The things you see under a black light...
Summary:
I hope I don't have to take the consolation prize
Two years ago Tachibana Junichi got stood up on Christmas and programmed the afterlife in AngelPlayer and lost his mojo. Nowadays he spends his time in his closet planetarium wondering what went wrong. One day, after losing a bet and being forced to buy bread for his buddies Umehara Masayoshi and Tanamachi Kaoru, Junichi helps shy freshman Nakata Sae buy bread, and his kindness is spotted by school idol, 3rd-year Morishima Haruka.
Scissoring is no fun when you are left out with only your right hand to keep you company
While Junichi’s little sis Miya is suspicious of flirty Haruka’s interest in her “nii-nii,” the sight of Haruka checking out doggystyle photo albums rekindles the fire in his loins. Haruka’s flirty attitude and hints at bathing with Miya fool Junichi into thinking he has an outside shot, rather than remain pitifully friend-zoned for the rest of eternity, Junichi quickly confesses to Haruka… and is just as quickly rejected. Upon learning that Haruka wants someone older and more reliable, Junichi trudges home and crawls into his closet to mope.
Reaction:
Think about baseball, think about baseball!
This was a pretty typical first-episode, but Junichi is already above average compared to most romance series males. Although he’s still thinking about how he got stood up, he doesn’t let the memory completely paralyze him. In fact, he was quite the go-getter in chasing the school idol and in spite of his nervousness he was able to strike up some pretty fluid conversations with her. It’s hard to blame him for misreading her flirting as interest, and I admired his confession at the first soft alley-oop she lobbed his way.
Consolation prize AND bait... hmmmm...
I always prefer, in love and business, quick failures, and Junichi certainly fails very quickly in this episode. It’s still too early to pick favorites, but I get the feeling I won’t like Haruka (although I’m sure she has some pathos-filled flashback in the wings). While the premise of Junichi trying to score with a chick with only a month and a half left before Christmas is a little weak, at least he’s trying to get over his trauma… and onto his senpai!
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About Kabitzin: 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. |
24 Comments
I couldn’t help but laugh at his 2-year flashback sequence (which he mentioned around 3 times later in the episode). Though, like you, I am glad that he’s at least trying to hit on other girls, it stills seems pretty loser-ish to hang onto a memory like that. It’s like me saying:
… uhhh I mean…
I also found it funny that the senpai girl called him so nice when he helped out that freshmen. HELLO?!?! Obviously he was hitting on her! Freshmen are easy targets! I know this because the seniors would hit on me all the time when I was a freshmen. Man I still remember the feeling of being shoved into lockers *BA DUM PSH*
… 
Last but not least, talk about awkward:
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My first impression of their “leap-frogging” leads me to believe that the majority of the Japanese male population is generally homosexual. Not that it’s a bad thing, really; in fact, it would explain the declining population.
(But really, it looks like a combination of a male “get-together” and an elephant train using one’s head instead.)
My experience in other countries is that guys can be friendlier with each other without worrying about everyone being a total homophobe. With that said, and with respect to the images J159 provided, it’s not gay as long as you don’t look the other guy in the eyes
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Looks like someone didn’t get the consolation prize.
I had no idea people in Japan played Buck Buck.
Knuck if you buck!
I like this show since its easy going and not filled with crazy fan service.
Yeah it seems to be at tolerable levels for now, but you never know. Pointless fanservice can strike at any time.
All the Nii-nii talk reminded me quite a bit of Satoko from Higurashi… hopefully we’ll get to see what happens when his cute imouto goes off the deep end in a jealous rage. And even though Junichi likes to play leapfrog with other guys when he isn’t spending time alone in his closet, the dorama potential seems pretty high so I’m definitely going to keep watching.
This made me LOL.
Yeah, as long as Junichi is willing to take bold action from time to time, I am ok with him wallowing in self-pity occasionally. In fact, it gives the show a spice of life.
Am I the only one who’s getting the feeling that this is a condensed version of Kimikiss? So far, it’s just a typical harem-esque show. The ending tried to have an “original” feel to it, but really: I really rolled my eyes.
As for the “Nii-nii” phrase…hath anime’s cruelty know no bounds?
Well, the format is similar, but since all I know about KimiKiss is the extremely wide-set eyes, I already like Amagami better.
Perhaps I was a bit too harsh in the first viewing. I actually watched it again, and it turned out not to be that bad. (And the character designs are definitely better; I personally like Haruka’s design. >_>
A very laid back show, I’ll stick around to see if there’s going to be a brother complex episode. Haruka’s blue eyes are appealing, I wonder if she’s the sister of the girl who stood up Junichi. Just a though.
The striking blue eyes remind me of Fullmetal Alchemist. It’d be great if Haruka was connected to that girl who stood up Junichi in some way, especially if standing up Junichi becomes a running gag in this show.
I liked how we got the confession and rejection right off the bat – swift and decisive, much better than those manga of yore where at the end of the damned series we still don’t get a proper confession.
Also nice to see Shizuka Itou playing Haruka in flirty mode, not so sure if I’ll enjoy it as much if we get the pathos-filled flashback that you anticipate though.
Sadly I doubt that Miya has enough moe to activate Stripey’s SISCON powers. Unless she blossoms like Akane Suzumiya in the course of the series.
And why does Class Rep Ayatsuji want to do all those thankless jobs? Does she hope Santa will leave something nice in her stocking come Christmas?
I hate those long, dragging shows where nothing happens even though everyone knows who the OTP is. Even worse are pathetic sad sacks who say crap like “Looking at my idol from afar is enough for me.” Just get in, get rejected, and get back into your closet already!
My theory/hope is that Tsukasa is repenting from some horrible sleazy past act!
If Ayatsuji behaves the same as in the manga, this could be very interesting, especially for those who like pathos-filled flashbacks
You called?
I heard this one is gonna be 24 episodes, 4 ep for each girl then restart to another girl
Reset has a bad connotation, but when you get a new girl with every reset suddenly it adds a new wrinkle.
Glad I’m not the only one who immediately drew the Angel Beats connection, haha. Actually, that perfectly explains the series setup! Tachibana has access to the world’s software and has set himself up as the ‘Harem Player’ when he couldn’t decide which girl to pursue.
Or maybe Angel Beats got their wires crossed with this series and thought they were doing alternate paths for reality, thus absolving them of the need to explain ANYTHING at the end. I’m not bitter, really.
Haha, I need to get my Angel Beats review up, cause I actually thought it did an ok job with the scope of the story.
Just have to note the current tagline for posteriority (misspelling is deliberate):
OTL OTL OTL