Rating: 7/10 & 7/10

Impressions:

Ehh, Tonagura got rather crap, if I must say. It’s probably more that the quality dropped a mile since I’m pretty picky with that stuff, but even so, the new obstacle that Kazuki and Yuuji have to overcome is far too generic. Sure, there has to be a jealous stage that every romance goes through, but the problem is everyone is too ignorant. The teacher would do much better of he is in fact trying to take advantage of Kazuki, though it seems like he really is just a nice and clueless guy. Kazuki’s also treating Yuuji like crap, though the originator of her behaviour is no one’s fault. Still, she really should just let Yuuji do his own thing for once and stop comparing him to the teacher (can’t remember name…). Yuuji’s not being particularly favourable either though, as he should’ve just complimented Kazuki in her bikini. The two are being far too stubborn, but at least there are three more episodes to sort things out. And one final thing which is getting on my nerves are the guys’ fixation with breasts the size of heads (eg Hatsune’s breasts). Even Nina has massive ones, it’s totally unbelievable.

Impressions:

I am really impressed with this episode. The story wasn’t all that bad and the quality stayed quite high. I think the quality this episode might have been the highest in the series, though I can’t remember the first few episodes that clearly. The only exception is the part where almost everyone stuffs up on: anything to do with big body movements. Yes, this means, running and swimming, and sometimes walking but that isn’t as big a problem. I was wondering why no one bothered to record someone running in real life, then draw the characters according to stills in the video. It would be much more realistic that anyway. Apart from that minor stuff up, the rest was very impressive (I’m still talking about quality here). I don’t think the characters have looked better in this episode than the rest. Kazuki’s emotions were depicted very nicely, and a massive range of shot types were used. There were dynamic angles, such as the underwater shot of Kazuki and Hatsune tumbling at the end of the pool, and various other shots. The only problem I have, which I just noticed this episode (which is to do more with character design than quality) is Hatsune’s breasts. They are just too freakin’ huge. I dunno about the rest of the male population out there but I sure wouldn’t be attracted to someone with giant ape boobs like her.

Speaking of Hatsune, I’ve grown to really hate her these past few episodes. Her affection for Kazuki is just retarded, and the fact that she acts all high and mighty, with the posing and stuff, really sickens me. Why can’t she just be a normal older sister? Her mannerisms are annoying too. Sure, she can be a caring older sister like many onee-sans in anime are, but how bout a bit less…extreme. I’m also getting sick of her ‘maa’s and ‘ara’s. I really can’t believe she’s so different from Kazuki when they’re just one year apart. Oh well, at least it adds dynamics to the cast. I’m quite sure the character diverseness problem could be solved by introducing a few extra school mates. What about Yuuji’s male friends? Or does he have none because he sticks around Kazuki all day taking pictures? Well, this show is running out of ideas and I really hope it doesn’t continue on a happy note all the way until the end. I’m tempted to read Hinano’s entries on this, but I’m liking this anime more than I though so I think I’ll hold back. I think I say this with every show, but I hope something tragic happens. Not that tragic since Tonagura is not suited for anything too dramatic, but surprising enough to create a bang before the end. I think the reason why I want tragedy in every show is that they lose versatility rather quickly. If the ideas for each episode don’t get old, my imagine doesn’t wonder…

Preview:

Next episode – #9
Maybe, just maybe…jealousy?

Impressions:

How ironic, I had been complaining about how subs for this show weren’t being released fast enough, and now I’m behind…Anyway, episode 7 was not as good as the last, mainly because it wasn’t funny and it didn’t have a good story. Last episode was much stronger in the latter part, and most the other episodes had some decent comedy. Although, the quality remained quite high and adult Kazuki sure looks better than her current self! Kazuki finally realises that she has some responsibility in her own life, as her sister, Hatsune, has been doing everything for her. The episode revolves around Kazuki and Katsune. Hatsune is also explored in more detail, and her ‘perfection’ is revealed: she’s smart, sporty, a good cook, popular and everything thing else…However, I think she’s far too motherly, which even continued when she somehow lost all ability to survive (by that I mean when she became clumsy). She’s basically your typical onee-sama, but with a slightly strange fetish with getting Kazuki nude…Right. Anyway, next episode – dunno what happens since I didn’t even look at the preview (it was getting late).

