Hatsukoi Limited – 01
OP Sequence
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OP: 「Future Stream」 by スフィア (sphere)
Watch the OP! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming ▼
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Summary:
Aihara Ayumi is a junior high school girl who’s wants to be confessed to by a prince, but the person who actually gives her a confession letter is more like a monster. Ayumi is distraught over how to respond to such a scary person and tries to get her older brother to take care of it, but even he’s afraid of this Zaitsu Misao person. Since Ayumi doesn’t respond to him immediately, Misao follows her around, scaring everyone around her and bringing her to the brink. Ayumi appears to find her real prince though when one of the boys in her class carries her to the infirmary because she’s not feeling well, but she laerns afterward that this guy is actually the little brother of Misao. Eventually forced to face Misao, Ayumi ends up crying and telling him that he’s troubling her. She also asks him not to follow her around and runs away from him. Unfortunately, Ayumi then bumps into a guy who proceeds to capture her because he and his friends want to get at Misao. After what she said to Misao, she doesn’t think that he’ll come to save her, but he does show up, and he even takes hits from the thugs to protect her. Realizing that she’s responsible, she tells him not to worry about her and frees herself. This gives Misao the chance to finally take on all the thugs, and once they’re all down, he gets kicked by Ayumi because she had been scared. He doesn’t mind though because it allowed him to see her panties. In the aftermath, Misao continues to watch over Ayumi from a distance, and Ayumi feels that her love has only just begun.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「初恋limited」 (Hatsukoi limited) by marble
Watch the ED! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Show Spoiler ▼
Both the opening and ending are okay songs, but nothing special. The accompanying animation sequences focus on the five main girls plus some of the female supporting cast, however none of the guys in the series (and there are quite a few) show up at all. I guess that’s as good an indicator as any of who the target audience is. I’d also like to point out that Tomatsu Haruka is part of the sphere group that sings the OP even though she doesn’t have a role in the actual series as far as I can tell. This only reinforces my notion that she’s everywhere these days.
Preview
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Well that was a decent first episode. The jokes were pretty amusing, and the plot followed the manga’s first chapter pretty closely, which means that it still centered around these idealized forms of school romance, but there’s nothing wrong with that if you don’t take it too seriously. It’s worth pointing out though that Hatsukoi Limited is essentially a series of short stories or one-shots tied together by a complex web of characters, so I wouldn’t say that the story is ever going to be its strongest point. That complex web of characters – and the situations that occur because of it – is the real draw, and this episode (more specifically, how Misao likes Ayumi, but she likes his little brother Mamoru) shows just the beginnings of how things can get messy really fast.
Where this anime adaptation falls short is in the animation quality or sometimes lack thereof. The characters (the girls anyway) are appealing thanks to Kawashita Mizuki‘s original character designs, but there’s a real lack of detail and overuse of white in the backgrounds. There’s also not much animated movement in a number of scenes; they’re relying more on panning or moving mouths/heads, and that gives off a very static feel at times. Assuming J.C.Staff wanted to put their best foot forward for the first episode, this might not bode well for future episodes. If none of that bothers you though, then this could be a fun romance series. For me, this first episode still leaves me unsure if I want to follow this or Cross Game. I probably don’t have time for both, so I need to see a couple more episodes of each.
April 11, 2009 at 9:24 pmsemtex
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Misaki is hawt!
April 11, 2009 at 9:24 pmpeter
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woohoo loved the manga cant wait to watch this when its subbed
April 11, 2009 at 9:34 pmsadman
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The manga was awesome, Im expecting a lot from this series
April 11, 2009 at 9:34 pmMinnie
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The anime I’ve been waiting for all season! Since you read the manga, I’m glad you know where this series is going and will not dismiss it like others. It is a very wonderful series with idealized romances. I love the first episode and I’m glad they didn’t stray away from the manga. I was afraid of that. Other than that, I can’t wait for the story about a certain bro complex. ;)
http://heysayanime.kokidokom.net
April 11, 2009 at 9:35 pmmorgana
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The kidnapping scenario mirrors the one from Hana Yori Dango…score!
