Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「BELOVED×SURVIVAL」 by Gero
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「第一衝突: 兄弟」 (Dai Ichi Shōtotsu: Kyōdai)
“The First Conflict: Brothers”
Can someone please give me a reason for why Ema is the only one who can hear Juli?
I like seeing shows that cater to a female audience. It’s nice to know we’re not forgotten or that there is a market specifically for people with these sorts of tastes in the industry. I also like the idea of reverse harems in equality with the much larger regular harem market. My problem with these sorts of shows isn’t in the fact that they are harems (reverse or otherwise), but in the way they are presented. I’ll make my case on what I mean in a moment; first, is BroCon (AKA BroCage amongst the writers, long story) a good anime?
As always, the answer lies in preferences, but as a reverse harem type of series, and for the fans this sort of genre generates, then I’d say yes, it probably is. Brains Base is a good studio, and though Oregairu wasn’t beautiful to look at (which I’ve always believed a stylistic decision rather than an economic one), Brocage is much more pleasant to the eye. I particularly liked the attention to detail in Emi’s design, where even her lips are drawn with real volume and color, and all the characters have particular and separate designs (so much so that it’s hard to believe this is a household of brothers with presumably the same father, but hey, anime logic). The production side of things in general is just as nice, with fluidity in most aspects, and though it’s rather jarring to hear Kaji Yuki as a ten year old child, the voice acting isn’t bad either. And if you’re looking for the tried and true stereotypes of shoujo anime and reverse harems, this is definitely the place for you, complete with homo-erotic twins and misunderstandings up to your nose.
When Ema Hinata’s (Satou Rina) father remarries and leaves his only daughter to live with a household of strange men turned family overnight, it’s hard not to guess exactly what kind of show this is going to be, even without the talking squirrel, Juli (Kamiya Hiroshi), to spell it out. That’s not really a problem in terms of content as it is in execution. As I mentioned already, production-wise this is a very nice series, but in terms of narrative content, there isn’t a whole lot to separate Brocage from the Amnesias and other reverse harems of the world at this point. There are a lot of shoujo stereotypes at work here that I don’t particularly like myself; Emi is rather meek and tends to go with her brothers’ flow (though not completely, I like that she doesn’t get overly flustered when kissed against her will and then she asks her “onii-chan” not to tease her) while her step-brothers are all type characters of high competence and ability. Everything is so flowery and dramatic in a way that’s not as pleasant as in a series like KARNEVAL and I dislike how in truth the squirrel has more presence than the girl. Just once, I would like to see a reverse-harem overcome its shoujo stereotypes and really engage the viewer in a way that few shows of this type ever do, though that doesn’t really mean it’s a bad series. In fact, I think I did see some flags for a real end with Yuusuke (Hosoya Yoshimasa), Ema’s classmate, which is always interesting compared to a harem end, and it’s completely possible the premiere isn’t very indicative of what the rest of the series is like too. If those sorts of worries don’t bother you in the least though, then it seems BroCon is definitely good at what it does. I might keep watching to see how things look a few episodes in.
Note: Apologies for the late post, between Anime Expo and some issues I had finding the episode, things got fairly delayed very quickly. There are also currently no plans on RandomC to follow BroCon on a weekly basis.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「「14 to 1」 by ASAHINA Bros.+JULI
Preview
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End Card
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I took a look at this episode as well and was wondering why he could hear Juli as well.
Maybe it has something to do with him being close to animals? Or maybe the nicest of the bunch?
I don’t know about his show, Arcana put me off in episode 2 and I’m neutral about fujoshi baits but I really think I’m going to like this one. I just feel I’ll like it.
I haven’t played the PSP but I’m watching due to the seiyuus.lol
Well, I will continue watching due to the end of Uta pri 2000%~
I’m more interested for Ema’s stepmother to make an appearance. Given the number of (I assume biological)sons she has, one wonders how many husbands/partners she went through before marrying Mr. Hinata.
And what happened to the previous husbands. I feels weird that she had a lot of past marriages before that failed and still went to marry Ema’s dad.
You don’t necessarily need more than one husband for that amount of kids. My dad has about eight siblings and they’re all fully related. My mom has eight too but those really are half ones. So it depends. Seeing as they’re all Asahinas, they either all had the same dad or they all kept their mom’s name.
I certainly loved the novels but I wonder if the anime will be following with the novels or…the game rather?
I dunno if there’s a game. It’s based off novels (in fact, I saw the books in question at AX).
Hey where did you read the novel? you read it in japanese or in some translation? i can’t read japanese so i was looking for the translation D:…
I think I might save this one for a batch download. I dunno I usually like reverse harems but this one feels very shallow to me.
For shows like this, I usually prefer to come back in a few weeks time and watch all the available episodes in one go. Maybe it’ll get better as it goes along.
I took the above approach to watching Valvrave, after 7-8 eps had already aired, and found the show more enjoyable that way.
