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「はじめてのお使い」 (Hajimete no Otsukai)
“The First Familiar”
So apparently Wamiya turned out to be exactly as suspicious as he seemed. He is in fact not a student at all but supposedly Izumiko’s familiar. It’s explained in the episode, but Wamiya is basically a spirit which is meant to serve a greater spirit – in this case, it would be Izumiko. Sometimes they can be an animal spirit as well and it’s hinted that Wamiya would be a crow if he had a shape and form. Unfortunately he didn’t have any real identity until Izumiko wished for it. I would assume that Wamiya’s “spirit” has been wandering around the mountains for a long period of time waiting for Izumiko. He mentions that he wasn’t around until she cut her hair (back in episode 1); that it changed her powers and he was given a physical form. In reality then, Wamiya’s being has been entirely created only recently.
Given that Wamiya is Izumiko’s familiar, it would make sense that she’s the most attached to him – or rather even aware of his existence. At first I thought it was weird that all her girlfriends seemed to push them together, but then I realized it’s only because they actually don’t recollect that he exists. It seems like he only exists when Izumiko is around. If that wasn’t enough, Miyuki doesn’t even recognize the name Wamiya. I knew that Miyuki wasn’t the most reliable guy, but he straight up did not know who Wamiya was. Of course, Miyuki also seems to have no sense of “danger” or evil spirits coming after people so I wouldn’t exactly say he’s the best protector for Izumiko. In which case, he’d be leaving for school in Tokyo anyway to attend Houjou High School.
From the looks of it, Izumiko may not know exactly the powers that she holds or what her purpose is, but she can hold up her own in a confrontation. I know Miyuki was trying to be all manly to protect the girl, but in all honesty, I haven’t seen him do squat. Whereas Izumiko had the nerves to tell Wamiya to back away and even stand her ground as a greater spirit. I’ve never seen Izumiko as a strong female character (rather somewhat dull and boring), however with every week I find her growing up more and doing things outside her comfort zone. This is a sign of character development and it’s unfortunate that Miyuki hasn’t had the same kind of growth. I see their relationship forming well, but Miyuki still feels rather flat and 2D for my taste (even in anime!). I would like to see some trials that he goes through as well and what he exactly wants to achieve by staying with Izumiko – because from my memory, he wanted nothing to do with her.
Fast forward several months, Izumiko joins Miyuki at Houjou High School in Tokyo. I suppose this is when the story really starts to kick off because Miyuki mentions that Houjou isn’t your average school – probably with a population of students like themselves whom are “different”. There are probably people watching over them as well which sounds somewhat more safe and creepy at the same time. I’m not sure what to expect from here on out – but Izumiko finds herself sharing a room with an energetic girl and loses the glasses? =O *gasp. It’s taken 3 episodes to get to this point and I still have no idea where the story is headed. I almost want to say that it’s slow considering the lack of development in the actual storyline. What’s going to happen to Izumiko? Who is this spirit within her? And what are these things chasing after her? So many questions and I still see next week as an introductory episode for new characters and settings. Does RDG meet my expectations 3 episodes in? I would have to say that it’s building itself up very well… I just hope it’s all worth it in the end.
Full-length images: 06, 18, 19, 28.
Preview
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I’d have to say, I was hesitant to continue watching after the first episode. Heading into the second episode, I couldn’t exactly call myself excited, but that all changed with the second half of episode two.
Like you said in your closing, my expectations haven’t quite exactly been met, but it definitely is becoming more interesting as the story progresses. I’ve heard a little spoilers from the pre-airing it gets, since that’s a few episodes ahead, but I wont spoil.
All in all, a relatively enjoyable episode, raising my hope that this series can meet my mediocre expectations.
I agree with this. I didn’t particularly like the first episode either, but the relatively fast pace of things since have made things more interesting.
Plot reminds me of Sasami@Gambaranai
Seriously? Sasami@Gambaranai had a plot ☺.
It’s sad when you rather watch (not read) aku no hana than this.
Are you implying that it’s sad that I’m watching RDG? Or watching Aku no Hana? O_o
<3
asdsadsadasdasd *v*
Izumiko’s dance left me stunned by its beauty and simplicity, not to mention the music. If only the rest of this series had the same effect.
Hmm,it actually seemed pretty dull & boring to me…I’d hardly call those few movements a “dance”.It also kinda bothered me how little it took for Miyuki to “fall”,although that might be saying a bit much at this point so we could say “be entranched” by Izumiko.
Anyway I find the pacing of this show pretty bad….It’s like they’re rushing scene after while desperately trying to fit everything into a single ep.
