「先輩といっしょ…」 (Senpai to Issho…)
“Together with Sempai…”

Judging from her performances in Rinne no Lagrange and Ano Natsu de Matteru this season, Ishihara Kaori will be a seiyuu to watch for in 2012. Here, she’s already provided me with oodles of jealous goodness care of Kanna, and held absolutely nothing back either when some good ‘ol underage drinking came into play. Kudos to Remon — the second coming of Morino Ichigo — for spiking everyone’s drinks and making things interesting. I don’t know if Remon was simply entertaining herself or confirming her suspicions about Ichika, but when it leads to more enjoyable love triangle moments like it did here, I’m willing to chalk it up to showcasing her mischievous personality and portraying her as the catalyst that will make Kaito ultimately choose between Ichika and Kanna.

As for the alien premise with Ichika crash landing on Earth, fatally wounding Kaito (presumably), and now keeping him alive with some intergalactic kissing technology, I’m starting to think that it’ll remain just that — a setup for their fated encounter — much like it was in Onegai Teacher. The alien technology will undoubtedly come up time and time again, but I don’t see it being the focus of this romantic comedy (at least not until the final few episodes anyway). Ichika isn’t exactly doing a stellar job keeping it a secret, often looking like she wanted to tell everyone the truth, so it’s probably only a matter of time before Kaito finds out and accepts her for who she truly is. While I could be completely wrong in thinking that most developments will play out similarly to Onegai Teacher, I honestly wouldn’t be disappointed even they did. After all, Ano Natsu’s been mostly a nostalgia trip like it was advertised to be. Dropping a new cast of characters in a similar setup is fine by me, especially with a cute and nervous heroine like Ichika.

If I were to nitpick about something, it would be Ichika’s dream about some scenery. It comes off as a rather weak reason for her to set off on a journey, plus the scenery she’s looking for will likely be found in the small town of Nagano prefecture where this series takes place; however, I’ll reserve judgement about it until I see how it develops around Kaito’s movie project, and more importantly, how the romantic aspect develops alongside. The end of this episode looked like it was really going to get the ball rolling in that regard, though how much of that was due to the “wonderful” effects of alcohol is another matter.

* Well, at least the series isn’t shy about the Onegai Teacher similarities with the way it bust out Mizuho’s trademark “saiyuusenjikou” (top priority) line in the preview.
* Full-length images: 01, 05, 12, 17, 23.

 

Preview

89 Comments

  1. Anyone else notice the love polygon foreshadowing (or whatever you want to call it) near the end when everyone was staring at someone else?

    Mio > Tetsurou > Kanna > Kaito > Ichika

    I kinda felt bad for everyone. It’s the second episode and I’m already on the verge of crying like a little school girl…

    Baby Choo Choo
      1. I belive that the characters are to fake with the whole stuttering alien girl and nobody questioning her what the F was she talking about and the sister just accepting that her brother brought a stranger into their house who was naked hugging him,immature behavior promotion. And the good old “she has boobs then she shows them,and the guy gets embarrassed” idea is dead WE GET A BONER NO BLUSHING OF THE CHEEKS or insecurity necessary. And its 2012 i think its time to remove the stereotype women out of the anime business we are all the same but they dont have a sausage between their legs. Well i hope these are all the information you need to know for more details reply below.

      2. Well, de gustibus non disputandum est… believe or not, some teenage boys would still react with shyness at the naked girl. And the way Kaito reacts is probably among the reason his sister trusts him to behave while she is away. Actually I’d say Ichika will be safer with him than camping out all alone in the countryside, even in Japan.

        ewok40k
      3. Fencedude is spot-on. If you’re going to complain about those things, you picked a really dumb example. If the tin can says “curry”, don’t complain about getting indian food. And btw, speak for yourself. All this talk of boners, no blushing and not letting a stranger into your house – What are you, a dinosaur living in the midwest?

        But I won’t defend Fencedude’s second reply, you don’t need to be a grammar nazi when given a legitimate, but semi-coherent reply to your question.

        Stöt
    1. Was that an attempt at a education joke? Because if it was, it totally flew by me.

      I’ll give it to you that the first episode started a bit slow, but ever since the alien premise was revealed I’ve had my eyes glued to the screen.

    2. Sigh… Will my glorious crusade against haters ever end?

      First: deconstruct the salad. Fix the grammar…

      I believe that the characters are to fake with the whole stuttering alien girl and nobody was questioning her. What the fuck was she talking about? And the sister just accepting that her brother brought a stranger into their house who was naked hugging him. Immature behavior promotion!

      And the good old “she has boobs then she shows them,and the guy gets embarrassed” idea is dead. WE GET A BONER, NO BLUSHING OF THE CHEEKS or insecurity necessary. And its 2012. I think its time to remove the stereotype women out of the anime business. We are all the same but they don’t have a sausage between their legs. Well I hope these are all the information you need to know. For more details reply below.

      SALAD served!

      Now, respond:

      I do believe that the objective of this show, IMO, is to reap nostalgia from fans of this type of genre. Of course, they will reuse many of the past tropes and situations that have endeared fans to the shows, so do not, under any circumstance, expect anything new.

