Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「星風のホロスコープ」 (Hoshikaze no Horoscope) by のみこ (nomico)
Watch the OP!: Download, Streaming ▼
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「クマなら、ここで終わってた」 (Kuma nara, Koko de Owatteta)
“If It Were a Bear, It’d Be Over”
Despite the generic feel feng’s (pronounced “fon”) latest adult romance simulation gave off, its anime adaptation turned out much better than anticipated due to the seemingly generic characters themselves. The disparity between my initial impression coming in and the one I left with was quite surprising, because my research into the premise along with the promo video had already given a very good idea of what I was in store for. The big difference between then and now was the execution, which played out exactly like I had read about yet so better with some life behind the characters. By no means does this imply that Hoshikaka has suddenly gone from a run-of-the-mill eroge adaptation to a standout romantic comedy of the season, but it does mean it’s suddenly gone from a show I was considering only watching the first episode of to something that I want to see the rest of.
The premise itself is exactly as I laid out in the Spring 2011 Preview, starting off with Hoshino Kazuma (Asanuma Shintarou) moving to countryside of Yamabiko with his younger brother Ayumu (Oohashi Ayuru) out of best interest to the latter’s health. The “bit of trouble” they run into on their way to Yorozuyo inn turns out to be hopping on the bus in the wrong direction, followed by a monkey snatching Ayumu’s hat and running off with it. Not exactly the most exciting turn of events on paper, but quite a different story on screen when Kazuma is climbing up trees and fearlessly jumping between branches (…and falling). End result is of course Kazuma running into our beautiful heroine Nakatsugawa Ui (Nakamura Eriko), who just so happens to be gathering edible wild plants in the area. What distinguished this chain of events from the promotional video were the post lighting effects in the forest and Ui’s cheery innocent personality that raises the question on whether countryside girls like her really exist.
Character descriptions simply don’t convey exactly how a character will come off with a voiced personality behind them, which goes doubly for Ui’s friend Hinata Ibuki (Aoba Ringo), who wasn’t the least bit pleased about seeing Kazuma stumble and fall on top of Ui, locking lips with her in the process. Of all things, I actually opened up to Ibuki’s brash side more upon seeing her bashful one in the ending sequence, which means she’s likely the token tsundere of the series. However, the characters who really won me over in this first episode were Yorozu Senka (Kawaragi Shiho), the proprietress of Yorozuyo and Kazum/Ayumu’s new guardian, and Toudou Tsumugi (Takahashi Chiaki), Kazuma’s third-year senior at Yamabiko Manami Gakuen. In Senka’s case, she falls into the typical female character trope of being sensitive about her age, but the fact that it came so unexpectedly was oddly refreshing. Tsumugi on the other hand had a very cute reaction to seeing Kazuma’s package (in comparison to Senka’s devious one), which helped balance out all the character introductions at Kazuma’s expense.
In effect, all these happenings established an immediate familiarity between Kazuma and the heroines, allowing their relationships to snowball into more interesting ones as soon as he transfers to his new school. At the moment, I’m quite keen on seeing where things are headed between Kazuma and Ui after their first innocent kiss, but there’s already been a fair bit of foreshadowing between Kazuma and his childhood friend/shrine maiden Koumoto Madoka (Shimizu Ai), whom he left behind when he moved away. Plus, there’s still another senior named Sakai Hina (Yoshida Mayumi) as well as Tsumugi’s younger sister Koyori (Ookubo Aiko) slated to join the mix and further spice things up. When it comes to eroge adaptations, it’s no secret that the character personalities themselves play a huge part into how well it turns out, so if there’s one thing that Dogakobo’s done right, it’s establishing the finer points of a few heroines early on.
As mentioned above, there’s still very little to suggest this title is a must-watch of the season though. For me, I was entertained enough by its first showing — particularly with the comedic aspects — so I’m inclined to follow Hoshikaka all the way through now. Sometimes, you just never know with these seemingly generic adaptations. I try not to overlook them so easily after Fortune Arterial turned out better than expected a couple season ago.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「だっしゅどシンデレラ」 (Dash-do Cinderella) by 中村繪里子, 清水愛 (Nakamura Eriko, Shimizu Ai)
Watch the ED!: Download, Streaming ▼
Preview
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I was debating whether or not I should watch this because of it’s seemingly generic feel it gives off just by looking at character designs and that it’s a harem. But I may check out the first ep to see if I like the heroines. I am not the biggest fan of harems, but I did like Love Hina and Shuffle. If it’s anything like those, I’m willing to add another to my list. Thanks for the review as always Divine 😀
Looks interesting…
Needs bigger eyes
It is so very generic, but just something about it gives it a fresh feel. p.s. I think your right; the eyes aren’t big enough already.
Gotta have at least one of these to watch each season.
The visuals aren’t half bad. The characters weren’t that bad either; they weren’t nearly as flat as I expected them to be and actually look pretty nice so far. 😮
Hanasaku Iroha really sets the bar pretty high.
Hey dood its pink
This reminds me of Yosuga no Sora..except there’s no incest…yet(It’s a reverse trap).
I had the same idea
I also thought that.
too bad its not his twin and its a boy….
anyway, im voting for the childhood friend unless she doesnt develop and stays as a standard tsundere(clearly one).
it does look so just got to wait while he lays them all
Quite the lavish character designs. You guys can say whatever you want but I’m in it for the eye candy. Even Ayumu is nice to look at.
Aye, I’ll give it a go myself for the same reason.
Just saw it. It left a good impression on me haha…Visuals are really good and coordinated. Funny moments, too.