Oh well,I’ll keep watching till the end – even if it’s just as a time killer,I do want to expand my anime horizons starting with this spring.And who knows?It might actually surprise the audience later on.
I don’t want to speak for everyone, but I believe RDG was a pretty “moderately” anticipated show. The source material is an LN and I find that most adapatations from LN are done fairly well (unless they run out of source material and start filling it up with randomness). This shouldn’t be the case for this anime though since the LN is complete.
I still have high hopes for the anime so it’s not like these 3 episodes killed it for me. I do agree that the pacing is a little off and there doesn’t really seem to be a point to the story yet? I’m hoping that becomes more clear later on.
Well,I think that giving this show a 3 ep rule is kinda impossible now since these eps seemed more like a preparation for the actual story which can go in a lot of ways.I’m pretty damn clueless on what to expect here myself,lol.
@Cherrie: The RDG anime is actually based on a series of novels, not light novels. Which makes this even better. 🙂
It started slow but the mysteries/unanswered questions are making me stay.
I’ve always enjoyed these type of character designs
Maybe Miyuki would stop being a bully to Izumiko and be more nice to her.
He already does.
And that’s it. I’m out.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Episode 5 is already out and I finished watching it online. It gets more interesting later on but I think the most interesting is the character interactions. I don’t really understand the supernatural stuff and I don’t think I care much honestly lol. Rather, the dynamic between Izumiko and Miyuki is something to look forward to 🙂 Miyuki is not as bratty or stupid like some other male lead; he understands his limitation. So though RDG is not exactly what I imagined, it turned out not so bad. The ED is beautiful btw
At this point in the series, I’m more emotionally attached to Izumiko than ever especially with her in a hakama and doing the dance.
Spoilers for the not so obvious:Show Spoiler ▼
…and that post-crash scene, that really raised goosebumps from me…
ps. no more of the non-HD broadcast discussions, I hate to get spoiled now
Nothing earth-shattering about the series, seems a little along the lines of Hiiro no Kakera,
you know the drill – waek girl who doesn’t know “what” she is trying to awaken, etc.
Probably 5th of shows this season I’m looking forward to watch.
I see your point , but there are definetly a few differences between RDG and HnK.
One example is the personalities of the main girls , another is the fact that HnK is an otome-game adaption and I think RDG is a light novel adaption.
Not related to this episode specifically, but my friend told me that her hair is important because the words “hair” and “god” are pronounced the same way in Japanese. (Does anyone who actually understands Japanese know if this is accurate?) I’m not really sure what this means for the show though, since they haven’t really gotten very far with the story.
A good observation.
The ancient Japanese must have associated “god”, “above”, “hair” and “paper” with a common etymology when they read them all as “kami” prior to designating a separate kanji for each word when kanji was first imported from China.
I remember reading a blog post by a Japanese studies professor about how the Japanese people cherish books a lot so much that they have a thriving second-hand book industry, and part of it is because they see “paper” (kami) as “sacred” (kami).
Now that’s some role reversal between Izumiko and Miyuki, with the former growing a spine while the latter somehow acted disappointingly (at least for this episode).
Perhaps the pacing is a bit slow for some people’s liking, but for a Japanese history and mythology buff like me, this is quite ideal to watch.
And who could resist Hayamin’s singing? (When she’s not being a yandere on OreImo lol )
I loved the dance it reminded me of the first 30 seconds of C3’s first opening song.
Among the spring anime list, this anime is just another waste of bandwidth.
‘WE’RE THE BESTEST FRIENDS NOW THAT WE’VE HELD HANDS’-logic of a timid middle-school Japanese girl concerning guys her age…
and give me back my original ed…
LOL have you guys noticed how her red glasses contrast every scene. Like the whole is grayish and the red frames stand out…
I been dragging my feet with uncertainty since episode one, hoping that things will pick up. CAST WISE. Mind you, I enjoy the crap out of the gorgeous scenery, and as vital as it is to focus on the main cast.. which is apparently those 2, it can make a series sort of..’boring’. But the ending of this episode changed all of that. WE ACTUALLY HAVE A REAL CAST PEOPLE! Now I’m excite for the next episodes.
Imo lack of characters tend to make you focus more on the little details cause that’s all you pretty much have. And I was getting frustrated with the continuous amount of questions that were piling up with no answer in sight that didn’t make me enjoy this series as much as it deserved. Now with a larger cast in place, I can actually enjoy it without paying much attention to the trivial matters.
Did anoyone notice that there was a different singer for the ED this time? Anyone who it is?
I get the Haruhi and Sasami vibe 😛