So after some good development between Kazuki and Yuuji, it’s time to get Kazuki and her sister a little closer together. I never like it when the story strays from the original plan, and by original I mean the outcome that’s meant to come from the story. Kazuki simply has to get with Yuuji. I refuse to accept anything else. I hate endings (in romance) where nothing comes about as a result of anything, and the couple-to-be stay as a couple-to-be. Basically, this episode saw no development between Kazuki and Yuuji, but their strong bond formed last episode seems to have made no room for more improvement in their relationship. Yuuji has returned to trying to grope Kazuki, which of course means that she is still annoyed at him for trying. However, we all know that their feelings toward each other (especially Kazuki) has drastically changed for the better. Anyway, so far we’ve had a Yuuji x Chihaya episode, Marie x Niina ep, Yuuji x Kazuki ep, Kazuki x Hatsune ep and various others. What’s left is some more interaction between Marie and the rest of the characters. Some more time should be spent time at school too, and by that I don’t mean on the bench by themselves, but actually communicating with some friends. They also need a group outing – that’s a must!

Plot Outline:

- Kazuki and Yuuji are now 3 years older and quite the couple, though Yuuji still succumbs to his perving fetish
- When Kazuki wakes up, she finds Hatsune in the room with her, working on some series
- It turns out that the events that occurred ‘3 years later’ were just part of the episode Hatsune was working on
- Yuuji also happens to be in the room, as Hatsune let him in
- Marie is found tied up in the closet and explains to Kazuki that she had tried to stop Yuuji but Hatsune got to her first
- Marie then decides to find Hatsune’s weakness
- At school, Hatsune’s popularity is shown
- She even has a fanclub! Many clubs also tries to get her to join as apparently she’s good at everything

- Kazuki hears that Hatsune collapsed from her cold and rushes home to see her
- Marie and Yuuji are waiting for dinner in the dining room, and Hatsune looks perfectly fine
- However, Kazuki drags her into bed and measures her temperature, revealing that she has a slight fever
- Kazuki tries to do all the housework for her sister, but completely screws up everything
- In the end, with some help from Marie and Yuuji, Kazuki manages to make an edible meal and gives it to Hatsune
- That night, Hatsune starts…playing with Kazuki, which results in her catching a cold
- The next day, Hatsune resumes doing the housework, but for some reason she’s become extremely clumsy
- Her skills had become even worse than Kazuki!
- Before long, Yuuji and Marie find that they both cannot cope with this change

Impressions:

It looks Tonagura! has made a huge jump in terms of quality. The last episode, the character animation was very inconsistent; of the cheeks were too wide or the face to long etc. This time, I didn’t detect any noticeable deformations. Not only that, a few very nice shots were thrown in as well. The most memorable one was when Kazuki reached over the roof of Yuuji’s house to grab the camera in her sister’s hands, but Chihaya pulled her back. That shot was extremely well done and I am very pleased with the up in quality. It’s a shame they didn’t start so good, but hopefully with only halfway to go, the producers can keep up with the standard of quality which this episode has set. Also, if only the subs could come out faster…when was the last time I blogged Tonagura? Hmm…September 27th, that’s a whole month ago. It’s funny how I was complaining of how the show had been getting worse that time, and now this. Maybe it’s because I had a break from watching it, but I think it genuinely is better. No, it is definitely better!

