Mayo Chiki! – 01
OP Sequence
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OP: 「Be Starters!」 by 喜多村英梨 (Kitamura Eri)
Watch the OP!: Streaming ▼
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「エンド・オブ・アース」 (Endo obu Aasu)
“End of Earth”
When it comes to romantic comedies that tend to revolve around one, maybe two, gimmicky plot devices, the animation quality, character designs, and character personalities go a long way toward the overall appeal. In Mayo Chiki’s case, studio feel — the masterminds behind the risqué kiss x sis and Yosuga no Sora adaptations — covered those bases really well with character designs that look better than the manga its based on, and a cast of seiyuu that bring out the best of the character nuances. The former helps with the visual presentation of the latter, and I just love it when an anime looks just as good as it sounds. (I really like those glass marble-like eyes too.)
I kid you not when I say I will watch this series simply for Konoe Subaru (Iguchi Yuka), the main heroine and butler of the school chairman’s daughter/closet sadist, Suzutsuki Kanade (Kitamura Eri). I was pretty sold on Subaru’s character from the early parts of the manga, but when I heard Yuka voice her with a rarely heard, deeper voice in the promo videos, this anime instantly became a must-watch for me. After all, this is the same Iguchi Yuka who plays Index from To Aru Majutsu no Index, using a somewhat whiny and obnoxious voice that I’ve come to associate with her roles. Sometimes it’s very befitting, like in the case of Hoshimiya Yashiro from Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko last season; however, she rarely breaks away of that typecast. The last time I recall her doing so was as the soft-spoken Mizuno Kaede in Nyan Koi, a series whose second season is long overdue now. With Subaru, it’s a whole new Yuka that I’ve never heard before, and has me feeling that she should get more tomboy roles in the future. That poncy “I’m going to beat amnesia into you” attitude is unbelievably refreshing coming from her, and contrasts amazingly well with Subaru’s girlish side that’s been forcibly suppressed.
Like with most show of this genre, I don’t really care how this adaptation ends, as I’m totally in it for seeing (and hearing) Subaru in a bunch of awkward and downright scandalous situations. However, there is a semi-resemblance of a plot that sets up all these situations, much like I outlined in the Summer 2011 Preview. The short version of it is that Subaru comes from a branch family whose sons have always served the Suzutsukis, and decided at a very early age to carry on that tradition since she’s an only child. To that end, Kanade’s father decides to test her resolve and see if she can exude the dignity and image of Konoe butler by keeping her gender a secret all through high school. She’s been successful thus far, with all the other female student gawking over her as the hottest pretty boy in the entire school, until our typical victimized male protagonist, Sakamachi Kinjirou (Hino Satoshi), catches sight of her animal-print panties and discovers her true gender, which he gets a first-hand confirmation of.
In a lot of ways, the premise is strikingly similar to the cross-dressing competition going on in Maria Holic, where we also have a victimized main character who has uncontrollable nosebleeds and can’t handle the opposite sex for health-related reasons. Kinjirou, or Jirou for short, suffers from gynophobia (a fear of girls), having served as a punching bag for his inhumanly strong, pro wrestling-loving mother and younger sister Kureha (Hanazawa Kana), who takes after her. (Kudos to the Bret Hart shout out with the Sharpshooter.) The difference is, Jirou hasn’t given up on the opposite sex despite what others may believe, and is now threatened into trying to overcome his condition with Subaru. In that regard, Mayo Chiki is closer to MM’s premise, except the person taking enjoyment in Jirou and Subaru’s struggles is a third party. The end result is something that takes arguably the best parts of those two series and spins them in a slightly different way, which I’m really enjoying with Kitamura Eri voicing the seductively dangerous and kinky Kanade. Eri also happens to sing the “Be Starters!” opening theme too — another welcome addition.
