After a brief scene with UN negotiators on a shuttle, we meet unhappy orphan Wakatake Mari. Because of a mysterious incident 5 years ago, Mari seems to have lost some memories. Her grandmother is quickly becoming unable to take care of Mari, and so Mari is enrolled in prestigious Kaihou Academy. On the drive to the Academy, Mari sees a mysterious girl surrounded by swallows near the ocean. It seems even the birds can sense the intense yuri vibes.
Mari gets off to a bad start, and gives attitude to headmaster Fukumachi, uptight Maiyama, RA Funatsumaru “Ryoucho” Hiroko, and homeroom teacher/counselor Sugawara Yuuko. Shy commoner/gardener Kousuki Michiko is designated as Mari’s guide. The only moment of happiness is when Mari runs into the mysterious girl from before. Senkouji Hagino is your typical school idol, but when she shakes hands with Mari, there is an odd pulse, and some strange visions. This causes Hagino’s eyes to flash bright cyan, and she begins trying to choke Mari until a second vision of chibi-Mari crying snaps Hagino out of it. Later that night, Mari follows Hagino to the dock warehouses, and the battleship in the vision comes out of the water and seems to communicate with Hagino.
What a strange first episode! I’m really intrigued by the mystery of the story, and I think 13 episodes should be just the right length for me to stay interested in this slow-burn suspense. The animation quality was really high, and the CG was reasonably integrated. The only things that bothered me were how Mari looks like Nausicaa and how that battleship gave me Kagatsuchi vibes.
In spite of how emo she was, I liked Mari in this episode. Mari really stood up for herself against psycho-bitch Hagino, and didn’t buy any of that fem-crap that girls do when they are trying to stab each other in the back. I was really cheering inside when Mari slapped Hagino’s hand away and then threw water in Hagino’s face. The fight was interesting too, but those random groupies were even fighting amongst themselves.
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This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1940 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks interesting, i might watch this one thanks.
Yeah, I agree, this series looks interesting, and has ever since I saw it. It’s rare that I get hyped over a series which I know very little about, but I was hyped about Blue Drop.
And am I the only one who thought that Hagino wiping the water off of herself looked like a black-haired Akane (from KGNE/Akane Maniax)?
I don’t know if Hagino looked exactly like Akane, but she was definitely giving that sad “my sister’s bf dumped her when she went into a coma” look, except in this case it was really a “how am I going to write my paper on yuri relationships with Earthlings when this girl hates me” look. I can see how you might get them confused, though.
This season seems a little short on series with a strong plotline, and at 13 episodes, Blue Drop definitely has its hooks in me.
I personally didn’t find the first episode to be as amazing as everyone else did. Something about the art and atmosphere just didn’t click with me. Eh, maybe it’s just my taste. I’ll probably end up marathoning this one later. :S