This episode was especially enjoyable because there were no stupid ecchi scenes. The whole episode (almost) was serious, though I’m a bit disappointed that the producers decided to throw in some funny moments during the most serious part of the story! How bad is that? I rather liked the accompanying music as it definitely set the mood right. It’s good to see that Kazuki and Yuuji are finally advancing on their journey to true love ^^ and I hope there are less stupid scenes were all that happens is Yuuji groping Kazuki. That’s the main reason why I didn’t like the show at the start. I was hoping for a slightly more serious romance. Speaking of seriousness, I was quite surprised to see that Yuuji wasn’t serious at all when he said he hated Kazuki. He became all depressed afterwards when I thought he would act normal on the outside but slowly stress out inside. Kazuki’s behaviour was perfectly fine though. I also wished that Yuuji would apologise first to a teary Kazuki by themselves. The ‘by themselves’ part was especially important, but it didn’t happen, so maybe next time.

Downloads:

To download, right click and *save target as* for Internet Explorer, or *save link as* for Firefox.

OP – Placid Time
Full version (mp3 – 11.4mb)
TV version (mp3 – 2.05mb)

ED – Dramatic Girly
Full version (mp3 – 10.3mb)
TV version (mp3 – 1.95mb)

Plot Outline:

- After ‘breaking up’, both Kazuki and Yuuji are upset with each other
- Chihaya visits Hatsune and asks about the two, but it seems nothing has been resolved
- We see a quick flashback of the time immediately after Kazuki ran out of the room after arguing with Yuuji

- It seems that Yuuji was so shocked that he froze completely and has been depressed ever since
- He also reacts badly to the phrase ‘break up’, and avoids Kazuki whenever he sees her since he feels bad
- Chihaya goes to talk to him and determines that he is not interested in her, so she can’t be the reason why he’s still not talking to Kazuki
- She then goes to talk with Kazuki, who admits that she really wants to make up with Yuuji
- After some discussion, Kazuki makes up her mind to apologise to Yuuji
- Chihaya also tells Kazuki that Yuuji isn’t interested in her, though she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t the least bit interested in him
- That night, Kazuki and Chihaya sneak onto Yuuji’s balcony to see what he’s up to
- Apparently, he’s being consoled by Hatsune since Marie asked her to
- Chihaya, Kazuki and Marie then eavesdrop on the revealing conversation Yuuji has with Hatsune

- It seems that Yuuji is sorry about the argument as well, and after a whole lot more of confessions and such, it comes to a point when Kazuki is so moved that she slips off the roof which she had been hiding on
- She falls but Yuuji manages to catch her
- In the end, the two make up and Kazuki asks Yuuji to take a proper picture of her
- However, the next day, Kazuki is so uptight that she can’t even smile properly
- With some advice from Hatsune, Yuuji manages to console Kazuki into expressing a beautiful smile
- However, instead of taking a picture, Yuuji gets so hyped up that he starts hoping around ecstatically, trying to say how cute Kazuki is but ending up calling her weird names
- Kazuki gets pissed and it looks like everyone has returned back to normal

Preview:

Next episode – #7
Just seven more episodes to go…

Impressions:

While I think the episode is of less quality than previous episodes, the story takes a break from fun and cheery things to a more serious and sullen turn of events. Instead of Yuuji going after Kazuki as she changes or whatever, as he normally does, they have a pretty serious fight and end up making each other say that they hate one another. While this is obviously not true and they will resolve this for sure sooner or later, it shows that the show is definitely capable of depicting a serious romance. This is one thing harem-romances seem to lack, but this show is not a harem…I think. I don’t suppose Kazuki’s sister can be considered a third candidate for Yuuji can she? Right now it’s only Kazuki and Chihaya. Both are clearly interested in Yuuji, and while he adores Kazuki for now, he becomes closer to Chihaya, who also approves of his perverted behaviour…to an extent. What makes it worse is when the two finally fight in the end. I have no doubt that Yuuji will end up with Kazuki, unless the producers decide to make this a show where no romances are resolved and they go on being ‘friends’…*sigh*.