Admittedly, I was pretty set on blogging this series after seeing some of the promo material, but had to let it go wayside because of all the other shows airing on Thursday. After watching this first episode, I may just have to force myself to make the time for it. I really like what I see so far, even though this episode in particular wasn’t overly funny, having spent a fair amount of time on lengthy explanations to establish the plot. What I’m interested in is where things are headed hereon in. That, and how Satoshi Hino isn’t paired up with Kugimiya Rie for a change and is much more livid with his outbursts than I remember. Add in two classmates with great seiyuu, Narumi Nakuru (Asumi Kana, Miya in Amagami SS) and Usami Masamune (Ise Mariya, Stocking in PSG), and it should be nothing but good lighthearted entertainment and Subaru cuteness all around. Judging from director Kawaguchi Keiichirou’s work in Hayate no Gotoku (season one) and the aforementioned Nyan Koi (i.e. more butlers and romantic comedies), and screenwriter Yoshida Reiko’s work in K-ON, I can’t help but feel a little optimistic.
* For those wondering, the title of this series comes from combining “Mayoeru” and “Chicken” (spelled “chikin” in Japanese), which are in reference to Subaru’s uncertainty as a butler and Jirou’s nickname that he has a severe complex about. Sakamachi Kinjirou.
* In case you didn’t catch them in the post itself, I put together full-length screen captures for images 06, 13, 17, 22, 24, 25, and 29.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「君にご奉仕」 (Kimi ni Gohoushi) by 井口裕香, 喜多村英梨, 伊瀬茉莉也 (Iguchi Yuka, Kitamura Eri, Ise Mariya)
Watch the ED!: Streaming ▼
Preview
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July 8, 2011 at 9:34 pmAisu
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It was entertaining.
Watching mostly for Nakuru- I love that tan+blonde combo!
July 8, 2011 at 9:35 pmPandAEmiC
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Just a little heads up, the manga is based off a light novel. Other than that, I think this show probably suprised me the most with the quality of the animation and the character design.
July 8, 2011 at 9:36 pmP0NCH
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Definitely like what I’ve seen so far >:)
lovely post Divine.
P.S. I whole heartedly agree with this “I kid you not when I say I will watch this series simply for Konoe Subaru (Iguchi Yuka)”
July 8, 2011 at 9:42 pmrasone0104
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gotta love reverse traps….
July 8, 2011 at 9:45 pmFlamingYu
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lol Hanazawa hardcore.
and the POWER of MONEY.
Konoe can win against Hayate. That Power.
July 9, 2011 at 12:30 pmSilver
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Never. Impossible. Hayate is not human in every way. I mean he can get away with only 1 hour of sleep (although he is starting to slack off and got one more hour lately) and still kick ass and conquer the day. Subaru… close enough but she’s still human enough.
July 9, 2011 at 1:26 pmSora no Kaze
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^This
Hayate goes beyond any human limitation.
July 10, 2011 at 2:23 amFlameStrike
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Indeed. Konoe is moe as hell and hits ALL the right spots for me, but Hayate is just a force of nature. Konoe and Hayate can both cross dress really well, but Hayate can get both girls AND boys to fall for him regardless of what gender he’s dressed as. He is beyond humanity!!
July 8, 2011 at 9:53 pmAnimesetsuna
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This episode is so nice. I can’t stop laughing.
July 8, 2011 at 9:53 pmJustin
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Hey Divine, will this turn out to be a harem series?
July 8, 2011 at 10:09 pmPandAEmiC
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5 girls (including the sister) and 1 guy, you tell me…
July 9, 2011 at 1:05 amNyara♥
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And two guys for the moment. But yes, is Harem.
July 9, 2011 at 6:37 pmAex
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Although I think all the girls are gonna be in Subaru’s “harem”, not Jirou’s, based on the OP. That’s an interesting twist, and hopefully it doesn’t mean that every girl BESIDES Subaru will hate Jirou, cause that would get old. Fast.
July 8, 2011 at 10:00 pmAndré
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The main character of Toradora with glasses. LOL.
Overall this episode was great. Better than what I expected.
July 8, 2011 at 10:47 pmKinny Riddle
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And that’s where the similarities end.
