Amagami SS / First Impressions / Series Introduction

OP Sequence

OP: 「i Love」 by azusa
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「森島はるか編 第一章 アコガレ」 (Morishima Haruka-hen Dai Isshou – Akogare)
“Morishima Haruka Chapter 1 – Yearning”

While I have my reservations about this turning out be romance drama that will fill the void left by true tears, this first showing of AIC‘s adaptation of Enterbrain’s romance simulation game does show potential. In addition, it’s been indicated that this series will run for two-cour and likely 24 episodes, where four will be dedicated to each of the six girls’ sub arcs. Needless to say, I’m completely on board when it comes to an AIC-produced romance drama that will run for six months, especially with the awesome cast of female seiyuu voicing all the girls. To top it off, playing the male lead Tachibana Junichi is Maeno Tomoaki, who I often associate with playing characters with tough personalities but continues to impress me with his ability to play emotionally troubled ones like he does here. Junichi in particular doesn’t come off as a weak male lead, but simply one that’s emotionally scarred from being stood up for a Christmas Eve date two years ago. That becomes a fundamental theme of the story as a whole, as he hastily allows himself to fall in love again with a sudden confession in this first episode.

As I mentioned in the Spring 2010 Preview, the story in the PlayStation 2 game revolves primarily around his interest in his senior classmate, the gorgeous and easygoing Morishima Haruka (Itou Shizuka). Whether or not she’ll turn out to be the main girl in this adaptation I don’t know, but I was surprised to learn that the very first four episode arc is going to focus on her. I haven’t seen confirmation on exactly how many episodes this series will run for, though starting off with Haruka and potentially wrapping up with her in the final two episodes of a 26 episode run seems like one way of going about it. Along the way, Junichi would have encounters with the other five girls in their respective sub arcs and learn exactly how much he wants to be with Haruka. That’s sort of my initial outlook on the progression of this series for now, which doesn’t seem all that far-fetched since it’s somewhat along the lines of what Kanon did. In any case, I’m excited since this first showing almost made me fall for Haruka with Shizuka using her Katsura Hinagiku voice in a very playful and almost teasing-like manner as she gave Junichi all the signs that she’s interested in him.

Looking back, it’s kind of hard to imagine that it all started with Haruka catching sight of him helping first year Nakata Sae (Konno Hiromi) buy her lunch amidst the ravage pack of students. That in turn resulted in the fateful encounter between the two and Haruka learning of Junichi’s existence for the very first time. I honestly can’t blame Junichi for falling for Haruka so quickly, given how she’s the school idol of sorts and has been confessed to many times in the past, yet showed him very misleading signs of affection just because of the kindness he showed earlier. If that weren’t enough, she was really happy about bumping into him in the library knowing that he’d help her carry some books and even joined in on his game of leapfrog with Umehara Masayoshi (Terashima Takuma) and his other guy friends some days later. From my perspective, Haruka was clearly the biggest tease ever since she didn’t seem interested in Junichi in any way; however, I was more okay with it when it became more obvious that she simply isn’t aware of how popular she is amongst the guys. Be that as it may, Haruka asking Junichi if he’s only nice to her because he likes her, only to express disappointment when he dodged the question, did seem intentional after she had already let him astray.

Incidentally, the mood and setting allowed Junichi to muster up enough courage to actually just confess out of the blue, which Haruka was both surprised and happy about, but still turned down because she likes older guys. My immediate reaction was, “How cruel can you be Haruka after he finally opened up his heart to feelings of love again!?”, except I couldn’t stay upset with Haruka since she wasn’t trying to play with Junichi’s feelings. Anyway, it’s these type of emotional responses I was hoping to get while watching this series, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops from here on in. There are all the other girls to look forward to too, which includes class rep Ayatsuji Tsukasa (Nazuka Kaori), childhood friend Sakurai Rihoko (Shintani Ryouko), middle school friend Tanamachi Kaoru (Satou Rina), and junior classmate/sister’s friend Nanasaki Ai (Yukana) from the swim club. That’s in addition to Sae mentioned above, plus we have Junichi’s little sister Miya (Asumi Kana) to make things interesting. Production-wise AIC delivers here, and we also have Pony Canyon producing character-specific ending themes every arc, starting with Itou Shizuka’s. Finally, a romance drama has arrived, so here’s to hoping it turns out well.

