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「中多紗江編 第一章 コウハイ」 (Nakata Sae-hen Dai Isshou – Kouhai)
“Nakata Sae Chapter 1 – Junior”
Well this was unexpected. Our romantic drama suddenly became a romantic comedy with the introduction of our sarcastic narrator (Nakata Jouji). It’s verging on Hayate no Gotoku and Ookami-san levels too, with the way Junichi will break the fourth wall to save himself some face. I gather it doesn’t hurt to experiment when there’s a guaranteed reset every four episodes, so I’m all for the change of pace seen at the start of this arc. In fact, I’m intrigued at the prospect of seeing how different the same show and characters can come off due to it. It’s also kind of refreshing, since Nakata Sae is timid to the point that any developments relationship-wise are unlikely to come from her. She’s pretty much a token shy, reserved, and (apparently) rich girl, who contrasts heavily in light of the senior and middle school friend that came before her. It’s almost as if the writers wanted to remind us of that as well, with Junichi’s run-in with Haruka that didn’t result in her fawning all over him, and his decision to stop at the family restaurant that Kaoru works at. One thing that doesn’t get reset every arc is our understanding of the other girls’ personalities and their various nuances, so both of those scenes played out in my head as paths in the romantic simulation game that weren’t taken this time around in favor of the quiet girl who picked up Junichi’s tarako-shaped wallet.
Judging from this first chapter, I can’t say I’m too fond of the way that Junichi developing though. My initial impression is that he’s just as kinky and perverted as he was in Haruka’s arc, but now overconfident as well simply because he’s dealing with a younger girl. Examples of this are him acting all dependable in front of Sae when he helped her pass by a house with a puppy she’s scared of, and getting ahead of her about applying for a part-time job at Kaoru’s family restaurant just because she thought the uniforms were cute. In the latter case, things got even worse when he decided to take up the instructor role to help Sae overcome her soft-spoken voice and inability to interact with strangers. With the way he placed his hand on Sae’s stomach and convinced her that it’s all part of her “special training”, my hentai radar was going off the charts. The saving grace is that Miya’s around to keep her perverted brother in check this time around (and hopefully for the remainder of the arc), because Sae is pretty helpless in the face of him if she’s not accidentally spilling hot drinks on his crotch. Junichi needs a woman who can keep him in check like Haruka and Kaoru did, or at the very least a leash so he doesn’t get carried away with their piggyback rock-paper-scissors game.
Sae herself is still a bit of a marvel to me, so I’m going to remain fairly open-minded about her for now. I never know what to make of the quiet type, since a lot of their charm only becomes apparent after getting to know them. In Sae’s case, they gave her an amazing body to go with that somewhat submissive personality of hers, which undoubtedly helps her immediate appeal. On paper, I still don’t think that’s a combination that Junichi should be allowed to approach, as I can only foresee this relationship progressing due to impure thoughts. Here’s to hoping I’ll be terribly wrong though and Junichi winds up more like he did at the end of Kaoru’s arc. On a separate note, I’m still amazed at how soft-spoken Konno Hiromi plays Sae and sings her ending theme, “I Only See You”, because this is the exact same girl who voiced the wild and somewhat psychotic Kogami Akira of Lucky Channel fame. After seeing her in the live-action version at the end of the Lucky Star OVA, I must say I have a bit of difficulty picturing Sae’s voice coming out of her mouth. At least we know that Hiromi has this role covered with ease if Sae ever turns out to be a yandere.
ED3 Sequence
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ED3: 「あなたしか見えない」 (Anata Shika Mienai) by 今野宏美 (Konno Hiromi)
Watch the 3rd ED!: Download, Streaming ▼
Preview
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Miya in pigtails.
HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH
Miyaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!
Getting repetitive yet
It’s a romance anime and one that reboots at that, so of course it get repetitive.
Miya is so… I lack words! She needs her own route! She may appear to keep in check her brother but instead is guiding him subtly towards Sae!
And the narrator is fun, on a par with Kurokorrator of the Ookami-san…
too bad i doubt that there will be a series regarding miya
My EARS. This is a cancer-inducing voice.
yea, her voice in Lucky Star was great, but here, her voice really annoys me. In my suggestion, only Mamiko Noto can do soft voice
You’ll get use to it soon,
or bare with it, another 3 episodes,
and she will have less lines.
