OP Sequence

OP: 「Once」 by 原田ひとみ (Harada Hitomi)
Watch the OP!: Streaming ▼

「900秒の放課後〈後篇〉」 (900-Byou no Houkago (Kouhen))
“900 Seconds After School (Part Two)”

I don’t know if it was because Nakamura Yuuichi was his seiyuu or his sudden change from being a complete dick to a charismatic team leader, but Gekkou started to grow on me really quickly throughout the episode. I mean, he originally came off as the guy whose ego is large enough for two people to share. But as he started to drop the insults, even at times giving out compliments, it really puts a different spin on what kind of person he really is.

Not only does it soften it up when he’s dishing out those insults but it makes Gekkou feel like a good guy even though he doesn’t come off as one. If you’ve read the Season Preview, it should be pretty clear that Gekkou has more than enough reason to avoid getting close to others. I don’t know what the psychological effects of going through “that” would be, but it does add a pretty interesting twist to the story. Personally, I don’t know if I’d be able to restrain myself long enough to just sit and chat with someone like Hinata. I wished that someone had went up and smashed those fake monocles of his.

For Taito, I still love the way he speaks and narrates things. He’s so nonchalant while dealing with all these crazy things going on around him. Beside getting straight up killed multiple times, there’s being decapitated, blown up, disintegrated, and using chopped off body parts as weapons. The thing is I feel pretty bad that I find it funny he gets used as a human ragdoll. Case in point, it was just too great when he used his severed arm to smack Gekkou and then held it next to his shoulder to re-attach it. But when push comes to shove, he still has the backbone of a shounen hero. Just by the way he doesn’t take crap from Gekkou and rushed into saving Himea at the cost of his own life — sounds like a good hero to me!

So where does that leave us? There’s a crazy villain who happens to be the younger brother of one of our protagonists, Himea is apparently a ridiculously strong vampire who is now going to school with Taito and also doubles as a new rival for Haruka, and Taito has to deal with all of it since he’s in the middle of it. I didn’t know what to expect from this show, but it’s turning out to be really enjoyable.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「空蝉」 (Utsusemi) by 志方あきこ (Shikata Akiko)
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Preview

28 Comments

  1. Yuichi Nakamura and Jun Fukuyama really saved the show for me. My feelings for Taito are lukewarm, at best, and I seriously dislike Himea and Mirai as characters. I think the plot has a lot of potential to be interesting, but some aspects of the adaptation are driving it down for me.

    reminbee
  2. Really like the character designs in this show generic but with its own little twist to it. I dont think I’ve ever seen other character designs with that same coloring style for their hair.

    PS: heh its pikachu

    Nights
  3. I like the way Himea’s hair is constantly sparkling, it reminds me of Erio :3. I’m not loving her lovey-dovey attitude though and the way she clings to Taito was starting to get pretty annoying.

    Wrenleos
    1. why? himea hasnt seen taito for 9 or so years, and they had just gotten back together 😛 she is bound to be ust a little bit clingy–i think hauka is being a little possesive…like she acts like taito and her were going out when they wern’t and he even trys at the start to say ‘you know we are just friends, right?’ ya’get me? <3 this isnt meant to offend you or anything 😛 im just sharing my opinion and wondering why you dont like Himea behaviour.

      Misa
  4. I’ve no idea how to describe this episode -_- somewhat unique, random, and out of place? or those 3 combined?

    also whats with the supposed-to-be climatic end that looks so anti-climatic?

    Alec
  5. Takaii didn’t mention it, but it’s worth noting that the singer of the opening theme, Harada Hitomi, also voices Himeji in Bakatest. Quite a contrast between her normal/singing voice and the one she uses in that role.

  6. Okay, everything is going according to plan, now all Himea has to is kill Haruka and it well be a happily ever after. I don´t kanow why but i can´t stand Haruka, Himea is a millon times better than her in all and every aspect.

    haseo0408
  7. Himea is the most powerful magical being on existence so is kind like Index in To Aru Majutsu no Index, but at least she can take cre of hersel to a certain degree. It shoul be interesting to see wich way the story is heading.

    haseo0408
    1. The anime is pretty inconsistent about Himea’s powers. One moment she disintegrates a giant monster thing, the next she is completely incapacitated by just grabbing her “supposedly immortal” throat. Also, she was quite useless during the whole spider fight. Like why couldn’t she disintegrate the spider like she did to the demon before to kick Hinata off his stupid throne.

      xcswmboy
    1. Yes, because we were all born with the ability to look into the future except you. 🙂

      Sorry, couldn’t resist. The short answer is no, we don’t know and there’s no way we’ll know how this adaptation will turn out. All I can tell you is that the early parts of the manga showed promise.

      1. I didn’t like the manga much after the first few chapters. The anime does not impress me much either. I’ve dropped both, but will probably pick both up again if I see a good review or when this season ends.

        x
  8. All in all, I suspect that it’s the atmosphere that this show gives off that makes people feel a little uncomfortable. “Unique” is probably the best way to describe that feeling, and some consider it undesirable or ‘crap’. Just sayin’.

    On the whole, I still find it promising enough to keep on watching. Fantasy always has its fair share of doubters and I rather find the nicer parts to enjoy instead of focusing on the negative. Fukuyama Jun and Nakamura Yuuichi are a plus here for me, plus Taito’s attitude (which Takaii has already talked about) also keeps the show going. Understandably, some people are wary of how ‘clingy’ Himea seems, but I suppose having her wanting to be so close to Taito is part of her charm.

    Owaranai
  9. You may have enjoyed the 2nd episode but what ever hook there was from the 1st episode got sucked right out the window with this episode. sorry to say but I’m dropping it. I will keep up with the blogs just to see how the story goes.

    Mad_Dog
  10. Im also unimpressed with everything about this, the generic character design, the average animation, unimpressive music, etc…
    It gives me an 11 eyes atmosphere which was another unimpressive show…
    I think im dropping it here, actually i just looked into it to check the Shikata Akiko ending song…

  11. First episode was ok but second episode is so and so cause they miss alot of the scene from the manga, it just doesn’t seem as smooth as it should with the storyline. The manga is a bit more detail, like the final scene of this episode with hime just pop up instead of building up teh suspense.

    mike
  12. Having read both the manga and the light novel well past this point in the story, this episode comes off as mediocre for me. I was concerned from the moment I read that the whole of Volume 1 would be condensed into two episodes, and it doesn’t look as thought I was mistaken.

    Many details were cut out, including Gekkou and Mirai’s backstory, a crucial element to understanding why Gekkou was fighting against his only brother.

    As a whole, this episode felt quite a bit forced and fast paced, making it very difficult for me to connect emotionally with the characters. I really want to like this anime as I’m a loyal fan of the manga and light novel, but I just can’t. This is a disappointing adaptation so far, and it doesn’t appear as though it’s going to get any better.

    Shinn_Kamiyra

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