Eden of the East – 01
OP Sequence
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OP: 「FALLING DOWN」 by OASIS
Watch the OP! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming ▼
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Summary:
Morimi Saki is a girl on her college graduation trip to New York City, but she’s made a detour to Washington D.C. to go see the White House. It’s not quite what she expected, but since she’s there, she decides to try to throw some money into the White House fountain. Her throw falls short though, and it draws the attention of some nearby police officers. To Saki’s surprise, she’s saved by a naked guy holding a gun and a cell phone, and after getting the attention of the officers, he disappears when a truck passes by. The police chase after him, but in actuality, he had just hidden himself. Saki is taken aback by the fact that this guy is naked, but she’s grateful for him saving her, so she gives him her hat, scarf, and coat. The two then go their separate ways, but the guy is unsure of what to do because he doesn’t have any memories of who he is. His cell phone offers no clues other than allowing him to call a special number. On the other end of that number is a female voice who calls herself his concierge Juiz, and she reveals that his memory was erased, but she can’t tell him who he is now. She is able to point him to an apartment building though, so the guy heads there.
Inside, the guy finds a messy apartment with an armoire full of guns, ammunition, and multiple passports with his picture on them. There are also pictures of a ton of naked guys standing together and him waving in front of them. The guy wonders if he’s a terrorist, but his thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Saki at his door. She had forgotten that her own passport was in her coat jacket, and she managed to chase him all the way here. The guy goes to get her passport for her, and while he’s at it, he chooses to adopt the identity on one of the fake passports. He thus becomes Takizawa Akira, and he gathers his stuff because he’s planning on leaving with Saki. In the hallway outside the apartment, Saki is then approached by a female police officer who’s on the lookout for the two suspicious characters, and she’s got some surveillance photos from earlier. Since Akira is naked in the blurry picture, the officer asks to see his “Johnny,” so he pulls down his pants. This leads to her letting the two of them go, and Akira thinks that it’s because it was cold earlier.
Since Saki has a flight to catch to go back to Japan, Akira decides to go with her, and the two eventually make their way to the airport. Akira is surprised to see that his passport is valid, and he’s able to get a plane ticket with some help from the Japanese embassy. While making their way to the gate, Saki asks Akira what he was doing naked in front of the White House, so he jokes that he’s a terrorist. He goes on to claim that it was actually a game that international students here play, and he then asks about Saki coming to Washington D.C. Saki explains how she’s on her graduation trip and how she really wanted to see the White House due to how she thinks of it as the center of the world. She had wondered if everyone was connected to there, but she realized that this place has nothing to do with them in reality. After joking with each other, Saki finally formally introduces herself, so Akira shows her his passport. From it, Saki realizes that he was born January 7th, 1989, the day after her, and both of them were born right before the changeover to the Heisei period from the Shouwa period. Saki likes Akira more and more, thinking of him even as perhaps her prince, but the mood gets dampened when they see a news report on a nearby TV screen of a missile attack on Tokyo.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「futuristic imagination」 by school food punishment
Watch the ED! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Show Spoiler ▼
If there are any doubts about the production quality of this series, just watch the opening and ending sequences. The opening uses a combination of CG, kinetic typography, and traditional animation and comes off looking really, really cool. The ending meanwhile uses papermation (as opposed to ufotable‘s claymation) to depict what appears to be a missile attack, and it seems to imply that (plot-wise) Akira has the ability to destroy them. As for the actual songs, I admit that I’ve never listened any of OASIS’s music before (not knowingly anyway), and I was pleasantly surprised by FALLING DOWN. I was unsure if an English song by a popular band would fit here, but it does quite well. The ending song is quite catchy too – as good as I remember it from the promo video.
As for the episode, it was very impressive, exceeding even my high expectations. Eden of the East is a ton of fun to watch, has some great characters, and it even manages to be hilarious a few times (the whole penis shrinkage thing and Saki’s reactions). Even the English voice work was done by actual English voice actors, so there weren’t painful segments of Engrish to get through. This being Production I.G, the animation quality was superb as well, especially the background detail, and the characters had a familiar feel to them since they’re designed by mangaka Umino Chika. Akira in particular bears more than a passing resemblance to Honey and Clover‘s Morita Shinobu in both looks and manner, but that’s not a bad thing since he’s a great character (who just happens to be pants-less for most of this episode).
The story is also intriguing, though it’s harder to comment on that since this is only the first episode. They did a good job setting things up though. Akira appears to be originally part of some powerful organization whose motto is “the abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power” (from Shakespeare‘s Julius Caesar), and I’m sure part of the mystery will be figuring out who he is and what’s going on with the missile attacks. That mysterious man in the car near the beginning is also probably important (he refers to Akira as Number Nine), and there appears to be some overarching east vs. west theme going as well. In short, there’s a lot of promise here, and with only eleven total episodes, I doubt they’re going to waste much time. Even if that is what ends up happening, this first episode makes me want to watch more, and I’m going to keep blogging this as well.