      I know many YOUNGER fans will call cliche on this, but to old dudes like me, this show is pure classic.

      The Moondoggie
      1. I know many YOUNGER fans will call cliche on this, but to old dudes like me, this show is pure classic.”

        *sigh* I’m younger fan and love this show. It’s the newer stereotypes in anime that I hate.

        It seems I’m a little late to the party, but I love kick backs like this even if they are a little cliché in the opinion of some other young fans. It’s my hope that this will be a refuge for me from newer stereotypes.

        kuroshi_nazo
    3. I kinda agree with I Like Trains here.
      I really thought It was going to be something special. Heck, I even convinced myself that this anime would be memorable/great when I first saw it on the winter 2012 line up.

      The first episode started great. But the second episode let me down. It’s actually just a love/romance anime — Not that there is anything wrong with that though. This anime could’ve been something more. Good thing it’s not one of those typical love/romance animes we see. And the main heroine is actually interesting

      Alec
    1. And Ichigo “Lemon” and the incomparable Yukarin picked up the episode, tied it up with a bow, and ran away with it.

      Granted, she’s by far the most experienced seiyuu of the bunch, and Lemon is a character type she’s honed to a fine edge.

    2. Yeah last week it felt like AnoHana to me and this week was feelin Toradora-ish with the ED song playing in the background in the scene foreshadowing a love pentagon. Given it’s the same director for all those shows. Love shape drama’s seems to be his bread and butter.

      Everything is cliche, the setting, the plot, the characters, and even the trite dialogue (“I’m not thinking perverted things, I swear!”). But it’s still pretty enjoyable I guess.

      Chillax Mang
      1. I don’t see this as “everything is cliché” so much as that this is a timeless anime that would have felt just as natural airing 5, 10 or 20 years ago. You have very experienced and talented hands at all major staff positions and they’re right in their sweet spot, making it look easy. For me it’s not cliché, it’s classic.

      2. Yeah I guess cliche was the wrong word to describe how the whole show felt to me. I did say it all felt enjoyable to watch. So everything was done really well, and I mean the tropes were done to perfection, by the book. Kudos to the production staff and seiyuu for doing what they do best.

        I just feel ambivalent about most anime nowadays even though it’s what I enjoy watching. 20+ years of following anime has made me somewhat jaded. In other words, I’m tsundere. It’s not like a I enjoy watching a rehash of Please Teacher or anything! Idiot!

        Chillax Mang
  2. “If I were to nitpick about something, it would be Ichika’s dream about some scenery.”

    Ichika is looking for a place with trees and a lake. I recall such a place complete with a redhead meganeko who came “from the North”.

    Just saying.

    Ririka
  3. I like this show, this could easily be the romance comedy of the new season (at least to all the series I’m currently watching) for me. Maybe the fact that it is similar somewhat to Onegai Teacher is what making me enjoy this show very much, the music is good, the animation is good also, the character design is great (also I find the crying of Kaito’s sister well animated), the cast so far is very promising (and I already knew since episode 1 what their roles to play would be). So far everything looks promising, one of the shows that I’m looking forward next week.

  4. Has anyone here being wondering about Kaito’s strange bruises? He had one last episode and after being healed the second time, he gets another one on his forehead. If that keeps up, he’s going to have his whole body full of bruises until he falls apart completely.

  5. Lol @ “glorius crusade of trolling”

    Ahahahaha, this show’s off to a great start! True, it may be a tad cliche, but that’s okay for comedies, because unlike serious shows, it’s okay as long as it’s funny. And it certainly is. The designs are nice, the animation is fluid, the characters, while predictable, are consistent with their respective gags and all flow either on their own or all together. The “jealous childhood friend” is a tricky character that can go badly very easily, but so far she’s pretty charming. May have to root for her instead, just because of the inevitable episode that she finally goes for it, but gets turned down and cries…and it will make me sad…

    *ahem*…got a little off track there. Anyway, I’ll watch the next episode for sure, but I’m already watching a ton of shows this season, so I’ll likely just wait for it to finish and marathon it.

    Da5id
  6. The fact that from these comments there seems to be a divide between younger and older anime fans makes me feel a hell of a lot older than I actually am.

    As for everyone harping on cliches, it’s been made pretty clear that the creators are purposefully trying to recreate the feel of a couple previously done shows. So by definition there will storytelling elements that you’ve seen before. Not every show has to try and reinvent the wheel, sometimes they’re just trying to make a nice wheel based on preexisting designs.

    a42
    1. Nope, she was fully dressed in her birthday suit. It’s a nice touch to her character I think. Makes her unique. I don’t know a whole lot of anime characters that sleep naked. Maybe there will be a fanservice scene involving that with one of the dudes stumbling into her room.

      Chillax Mang
  7. Decent but generic. Works well as brain-dead entertainment, if nothing else.
    My fave character is the big sister, but it seems we won’t be seeing much of her.

    Kind of easy to predict what’s gonna happen, though. Awkward situations, more delusions from the protagonist, some angsty sexual tension between characters, that little thing dancing, some alien “technology”…. the usual.