I said before that the quality went down, but I think the quality wasn’t that great in the first place. The voice-acting is also quite terrible…there’s just not enough emotion. I also don’t like the drawing style that’s been used with the characters. Firstly, like I’ve said in earlier posts, I don’t like how the face gets wider at the cheek in semi-frontal shots. The eyes look bad too. Another thing is they look incredibly flat from 45 degree shots. Surprisingly for me though, this doesn’t bother me as much as normally. It’s probably because I like the overall feel of the show, and the plot is becoming more interesting now anyway. I don’t want to see episodes of events that don’t support the main storyline. For example, episode 3 featured Marie and Niina with the main roles. While developing character is essential in a good Anime, Tonagura! doesn’t have enough episodes to do that. Marie is not very important, and Niina even less. Although the three main characters right now – Chihaya, Kazuki and Yuuji – all have apparent and solid personalities, it’d be better if episodes were focused on their developing characters rather than lesser characters.

Brief Summary:

It’s a new day and Kazuki and Yuuji go through their usual cat and mouse chase early in the morning. As they in the school grounds heading for class, they run into Chihaya who pulls her usual act on Yuuji, trying to win him over. She even tells her about her new panties and asks him to take a look at them. This attracts everyone’s attention. The students around them are quick to deduce that Kazuki and Chihaya are fighting over Yuuji, which embarrasses Kazuki, but not the shameless Chihaya of course. During lunch, Chihaya and Yuuji become much closer after learning of a few things they have in common. Kazuki becomes discreetly jealous of this. Before lunch ends, Chihaya reminds Kazuki that she’s going to visit her tomorrow as it will be a holiday.

The next day, Kazuki oversleeps and remains asleep even when Chihaya comes. Because of this, Chihaya decides to visit Yuuji’s place. When Kazuki finally wakes up, Chihaya tells her that she’s been with Yuuji since she came. Kazuki is quite surprised they were alone and nothing happened. She goes to Yuuji’s room with Chihaya and finds his room in utter catastrophe (by that I mean it was incredibly messy). Kazuki ends up making it spotless shortly after and asks Yuuji to take his pictures upon a previous suggestion. Chihaya reveals to her that he doesn’t take scenery pictures, but of girls he’s met over his travels. Kazuki is appalled at this, but Yuuji becomes serious and tells her he takes pictures of girls because he likes taking pictures and just wants to capture their beauty – nothing harmful in that right?

After this, everyone decides to take some pictures with Yuuji, except Kazuki who is still sulky over everything that’s just happened. Niina overhears the commotion and dashes down to their residence and joins in on everything. And so, everyone has fun as Yuuji takes their pictures, except for Kazuki who just quietly trudges off, sulking. She does, however, feel bad for telling him off earlier for taking photos, as she now realises he does indeed love taking them. When everyone else realises Kazuki is no where to be found, they decide to ‘attack’ her. The girls barge into her room as she is changing. It is obvious she had been changing for the photos, but denies this. Yuuji then leaps in through the window and decides to take a picture of her in her underwear. This is when the problem starts.

Kazuki gets increasingly upset with Yuuji, while he becomes more thoughtful and less teasing. He even obeys Chihaya when he tells him to leave her alone. Later, when Kazuki doesn’t show up for her photo, Yuuji approaches her at the balcony, wanting to take a picture of her. She refuses with tears in her eyes, saying that she isn’t cute anyway. Then Chihaya runs into her and convinces her to take a photo. However, she thinks she looks lonely by herself in the photo and tells Yuuji to join her. She gets really pissed now and Yuuji apologises to her, taking all the blame for upsetting her. However, Kazuki remains stubborn and says it’s best if she wasn’t here (with Yuuji and Chihaya). This makes Yuuji unexpectedly angry and he tells Kazuki he hates her. Hurt, Kazuki replies how anyone would in this situation; she tells him she hates him too.

Preview:

Impressions:

Tonagura is actually pretty funny at times, though Marie using her bear gun is not one of them. In fact, I’m getting kind of sick of that. It happens too often. Yuuji’s behaviour is also quite exasperate. No guy can be that perverted or desperate. It’s just wrong. I’d have though by this episode, he would have matured a little, but it doesn’t look like it. Marie and Niina are both so small that I’m not sure whether they’re in the second year or middle or primary school. Niina even acts like a grade schooler, but the size of her breasts says otherwise. =) Anyway, next episodes sounds interesting – I always though Chihaya would fall for Yuuji eventually, but not so soon. Will there be conflict…?