Ah, I was kind of surprised by the whole Juli character even being involved and I’m really interested to see whether or not he’s crucial to the plot. Other than being the token neutral sidekick to guide the player, I mean, main character thru out the game… I don’t see the point of him being in the anime. However, I will say that Ema isn’t the only one who can hear him. It appeared that Louis could hear him too. And from the way he was talking, it might be a spirituality thing akin to being able to see and hear ghosts. I don’t even know… all I know is that the squirrel is creepy, I wish it was a shiba inu puppy, and I wish Ema wasn’t half as dull as she is. I get it. Harem/otome-based stories typically have a rather generic MC so that the viewer/player can envision themselves as the MC and fall for the 2D love interest of their choice. But I really wished that more people would take the route of say Infinite Stratos and give the MC an actual personality with unique quirks so that the interactions between them and their love interests seem more… realistic and less forced. Not to mention less predictable. I agree, I was pleasantly surprised when she suddenly told the monk-bro to stop teasing her. It caught me off guard and made me wonder if she had a trauma in the past that made her react so instantly. But that was the only time I was surprised, aside from annoying talking squirrel. I’ll give it the 3 episode go just for being pretty and having such an unbelievably large cast of love interests, but unless they give this girl proper personality development, I’ll probably watch it some other time when I can be bothered with it. I just really hate empty MCs and overbearing sidekicks. I’m telling you, the squirrel freaks me out! Those beady eyes yo!
See I agree that it feels like a game adaptation, but the weird thing is that it actually isn’t based on an otome game or a game at all. It’s based on a set of novels, which is why the whole squirrel as an intro sort of system feels bizarre.
Really? I knew there were novels, but I thought there was an otome-game too since they had the squirrel. Yeah, see, that makes it even more strange and off-putting to me. Does this mean the squirrel is also in the novels? Ahhh, these adaptation types are tricky. Producers need to be very discerning about what elements they keep from the original and which ones they tweak for the sake of translating into an animated story telling format. Not everything in the source material may be quality stuff to slam into the anime version, something we learned from Sword Art Online. It ended up being a decent show, truly, but the flaws in the original writing in the novels held it back in some areas. I think the squirrel and the MC are going to end up being the same for this. All the guys are far more interesting to me right now and their dynamics than the girl is. I’d almost be happy with it just being about the guys attempting to live together and dealing with this new dad. Meh… we’ll see.
It HAS a game, but from what I’ve heard it’s based on the novel version. However, perhaps the studio felt it best to use game elements here and there, which to me feels like a bad decision. I don’t know if the squirrel was included in the novels, but it would be odd if it was. I have a feeling the novel is probably a better source for an anime adaptation in this case, so I hope this isn’t a general trend here.
Based on the VAs interview, the anime is going to have original story which is different from the novels/games.
This episode is based on chapter 1,2,4-1 and 4-2 of the novels. There are some changes, the story order and what happened are a bit different in the novels.
I’m not sure it’s a good choice to follow the novels closely (1:1 adaptation). It has a chance it will end up like Arcana Famiglia if they do it.
Show Spoiler ▼
I know that this anime is not included on weekly basis review by RandomC but can you make this as a weekly review from the start ’till the end because I really like this anime. I really like this type of anime, and I hope that you can review this weekly. Please, don’t be mad, I’m only just giving a suggestion.
It’s okay if you can’t review this anime because on the CONFLICT of schedule. I have no place to order you around on what anime you will review. Please, don’t be mad, I’m only just giving a suggestion.
Anyway, guys, I really support your blogging site since 2011 so I hope you can bring us more anime reviews as your writers increases.
Not at all, thanks for the suggestion. Always happy to see people interested in shows. The only thing is I’m not sure if I could fit it in to my schedule. I blog on a separate site too and there I’m blogging about ten shows a season, so it really depends on how much I like the show compared to others. So far it’s not one of my favorites so it’s unlikely that I’d pick it up, but if things get more interesting next week I might PERHAPS change my mind. But the chance is very slim, gomen.
It’s okay, I understand. It’s really hard to blog ten shows on a season. I also tried blogging but I only stayed for only 1 year and after that, I stopped doing it. But thanks for the first impression for Brothers Conflict, I really appreciate it.
I know I really shouldn’t judge shows by their first episode, but I get the feeling that this is not going to be a quality show. For some reason though, the fact that the setup is of such…….. not high quality (typical otome game heroine, completely predictable lines – I don’t know the source material, but I kind of KNEW that the whole twincest thing was because they were rehearsing for something) appeals to me a LOT. I’m kind of perversely drawn to things that are guaranteed to be kind of trashy but still really fun, like Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (yeah I did watch it, and I enjoyed it through and through). And no offense Kairi, but I disagree with you about the animation quality – it felt really awkward in places (though if you look at screenshots, it’s fine). But I dunno, I think it’s going to be really fun.
Oh, and I’m also watching because the cast is insane.