 

ED1 Sequence

ED1: 「キミの瞳に恋してる」 (Kimi no Hitomi ni Koi Shiteru) by 伊藤静 (Itou Shizuka)
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Preview

92 Comments

  1. There has’nt been a single love-drama anime series that could satisfy me well enough since the end of True Tears, that’s why I prefer romantic comedies like Toradora, but finally this is a series that looks really promising.

    haseo0408
    Reply

    1. There are manga for each of the girls, so I don’t think that’s really any indication. The Japanese synopsis I read on the game’s story suggested it was Haruka, though obviously you can wind up with any of the girls.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. Maybe, but Tsukasa is in the webpage banner and she is the first character description that appears on the character section (also the front cover of the game). Maybe they’re going with another girl in this version or something? or are they really going to animate all the story arcs? that’s really ambitious. Maybe him liking his senior is just the setup for the story and it can go anywhere from that (don’t know much about Haruka, but I really liked Tsukasa as a heroine from what I’ve read of her manga).

        I hope this goes well I liked Kimikiss and I like AIC, plus it has Shizuka Itou on it, so I’ll probably follow it anyways.

        yo
        Reply

  10. nothing can beat kimiga nozomu eien in the way of dorama flick…but i think i should try this one btw DAAAMMMNNNN !!!! PERTAMAX TELAH DIAMANKEN TAPI ‘MAYAN BISA PEJWAN COOYY…

    bakabakashiEROGE
    Reply

  11. lol only girl I’m interested in is nanasaki Ai.
    I have read the mangas of Amagami and there are different names for it.

    for example for nanasaki ai, it’s, Amagami, love goes on!

    and for each chacacters different titles are provided.

    so to me, this kind of anime is weird?

    Kissyou!
    Reply

    2. haha would be fun to watch if it did

      1 episode – he confess – rejected
      2 episode – same
      3,4,5,6,7,8,9 – same
      10th episode – he cuts of everyones head and hugs them in his closet

      Laz
      Reply

  14. HAIR COLORS ARE TOO SIMILAR CAN’T TELL THEM APART. WHAT WE NEED IS ANOTHER COLOR WARS (ICHIBAN USHIRO)

    Lol, but seriously. Good to see a realistic dating-sim show for once.

    Da5id
    Reply

  15. I’ve read that everything “resets” between each girl’s story arc – so instead of one continuous story, it’s six separate ones. I think one of the Kimikiss manga adaptations did the same thing.

    Major1138
    Reply

  16. YES! This feels a bit like Hatsukoi Limited for some reason and another good reason to follow this series! I love the art and knowing it’ll be a 2 cour is making it even more interesting to me!

    Shinjiro
    Reply

  18. Is it just me or is this shot particularly attractive?

    https://randomc.net/image/Amagami%20SS/Amagami%20SS%20-%20ED1%20-%20Large%2003.jpg

    I always find the oversized sweater with one side drooped down the shoulder exposing the collarbone look on girls very appealing regardless of their dimensional identity ^^;

    I’m definitely watching this. To be honest, I’m a hopeless romantic and I like watching and reading romance stories (albeit no one knows) given that they aren’t too “mushy”. Like the first commenter, I’m more partial towards romance comedies. I’m watching ToraDora right now (R1 released early for some) and I’m loving every minute of it.