You haven’t heard Aoi in Myself; Yourself or Vanille in the US dub of FF13, eh? ^^b Compared to them, Sae’s voice is the sound of an angel; although I don’t really find Sae’s voice displeasurable at all in the first place.
Oh god, I remember. I thought my ears were bleeding; TOO HIGH PITCHED.
I agree, I think I’ll take Sae than Vanille in the FF13 dub, the rest of the cast were good but Vanille just ruined the atmosphere for me.
I think she has a cute voice. It is the narrator that made my ears bleed.
Well the narrator’s seiyuu is more famous for voicing antagonists and old man-type badasses(Kotomine Kirei,Alucard,Araya Souren).On a another note, I am also somewhat wondering how can Konno Hiromi turn her voice from the deranged Kogami Akira into the high-pitched cutesy Nakata Sae…
I too thought they were going for the Ookami-san’s jokes that is having a narrator for this arc. Although not as funny as Satomi Arai, but still good
How naive can you be when the dude giving you a piggyback tells you to yell out “glamorous body” after you press your breasts against him?
Like D stated, this was quite a surprise for me and I’m not too sure if it was a positive one either. I don’t mind comedy at all but I’ve expected something different from Amagami. Konno seemed to force herself in this role and I don’t feel it being all that natural. The combination of shyness and a soft voice is always a plus but doesn’t pull me in this case. I guess I will have to see for the other 3 episodes but it’s definitely not the start I was hoping for (I hope they do better with Ai).
All the girls here are damn cute!!
Meh, I did find that I felt like my “feel” of the series was thrown off by the change in “mood” of the series witht he beginning of Sae’s arc; the narrator and breaking the fourth wall just don’t seem to fit in with the feel of Haruka and Kaoru’s arcs. I wouldn’t count on it, but I do hope the narrator is gone next episode. At the very least, I hope they stick to the very satisfying “sealed-deal” endings that they’ve had with Haruka and Kaoru and don’t leave Junichi and Sae’s relationship as some open-ended question mark in line with romantic comedies.
Who knows if they will stick with a “sealed-deal” ending or not. With the way the last two arc’s ended though, I am optimistic that AIC will give Sae’s arc the best ending that her arc in the game has. Just like Kaoru’s and Haruka’s, which were also best endings as well.
Unfortunately I haven’t played the game. (rushes over to play-asia.com to check it)
I haven’t played the game either but, I know that I will play it someday.
The Moe-level of Sae is over 9000. It really is. That chibi in the ED was adorable! I can see this relationship progressing the fastest out of them all, just with how shy and cute Sae is and how much she’ll lean on Junichi. I can also see Miya helping things along nicely.
Why was there suddenly a narrator? That was really annoying. He wasn’t even a good narrator, it felt like the one from Ookami-san turned into a man and jumped shows.
Took the words right out of my mouth. 🙂
I know what you mean, after first hearing the narrator I was like “wtf?” I even went back to the beginning of koaru’s arc to see if i hadn’t forgotten if there was a narrator in the show…
guess there’s more to these resets than any of us initially thought
I thought about this episode the same way, the ED really reminded me of the ED song in School Rumble. Hopefully narration is filled in this arc due the the heroines short lines, on another note Junichi seems very different perhaps he enjoys being a senpai.
I got Nadeko Sengoku vibes from the ending.
I like this route… because there’s more MIYAAAAA.
SHIISHIISHII
Is anyone else thinking Mikuru?
https://randomc.net/image/Amagami%20SS/Amagami%20SS%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Amagami%20SS/Amagami%20SS%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Amagami%20SS/Amagami%20SS%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
Wow talk about moe-sploitation. That’s pretty much what describes Sae’s arc right now, even her ED wants to hammer the moe into the brain. Quite frankly that doesn’t really appeal to me, but at least Junichi isn’t so bad here so that’s a plus. And as others have mentioned this arc promises lots of involvement with Miya, and she’ always entertaining to watch. I’m still neutral on this arc, so I’ll see how it develops.
The random narrator was weird though, it felt really out of place, especially with the fourth-wall breaking.
The boob-grabbing scene was a slight shock for me, was NOT expecting that. O.o
lol this anime fails if there isnt a Miya Article
Sae’s first chapter definitely was a surprise for me, in both good and bad terms. The addition of the comedic narrator proves that they’ll try to add different elements to the girls’ arc’s which is a plus but I have doubts regarding the progress and just like everybody else, Sae herself.