Ryuji was way less pathetic than Jirou. While he does get beaten up by Taiga time to time, but that’s mainly because Taiga is hardcore as well as him letting Taiga get away with it, since it’s shown Ryuji is able to outmuscle Taiga if he wanted to.
Jirou OTOH is simply your typical pathetic harem lead. Even Touma is so much cooler for first impression due to his haxx0r Imagine Breaker.
July 8, 2011 at 11:07 pmDivine
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You’re forgetting that Jirou is durable as hell from all the beatings he’s taken.
July 9, 2011 at 10:49 amAndré
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But Taiga is just a girl, while this Konoe is a real killing machine. You can’t even compare both. Konoe is in a totally different level.
July 11, 2011 at 11:12 amMcTricky
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Touma had a harem?
July 14, 2011 at 2:40 amTehJawknee
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Of course Touma has a harem! What do you call the Misaka Network??
July 14, 2011 at 3:52 amKurisu Vi Britannia
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and not to mention the female support characters were the vast majority.
July 8, 2011 at 11:15 pmChaos2Frozen
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@Kinny Riddle
I don’t think comparing Jirou to Touma or Ryuji would be accurate ^^;
A character that has a harden body and an aversion to girls? Go with either Takanashi (working) or Tarou (MM!).
Well, they’re ‘sort of’ avoiding contact with girls ^^;
July 9, 2011 at 12:48 amKinny Riddle
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That’s what I meant!
It was Andre that was making that comparison, not me.
July 9, 2011 at 1:11 amChaos2Frozen
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Here’s a thought though; judging from the OP, doesn’t it look like Subaru is the Harem Lead, rather than Jirou @_@ ?!
July 9, 2011 at 12:29 amLectro Volpi
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Carbon Copy of Yuuto Ayase from Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, he was also abused (not to this degree) by her sister and her sister friend. He has an aversion to girls like Yukinari Sasaki from Girls Bravo (blue haired too).
If I have one problem here is the blunt design of the guy. Most romantic comedy/harem leads are dull looking spiky haired losers with bangs.
Let us watch this!
July 9, 2011 at 9:17 amjingoi
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Jirou is the fusion of Kanako Miyamae and Yukinari Sasaki, which is bad (at least in character development).
July 8, 2011 at 10:12 pmClick
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I like it. It’s raunchy, ridiculous, and totally cliche, but it’s funny. Very funny. I’m gonna stick with it.
July 9, 2011 at 4:37 amKiiragi
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+1
July 8, 2011 at 10:16 pmJake_W
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While we’re talking of VAs doing uncommon voices (and Yuka Iguchi does a very good Subaru, boy and girl), I don’t hear Kana Hanazawa doing that strong and outgoing of a voice much. I’ve usually heard her do airheaded types (Mayuri of S;G) or the quiet/shy girls (Tenshi of Angel Beats). Last time I heard her use this voice, it was as Mikan Yuuki in To Love Ru.
I’m enjoying this show, mostly because of the reverse trap, but it seems to be rather funny and well executed…at least so far.
July 9, 2011 at 5:11 amDivine
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You might want to check out Kana in Freezing, where she plays Rana who’s strong and energetic like Kureha here.
July 8, 2011 at 10:19 pmbillng
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Reverse Traps ftw
July 8, 2011 at 10:24 pmargus88
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The 1st episode was a fun watch. I thought the animation was fairly well done. Let’s see if the quality sticks in subsequent episodes though.
July 8, 2011 at 10:38 pmAvenger
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Seriously, getting maria-holic vibes from Kanade o.x
July 8, 2011 at 10:44 pmWW
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Kana Hanazawa finally voicing a headstrong girl was sweet.
July 8, 2011 at 11:06 pmChaos2Frozen
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@Divine
I don’t really associate Iguchi Yuka with “whiny and obnoxious”, though she does have that for characters like Yashiro and her role in [Mayoi Neko]. But I tend to think of her first as more “girly and sweet” like Kaede and Index (yes, Index can be sweet too)- In other words, I think of her has having a moe voice.