    Litho
  8. so far the similarities with onegai teacher are something awesome the love ‘retangle’ was also great and did anyone else noticed what kanna said in the episode preview “this is top priority!” to what mio responds with “there goes the forbidden line…”

    leo
  9. You know, with all this nostalgia stuff, I wouldn’t really mind if they just rename the series as “Onegai Teacher”.

    After Chichibu, Saitama (AnoHana) and Kanazawa, Ishikawa (HanaIro), this time it’s Komoro, Nagano’s* turn to receive an influx of otaku tourists.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komoro,_Nagano

    Komoro – The nearest town to Sakudaira Shinkansen Station, which is shown in this episode.

    (Interestingly, Onegai Teacher and Onegai Twins were also set in Nagano, but in a different town. So this series may have some link with the previous two, or at least pay even more homage to them. )

    Kinny Riddle
    1. I had the impression the general consensus was Onegai Sempai… Fits actually.

      BTW, this story’s main motif is “romance in summer.” I wonder if we’re going to have to cry manly tears by the end?

      The Moondoggie
  10. The love circle this time is really quite obvious: Ichika < Kaito < Kanna < Tetsuro < Mio
    Chain of the one-way glances.

    Also…anyone else notice Mio was naked hugging a stuffed animal when at home? Kind of just skimmed over than.

    Ptolemaios00
  11. Assuming that this is not just a homage to the Onegai shows but a sequel of sorts, it may be that Ichika is looking for where her parents met (meaning Kei and Muzuho). After this episode and some things she said, I’m leaning toward that explanation.

    Bear
    1. I think she thought he was going to confess (and he probably was) but it’s hard to tell if she was rejecting him or just didn’t want him to say it because she’s an alien. I’m leaning towards because she’s an alien and probably scared of getting too close to him.

      Aex
      1. Yeah I was confused about that as well, because so far she’s seemed so dense about everything and now she just knew he was gonna confess?
        I think she was saying its too early or the kiss could cause a temporary attraction to whoever does it. I dunno, but any answer doesnt really fit well with her character to me.

        omeganx
      2. I was also wondering what that was about. I know it doesn’t really matter (this is anime after all), but we don’t know anything about her background and how she learned to react to fit in to the culture, or how she picks up on social cues that would lead her to believe that she knew what was coming next.

        7godeohs
  12. Is Kanna gonna be the annoying bi*** who has no chance but keeps cock-blocking the main couple over and over again?!
    Ugh I dont think i have the stomach for it.
    Im hoping she becomes more

    omeganx
  13. Remon acts so much like Morino that gives me shivers the mere though. The love triengle is developing nicely but I woder what is the story behind Tetsuro and Mio, the word he murmured to her while drunk made really curious.

    haseo0408
  14. THIS SHOW IS DAMN GOOD.

    They should just rename it “Onegai Alien” for Ichika always healing kaito when he’s about to die from that molecule thing.

    Anyone get those onegai teacher vibes when Ichika was wearing the Red Shirt with skirt like Mizuho did a decade ago?

    exia
  15. I love shows like this. It is nostalgic; a classic anime feel with some insane production. The good thing about it is that it’s giving the characters enough space to develop and not crowding them with excessive plot points. The best shows, in my opinion of course, are those that have simplicity but also depth. Even in action shows that are seemingly more complex, my favorites are the ones that take a concept and roll with it, not injecting numerous other elements that detract from the story.
    At the same time, however, a plot does need to be present. That’s why I like how Anonatsu has two fronts: the human world and the alien world. Both are interesting and I’m excited to see what happens in them.
    Anonatsu has some really solid storytelling that, in addition to the fantastic production, really makes this series shine. The characters are just great, brought to life by some amazing seiyuu, and more importantly have great chemistry. You can’t help but root for Ichika and Kaito, but also adore Kanna. I agree with the comparisons to Toradora!, and since that’s quite possibly my favorite romantic comedy ever, that’s saying something. I hope the show continues to thrive and I personally can’t wait until next week.

    innerchihiro
  16. Welp, as everyone has pointed out already, it’s pretty obvious that this show is basically just ripping off Onegai Teacher. Call it homage, call it nostalgia, call it whatever, but it’s reusing old popularity to cash in. USUALLY this would annoy the hell out of me, but since Onegai Teacher is one of my top 5 favorites of all time I find myself not only accepting this state of affairs, but embracing it. If ripping off an older show is what it takes to create something that’s going to make me all <3 <3 <3 every time I watch it, then okay. They certainly picked the right show to copy.

    Still, I can't help but feel that this new alien girl is nowhere near as awesome as Mizuho. At least the male lead seems like less of a walking mangina than Kei was.

    Fufufufufufufufufu.

    Beckett
  17. This is THE anime for me. Yes, yes, the premise was overly used. But the execution, SO FLAWLESS! And the animation may not be Makoto Shinkai level but it gives that aura. And of course, the perfect ED! I was only checking out this show because goddess Nagi will sing the ED but I’M SOOOOOOOO GLAD that the goddess led me the way to this masterpiece. ohhhhhhhhhh just pure love for this show! Definitely at par with Chihayafuru and Nisemonogatari for most awaited episodes per week!

    nagi

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