Decent start for a harem show. The episode itself is full of cliches but I don’t mind it as long as its funny. Count me in.
…whether countryside girls like her really exist.
they do, about one in a million, which given scarce population density countryside makes hunt almost pointless
I expected OreTsuba to be better, but it was horrendous. Thankfully this one has potential.
Hmm, I didn’t think about that at the time, but Hoshikaka did leave a much better first impression than Oretsuba. I’m still giving the latter the benefit of the doubt for a few more episodes, but I’m admittedly more optimistic about the former.
For some reason the characters and the screenshots all remind me of ToHeart. Back to basics type anime maybe?
hmmm, i wont really say Fortune Arterial turned out fine in the end. Sure it started off abit slow, then got really good towards the later episodes. But they just had to totally ruin it with the last episode in which there is nothing conclusive. So hopefully this series does not follow that route, I don’t really care who he ends up with in the end at this moment but I definitely want at least a proper closure.
Hmmm, they locked lips already. Yep, he’s definitely ending up with that girl.
It’s better that way,
He seems to have taken interest in her.
I can see the endin…oh wait, no I don’t.
I got the feeling that somebody ran a program called “Random Harem-Comedy Generator”, put in a couple parameters, and slapped the name “Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi” on the output.
That said, I still enjoyed it. Gah, too much to watch this season..
Im here for the shota
Before blushing he thought
I fell, i was kicked <— M
I was seen, was seen again <– exhibitionist
Lastly, he thought about the kiss?? won't normal pple think about the kiss first?, i guess his fetishes are too strong.
Well, in this kind of anime, 97% chance he is with the orange hair girl, 2% its the child hood friend and 1 % its a harem
hoping for a brother x brother ending… one can dream
please blogged this.
Animation is nice; better than expected. Probably won’t break from the generic mold too much, but there’s a chance, depending on how they decide to go with it.
I picked this up for the cute character designs, so I’m happy I wasn’t disappointed in that area. Like everyone else, I had higher expectations for OreTsuba, but those were cut down- it’s as if the two reversed.
Overall, I’ll keep watching it and hoping for something good if they continue the pace like the first episode.
Another harem anime? Just what i like<3.
Off topic:
Speaking of harem(*looks at IS poll*), can't i choose all 5? :3 All of them are my favorites :3
You sure can. Just don’t vote at all since voting for all five would just negate your input.
Which is why i never vote for any moe tournament… *sigh*
Could have sworn that Ayumu was a reverse-trap. Meh, sad that he really is a guy. Oh well, I’m sure somewhere along the road, they’ll make him dress as a girl and put a trap label on him.
my list is really getting bigger, much bigger then I had in the past.
im wondering if I will drop one of them.
anyway, this had a pretty good 1st ep. this has good decency and was much better than what I expected. its on my list unless I get pressured.
Harem? Not my cup of tea.
Looks so generic… at least they must try to be original. I dont know… maybe taking the incest shota route? That could be… at least different! 😀
And by the way, the poll is missing the option NONE. For those of us that doesnt lije anything of Infinite Stratos. 😛
The none option is simply not voting.
You’re back!!! Feeling better now?
I love the random and very subtle sexual jokes going on in that episode. one that most people wouldnt get is the bit where Toudou looks at Kazuma’s feet.. i let you fill in the rest
I … still don’t get it even with your hint. What I thought was that when she she had to catch up to his walking pace, she then realized that before he was intentionally walking slow for his brother and now that his brother is off, he walks at his normal pace. Or was it supposed to be something else?
I don’t know about that, I did not get that scene too. If it is a hint what Torrigan has written, so maybe its that she looks at his feet to check out how big his manhood can potentially be. Otherwise, i have no clue
Nee-san saying “with that size, you would not be able to see them clearly” <- The best part
LOL
That broke his pride like glass. Poor guy.
Lol, poor guy. They made him cry from the shock. Stay strong Kazuma.
pretty interesting 1st ep.
rooting for the childhood friend
I’m loving the Charlotte blowout in the poll.
she’s winning by a landslide. but can she be the top female anime character of 2011? too early to speculate i guess.
She will not be forgotten. I’m sure of it.
my otouto cant be this cute !!
my already favorite charaters are ui, tsugumi, and chilldhood friend because they are just like me!.
Looks intresting so far. Hope its in omnibus format, similar to Amagami.
It´s true that this show is unexpectedly interesting, but I really don´t know what to think. True, oretsubasa looked promising as well but has failed to deliver a consisting storyline or nice development betwen the characters, but again I´m still hopeful that it will turn around for the better, since the story came off from the same company that ceated shuffle!. Let´s hope both show could deliver a satisfactory enjoyment. Seriously, let´s pray for that, I haven´t seen a good romance series since amagami ss ended.
I always root for the childhood friend route and I like shrine maiden type of characters so this is a complete package for me to vote for Madoka! Just like with Shirayuki in Hidan no Aria! Unfortunately, why are these types of characters always only a part of the harem or extra characters and not really the main lead girl, just disappoints me.
Oh well the series starts off as a typical harem story and so I just really hope that it wont end in only picking one, the most obvious typical canon choice which is Uii, heck just like with Ken Sugisaki “Always go for the HAREM ROUTE” Since really this story itself has nothing to go for other than the story behind Madoka (childhood friend) and Kazuma, and the character backgrounds of the rest of the girls and build up on romance then finally the choice of one of the girls.
Ore tachi has gotten better with each episode, especially the latest one when we finally see some action.
I’ll try watching this generic harem.