Summary:

As Kazuki is changing into her uniforms one morning, Yuuji barges in through the balcony door, just in time to see her in her underwear. Unable to resist the urge, he lunges for her, but gets caught by Marie using some sort of net. Hatsune comes into the room and is disappointed to see that Yuuji had failed again, even though she had unlocked Kazuki’s window for him.

Elsewhere, Niina is enjoying breakfast alone when she hears the ruckus coming from Kazuki’s house. Using her binoculars, she manages to catch sight of Marie and discerns that that is her house.

When Marie comes out of the house to go to school, she sees a cat on the outside wall. As she is afraid of cats, she slowly edges her way out of the house. She thinks she’s safe now, until she hears the all too familiar cry of her supposed best friend: Niina. She runs to them and introduces herself. She asks to join the group and Hatsune agrees. She shows her appreciation by hugging everyone, but when she gets to Marie, she dodges all her attempts. Marie then tries to run away from Niina, but she sees this as a race and runs along with her.

At school, Niina sends the entire day sticking to Marie, not knowing that she’s being extremely annoying. During lunch, Kazuki and Yuuji wait for Chihaya to join them so they can start eating. As they are waiting for her, Kazuki asks Yuuji about his behaviour. He tells her that he hadn’t put on the handsome face that morning, which resulted in no on recognising him. When things got cleared up (everyone found out the unattractive Yuuji today is actually the same person as the handsome boy from yesterday), none of the girls crowded around him. As he was explaining, Chihaya shows up. As Yuuji is depressed about his sudden drop in popularity, Chihaya allows him to rest on her lap. Kazuki tells him that it’s because he was known for being a pervert, so he declares that he will simply attack all the girls like he did in middle school. Of course, he knows that won’t work, and decides to bask in Kazuki’s friendship for now instead.

After school, Marie manages to lose Niina onher way home. However, she runs into a large number of cats. Due to her fear of them, she is frozen to the spot. As the cats advance on her for no particular reason, Niina arrives. Seeing the cats, she tries to find some leftovers from lunch to give to them. However, when she cannot find any, the cats become EVIL! When it looks like Marie is going to be attacked, Niina stands in front of her to defend her. Before anything can happen, Kazuki and Yuuji show up. They save Marie and Niina by throwing the cats some leftovers from lunch. After the cats leave, Marie suddenly aims her teddy bear gun at Niina (never thought she’d do that!). Yuuji tells her to put it down and she runs away. Yuuji explains that Marie is terrified of having a good friend as she’s never had one before. Niina is put down because of this. To make up for this, Yuuji invites her to eat dinner with him.

During the evening, Marie and Niina help prepare dinner, though Niina tries to give Marie more personal space. When everything is ready, Yuuji complains of the ugly dumplings that Niina made. However, Marie says it tastes pretty good, which cheers Niina up. Kazuki realises that Yuuji had done that on purpose to get Marie to support her classmate. He then tries one of Kazuki’s dumplings, which look good but taste horrible. She explains that she put in sour cream, strawberry jam and fermented beans for flavour (just imagine that sickening combination…ugh!). Niina cuts in, saying that it’s fun eating in such a lively house, as her dad comes home late and can never spend much time with her. Yuuji asks her why she likes Marie in the first place, to which she says that it is because she looks like her toy raccoon. With Niina being all friendly, Marie thanks her for saving her and hey finally become friends. Niina is so happy that she even hugs Yuuji, who enjoys the moment greatly due to her breasts rubbing on him. This prompts Marie to punish him again.

After dinner, Marie, Yuuji and Kazuki send Niina off. She points out that her house is quite close by, on the top story of a nearby apartment. Just before bed, when Kazuki is actually praising Yuuji for being a good brother, he ruins it by asking Kazuki to wear a Chinese dress and offering to help her change. Niina watches on from her balcony as Marie intervenes.