In any case, she does have a wide range of voice from Arrogant -> Cute -> Evil (Hattori Yuuko) -> deadpan (Index pen mode) and now that deep voice.
July 8, 2011 at 11:14 pmDivine
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Yeah, she’s not always annoying, hence why I hedged the statement with “somewhat”. That aspect of her roles just tend to be the most memorable, for better or worse.
July 8, 2011 at 11:19 pmChaos2Frozen
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@Divine
Well I guess this is the case of “to each his own” I guess ^^;
To me her ‘cute’ voice is more memorable and what I would expect from the character she plays, while her ‘arrogant’ voice is secondary.
July 8, 2011 at 11:22 pmreminbee
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Come for the reverse trap, stay for the S type girl.
July 8, 2011 at 11:36 pmCroos
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What way to start with Kana Hana.
But Iguchi Yuka as Subaru. I can’t believe it. Thanks for the heads up Divine. I didn’t notice it at all.
July 8, 2011 at 11:38 pmprejsu
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why do I think ”Kirino” when I see Subaru on the screen…Does anyone else see the similarity?
July 9, 2011 at 10:53 ambear
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Definitely in the shower scene at the end.
July 8, 2011 at 11:43 pmDude
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I watch this because of Hana Kana.
July 8, 2011 at 11:57 pmfragb85
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Mental note: If you make a series cliche and formulaic, you need to make it fun to watch at least. And this first episode did it well. Kanade is hilarious to watch, and Jirou while generic, has pretty hilarious chemistry with Subaru. Overall entertaining, hopefully it will stay that way.
July 9, 2011 at 12:22 amGambler
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I wonder when the first “boy falls on top of half naked girl and palms her breast” scene came out. First one I saw was Evangelion, but it seems so ubiquitous now.
July 9, 2011 at 1:40 ambearzerger
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I have to wonder if it predates “all a girl has to do to be taken for a boy is to wear some pants”
July 9, 2011 at 8:48 amBass.EXE
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Don’t forget the bandages that can turn D-cups into a completely flat chest
July 9, 2011 at 12:24 amAn
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A school with 90% Zettai Ryouiki
Gotta love this show :D
July 9, 2011 at 12:26 amRyuuzaki21
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a delicious anime this season :)
July 9, 2011 at 1:06 amChakraTestosterone
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Hayate No Gotoku for females?
July 9, 2011 at 1:11 amNhelraios
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The odd pairing looks fun. I’ll stick with this simply because of that and the sister.
Poor Sakamachi, hes gonna be called Chicken-kun for the rest of the show(I seriously hope not).
July 9, 2011 at 3:34 amKurofaise
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It was actually an enjoyable and entertaining episode, though I usually hate these types of shows. The art is very very nice as is the interactions between the characters.
But what the hell is wrong with that orange-skinned character?? She’s piled on the fake tan so it seems.
July 9, 2011 at 5:24 amXin
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I’ll take it as my guilty pleasure for the season! The animation quality and seiyuu cast can pretty much override whatever silly nonsense it turns out to be. Man, its rare that seiyuu alone will sell me on a show, but Kana Hanazawa in a headstrong role was just the icing on the cake of a few others I really enjoy.
July 9, 2011 at 5:49 amWill
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male lead constantly beaten by female leads. boring
July 9, 2011 at 10:37 pmomeganx
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SERIOUSLY!
July 9, 2011 at 6:19 ammike
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Damn didn’t realize Konoe Subaru was voice by (Iguchi Yuka) who voice index, they just sound nothing alike. This is why I love japanese VA in anime, games, and movies, they can do so many roles and be totally different in surprising its viewers unlike all these mininum wage 5 dollar VA that we get in english. English VA are like a teacher hand a book to a student and told them here just read line 5-10 and we done, no feeling no training is like they just walk to a street croner and grab anyone they see and offer them a job to say a feel lines.