To those who’ve read “The World God Only Knows”, just like Keima would’ve said “Being a senpai is a love potion you get for free”. Junichi’s right on using the senpai card if he really wants to win this girl. Especially if the kohai is the timid litle-girl-that-you-can’t-just-leave-alone-type which is basically Sae herself. Being dependable and supportive will have her in your hands in no time but that would’ve make this arc generic and I don’t want that, hopefully they’ll pull something out and make this more interesting.
And with the focus on Sae’s chest the whole time, I’m having weird ideas about the possibilities of where her “critical” part is this time.
Yup! Junichi has definitely applied Keima’s teaching.
Junichi got a small taste of that ‘critical’ part during the piggy back ride.
On a side note, Kami nomi will be airing next season ^.^
This was announced a few days ago, but there is going to be a Seventh Heroine in addition to the 2 bonus OVA episodes in a 13th dvd volume. Show Spoiler ▼
Here’s the link http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-08-24/voice-actress/amagami-game-risa-kamizaki-gets-anime
There was supposedly a bonus heroin in the game, so I assume the OVA is based on that story.
Awesome, more Amagami SS is always a good thing!! I heard that the game Kimikiss had a bonus heroine as well. So who is Risa Kamizaki in Amagami anyway? Have we seen her in any of the episodes?
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Well its a good thing that Divine took a picture of her
https://randomc.net/image/Amagami%20SS/Amagami%20SS%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
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She is looking very intense in the opening!
Too bad it will be quite a while before we can see her arc as the OAV will probably air after all the normal DVD episodes.
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The announcement say that her story arc will be released on DVD April 20, next year. You know if they are doing an extra arc to this show, it must mean that Amagami SS is very popular in Japan.
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Never mind because for some reason the link didn’t go to it.
I for one can’t wait for April 20, next year. It is going to be so awesome to watch this.Show Spoiler ▼
Hey Znail!! Show Spoiler ▼
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I have a question Znail. Show Spoiler ▼
Yup.
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I’m just going to say holy crap, but keep going at it, so I can read more about it lol.
Uh sure, but which topic are you referring to? The 7th heroine or GE-Ending. I am currently waiting for a reply from Znail unless you wish to join in on the discussion.
So what happened to you? I thought that you were going to start a countdown till Ai’s arc or something since she is up next.
Hey Silverwind, Show Spoiler ▼
Yeah, thats her.Show Spoiler ▼
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OMG YES!!!!!!!! Her route is just all kinda of fun for everyone.
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If you look at the opening it shows them by order. Haruka,Kaoru,Sae,Ai.Rihoko,then Tsukasa 😛
I already detest Sae. I just hate this deer in the headlights kinda girl who are too afraid to do anything themselves and that voice makes it even worse. If they don’t fix her personality quickly in the next ep I’ll just skip the rest of this arc.
While it may not be your favorite personality (not mine either) so are there some who like them and it would be pointless to fill a dating sim with only the same type of girls.
Variety keeps this show from being too repetitive. If they were going to have every girl have a similar personality, they may as well only have one heroine and make it a typical romance anime.
Oh no… I’m having Kaoru’s post-arc depression. I waited for every episode with so much anxiety and now I want those moments back… I’ll watch Kaoru’s arc again…
With my favorite girl out I feel like a hollow.
Sae’s arc is interesting, her voice is difficult to stomach but I’m curious about Miya’s reaction to the relationship.
I also want to see my next favorite: Ai Nanasaki.
Looks like I can’t be Lectro Volpi with an account… Well that aside I forgot to mention: regardless the girl I’m in heat trying to guess where the heck is he going to kiss this and the other girls.. they keep this weird format right???
Oh… it is soooooo cute!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Tarako_by_yuko_photonote.jpg
Miya seems to be playing along and helping things, as long as he doesn’t get too far ahead. She obviously cheated so that Sae got to get the piggyback ride.
Like everyone else I feel the mood has changed in this arc. The weird narrator, the bit more quirky ED animation etc.
One more thing that is changed though is the timeframe. This arc start much earlier in the year, right after summer break. All run around in their summer uniforms which they didn’t wear in Haruka’s and Kaoru’s arcs.
Oh well, I still like it so far.
The narrator should’ve been Norio Wakamoto. It would’ve been epic.
it would be comedic(like hayate no gotoku) or dramatic if Norio Wakamoto narrates. and yeah it would be epic
I just rewatched some of the narration parts, trying to imagine that…
Freaking awesome.
