything worth of merit? I was kind enough to give Amagami SS at least a try, despite my hate for harem crapm, but if that’s the reason….

    Meh, not watching.

  6. @Bill,

    I’m not talking about ‘sales’ or anything here… just VNDB ratings. Sure there’s only a few votes but even loss gave it a 9/10 and ‘high school dating sim’ VNs don’t do well on VNDB at all. If you don’t know him, he’s read hundreds of them and they have to be excellent to get 8+ – in regards to ones I’ve read my opinion tends to be very close. For comparison, he gave Kimikiss a 6.

  7. Meh, I thought Ookami-san had an interesting premise with its Otogi Bank scenario. As long as the show doesn’t get too episodic, I could see it becoming decent if not a little charming. However, I am also not as opposed to moe as you are, so that’s probably where we differ…

  8. I’m open to giving Amagami a chance, but I honestly can’t tell if loss’ opinions mean much to those who’ve grown very frustrated with the market. We’re certainly in agreement when it comes to most character games, but I honestly thought games like Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka and Kazoku Keikaku were tripe (gave both an 8) too. The latter was dressed up tripe, mind you, but it was still 80% fluff wrapped by a pretentious script.

    Can’t say I thought much of Fortune Arterial (moe character game, primarily) either, although the final route was at least enjoyable to read. Maybe it’s good within the particular sub-genre, but I guess I just hate that stuff.

  9. I almost fell asleep during Ookami-san the opening was so dull. I have to say, it did get my attention in the second half when the animation team pulled out a bunch of professional grade action and drew the windmill kick. Nice but not sure that I’ll suffer through it.

    I think Amagami SS is best summed up with this single image: (taken from the lunch scene) amagamiss.jpg

  10. Yeah, after watching Amagami SS I’d have to say its much worse than Ookami-san. At least Ookami-san is trying to mix it up a little with some fairy tale elements. Amagami SS also has an incredibly shallow lead. After dwelling on his past crush for 2 years, he falls for Morishima in a matter of days. Because she’s hot. Way to go.

  11. You said you will get back on densetsu in a few more episodes. Does this mean you will blog the first few episodes?

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