Impressions:

This entry was meant to be one with the summary of the next episode, but it somehow got a bit long so I decided to make it separate. The episode was the best so far, mainly because everything happened at school – my favourite setting for ecchi, harem, romance type shows. The characters are all so extreme, but that’s what makes the show funny and enjoyable. Yuuji is too perverted, both Chihaya and Hatsune are too accepting, Marie is too unemotional and Kazuki is too violent. No, what am I talking about? There is no ‘too’ in this. Everyone’s character is perfectly fine for this type of show. Anyway, this episode has gotten me much more interested in the series. Note: I’ve watched the next episode but I haven’t written the summary yet. It should be up within a day.

Summary:

In a dream, Kazuki is spending some quality time with a handsome, well-mannered Yuuji. They are about to kiss when Kazuki falls out of bed and wakes up. After she gets dressed, she starts fretting about why she had such a dream in the first place, and how impossible it is for Yuuji to be so handsome. Downstairs, Kazuki is greeted by Yuuji, who had been waiting for her to go to school together. Of course, she doesn’t like this and hits him on the head with a rolled up newspaper. She sees a camera on the breakfast table and asks about it. It is Yuuji’s, so her explains that he want to capture the memories of his first day of the new school, especially the girls. Kazuki snatches it out of his hands and the two struggle for it, resulting in them both falling down. Yuuji, as the guy, lands on top like in all ecchi Anime. With his head in between Kazuki’s breasts, his perverted self returns and he starts smothering his face. Marie comes to Kazuki’s rescue and barrages Yuuji with rubber balls from her teddy bear gun.

When things have settled down, Kazuki asks Yuuji about what he thinks of his own looks. He thinks he looks good, but Kazuki points out that his uncombed hair, slack face and loose shirt will make girl’s hate him. He does not believe this and says that girls like wild men. To back this statement up, he also says that since he was younger, girls have admired him from a distance. Kazuki informs him that those girls were actually avoiding him. Yuuji becomes somewhat distraught and lets Kazuki tidy him up. Hatsune (Kazuki’s sister) says that Yuuji doesn’t actually look bad and will be popular if he looks proper. Kazuki does not believe that it is that simple, but Yuuji turns around and starts fixing up his expression. When he turns around, Kazuki is amazed to see that he has just become the handsome guy from her dream. However, his face returns back to normal after a while. He explains that it’s tiring keeping such a look.

On the way to school, all the girls start admiring Yuuji because of the handsome face he had put on. Kazuki finds herself staring too, and blushing even. She questions herself as to why she’s going red. As they are walking, an energetic junior school girl runs into Marie as she is running. The girl cannot help but stare at Marie, as she reminds her of her toy raccoon. Kazuki tells Yuuji to help her help the girl up, but finds him glaring at her exposed panties. Kazuki grabs Yuuji’s face to stop him from looking. The girl gets up and heads off for school. When Kazuki lets Yuuji go, he is pretty much unconscious.

At school, everyone parts to go to their own classes. Marie introduces herself in her class, where the girl from before (Niina) just happens to be in. She immediately offers Marie the seat next to her. When she sits down, she notices Niina staring eagerly at her and moves her desk slightly closer to the window, away from Niina. She, in turn, moves slightly closer to Marie. Seeing no other way to avoid Niina, Marie gives up and sighs.

In Yuuji’s new class, he introduces himself like Marie, with his temporary handsome face. Machida, the class president, suggests a welcoming party. He tells Yuuji that he can help with attracting the girls with a face like his. The vide president, Serizawa, slams the back of her fist into his face and tells Yuuji to talk to her if he has any questions (whoa that class is rough). She also winks at Yuuji, which gets all the guys in the class ogling. Yuuji is about to return to his normal look, but wills himself not to as it’ll mean his social doom.