April 9, 2009 at 8:16 pmMint
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>w< This looks really awesome so far!
April 9, 2009 at 8:17 pmPrecise Moment
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Looks impressive, since ive been kind of dissapointed some series already, hopefully this one can meet my expectations.
April 9, 2009 at 8:25 pmfrubam
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butt-naked with a gun and in the middle of the day on the street? I’m DEFINITELY going to watch this :).
April 9, 2009 at 8:28 pmqin
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Totally got Honey and Clover vibes when I saw the screens.
April 9, 2009 at 8:41 pmIsayama yomi
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Add to my list ;D
April 9, 2009 at 8:41 pmStarshine
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That’s cause the person who did Honey and Clover manga is doing the chara designs.
April 9, 2009 at 8:43 pmKaijin
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CAN
NOT
WAIT!
Always love more mature Josei-vibe kind of anime than sugary shoujo. Will most definitely watch!
April 9, 2009 at 8:49 pmThisBeEMO
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oh gosh.
April 9, 2009 at 8:50 pmVC03
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This is the only anime I’ll be watching this season.
April 9, 2009 at 8:58 pmProud
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My god, the production values either rival or just downright exceed Basquash.
And the ending sequence is one of the best ending sequences I’ve seen in years.
April 9, 2009 at 9:04 pmSarissofoi
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Yeah. This series should rule.
BTW I see 1st episode Guin Saga.
I was positivly surprised. You should look for this.
April 9, 2009 at 9:22 pmKami
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Saw it during airing everything was top notch especially the animation.
April 9, 2009 at 9:35 pmTsubasa
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Somehow I got a Casino Royale vibe from the OP. It is also the first anime I’ve seen in a while that has good English voice actors (the last time that happened was with Detective Conan a few years back). From the first scene with the cab driver I was crossing my fingers the English wouldn’t be as bad as that heard in Chrome Shell Regios.
April 9, 2009 at 9:42 pmMilkfed
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I am in love with the ED’s papermation sequence.
I keep playing it over and over again.
One of the only shows this season to meet my expectations♥
April 9, 2009 at 9:43 pmCaptain Arepa
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Pant-less Morita=EPIC WIN!
April 9, 2009 at 9:47 pmiri
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Eden of the East is the only anime this season that I got really excited about and I’m glad it didn’t disappoint! I can’t wait for the other episodes.
April 9, 2009 at 9:56 pmPfft
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Loved it.
April 9, 2009 at 9:57 pmCaptain Arepa
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Ok, I have something to add to my previous comment:
Pant-less Morita= Jason Bourne anime version.
April 9, 2009 at 10:10 pmEB
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The OP does look nice…unless you happen to read the words.
“remorese,” lol
http://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
April 9, 2009 at 10:17 pmSageGaiGar
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I thought I heard a reference to Jason Bourne in the animu too Captain Arepa.
And.. interesting way to get out of that encounter with the Policewoman.
April 9, 2009 at 10:55 pmVertigo
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Looks a bit silly. Could have potential at being a great watch, though.
April 9, 2009 at 10:58 pmVertigo
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And wow, it uses a song by the britpop/rock band Oasis.
April 9, 2009 at 11:24 pmhelen
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ending sequence = genius
April 9, 2009 at 11:24 pmLayla-san
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hmm…sounds interesting.
April 9, 2009 at 11:39 pmXailah
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I like the OP, though I don’t particularly like how I don’t get any idea of what the story might be based on it. Like the animation, but hate the character designs. Not really interesting to me.
April 10, 2009 at 12:02 amGGear0323
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you know what, i would take any sort of coherent English after having to constantly hear the …… god, i cant even call it Engrish ….. from Chrome shelled Regios. seriously, they made my ears bleed on many an occasion. anyway, this show looks very very good and has an interesting story, interesting characters, great animation, great OP/ED. all in all, i am happy.
April 10, 2009 at 12:07 amshogun22
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I checked the Washinton DC area on wikimapia, the area that says “This is MY HOME”…
http://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
is actually the “National Gallery of Art – Sculpture Garden”, hmmm…
Anyway, great first episode, and I love the OP.
April 10, 2009 at 12:19 amka
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Look awesome. It’s one of my most anticipating spring shows :)
April 10, 2009 at 12:25 amaXeL
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http://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2021.jpg
Wasn’t his gun suppose to be brown and silver?