April 11, 2009 at 9:36 pmJane
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any1 else notice that camel toe on that girl when she was talking to her brother?
April 11, 2009 at 9:40 pmTsubasa
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I love the manga and I wish your blogging would do the anime more justice.
April 11, 2009 at 9:46 pmJezreel
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a no mames junpei-kun esta de regreso, espero el fansub de esta serie.
saludos
April 11, 2009 at 9:49 pmjaalin
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ANIMATION FAIL
April 11, 2009 at 10:13 pmboon
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i love toujo aya!!!!!! she’s like the best heroine out of ichigos 100% author kawashita misaki
April 11, 2009 at 10:18 pmpooper
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first!
April 11, 2009 at 10:29 pmPfft
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^ lol @ fail pooper and Jaalin’s comment.
Well that was interesting. I also noticed how they had to rely on the appeals of the characters, and how there aren’t that much animated movements.
So, I’ll give this another episode as well. Though, I have a feeling that not much will change in the animation department…
Ehe.
April 11, 2009 at 10:58 pmKokWeng
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Show Spoiler ▼
Woot ! Taiga?
April 11, 2009 at 10:59 pmjellayrei
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@ semtex,
Yamamoto is hotter…
April 11, 2009 at 11:00 pmWho
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Well, I’m iffy on this. I got drawn into the manga because of the wide number of character interactions (and this really isn’t the author’s fault but more WSJ) but the way she ended it was disappointing. In my opinion. I’ll give it a shot though.
April 11, 2009 at 11:11 pmAznCoffee
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Looks like Toradora…
http://randomc.net/image/Hatsukoi%20Limited/Hatsukoi%20Limited%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
^At least this looks cool.
http://randomc.net/image/Hatsukoi%20Limited/Hatsukoi%20Limited%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2019.jpg
^Isn’t this that glasses guy from Toradora without the glasses?
April 11, 2009 at 11:53 pmPfft
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<_<… Stop with the comparisons and just enjoy it for what it is. Jeez.
April 12, 2009 at 12:47 amsbquh
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http://randomc.net/image/Hatsukoi%20Limited/Hatsukoi%20Limited%20-%20ED%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
the right one. is that enomoto?
April 12, 2009 at 1:01 amasdffdsa
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In your Valkyria Chronicles episode 1 blog, you said whether or not you’re blogging Valkyria Chornicles depends on the quality of this anime (Hatsukoi Limited).
Do you still plan on blogging Valkyria Chronicles?
April 12, 2009 at 1:47 amOrphen
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i m a bit sad that this series got animated while mx0 is still in limbo
April 12, 2009 at 1:54 amKevin
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yeah I think Mx0 needs a revival.
April 12, 2009 at 2:33 amwhitey-chan
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enomoto kei is hot, but still, nishino tsukasa is the best!!! :D
April 12, 2009 at 2:36 amRay
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Please blog cross game =).
and, on a totally random note, w00t Mx0! Kano Yasuhiro’s works are made of win, I’m sad to see that they never got to be popular.
April 12, 2009 at 2:48 amSailor Enlil
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Couldn’t help but notice this one:
http://randomc.net/image/Hatsukoi%20Limited/Hatsukoi%20Limited%20-%20ED%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
April 12, 2009 at 2:52 amChimasternmay
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I like a lot of anime various types but i dont know why i dont like this one nor did i like Ichigo 100%. so this time just not gonna watch this.
i still got other to watch.. no biggy.
April 12, 2009 at 5:57 amShinndou
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I can’t believe you’re actually unsure between Cross Game and this show. Any of Adachi’s works should be followed without even questioning why.
