Winter 2008 First Impressions: Part A
I’ve seen a few of the new shows, but I don’t plan on blogging most of them. So far, the only show I’m willing to blog is True Tears, and I’ll have the full post out when the sub comes out. By the way, the ratings are all for the first episode (that’s obvious, but just in case).
Rosario to Vampire
Rating: 5/10
Watching? Yes. Blogging? No.
Impressions:
This show FAILS. But I’ll watch it since I like the manga. However, aside from that, there is far too much fanservice, the quality is crap and there’s no blog-worthy material. Unless you really lust for harem/ecchi shows, don’t watch this one. You also might wanna see it if you really like the manga, or if you’re highly tolerant of shows like me, go for it as well.
So much for first impressions anyway. Rosario to Vampire is about a guy who accidentally transfers into a school for monsters, meets a vampire girl who uses him as food, and carries on with his new life from there. He eventually meets other girls, thus forming his harem. Aside from the ok story, the animation quality is mediocre, and the episode is laden with panty shots. Nothing impresses me from this episode—the vampire transformation sequence is so lame it’s not funny. I don’t hate it, and it’s still watchable, but I’m definitely not going to recommend this show if anyone asks.
H2O: Footprints in the Sand
Rating: 7.5/10
Watching? Yes. Blogging? Probably not.
Impressions:
H2O is our second harem series, but with a lot less fanservice (actually, fanservice is almost non-existent here), and a more serious outward feel. The fact that the lead is blind and that a girl gets periodically beaten up should alert you to that aspect of this show. It makes it quite intriguing as well. Definitely not a bad start to the show either.
This show is about a blind guy transferring to a normal school for some reason (maybe it’s because he’s going to get better later) but whatever. He gets involved with a girl who has a bad relationship with another girl, who uses two male students as her slaveworkers. This results in her getting beaten up periodically. While this is all dark and serious, the male lead also gets to know a few other girls, as expected of a harem. The first episode does a pretty good job in setting up the story, setting and characters, with an ideal hook to grab the audience’s attention. I definitely think this will turn out better than most other harems I’ve seen.
Hatenkou Yuugi
Rating: 7/10
Watching? Yes. Blogging? No.
Impressions:
Zzzzz this doesn’t seem like a shoujo at all. Sure, we have the female lead and the semi-bishounen company, and there’s probably going to be a lot of shoujo-like development in the future, but the art and magic powers that a few characters seem to have really contradicts with everything. All the while, the female lead is TOO strong for a shoujo lead, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
I wanted to blog this show, but I don’t really like the first episode. It’s far too rushed, while the execution of all the scenes relating to magic-using is horrible. I don’t like the lead either, despite her being a well-drawn loli =D. Her personality is too strong, and makes the other characters seem unimportant. The plot development fails completely—in less than a minute, or something close to that, Rahzel gets kicked out of her house, sorts out her shock/confusion or whatever, and manages to persuade some stranger to accompany her on an ‘exciting and fun-filled jouney’. Doesn’t work for me, I’m afraid.
True Tears
Rating: 7.5/10
Watching? Yes. Blogging? YES.
Impressions:
Another harem, but also another serious one. Hatenkou Yuugi would be a reverse harem if Rahzel found herself another guy though. Anyway, True Tears was another show I was looking forward to, primarily due to the awesome-looking preview. I’ll blog this properly when the subs are released. The good point s would be high quality, a well-drafted cast and high potential for a good story.
True Tears, like H2O, has some serious elements, but IMO, they’re more like Kanon/Clannad, while H2O focuses on problems between characters, so perhaps something like ef, School Days or sola. But the thing is, I really like the characters in True Tears. The male lead is quite likeable, while there’s also a girl who acts fairly weirdly, but has a really cute personality, while another harem member moves to live with the male lead, BUT this situation is very serious, as it’s because of her father’s recent death. I like this particular aspect of the show the most. The other girl hasn’t had enough of an introduction for me to make an conclusions on though.
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Well, Rosario was original in one way, I´ve sofar yet to meet another vampire that bites her victims and they don´t turn into undead or even lose any blood.
Other than that, man way to much fanservice.
I like Hantenkou Yuugi the best out of these four, in part because I really like the interaction between Rahzel and Alzeido. I haven’t read the manga, but from what I hear, the first volume sucks, which could explain why they cram it all into one episode. H2O fails. I stopped watching the first time they used the guy’s blindness as a fanservice device. And the artwork sucks. True tears looks like a step down from the top romances from last season (ef, Kimikiss, Clannad).
Out of these true tears and Hatenkou Yuugi (DAZZLING!) are definitely my top picks.
wow, this season’s anime is looking weak
@Manga – There’s Karin who is a reverse vampire that gives blood to her victims.
My fansub group is working on releasing an English and Arabic translation for Hantekou Yuugi. Despite the first 5 minutes of the show being too fast paced or crammed, I think the show has a good balance of ‘heartless’ characters as well as charming. The magic sequences might have looked a little out of place… but it reminded me of something similar to effect of Suzumiya Haruhi. Whether this series is going to have an epic plot unveil itself, or just one episode at a time of different ways a girl can enjoy her life after being abandoned by her father, I still have great hope for it.
-_-…..im not going to be watching any of this seasons animes…..
theres still kimikiss continuing along with gundam, shana 2 etc
we should all remember that winter IS the weakest season of the year. but when spring comes round, all the good stuff comes with it =D
Nobody seems to be blogging “Macross Frontier” Check it out if you haven’t; it’s beautiful IMHO.
Dana, if youve noticed, Ive blogged the first episode of Macross Frontier. And also, that show doesnt start airing until April, so thats why ‘nobody seems to be blogging’ it.
Give H20 a chance Danny, it seems like a good show and its interesting in a way. People would probably try watching it, I did and I pretty much enjoyed it. Lots of mysteries added on to this show. Hope you can do it! =D
Having seen the first too I think I pretty much agree, H2O looks promising though and Rosary & Vampire is a little too much fluff.
Now I just anxiously await the first eps. of Ookami to Koushinryou and Shigofumi. . .
Well, the only one that i probably will pick out of this “Part A” is True Tears… and i dont even really know if im going to stick with it the entire season! u_ú! But its all right, i`ll wait for the spring season to come around! XD
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