April 10, 2009 at 1:29 amchami
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God damn. Good production values and kinetic typography? I’m sold. :p
April 10, 2009 at 1:40 amexs120
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The ED felt a lot like the first OP from Honey and Clover. Wonder if the same director worked on it…
April 10, 2009 at 2:08 amhumbug23
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exs120: Sadly the director who worked on H+C’s OP1 has passed on. This could be a tribute.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-09-11/honey-and-clover-opening-director-nagi-noda-passes-away
April 10, 2009 at 3:00 amkai_y
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It’s like Eagle Eye w/ Bourne Identity (LOL). The missile attack on Tokyo here in the series goes well with the current events (what with North Korea developing missiles that could reach Japan’s coast). I wonder if there is gonna be movie ending? Well, it’s just the first episode and it was very well made.
April 10, 2009 at 3:45 amDarknessheal
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MORITA LOOK ALIKE FTW
April 10, 2009 at 4:05 amtokugawa
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This is the second time (to my knowledge, there might be more) a popular western song has been used in a Noitamina series. The previous one was a song by Franz Ferdinand as ED for Paradise Kiss.
April 10, 2009 at 4:23 amllllllll
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Yaaaay, finally!
April 10, 2009 at 6:01 amrakkynon
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SHINOBU CAME BACK FROM THE DEPTHS OF HC!
April 10, 2009 at 6:24 amMinnie
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Honey and Clover’s mangaka has a distinct character design that I have to admit intrigue me to this show in the first place. Looks cute and funny. :)
http://heysayanime.kokidokom.net
April 10, 2009 at 7:18 amChaosJJ
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Have to agree with an earlier poster that the opening is pretty but shows nothing about the show other than the character designs, lol@”remorese”.
Loved the “Ass’n” cab, and the Washington Nationals cap for that little extra detail
April 10, 2009 at 8:54 amMathwel
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http://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2025.jpg
im definitely going to watch this xDD
April 10, 2009 at 9:24 amSarissofoi
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Great 1st episod.
I want more.
April 10, 2009 at 9:33 amSageGaiGar
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Heh, kinda wonder of the Ass ‘n cabs was a reference to DJ Assault ‘Ass n Titties’.. or just ‘assassin’.
April 10, 2009 at 9:57 amAnotherGeek
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Wow the OP sounds so good!
And the episode is so exciting. This is the only thing worth watching now :O
April 10, 2009 at 10:11 amNatsuki
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lol, in one of his passport there is ‘bourne’ name =))
April 10, 2009 at 10:12 amvaniba
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No Engrish? Real settings? No memory with multiple passports (Bourne)? Kinetic typography and great production quality? Sounds like an interesting series.
April 10, 2009 at 10:13 amOn my way to your house now
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since when do police identify possible suspects by their dicks only?! O_O
April 10, 2009 at 11:52 amsteelman
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The production quality is really really high but hey it’s Production I.G.. Now regarding story… their original productions tend to turn either into horrible mind screws or into excellent and original shows. I am hoping for the latter.
April 10, 2009 at 12:16 pmKarisu
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I’m calling it now: best show of the season!
Can’t wait for more!
April 10, 2009 at 12:21 pmkresslia
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I’m blown away. Totally exceeded my expectations, and this was already the show I was looking the most forward to.
April 10, 2009 at 1:07 pmShinmaru
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Love the first episode, but I think my favorite part is imagining all this as what Morita does when he disappears for long stretches in Honey and Clover.
April 10, 2009 at 1:25 pmnapen
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@EB what’s remorese, doesn’t sound like english’s remorse.
April 10, 2009 at 2:03 pmZenzen
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To be perfectly honest I didn’t really know what to expect before I saw the first episode, on one hand it had a great premise etc but still it’s done by Production IG, and their latests works didn’t really amaze me that much (quite teh opposite). What can I say after actually watching it? It BLEW MY MIND.
A great OP by Oasis (huge fan here), a more cheereful ED (it’s like they complement one another). Add to that the whole 007/spies/Bourne vibe and we get either the biggest disappointement in anime hisory or a top5 on my anime list if done right. Don’t let me down this time Production IG!
Anyway I didn’t really got around to gathering information about this series, so could anyone tell me is it based on a book/novel (I know there’s a book that goes by the same title, but iirc it has nothing to do with the anime), a game or anything else, or is it an original Production IG idea?
April 10, 2009 at 4:18 pmkresslia
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@Zenzen ;; I believe it’s an original Production IG idea.
April 10, 2009 at 8:11 pmjho
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wow really impressed with this show so far
i think this is the show i’m most excited about
i really liked the jason bourne reference
April 10, 2009 at 9:24 pmRosie
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I’m surprised no one’s mentioned him pulling out his “Johnny” at a politician to get a pair of pants. xD
http://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
April 10, 2009 at 10:00 pmPandora
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By far my favorite series of this season! Exactly what I was hoping for, the opening and ending sequence was enough to fangirl over a little, let alone how much I am enjoying the story and art itself.
Thanks for the review Omni! I’m glad this one tickles your fancy as well. ♥
April 10, 2009 at 10:32 pmOz
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This was one of a few new spring season series that instantly captivated me from the start till finish.