July 9, 2011 at 7:12 amNexusM78
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kitamura eri’s sadistic ojousama mode is too much for me to handle. >_<
sooooo wasn't expecting her to sound sooo… O.O
pls blog this series if u can!
July 9, 2011 at 7:14 amSmuglord
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Somehow, I knew divine wouldn’t be able to resist blogging this in the end:p now every show I’m watching except idolmaster is being covered in RC:D
July 9, 2011 at 7:58 amhaseo0408
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No download links for the op and ed?
July 9, 2011 at 8:43 amDusk
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I wish for it, too. But it’s all right, since I’ll get the nc op and ed when the BD comes out. At least we still get the full-length images. Haven’t seen it in a while.
July 9, 2011 at 8:21 aminfinite
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Funny 1st episode. I agree with you divine, Nyan Koi needs a 2nd season ASAP.
July 9, 2011 at 8:47 amBass.EXE
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I still think it’s weird that Kinjiro pushing her out of the way makes her shirt pop completely open and his hand is just magically on her breast….why doesn’t this happen in real life?!
July 9, 2011 at 9:57 amstarss
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What’s with the cat girl?
July 9, 2011 at 12:59 pmDyne
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@Divine: You typed the OP title as “Go Starters!” in the text body. Is this some kind of reference I’m not getting or is it just a typo?
Im watching this show for my daily dose of Kana.
Is there some other character where Iguchi Yuka uses her deep voice?
July 9, 2011 at 1:01 pmDyne
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And am I the only one who misheard that ultimate move as “END OF ASS”?
July 9, 2011 at 3:48 pmDivine
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Just a careless mistake. Fixed.
July 9, 2011 at 1:04 pm004samro
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http://randomc.net/image/Mayo%20Chiki/Mayo%20Chiki%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2036.jpg Kirino? lol I spat my drank out when I heard Iguchi and went “Wow! For real!?” Subaru might become my second reverse trap (Will never top Charlotte XD)
July 9, 2011 at 1:28 pmOrinX
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Ill give it a few more episodes. This stuff gets old fast.
July 9, 2011 at 7:29 pmrussel
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Does this appear to have the same level of ecchi as Yosuga no Sora?
July 9, 2011 at 7:35 pmAex
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Probably not since Yosuga no Sora was full-on “H” every four episodes XD
July 9, 2011 at 10:30 pmomeganx
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This is a Love hina relationship with a MM premise… BOth are bad signs for the future of this show..
July 9, 2011 at 11:24 pmlkaze
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I really like how RC introduce the seiyu together with the character. Hopefully this will turn out to be better than random fanservice anime.
July 9, 2011 at 11:59 pmSoiyeruda
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Wasn’t expecting too much out of it other than some pretty artwork. For a first episode though, I found it entertaining enough, even if it’s generic seinen storyline with a concept so ridiculous that you aren’t surprised by what it throws at you.
July 10, 2011 at 6:48 amSerapita
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Looks like a promising show for me. I wonder when we will see Subaru wears girl uniform like the OP show us.
PS. Ah, How I missed Hino Satoshi as main character. (I didn’t watch Bakuman)
July 10, 2011 at 8:31 amHireyuki
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Love the animation. Jirou’s got quick hands too. He went full second base during the split second duration fall.
July 11, 2011 at 3:03 amDamrod
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If that Sakamachi is trying to over come his fear of women with Subaru, won’t the others think that he is dating a guy instead of a girl and likes guys after all instead of females? After all, everyone seems to think Subaru is a male.
July 11, 2011 at 11:52 amboingman
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This show gives me Nyan Koi vibes with those sheep heads flying around between different scenes and Iguchi Yuka in a Non-Loli voice. Am I the only one?
I am actually surprised that they didn’t pick Shintaro Asanuma for the role of Kinjirou.
July 20, 2011 at 1:07 amx
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lol, seen on the blackboard showing Subaru’s “Perfect grades”:
A butler strayed, I am chicken
episode end of earth