At the start of recess, Kazuki starts worrying about Yuuji and the possible perverted acts he’s already committed. She tells herself that even if Yuuji is bad, he wouldn’t go around hugging girls at random, especially at school. However, when she thinks back to the multiple times she had been attacked, she starts to think otherwise. Chihaya suddenly appears and asks her about her childhood friend. She tells Kazuki that she’s already seen what he looks like. Kazuki asks about his behaviour and is quite surprised to hear that not only is he normal, he is also quite popular among the girls. Chihaya takes Kazuki to get a look at him and he indeed is surrounded by girls.

Kazuki makes her way to the roof, frustrated about Yuuji’s sudden popularity. She’s probably just jealous though. She is also angry that he never acted like he that in front of her. At home, Kazuki is surprised by Yuuji, who appears from the window as she is changing. Yuuji is annoyed that she didn’t wait for him to go home together. Kazuki angrily asks him why he didn’t go home with the other girls, to which Yuuji replies that he only wants to go home with Kazuki. He tries to sway Kazuki to like him with his handsome face, but she simply gives him another whack and says that she does not like that look. Yuuji becomes unenergetic and says that he won’t bother with pretending to be good looking anymore. Kazuki is worried as the girls will ignore him, but Yuuji does not mind as she will still be his friend. Kazuki is taken aback by Yuuji’s expression (in a good way). She becomes even more nervous than when she’s around the handsome Yuuji.

The next day, Kazuki asks Yuuji to meet her after school. He gets the wrong idea and Kazuki can tell immediately. She slams his face onto the table and tells him that she just wants to introduce him to Chihaya. Kazuki also asks Marie to make sure he acts appropriately.

After school, Chihaya and Yuuji meet as Kazuki watches from outside the classroom. Yuuji acts like a normal high school guy and Chihaya seems to be enjoying herself. However, after the short conversation, she gets Yuuji in a headlock and tells him to start acting normally. She even goes to such lengths as to press his head against her chest to get him going. Sure enough, it does and Yuuji starts enjoying the moment like the pervert he is. Kazuki walks into the room and asks Chihaya how she knew Yuuji wasn’t acting normally. She says that she had suspecting it since yesterday when she saw his face twitch. She tells Yuuji that she thinks acting normal is better for him. He is extremely happy that someone has accepted him for who he is and takes Chihaya’s hands. Marie, who had been watching the whole time, is about to fire as she mistakes this for perverted behaviour. Kazuki tries to intervene but ends up running into Yuuji and Chihaya and knocking them over. Both Chihaya’s and Yuuji’s skirts are pulled up when they hit the floor, which of course does not escape Yuuji’s attention. He is about to grope the two girls, but Marie fires on him and knocks him into the wall. Both Marie and Kazuki apologise to Chihaya for Yuuji’s behaviour, but surprisingly, she says that boys should act a bit perverted. Yuuji is ecstatic to hear her agree with his actions. Chihaya lifts her skirt up for no particular reason but to satisfy her own curiosity. He cannot help but look, which causes Marie to shoot him again. This process occurs many more times as Chihaya exposes more of herself.

Impressions:

I’m still not sure as to whether to blog this series or not. I’m hoping for some subs, but it seems only the first episode’s been translated so far. Let’s be honest, I didn’t really watch the episode all that intently. I just skimmed through it for the screenshots. So far, the show hasn’t really grabbed my attention anywhere. I’m not very excited about it nor that interested. The character designs are alright, and everything is good enough, but the genre is not for me. What exactly is the genre anyway? Love/romance? Well, I like that genre, but not in the way which Tonagura shows it. Yuuji being perverted is funny an’ all, but I prefer more serious relationships. Let me think, what romance Animes have I seen? Hm… Does Inuyasha count? Anyway, overall I’d say the show is just average as of now. I think I won’t write about this series for now until subs come out (if they do, that is). This episode… [insert very brief summary here] – no seriously, I really don’t know what happens. I didn’t watch it properly like I already said and even if I did I wouldn’t have understood half of what’s been said.