April 10, 2009 at 11:34 pmsue
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DUDE they did a great job in setting the backgrounds, Maryland is my home so i was surprised how Wash.DC and the Dulles airport looked exactly the same, that was awesome ><
April 11, 2009 at 7:09 amarigatou
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Finally I would declare this anime is the best anime ever this year not to mention a there would be a movie as well after the TV series ends.
Anime of the Year award 2009 goes to Akira. (Now I know why Gundam00 Movie would happen in 2010 and not 2009.
Maybe this is one of Morita Shinobu’s odd job whenever he left Japan lol.
Ending makes me relieve Honey and Clover opening again.
April 11, 2009 at 8:57 amKabayongtao
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^ I don’t think its practical to judge an anime with such feat by just watching one or two episodes. Such evaluation should be done after an anime has been declared finished.
April 11, 2009 at 11:13 amMurasaki Ayame
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I’m really hyped about this anime. It’s not everyday that you get to watch an anime about themes like these AND with decent english usage. Btw, i’m intrigued about one thing though – “Juiz” means indeed “Judge” in Portuguese, and also in the opening, in this screencap http://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2005.jpg you can see “SELECAO” (if it were correctly written it would be SELEÇÃO) which means “selection”. This is probabily one of the very few anime where i’ve seen the portuguese language being used (Apart from Chrno Crusade in which the main theme is the 3 little sheppards and the aparition of Fatima), and if i was already hyped about this, now i’m much much more (eheh i’m portuguese). It was also a pretty good surprise to see that the opening song was Falling down by Oasis, i knew i recognized that music from somewhere. Can’t wait to watch more! This won’t disappoint me like Honey&Clover did, for sure (my opinion, don’t flame me please).
April 11, 2009 at 11:29 amUGH
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I’m starting to think there’s something magical about his ‘Johnny’. I mean he showed it to some guy and he just gave his pants away. Not normal.
April 11, 2009 at 2:20 pmNull_x
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Oh men the guy above is right, Akira isn`t the main character (well i think) is his JHONNY he is the suposed “selecao” and will own the world mwhahahahaha …… oh well my imagination……… BTW just waiting the next week because this was awesome i want to know more about this “morita pantless wannabe” thanks omni for the review
April 11, 2009 at 4:10 pmka
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1989 rules :D
April 11, 2009 at 4:59 pmSilentmanX
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thi is a very awesome anime & I truely recommened to all
Also the opening song is quite a surprise & a first for an OASIS track to be in it, but they’ve done a pretty good job at it, & its cool
April 11, 2009 at 5:01 pmSilentmanX
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Also I like the chracters, especially Saki because she shows an adorable side, & Akira because he has a behaviour of both Jason Bourne & that guy from Taxi Driver
April 11, 2009 at 7:12 pmV6
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The whole “am i a terrorist” part is kinda like Jason Bourne. I love the OP, maybe because I am an Oasis fan. The first episode definitely drew me in the series. i can’t wait for more.
April 12, 2009 at 1:04 amkablack
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Mmm based on the comments, seems like I should check this anime out.
April 12, 2009 at 11:08 amRie-chan
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<
April 12, 2009 at 10:33 pmauntiebin
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agreed, not as bad as expected… theres more to the naked man with pistol and cellphone.
April 12, 2009 at 11:50 pmpimpolla
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wow…
April 13, 2009 at 12:56 amJames D
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TAXI DRIVER REFERENCE IN ANIME = WIN
April 13, 2009 at 2:24 amChaos
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Will be a toss-up between this and K-on as far as the best show of the season, I think.
Totally loved the pants acquisition scene.
April 13, 2009 at 9:04 ammagnumslinger
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Just the first episode and I’m in love with the anime already. I can tell it’s gonna be epic.
April 13, 2009 at 12:20 pmWaken
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This show is incredible. Also, one of the works from Ghost of the Shell= instant win.
April 13, 2009 at 12:53 pmWaken
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THIS SHOW DESERVES MORE COMMENTS. :(
April 14, 2009 at 11:39 amhorace
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think i agrees with kabayongtao on saying that it’s still too early to be too exited about the show. We all remember how we felt when the 7th episode of Macross Frontier aired.
well, at least it has the potential to become the second ghost in the shell phenomenon.
April 15, 2009 at 4:28 pmaanglere
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good pilot ep! here’s to hoping that the 2nd, 3rd, and so on will air with the same impact as did the 1st.
April 16, 2009 at 8:12 pmCas
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OP is nice but seems so MTV-ish, as opposed to Anime-ish. This is the only series that I am genuinely interested in (not a big fan of the art style though).
But I might try watching V.Chronicles…
April 18, 2009 at 3:14 pmnh
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this is the new epic of the season