Eromanga Sensei / First Impressions

「全裸の館と堕落の主」 (Zenra no Yakata to Daraku no Aruji)
“Buck Naked Mansion and The Fallen Master”

Everything about this show screams out to me in all the right ways. That and I love it when a character you first found terribly annoying turns out to be a rather enjoyable human being.

General Impressions

Continuing on right where we left of last week, I loved how this episode was split up into two distinct sections that served as a way to touch on two separate topics while tying it all together with a well played but ghostly transition. Starting with the beginning of the episode, boy does it feel like Megumin has it in for Sagiri. Who actually brings their entire class to someone’s house in a vain attempt to try and force them to come to school? Like, wasn’t it already clear that Sagiri has zero affinity for anyone in the real world (except Masamune) and that prodding her with a show of force would probably do exactly the opposite of what was intended? And sure, you could say that drastic times call for drastic measures but this is only episode three Megumin!

Random attempts at trying to drag Sagiri to school aside, let me dive into what I really wanted to talk about — Yamada Elf-sensei. After her abrupt entrance last week that left me feeling a little confused about how I wanted to feel about her character, things have changed and made a perfect 180 since then. First off, seeing how she’s only 14 and in turn is literally a baby, I can forgive that brash behavior of hers especially when she’s trying to give off that “I’m the best vibe” in the cutthroat world of Light Novels. Second, who would have thought she would be so adorably cute after relaxing a little bit? Between opening up to Masamune both as an author and a person and giving us a glimpse at whatever crazy role play is going to happen next week, I dare say I might have found a new favorite character. Third and finally, I’m just really happy to see that Masamune has a “rival” that’ll provide a positive outcome instead of a negative and sarcastic one. I personally am really enjoying the whole light novel aspect of the story and I hope that it continues to keep growing and maturing in the background.

Characters and story aside, I have to take a quick moment to point out the spot-on comedy in this week’s episode. With very few being straight up gags, I loved how the characters all had their own way of portraying some great gags. With my personal favorite being Masamune’s suave voice over the intercom asking a naked Elf why she was playing the piano naked, you had other great moments like Yamada literally reversing back to her home after inspecting Masamune’s house plate and Sagiri going from terrified to straight up Samuel L Jackson depending on the situation. Overall, there’s no denying the humor this week was on point.

Overall, I think Eromanga Sensei has done a great job with its first three episodes and I can’t wait to see what the remaining episodes have in store for us. With a fantastic group of characters and a story that can focus on both the serious and the somewhat less serious, there’s never a dull moment in-between scenes. As an added bonus, it also looks like the story can handle serious moments well and in turn has me hoping for an overwhelmingly emotional scene somewhere down the road.

In any case, I’ll catch you guys here next week. Stay safe until then and don’t forget to check and make sure your next door neighbor isn’t an adorable loli who plays the piano naked. See you then!

End Card

23 Comments

  2. I have to say i did not see this one coming! Elf is adorable! I´m with Takaii-san, Elf is my favorite character of this series!. By the way, has anyone noticed that Megumi is under the asumption Eromanaga-sensei and Elf are both guys? That childhood friend is in for some serious shock when she finds out!.

    haseo0408
    Reply

    1. Haha, yeah. The nuance here is that there isn’t a gender specific pronoun they’re using, but I suppose it’s assumed an author is male until proven otherwise(?)

      I also am surprised just how much Elf grew on me this week.

      Takaii
      Reply

    3. There are a lot of simmilarities between the two characters: they have chuuny tendencies, wear extravagant clothes, they love to write stories and they have an odd relationship with the little sister of the main character. With a little we might even add romantic feelings for the MC in the list of simmilarities.

      haseo0408
      Reply

  6. What I wonder about Megumi is how are you able to convince a class of middle schoolers to try to encourage someone you don’t know, then happily disperse when it’s ineffective? What kind of grasp does she hold over the student body?

    Also, for Elf fans, it only goes uphill from there

    Arche
    Reply

    1. While I’m not a gigantic fan of Sagiri when she’s in little bitch mode, I must admit that overall I really enjoy her character. She’s so expressive that it just about makes up for the extreme selfishness we occasionally see.

      Takaii
      Reply

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