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「辿るは胸の鳴るほうへ」 (Tadoru wa mune no naru hou e)
“Following the Sound of Your Heart”
This second episode felt like a good follow-up to our premiere, but it almost too similar that it lacked impact. Although it shows more of Shirayuki’s capabilities as both a pharmacist and an independent woman, there’s not a lot going on in the bigger picture. Now that Shirayuki’s in Clarines, she’s beginning to make a home for herself and exploring on her own but I wish the story had a larger driving force for the plot. I thought Shirayuki was going to make friends within Clarines and Mihaya (Toyonaga Toshiyuki) was going to join her posse. Clearly I guessed wrong, however I’d like to see more reoccurring characters (outside Shirayuki and Zen) to grow the cast and make it feel less episodic. I’m definitely more inclined to watch damaged or troubled characters (Mihaya or Raji) because it gives you hope that they’re going to change throughout the season. So far, Shirayuki and Zen do feel a little less flawed and more down-to-earth for anime protagonists but I’m not complaining if they still have some developing to do.
What sets Shirayuki apart from all other heroines, isn’t just the fact that she has red hair and can think independently. She is also hardworking, knows what she wants and she doesn’t depend on others. I just find her rather unfortunate that her hair color attracts so much unwanted attention. Nevertheless, she’s able to think for herself and doesn’t rely on anyone (man or woman) to help her out of crazy situations. This is definitely the opposite of what I’ve become accustomed to when it comes to being a damsel in distress. It’s not about how a pretty girl gets in trouble and needs a handsome stranger to rescue her. Like I said, I don’t blame Shirayuki for the dilemmas that she finds herself in. She even cuts off her long hair to avoid attention (and also, I guess a lot of men like the long hair). I think Shirayuki sends a strong message for stereotypes in anime by being the lead protagonist. Although I wouldn’t say her character is a break-through for shoujo, but I would love to see more females like her that take matters into their own hands. Rather than things happening to her, I want her to make things happen.
Now on the flip side, while I do like Zen, I don’t like how his character only serves to help Shirayuki. I feel like the two of them could be equals when it comes to being the MC but Zen seems to take a secondary role compared to Shirayuki. Zen has also turned out to be more like a friend in my mind than a potential mate. I don’t feel the romantic tension between the two of them and it’s only when Zen saves Shirayuki that I feel the butterflies. Hence why I don’t really know the role that Zen is supposed to play around Shirayuki’s life besides perhaps a mentor and savior. He’s gotta step up his game ~
Overall I’m still enjoying the ride with Akagami no Shirayuki and I think it has a lot of potential for Shirayuki as the MC. A lot of the other characters haven’t gotten their time to shine yet, but the story should be about Shirayuki’s journey anyway. I’d like to see more romance and even comedy to lighten up the mood, but I don’t think Akagami no Shirayuki will be a romcom in the traditional sense. It’s more serious and less light-hearted than I would expect, but in return, it’s also great taking a different spin on shoujo. A greater overarching story about the kingdoms and affairs within Clarines would be a nice to have as well because I think it’ll add complexity to Shirayuki’s situation. Also, I’d want to see what Prince Zen does with all his time…
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Love seeing Shirayuki think of ways to save herself rather than waiting around like a damsel… but she’s always being rescued by Zen anyway ~ But I wouldn’t mind either =P
ED2 Sequence
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ED2: 「絆にのせて」 (Kizuna ni Nosete) by eyelis
Preview
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I love how relaxing this anime is. Gives me a refreshing break from yelling, death and violence. Even when tension rises it’s not a life-threatening situation (for the time being). I love how it’s its own thing instead of trying to be edgy. It was also refreshing to see how Shirayuki can be resourceful.
You know what also helps Shirayuki being so sympathetic and likable? The fact the she is voiced by Saori Hayami. I can’t stress how I think she has the most gentle and divine voice of any female seiyuu out there, in my opinion of course. From the very first role I heard her in (Ikaros in Sora no Otoshimono) to every other character she has voiced, she has been outstanding!