April 12, 2009 at 6:01 amtomtom
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to be plain, the big brother looks just ugly, if he is looking dangerous, fierce etc. i’m fine with it but he just looks ugly and that may be the fun but i don’t like it.
i know it sounds just stupid dropping a show, because of such reasons but some other people may be attracted to this show by this same stupid reason.
April 12, 2009 at 6:37 amhiaag89
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wahahaha,next ep got yamammoto!my favorite char in hatsukoi limited =)
April 12, 2009 at 8:31 amLithium
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I’m sorry, but the manga of this (and it’s Ichigo 100%) predecessor was pure shit.
No idea what kind of people like this sorta brain-cell killing drivel.
No thanx.
April 12, 2009 at 1:20 pmNyte
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http://randomc.net/image/Hatsukoi%20Limited/Hatsukoi%20Limited%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
Why do they look far much better in that shot then in the animation :(
April 12, 2009 at 1:29 pmD_big_man
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i was a bit disappointed on the quality of the animation, but at least they stuck on the story based on manga
April 12, 2009 at 2:34 pmmutio
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I’m still not sure if I’ll watch this. I finished the manga quite a while ago, and although I overall enjoyed it (definitely better than Ichigo 100% which was just too long and got boring after a while) I’ve had it with romance series for now. Maybe I’ll check it out later. Then as Omni pointed out you shouldn’t look for a big story here. Also the fact, that the animation isn’t that promising is turning me off; especialy when you look at the cute original designs from the manga.
April 12, 2009 at 3:43 pmmango
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i loved the manga :) i hope the anime is just as good!
April 12, 2009 at 8:16 pmSailor Enlil
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Man I actually got to to read the entire manga last night and -whoa- it was great! The 1st ep basically followed chapter 1 almost to the letter. Can’t wait for the next eps, especially the one where Meguru shows up Show Spoiler ▼
April 13, 2009 at 3:29 amSeinime
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That was a great first episode, can’t wait for the rest! Now that you say it I never noticed it was a collection of short stories…would like to see how they connect the dots.
April 13, 2009 at 3:31 amkaineng
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Hope Omni would continue wib the reviews, this show’s storyline is great… well didnt like the ending though, as if they ‘forced’ one out of its show title…
April 13, 2009 at 7:05 amcnet128
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*sigh*
Can’t even bring myself to watch this. If the animation is underwhelming, then there really is no point… it would basically just serve to remind me of how depressed I was that this manga got cancelled in the first place.
I want it back, I do. T_T
April 13, 2009 at 12:18 pmVertigo
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they’re probably gonna make the DVDs have better animation.
April 13, 2009 at 3:00 pmOn my way to your house now
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@Jane: yeah that was unexpected it kinda threw me off a bit O_O
April 13, 2009 at 6:32 pmAznCoffee
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@Pfft: I only made 1 comparison… >_>; (2 if you count the toradora ref)
and oh FFFF I knew it. This is the same person that did Ichigo 100%. xD
April 13, 2009 at 11:04 pmjho
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This episode was decent, but like you said could have been a lot better.
After you had your cross game episode 1 review, i went ahead and read all the chapters up to 146. and in my honest opinion, especially after watching the 1st episode of cross game, i really think that’s going to be the stronger and better planned anime.
April 14, 2009 at 12:02 amThi0s
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alright! after seeing that there was a hatsukoi limited anime, i checked out the manga. I definitely love this one; the complexity of the relationship web is what got me. I just wish they gave Chihara’s brother more screen time in the anime.
April 15, 2009 at 3:19 pmRoyal
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where can i watch this
April 15, 2009 at 11:17 pmcapture
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I hope the ending in this series is much more decent than in the manga…. ~_~
April 16, 2009 at 1:34 pmZer0zUNLTD.
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Definitely from the animators of Toradora!.
April 16, 2009 at 2:11 pmRaithos
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baha, I remember reading this managa a year ago right after ichigo 100%, it was cute.
April 16, 2009 at 9:49 pmLayla-san
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sounds interesting. gonna watch this after i finish VKG and Suzuka.