Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「Seiippai, Tsutaetai!」 by (Suzuko Mimori)
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「 あなたののぞみかなえます」 (Anata no Nozemi ka Naemasu)
“I Will Grant Your Wish”
The mind of a mangaka is an interesting thing.
Without any question, the main factor putting Majimoji Rurumo on my radar going into this season was that the author of the source material is Watanabe Wataru. He might not be a household name in most places but he is in mine, as his far better-known series is Yowamushi Pedal – the cycling manga that I correctly predicted would become a sleeper hit (after three cours, it returns for a second season in the fall). That success is deserved – it’s a charming series with excellent characters that manages to appeal to an unusually wide demographic range.
Is Yowapeda’s success the main reason Majimoji Rurumo got an adaptation? That’s hard to say, especially given how far in advance anime adaptations tend to be planned. But at the very least it certainly raises the profile of this series, which was launched in 2007 (a year before Yowapeda). Watanabe continues to write it today as a monthly, with Yowamushi Pedal a weekly series. Truth be told going by the synopsis alone Majimoji Rurumo looks very much like a standard formula ecchi comedy, but Watanabe’s track record offers the hope that it’s something more than that – or at the very least, an unusually well-executed example.
Based on the premiere I’d be inclined to lean towards the latter, though it’s obviously far too early to say for sure. Apart from an obvious resemblance in the character designs, there’s not much in terms of content that would put you in mind of Yowamushi Pedal here – certainly nothing that would suggest a similar crossover appeal to female audiences. If I were to play amateur psychologist – which I know is hugely dangerous so you don’t need to remind me – I might theorize that this series is one that a young Watanabe-sensei wrote with the idea of making something that would have a good chance to be serialized, while Yowapeda was a labor of love above something the author is passionate about.
If we run with that premise, the two series mesh rather nicely. Majimoji Rurumo doesn’t have the same earnest and heartfelt passion as Yowapeda, but it’s the clear product of a writer with a good feel for situation comedy and dialogue. It’s the story of “Ecchi King” high schooler Shibaki Kouta (newcomer Takahashi Makoto), who’s ridden the rep of skirt-lifting and porn mag lending to a near-universal loathing by girls. One day on a lark he reads a summoning spell out of a book, and ends up having his wish for a pair of panties granted by moewitch Rurumo (Mimori Suzuko). The catch? The price is his life, to be forfeit by “sky burial” in two days. The other catch? The panties are hers – and they’re the only pair she owns, so she needs them back. The other other catch? Because giving a witch’s property to a human is punishable by 130 years imprisonment, all Shibaki has to do is sit tight and let Ruruomo be carted off to Mahou Sekai jail, and he’s off the hook. But being the decent male lead he is, he can’t live with himself if he does that – and because Rurumo is too shy to put the panties on in front of him, Shibaki puts them back on her himself.
There’s some more stuff premise-wise – Rurumo ends up coming back with a book of 666 magical tickets for Shibaki to use since she’s been demoted to witch-in-training, and her cat tsukaima Chiro (Fukuen Masato, easily the biggest name in the cast and already the architect of one of the best cat performances in anime as Baabu is Sankarea) tells Shibaki that once the tickets are used up, he dies (crucially, Ruromo is unaware of this). But this really doesn’t strike me a a plot-first series – mostly it’s just a an excuse for some soft fanservice and ecchi gags, most of which work pretty well. And I think the relationship between Shibaki and Rurumo will be more heartfelt than the usual in these kinds of shows because, well – Watanabe. It’s a fun premiere – no Yowapeda and certainly nothing exceptional, but Majimoji Rurumo does have some of the mangaka’s signature wit and warmth. Perhaps enough to turn it into a pretty watchable and entertaining escapist comedy.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「Futari no Chrono Stasis」 by (Yurika Endou)
The Kansai-speaking cat got me cracked up at the end. The rest of the show was pretty meh though.
Pretty enjoyable premiere. Not too many laugh out loud moments but I had a good, fun feeling all throughout.
And no wonder I immediately thought of Naruko when I saw the MC 😀 Totally forgot its the same author as Yowapeda.
Also, dat heartwarming bike ED 😉
Yeah, Watanabe-sensei has to get the bikes in their somewhere – he truly loves them.
Haha I thought of a younger and nicer (and more pervy) Arakita xD
I meant it more from a character design point of view (spiky hair and all that) but yeah, I can see where you’re coming from 🙂
You’re right on the money, at least on the part of Yowapeda. Watanabe loved biking a lot and his editor wanted it to become a manga. And did you know that Onoda was actually suppose to be female?
The story of how YowaPeda came to be was included in volume 16 of the tankobons and is translated in English here.
The MC looks like Seiji from Midori no Hibi.
This first episode reminded me of anime that were made in the early 2000’s, in a good, almost nostalgic sense. It kind of fits right in with the slightly supernatural romantic comedies that were made during that time, like Rizelmine, Midori no Hibi or Pita Ten.
Not too sure what to make of this so far, clear it’s going to be an ecchi focused comedy (with a touch of romance on the side, just look at that EP), but I found the ecchi to be slightly overboard. Wasn’t cringe worthy, but wasn’t completely hilarious either. Going to need a few more episodes to see how well it works now that the plot has been established.
Best part had to be the cat familiar, at the end just nonchalantly telling Shibaki “yeah you’re still going to die, don’t tell the witch mmkay?”, all the while Shibaki looks on in stunned horror. Also the art/animation is very much a throwback to a decade or so ago, especially the female character designs. All in all Rurumo seems to be a nostalgia trip-esque show. It’s not going to break any molds, but you’re going to have fun watching it.
Definitely be following.
If they do it right, there’s a lot of opportunity for growth
with both characters, and it could be sweet through the process
(I’m basing this largely on the teaching her to ride a bike ED).
If done poorly, just a silly fan-service series. I’m hoping for the former…
Gave this a shot mostly due to the author, Watanabe Wataru, and the positive commentary for his other work, Yowamushi Pedal. At this point, IMO the the cat is probably the best character. I also like Rurumo (quite kawaii), and “retro” or not, I like the character designs for both as well. Our intrepid, perverted MC, Kouta? Not so much. Frankly, “Ecchi King” Kouta and Friends stuck me somewhat as the “poor man’s version” of Highschool DxD’s Issei and the “Perverted Trio”. I like Issei, but felt no attachment towards Kouta. Granted it’s only EP 01 and certainly JMO, but Kouta comes across as too flat, too generic and too “meh”.
— “But this really doesn’t strike me a a plot-first series…”
Given the premise and what we saw, I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet though I do expect some level of “romance” to develop between the two leads given the setup. The show does have its “moe” aspect and some light fanservice, but IMO the two main factors in terms of overall viewer appeal break down into how much one likes the characters, and how funny one finds the comedy.
For me, those two factors don’t add up very well. I liked the cat and Rurumo, but see above regarding MC Kouta. The “comedy” was very “meh” for me – I don’t think I LOL’d more than once. I’ll probably give this one more episode just to be sure, but right now this is looking like a probable drop for me.
this manga already end at 7 volume..
There are two sequels.
The ED was the best part of the whole show. I’ll give it 3 episodes, mostly for Rurumo.
Wasn’t really sure what I’d think of this, but I got a few good laughs out of this, and Rurumo’s oversized novelty hat was the first among them.
and she immediately reminded me of Yuki Nagato as the witch in Haruhi’s movie!