Indeed. Yona also has a red hair.
It’s really fun and relaxing watching this show, love the atmosphere and the art-style, as for the characters Shirayuki is a really fascinating character, her determination and resourcefulness are admirable, i was pretty much cheering for her as she tried to escape over and over, it’s rare to see a female character in anime who is believable, quite pretty and uses her brains efficiently like her (most strong female characters in anime are either strong amazons or magical lolis XD).
Also like the drama and tension the create while still keeping things light-hearted, it’s a refreshing change from other shows out there, the comedy is also quite amusing (laughed quite a bit with the “Shirayuki effect” part XD), speaking of tension, it seems we finally get to see the first prince of Clarines (and probably the king too) next episode .. apparently one of them really doesn’t like our protagonist and her “Shirayuki effect”, this should be interesting to watch.
All in all it’s quite a promising show and i will surely continue watching it.
I picked up this manga a few years back and it quickly became one of my favorites because it’s so light-hearted and the heroine isn’t a total idiot. It was nice just reading something without drama everywhere. So of course when I started watching the anime adaptation, I noticed that they were making it a more serious and less funny.
I agree that they seem to be focusing on just Shirayuki and Zen. Mitsuhide and Kiki are important characters so I was sad to find that their appearance in the beginning of the 2nd manga chapter was omitted in the anime. Because of this, we don’t see the interactions between all the characters and it makes them seem boring and unimportant. While the addition of some scenes in the anime do make the story clearer for manga readers, I just feel like the anime is lacking something.
As for Mihaya and Raji:
Show Spoiler ▼
The fangirl in me is sad that she didn’t get to see Zen’s blushing face this episode. And I’m sure all the fans of that certain cat-eyed person are super excited to see him next week.
Count me among that last lot, haha. Very excited, indeed.
Same here. He’s my favorite character in this series besides Shirayuki. XD
Ep 2 covered Chp 2 of the manga. Most chapters have quite a lot of content at about 40ish pages, since the manga is released monthly.
Well, as to what I like in this episode, Shirayuki is a very strong titular character who just seems to defy the princess in damsel trope or the overly eager shoujo leads. Zen is also humanized and who has narrowly avoided the prince charming trope (although he is still too dazzling for me if you ask).
The art screams scenery porn and the animation is fluid as expected from Bones. Ahhg.
My only complain here is the lack of tension and the languid pacing which killed some of my excitement gained from the last episode. I am not a manga reader of this anime but is it really episodic in nature?
I am still in. I love this one.
I don’t think this counts as a spoiler. But the answer to your question is no. The first two episodes were merely introductory episodes. You can say that the next episode is the start of the real story. 🙂
First I get Yona, and now Shirayuki! I love it when the female lead has a brain and isn’t a total damsel in distress. As I was watching this episode I had no faith in Shirayuki even making it out of the rope but I was pleasantly surprised. Can’t wait for the next episode.
Please can Yona, Nike Lemercier, and Shirayuki just form a legendary trio of badass women?
We can have Nike using pokemon moves, Yona pulling a Kurokiba Ryou and being the person who stands in the back being intimidating, and we can get Shirayuki being the nice one trying to convince idiots to back down before they get beat.
I think you’re being a LITTLE hard on it for the second episode. The first episode was all but disconnected, now that second episode has sort of started the clarines stuff. If it keeps being fluffy one-and-dones after another episode or two, then I’ll be concerned.
VA is the same like with Yamada and Shiraishi
AnS is one of my favorite mangas and I’m excited for the episodes that are to come. However, I still can’t get used to the character designs T_T. I know a lot of people already complained when the teasers first came out, but I thought I’d get used to it. But nope, Shirayuki just doesn’t look like Shirayuki.
I thought the romantic tension was pretty palpable. I loved the little banter between the two in front of the guards.