Japanese Name: �?��?�グラ!
Release: 07/2006
Episodes: 13
Genre: Comedy, Love-Romance
OP: “Dramatic Girly” by Akemi Kanda, Sayaka Ohara, Erino Hazuki, Misaki Sekiyama & Ayumi Tsuji
ED: “Aitai Kimochi Kara~Placid Time~” by Akemi Kanda and Sayaka Ohara

Impressions:

Just as I expected it to be: funny, cute, with lot’s of fanservice. Yuuji’s a bit extreme on the perverted side though, and Hatsune is just… I don’t know how to explain it. Marie is a fun character – the teddy bear gun-toting little sister. Kazuki is far to forgiving for a normal girl, but of course, none of the characters in this show are normal, so never mind that. The character designs are pretty good, except for the cheeks which I think are drawn to large, and the faces should be more triangular (there I go again, raving on about tiny things that many people would find perfectly fine). The storyline is… well, pretty generic I assume. Overall, I’d give this series a rating of above average. I’m still not quite sure about whether I should follow this series or not. Maybe a few more episodes before I make up my mind.

Summary:

Arisaka Kazuki has not seen her childhood friend for 10 years, and now he’s moving back, which happens to be the house next to her. Kazuki heads to school in high spirits and is ecstatic throughout the day. She impresses the class by solving a difficult problem, gets the last yakisoba and curry bread, gets a good time in swimming. She is unaware that her friend Suzuhara Chihaya had been spying on her the whole day. Sometime in the afternoon, Chihaya surprises Kazuki by suddenly dragging her to the roof. She has noticed her friend’s excessive energy and asks her about it. Kazuki explains about her childhood friend moving back. Chihaya steals Kazuki’s wallet and finds a picture of her childhood friend when he was young.

On her way home, Kazuki notices that the furniture movers have arrived at Yuuji’s house. She runs home and starts preparing his welcome party. She converses with her teasing sister before heading upstairs to change. As she is half naked, she starts having fantasies about Yuuji being a handsome, charismatic prince. As she finally gets round to putting some clothes on, Yuuji appears outside on the balcony. Seeing Kazuki in her underwear, he runs up to her to feel her. After a struggle between the two, Yuuji gets attacked by Marie, who’s teddybear is actually a gun. Kazuki’s sister finds nothing wrong with the situation (Yuugi trying to molest Kazuki who is half naked) and throws the perverted boy onto Kazuki. After getting hit in the face by Kazuki, Yuuji becomes silent.

Later on when things have settled down, everyone is sitting peacefully in the lounge room. However, the peace does not last long and another argument breaks out. Marie gets out her gun once again as Yuuji has buried his face in Hatsune’s chest. She proclaims that she will fix her brother’s behavious using force. Yuuji lunges for Kazuki after being barraged by rubber bullets, only to be punched in the face. He then says some touching words, which softens Kazuki up. He reaches out, offering to be friends again. Kazuki is about to take his hand when he takes the chance to grab her again (how desperate and sad can a guy get?) Kazuki retreats into her room, refusing to come out.

During the evening, Kazuki is considering eating the cake she made for Yuuji all by herself. As she is thinking back to the time when she first met Yuuji on the balcony, Yuuji appears inside her room. He had gotten in by the same balcony. Yuuji leans across the table to cut the cake, but Kazuki plants her foot on his head. Yuuji’s desires return at the sight of her panties and grabs her again as she is putting the cake away. Infuriated, Kazuki kicks him out of her room.

After the sun sets, Kazuki is still upset. She hears him call out to her and starts talking about the first time they met. Kazuki is surprised he actually remembers. She asks him what he had thought about her when he saw her for the first time. Yuuji replies saying that he thought she was pretty cute. At this remark, she forgives him somewhat of his earlier crimes and takes the cake outside, prepared to share it with him. However, Hatsune and Marie have gathered outside with Yuuji without her knowledge. The three had been waiting for her with dinner. After dinner, the four make a toast of reunion and split the cake in four. Everyone takes a bite, but to their horror, the cake tastes revolting. Apparently, Kazuki is a very bad cook.

Preview: