Amagami SS / First Impressions

「七咲逢編 第一章 サイアク」 (Nanasaki Ai-hen Dai Isshou – Saiaku)
“Nanasaki Ai Chapter 1 – The Worst”

The arc I’ve been looking forward to the most has arrived! Logically speaking, flashing the bottom portion of a swimsuit shows just as much skin as underwear would, yet girls tend to feel that one is socially acceptable while the other is indecent. I guess we can cast another one off to how we’ve all been “brainwashed” by social norms. Personally, I think a swimsuit has just as many sexual connotations as panties, especially when it’s coming from a girl like Nanasaki Ai. If she feels differently about it, all the better. *evil laugh* That being the case, Junichi should just let Ai tease him all she wants about getting aroused by the sight of her skirt flipping up and her swimsuit being exposed. After all, it’s not about the material itself, but the mesmerizing act of a girl’s skirt flipping up that leads to any potential “excitement”. Even more so when she does it voluntarily. Clearly, that’s not something Ai’s aware of, nor the fact that she’s combining two Japanese fetishes into one — school uniforms and swimsuits. Now that’s just asking for trouble from perverted middle-aged men. A swimsuit is not a disappointment! Beware of perverts!

That warning probably doesn’t mean a whole lot coming from the person who just made semi-sarcastic remarks about wearing swimsuits underneath school uniforms for convenience, but! …the point I was trying to get across is that it’s this tomboyish and playful side of Ai that I love. Back when I was researching for the Summer 2010 Preview, Ai’s spin-off manga was something I happened to skim through to get a sense of what this anime would entail. Starting with the swing scene where Junichi caught a glimpse of her “underwear”, Ai’s subsequent teasing about how she’s going to have him and Umehara arrested for being peeping toms is what instantly caught my attention. The fact that she didn’t look like she was joking at all was part of it, but it was more so that cool demeanor she gave off. Plus she’s athletic — being a member of the swim club and all — and you can never go wrong with sporty girls who have a competitive side to them. It’s for those very reasons that I consider her a bit of a tomboy, which contrasts nicely with the other side of her personality that she only shows to people she’s close — the girlish, family-oriented one that’s good at taking care of people. In particular, not only does she do the grocery shopping and take care of her house while both her parents are working, she also happens to do volunteer work on the side by picking up litter at the beach. Quite frankly, it’s the best of both worlds when a girl gives off a sense of independence on the outside, but is actually a sweet and caring person on the inside, and that’s exactly what I love about Ai’s character.

In a lot of ways, she has the same charm points of the stereotypical cool-but-nice kind of guy a lot of girls love, so it may help to perceive her as the female version of that. She’s an example of what fans have coined “kuudere”, a combination of the words “cool” and “deredere” (lovestruck). As such, she’s usually soft-spoken and always respectful to her seniors, which makes her seem a bit distant and closed off. However, she’s like a completely different person once you actually get to know her better, which Junichi ends up being the lucky bastard to do so. Compared to Sae, Ai is a junior who’s completely capable of taking care of herself yet is still a girl at heart who likes to be complimented and have a guy around who treats her well. She is willing to settle for a guy like Junichi after all, so that says something about how (desperately) girlish and sentimental she can be at times. Thus far, their interactions have been pretty frequent and fairly innocent, with their relationship stemming from Ai’s side first just like with Sae. Her questioning Miya about what her brother’s like suggested as much, so it’ll be interesting when Junichi starts seeing Ai as something more than his sister’s friend. Even before getting there, the sheer number of encounters progressed their relationship a lot further along than I thought it would for a first episode. For one, they already walked along the beach together after Junichi helped her buy more bargain sale stuff, plus Ai called him cute for getting flustered by her swimsuit and smiled at the sight of him picking up litter. That’s good progress in my book.

At this point, I’m just hoping that Junichi stays “respectable” this time around and doesn’t mess around with Ai just because she’s younger. I honestly doubt he can pull the same kinky stuff he did on Sae before Ai would slap him to his senses, but the innocence thus far has a much better vibe to it. Oh, and before I forget, Ai’s cool because of the puffy yellow jacket that she wears. It may seem like convenience over fashion, but it still looks good when she’s wearing it. Also, Yukana in a high school role is awesome with her ability to switch between cute and sultry voices. Win + Win = More Win.

* P.S. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when Junichi said Miya’s even cuter when she’s quiet (i.e. shuts up about the shopping district lottery).

 

ED4 Sequence

ED4: 「恋はみずいろ」 (Koi wa Mizu-iro) by ゆかな (Yukana)
Watch the 4th ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

Preview

89 Comments

  8. Can I fall in love more with this series? Yes, I can.

    Yukana took me by surprise with her Tessa voice with Nanasaki in this chapter. My God, even her theme-song is the best so far (a beautiful melody to hear without getting bored of it). I’ve to agree with you about her attitude towards them in the park, serious one moment and then playful, without a doubt Yukana was the perfect choice for Ai. She reminds me of C.C. when she lost her memories in Code Geass R2, so innocent and pure, yet it gave a strange feeling.

    Anyway, I hope for a great arc this time, without the perverted ways of Junichi this time. We got out of Sae’s arc without his pervert-kiss-fetish, so I bet that will happen here too.

    I just discovered that Amagami SS will run for 26 and not 24 episode, so I’m more than willing to see Nanasaki-chan arc for more than 4 episodes.

    Hopes and dreams.

    Syaoran Li
    Reply

    1. I will break your hopes then.

      One of the added eps will be about the sister while another ep will be either about another supporting character or will be added to the last heroines arc (as it is more complex than the others).

      Darknemo2000
      Reply

  9. My goodness. Does she really have to put ‘desu’ at the end of every sentence? Every time she had something to say, I tried to predict how she would finish her line (desu yo, desu ka, or simply desu). Although she did throw ‘masu’ in her mix, ‘desu’ wins most of the time. Is that supposed to be charming?

    pierce
    Reply

    1. “Desu” is just a polite ending to a sentence, which, in Japanese, is probably common amongst people who aren’t familiar with one another. Also, “masu” isn’t exactly interchangeable with “desu”.

      Soiyeruda
      Reply

    3. -desu, esp in Ai’s case, could also be used to indicate sarcasm, like sounding off someone i.e. sarcasm+politeness “Would you be so nice as to not touch me?”. Also, since it’s used very politely, it also indicates that the character is distant (not at a friend-to-friend level yet).

      And wow, I thought I’d be happy with Kaoru, but Ai flicked my heart’s switch rather quickly 🙂 Looking forward to the rest of the arc.

      ahbonk
      Reply

  10. I like the ED for this arc, it’s upbeat but also a bit moody. Nice combo I’d say. That and her voice is higher but in a pretty sort of way. That’s compared to the obnoxious higher pitched voices you seem to come across so often in anime.

    synkronized
    Reply

  11. LoL, was there an episode review in there? Divine’s confession to Ai 😛

    Overall, Ai does seem like a great character, and a nice change after the Sae arc. The only thing I’m worried about is pacing since they did make a fair bit of progress already. Kaoru’s introduced a drama episode that was resolved too easily, and Junichi was way too oblivious in the Sae’s. Looking forward to this one though.

    Needs more Nishishi!

    ocswing
    Reply

  14. Bah I miss Sae already! haha but hay Ai isn’t bad either. She seems like a very respective girl and to be more surprised there’s people like that in the 3D world! Well…if you don’t count the whole showing the swimsuit thing haha.

    Jason Isenberg
    Reply

  15. lmao You really do like this girl, don’t you? xD It’s like you grew up with her er somethin’~! LOL I couldn’t help but laugh at how much you knew about her. xDDDD I think I’m gonna like her too but right now, I don’t know what the hype is about. D;

    Shirt
    Reply

  17. Wow, I had no idea that anyone could write so much about one person like that and not the episode itself. I don’t whether to be impressed by your extensively detailed info on everything that is Ai Nanasaki or creeped out.

    I get the impression that you wish you were Junichi right now huh?

    Silverwind
    Reply

  18. From good to great, this series is definitely not disappointing. I also agree on the swimsuit+school uniform comment though. Beware of middle aged men Ai, though personally I don’t see whats is so great about school uniforms myself.

    ABPsycho
    Reply

  19. Wonderful episode, I’m glad I survived today’s shit to see it!

    I spoiled myself with some manga (the arc’s basics) and I am even more hyped!

    Ai has earned the second place in my book! Kaouru is the first but just by default!

    1.- Kaoru
    2.- Ai
    3.- Ayatsuji (spoiled myself with some manga and she bested Haruka)
    4.- Haruka
    5.- Sae
    6.- Rihoko

    About the endings:

    1.- Kitto Ashita wa…
    2.- Koi wa Mizuiro
    3.- Anata Shika Mienai
    4.- Kimi no Hitomi ni Koishiteru

    Thanks for the review.

    Lectro Volpi
    Reply

  20. The most annoying Junichi to date. Where his antics were funny with Sae, this time around he comes off as indecisive and weak. He’s always put on the defensive and is cowering for no reason. Ai calling the police over him seeing her swimsuit, who would believe that crap? Or that cafeteria scene. What a wuss.

    kokolores
    Reply

      1. I rather doubt that. Sure there are the occasional exceptions like in any other country, but last I checked japan was a state of law if it was common for them to take people into custody for something like that how many lawsuits about misuse of power do you think the police would get in a year?

        Ai would really have to lay it on thick and fake evidence for something which actually constitutes a crime.

        kokolores
        Reply

  21. I have been a fan of Hibiki’s since ep.1 (right from the opening sequence in the swimsuits lol) for a lot of the same reasons Divine says he likes Nanasaki. The cool sensible exterior and the playful heart gets me too. For me it’s like watching Hibiki’s little sister in action, so for me it was a very welcome treat since my favorite is only a side character. I guess she’s following in her mentors footsteps to a certain degree. Works for me!

    Breedo
    Reply

  22. This has epic written all over it already… and we’re only in the first episode. When I saw the preview, my eyes went o.0 because of Ai lifting her skirt, but it seems innocent enough… for now.

    Anyway, can’t wait for the next episode.

    TehJawknee
    Reply

  30. Nanasaki is such a level headed character. This arc progression seems forced and a little fast though. Who knows, this might mean more room for good stuff in the later episodes.

    Does anyone know more about the tea club seniors? They seem pretty interesting.

    WerX
    Reply

  31. Ai-Chan IS HERE! YES, YES YES YES YES. Lol. It’s finally here. I totally agree with your view of her as kudere. This is going to be great, and yes, I would personally use my extendo cross dimensional anime hand to smack down Junichi if he tries anything dirty.

    Sora no Kaze
    Reply

    1. Oh, btw I love that puffy yellow jacket. I’m already thinking about buying my girl a similar jacket. Hopefully yellow fits her, otherwise I’m going to have to have to settle with another color.

      Sora no Kaze
      Reply

  33. This episode was everything I hoped for starters. I’ve said it before, I’ve got a weakness for short haired sporty girls in romantic series, especially when they look as good as Ai. LOL D. I could “picture” you writing about Ai and sighing at the same time…But then again, I think there are lots of people here who would be blessed to have Ai smile at them.

    Shinjiro
    Reply

  34. Wow, this episode caught me completely off-guard. I knew Ai was one of the more interesting heroines but this just made me jump on her bandwagon (though the other foot is on Tsukasa’s ^^) and the ending theme just made it a whole lot better. We’re definitely off to a good start.

    Though I gotta agree, they’re already getting comfortable with each other and we’re only at episode 1, a bit too fast I think even for Amagami SS. Looking forward to an amazing arc and surprisingly I’m not that excited for the possible erotic add-ons.

    Jaden
    Reply

  35. You said kuudere. Havent heard that word since I was 8. I like this girl so I might watch this show and enjoy for once J/k. But I really did enjoy this 1st episode. I can see why you been waiting to see it.

    infinite
    Reply

    1. Well there two things to keep in mind.

      First of, it’s Fall, so the days are getting shorter.

      You also have to rmb that it’s already assumed that Ai had to go to swimming club practice. So, it’s basically after club practice that they go to shopping. Other then that, I’m not sure lol.

      Sora no Kaze
      Reply

  44. Yup, Ai is still awesome as always. She’s just got that playful spunk that keeps you wanting more, and she’s not really tsundere, as much as she’s just cool/cute. Definitely looking forward to more!!

    Aex
    Reply

  45. @Divine,

    yeah i ended up snickering a bit at that part too.

    Anyway, since i had already cheated and read the manga version of this arch. I was expecting it to be a copy->past of that, but it ended up being different. Also i liked the voice actor they chose for her roll. Her ending song was kinda catchy too.

    Though i hope this time around they don’t change the ending too much in this arch. And no i’m saying just because of the Show Spoiler ▼

    Rather i liked how they wrapped everything up.

    Snicket
    Reply

  48. Was checking my Torne earlier and an error came out for next week’s recording. Then I checked the website.

    Divine, you might know this already but the bad news is there’ll be no Amagami on TBS next week and the other channels are only catching up, so the latest Amagami 14: Tokimeki episode will only air the following week.

    http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/amagami/news/news.html
    http://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/1957/time?Filter=ChAll&Filter2=Updated

    Sigh, juuuuuuuuusttt when we got into the nice arc 🙁

    ahbonk
    Reply

  49. After following an almost unmentionable arc, it’s good to see Junichi back to his more “respectable” side.
    The whole kinky nature was beginning to make me cringe which is a feat in itself. lol.
    My expectations were definitely met with the start to Ai’s arc though, so I can hardly wait for more. 🙂

    koukiryu
    Reply

  53. “Quite frankly, it’s the best of both worlds when a girl gives off a sense of independence on the outside, but is actually a sweet and caring person on the inside, and that’s exactly what I love about Ai’s character.”

    That sentence alone said everything I could’ve possibly wanted to ever say.

    thenewhorde
    Reply

    1. Well if you have only been watching anime just recently and have not watched various series, I don’t think that you will be able appreciate her character. Maybe after you have become a seasoned anime fan, you will understand why we like her.

      ClementIV
      Reply

    2. … He doesn’t technically have to be a seasoned anime fan. If he likes those types of girls, or finds it cute, then he’ll understand. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t, though it’ll be awesome if s/he did. 🙂

      Sora no Kaze
      Reply

    3. Lol wth does seasoned anime fan? I’ve watched like 8-9 new series every season for the past 2 years? Just I don’t follow the manga or w/e so I wouldn’t know the hype around this girl.

      Freya
      Reply

  58. I think her character is somewhat mysterious. Her eyes seem so cold in the OP. As a kid (first 20 seconds of this episode), she seems lively and happy. She’s not shy either which is quite the opposite impression you get when you look at her. She’s very direct about perversion too.

    Finally, the ED. It has a smile turn into a mischievous grin and after that, a horribly shocked scene.

    Ryanime
    Reply

  59. *cough* We have entered an endless recursion of time… *cough*

    And the Swimgirl’s arc begins…

    So this is what they meant when they said that Ai had “exhibitionist” tendencies… Damn, I must’ve been spending way too much time on the many Danbooru-style imageboards to be thinking of NSFW stuff…

    I wonder if Junichi and Ai will remember their first meeting in later episodes? Could be a plot point, you know… Or not… *shrugs*

    Anyway, as much as I like Kaoru’s touchy-feely way of teasing (even in this episode), Ai’s deadpan method of teasing Junichi is also fun to watch. Combine that with a “serious outside, loving inside” personality and I can see why Ai is well-liked. And since there will be no Amagami SS next week (if the news is correct)…all the more reason to be unable to wait for the next episode…

    On an off-topic note, I was kinda disappointed that “Sempai” won over “Sex Hair” in the ISML’s Amagami SS exhibition match. But hey, even older girls have their moe charm too. That said, I’m sure things are going to get interesting once Ai and Tsukasa finally join the fray.

    Incognito
    Reply

  60. Okay, a story where a boy encounters a girl, in the stairs, swinging a bamboo stick, beating up his older brother’s in one kick, stand while swinging. Seems this character is interesting as 90% of those Nanasaki Ai’s Fans Club said.

    Miya Tachibana is still my no.1 with Haruka Morishima in 2nd place for Amagami SS characters. I expect Ai to beat Haruka as the episodes progress.

    arigatou
    Reply

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