Hmm I don’t remember the animation being so bad that it was hugely noticeable. It was hardly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen but it wasn’t as clunky as other series in recent memory, and the designs are good. That’s the point I was trying to make. But it depends on your standards in terms of what’s good animation or not so I suppose mine might be lower than yours is all! Nice to see you want to watch the show anyway, it’s fun to watch something you might otherwise dislike if you tried taking it too seriously.
I’m not saying the animation is outright bad, but it doesn’t feel entirely natural, and it doesn’t quite sit right with me – but not to an extent where I can’t watch it at all. It’s just a few awkward moments here and there.
From what I’ve just heard on Metanorn, Ema’s stepmother was only married once before her 1st husband passed away. Ema’s father is only the 2nd husband.
Either some boys were artificially conceived, or the late Mr. Asahina was one heck of a virile stud.
As I’ve said, there are real life examples of both cases. After all, if they all had the same mother, she’d still have to wait the nine month period of pregnancy before conceiving again. So one father or multiple fathers is just as equally viable. I dunno that it’d have too much to do with virility so much as family planning here…
My thing though is that all the boys look so vastly different that it’s hard to believe that they came from only one set of parents. Yes, it’s possible for a set of parents to have two different hair and eye colors and for the child to have neither of those (rare, but possible), but for all your kids to have about seven different hair and eye colors is a bit of a stretch. I am convinced that either their mom had in vitro, or she was sleeping around behind her husband’s back.
Actually I just think that’s anime logic. It’d be boring if all the boys looked the same is what the designers probably thought.
Ema is one pretty girl and I kinda like her shy personality. I might follow this series for her.
That is a LOT of siblings…and there isn’t even anything in their appearances to hint that they are siblings. Its weird. Even if there is no obvious similarity , from my experience ,in anime ,there is always something in the characters where you can look and think “Ah , I can see that they are siblings” , maybe some are adopted?….anyway I’m babbling.
That squirrel was so random .I might just watch the series for Juli because he is adorably funny. Not to mention funnily adorable.
It’s sad that so many people are unfamiliar with this series, although it’s been going on for a while. It just shows how the anime industry doesn’t cater much to a female audience, and even less to an English female audience.
I haven’t read the novels, but I’ve listened to all the series’s drama CDs, and all the characters are very lovable. Yuutan is super cute as Wataru! Even though he said that he has to work very hard to act in this role because he has to speak in a very high voice. Yeah, it sounded slightly jarring at first, but you’ll soon get used to it, and then it’ll sound really adorable. And Wataru is such an angel.
I don’t really like Emma’s design. I think they made her too pretty. Yeah, she’s supposed to be adorable, but she also needs to be a plain Jane for the viewers to relate to her, no? Her char. design reminds me of Haganai char. designs. But this is a show targeted at girls. The female lead doesn’t have to be that pretty.
Ema isn’t the only one who can hear Juli. This episode hinted that Louis can hear him (it?) too. And Juli’s a character from the novels, not from the game. The otome game was adapted from the LN. I think the anime is adapted from the LN too, because it doesn’t make sense for it to be adapted from the games (which have multiple storylines) if it can adapt materials from the novel, which has a single coherent storyline.
Yeah I saw the flags for a Yuusuke end too. I really hope that happens! Because Yuusuke is just one cute tsundere. And apparently Ema gave some kind of answer at the end of the 1st season of the novels, so let’s hope there can be an end in the anime too! But with only 12 episodes they might not adapt all 7 novels of the 1st season. In any case, I’m looking forward to the rest of the episodes!
If you want a better female lead, I suggest Ourah High School Host Club. Haruhi has a great attitude.
Oh that was one of my first series, no worries, I’ve seen it several times. That’s what I had in mind for an ideal series of this type actually.
Ouran and perhaps Fruits Basket (kind of) are the best reverse harems I’ve ever seen done. Both with interesting and likable females and males that while having some reflections of their stereotypes, rise quite a ways above the grain.
Ouran and Fruits Basket are fantastic. Before I entered the world of subtitled anime, from which of course there is no return to dubbed in my opinion, I had them as favorites. They’re classic.
I’m tired of all the shows that are just yaoi-fangirl bait.
ALL of the shows? I’m not even gonna follow this one here (I don’t like any type of harems), but I can’t see where you’re coming from at all. Every season there’s one girl centered show at most. I’d say this season has more, with BroCon and Free!. But that’s about it, really.
If you count the amount of loli/ecchi-otaku bait shows just on this front page, then you know the industry hardly caters to the other side of that equation with more than one or so series a season compared to the number for the former. If you don’t like them, you don’t have to watch them! I don’t like the genre all that much myself, but as long as the male-directed shows exist with similar issues, I at least wanna see the female-oriented stuff exist alongside it. It’s just fair, though I do wish they didn’t have so many stereotypes to deal with (regular harems too, but that’s a separate issue).
Do people not know there has been a whole demographic of manga and anime made specifically for women for years?
Do people only see male oriented anime and go”Gee there don’t seem to be anyones for females”.