    Horus
    Reply

  19. When will the japanese be more original? I mean.. Annoying best friend, clingy imouto, tomboy who hangs out with MC, shy/social inept girl, popular ojousama, kaichou.. It’s only missing a tsundere and the energetic girl, but they’ll probably be introduced in the next episode..
    It’s fine if these characters show some depth, but the forced way they were presented in this first episode left me with the impression that there’s nothing new to see here..
    It’s just the first episode, though.. Maybe the plot twists and drama will be good enough to keep me interested..

    Sabin
    Reply

  20. it totally felt like i was watching the game and could almost imagine the routes for example rather than going to the library what if he stayed and helped the class rep that would open up the class rep route

    Oni
    Reply

  21. I still think Haruka is a cruel tease. Not only was she flirtatious with him during most of their encounters, but it was so blatant how much she wanted him to confess at the fountain and yet she still turned him down. She’s that girl — the one that hangs all over the meek nice guy and then turns him down for a tough-guy.

    Also, was anyone else getting the feeling his sister was jealous and kinda into him? Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but she seemed way too upset just seeing him walking with a girl. And given that it’s been two years since he got stood-up its not like she should be mad at him moving on too quick or anything; if anything she should have been happy he was finally trying to move on.

    Thomas
    Reply

  22. I think there is some sister complex in this show as well. Though I don’t think it will turn that way. Having watched the first episode, I found myself liking Ayatsuji Tsukasa more than Morishima Haruka. I thought Miya was quite likeable.

    Taciturn
    Reply

  23. feels good man.

    I dig his closet, reminds me of the ‘sky ceiling’ from Sola in a way.

    I’m getting impressions the same I did as with True Tears, except without the quirky humor themes and more of a soft realism-like ambiance. I never like the ‘sister’ card, maybe she’ll secretly be his half sibling or something, -shrug-.

    It sucks for him that he got his hopes up, but she wasn’t teasing him unreasonably, he’ll recover come episode two, I don’t think he even would say he was close to ‘in love’, just being honest with a “so far, i like you” type of impression of her.

    Dawn
    Reply

    1. In every guy who has a cute sister, there’s a subconscious desire for her to be adopted. Sometimes that’s how it’s played out or alluded to in some way.

      I don’t like the sister card either mainly because I’m a geneticist and actualizing potentially harmful recessive traits isn’t my thing.

      Horus
      Reply

  26. I’m getting somewhat of a Kimikiss vibe, though with not as much comedy. I can see the true tears thing, but not feeling it as much as some. One to watch for me.

    Yeah, Haruka is definitely a tease, but I can only guess why she’ll be back for more during her arc. Guess we’ll have to see.

    pagan poor
    Reply

  29. I don’t know if this will fill the void of true tears. I always thought that this was a contender to fill the void of SHUFFLE! Amagami SS and SHUFFLE! seem similar as well (seeing as how they both have an absurd amount of girls, while True Tears only had 3) I don’t know how many people enjoyed SHUFFLE! But I thoroughly enjoyed it and is in one of my “top romance list”. I am hoping that this anime romance series will be just as good as SHUFFLE! was.

    Philip
    Reply

    1. All of the mangas except one I believe are focused on one specific girl. None of them are “episodic” in the sense that they switch girls like KimiKiss. I’m personally hoping against that lol, I really don’t want everything to be reset every four episodes.

      Suzuku
      Reply

  32. Im really digging this. Aic production is top notch as always and love to see them to their thing. I feel this actually might be good unlike kimikiss which got way too drawn out during the second half. Now if they can do the right pacing I will be a happy camper.

    exia
    Reply

    1. Hehehe! Toyoma ftw! Clannad in general gives me positive vibes (character developement, drama, atmosphere…well, Maeda-san is close to God for me on those matters anyhow, right next to Makoto Shinkai) but I’m opened to all sort of characters and I think there are some good traits to Tachibana. We’ll just have to see how he develops. =)