I personally don’t like the shy girls that much, but it can be interesting depending on the progression. Now if her voice didn’t make my ears bleed out my brain….
i didnt thought Amagami would have narration. i remember ookami-san anime when there is narration
Well people, you all ought to start watching each arc only after you have left the baggage of the previous one. Otherwise, you would be whining endlessly from comparing the differences of the arcs and characters and finding to your displeasure that it has almost nothing alike. No arc will never be alike, that’s beauty of this Amagami SS. It is exactly because they go with different styles of telling the story that it becomes an enjoyable watch. I’d hate to have to sit through 24 episodes of the same shit with different characters. So leave your baggage already.
Well said!
As expected of a kouhai, cuteness level is off the scale!
1 Nakata Sae for take out please ^o^
Awwww I liked the earlier girl more. Oh well.
Morishima Haruka is the best.
We’ve entered an endless recursion of ti… Wait… This arc starts in the summer instead of a few weeks before Christmas Eve? (Wut?) Jouji Nakata is a lemony narrator for this arc? (Wha?) Junichi breaking the fourth wall? (WHAAAAATT?!)
*ahem*
I’ve always liked watching romantic relationships in anime between the male protagonist and a younger woman (if not someone similar to his age), hence the eagerness to watch this arc of Amagami SS. Blame it on my mindset (and actual experience) that “older women tend to be manipulative towards younger guys,” but to each his own. (I’m sure the series will prove me wrong on that idea later on though…)
Anyway, now that Junichi is getting involved with Sae Nakata in this arc, it should be interesting to see him manning up and taking the lead in the relationship this time. Under Miya’s watchful eyes, of course… Nishishishi~! 😀
And comparing this with Tokimeki Memorial: Only Love, this route is what would happen if Riku Aoba chose to go with Mina Yayoi instead. (Both Mina and Sae are kouhais, and both happen to be shy, quiet, and twin-tailed with a dash of low self-confidence.) That’s another reason why I’m excited to see more of this arc.
“Is she your girlfriend?” Hot damn, I just love how Kaoru’s such a tease — even though she’s no longer the main girl in this continuity. For those weeping over the end of Kaoru’s arc, this should raise spirits a bit…haha. As well as raise the idea of some Kaoru x Sae yuri… Maybe. XD
“Nii-nii, you pervert!” Major, major laughs ensued on my end.
Overall, another amusing and interesting start to a new arc…with a good helping of something completely different in terms of storytelling…
Today’s episode aside, I’m also amused at the news that Junichi’s yandere stalker will also get a story arc (albeit as extra content). Maybe we’ll also get a glimpse of who stood Junichi up on that Christmas Eve in those episodes…
“Maybe we’ll also get a glimpse of who stood Junichi up on that Christmas Eve in those episodes…”
There were hints in the Kaouru arch when Kaouru found him after the famous stood up, and in the op too… Well, indirectly…
I’m pretty sure there will be another hints, but with the last one they pretty much gave it away.
By the way, I hope Miya can keep his brother on leash, becouse he already sexually harassed Sae in this episodeXD
About the narrator, and the genre shift… Well, It’s not necessary a bad thing, but I liked the previous atmosphere better.
Oh, and I’m back…
Who was it? Miya?
NISHISHISHSIHI
I finally got around to watching this episode. I felt like I was in a time warp back to earlier romantic comedies. Talk about laying it on thick. Amusing, though. Just really hitting the stereotypes of the introvert girl for all they’re worth (which is somehow funnier because we’ve seen a far more open version of Sae in previous arcs already, so we know it’s gratuitous and for effect).
It’s good that the show isn’t taking itself seriously. That guarantees I will laugh with it more than at it. All in good fun.
I like this arc, it’s funnier with the narrator in it. Her personality definitely brings a contrast. The last two arcs were oh so awkward making it uncomfortable to watch.
I’m observing how they all wear their uniforms..some with the coat, some blue, some without the ribbon, buttoned or not…aren’t schools usually strict about dress codes? Anyway im imagining how i would wear it if it was me lol.
Funny how the disciplined, respectable class rep is wearing hers unbuttoned compared to…Haruka =)
Who, after knowing that Sae has big oppai at the beginning, compared her to the other girls in the opening, please raise your hands! *raises hands*
I think…. I’m probably the only one who likes Sae. haha Kaoru’s still the best IMO but I love the senpai/kohai thing a lot so maybe that’s why I’m not annoyed by her or her voice… or her timidness.