      Shinjiro
      Reply

      1. I don’t think Otazaki-kun was annoying to me. Tbh, I can relate to what he went through so it touched a very powerful chord. Still, I understand where you’re coming from, Suzuku…But I guess different people will react differently. I’m a big Clannad (and Maeda Jun’s fan) so I might be a tight biased when it comes down to it hehe. ^^”

        Shinjiro
        Reply

  34. wow, with amagami happened the very opposite to ookami blah blah. i wasn’t really sure if this were worth watching… now i am on the amagami boat until the very end

    mako
    Reply

  35. Looks decent, I don’t really have high expectations but with great animation and these interesting characters, all that’s left is a rich plot, hopefully. Still romance-drama is always a good thing.

    I’m really starting to get curious about TRUE TEARS, haven’t seen it myself (hope I’m not the only one) but by reading everyone’s references, it must be good.

    Jaden
    Reply

  36. I was enjoying this episode far more than Ookami’s opening episode up to the point where Junichi starts to act like a pussy in front of Tachibana. From there things just went down hill for me, but I can definitely see potential from this anime like you do Divine. Solid animation from AIC had at least kept my attention throughout the episode and I will most likely watch at least the next three episodes.

    lHyDrAl
    Reply

  38. I like KimiKiss and I love happy end, so hope this anime will follow, that will make a perfect season for me.

    PS : Like the character design, especially the hair, Kaoru’s hair looks sexy.

    MD
    Reply

  39. Just an OMGWTF moment. After watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail (“I fart in your general direction”, “We are the Knights who say Ni”), while scrolling through the video player, I incidentally repeated the “nii-nii” part multiple times. OHNOES WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! lol

    entropy
    Reply

  40. Aside from the trippy scene of Junichi floating in space, Amagami SS is off to an okay start… First episode and he gets busted by the girl he likes… (Ouch.) Though I’m already rooting for two other girls whom Junichi would be better off with. (Specifically, Tsukasa Ayatsuji and Sae Nakata.) If he ends up with someone else though, well, I hope to see some heartwarming scenes in Tsukasa and Sae’s respective arcs.

    The only other romance drama I’ve recently seen that I might compare this to would be Tokimeki Memorial: Only Love, but I ought to hold back on the comparison until I’ve seen the rest of the episodes.

    At the moment I’m curious as to who the heck stood Junichi up two years ago. Maybe the next few episodes could reveal the specifics…

    On an off-topic note, it’s nice to see that you can now preview your comment before posting. (Though the option may have been around for some time and I only saw it just now.)

    Incognito
    Reply

    1. I’ve recently watched Tokimeki Memorial as well, but I don’t see how you can compare that to this. Honestly, the only thing they have in common is the school life romance/harem aspect. Tokimeki was for the most part focused on comedy while Amagami seems like it will have very little of it. At least in the Tokimeki sense of having characters run all around the school doing ridiculous things and the usual tripe.

      Suzuku
      Reply

  41. Now this is the kind of romance I like. Many girls many broken hearts if a decision is made. Still to early to start rooting for any of the girls. Though I like Kaoru ‘cos she looks fun and outgoing. But need more details before deciding. As for Haruka I don’t blame her (yet) for being a tease. there’s no way for her to know that Nii-nii 😛 was heart broken. And as he puts it: “was that a confession ?” I got the Hatsukoi vibe; but we will need more guys to feel like it. However Kimikiss pure rogue did pull it with two males. This series got got a bump in my watch list…. Bring me the tears!!!!

    Island Esper
    Reply

  44. Finally got a chance to watch the episode, and this looks like it’ll be really good. The art and animation is top notch and all the seiyuu match their roles perfectly. At first I wasn’t sure about the whole arc thing but now I don’t feel like I’ll care all that much. Although, I still don’t understand if the anime will be like the KimiKiss manga where each girl gets her arc and then the story starts over after it ends or will the story still flow in continuity and just focus on another girl for awhile?

    Also, if the order that the girls came in in the OP is the order that the arcs will go then we should be getting Kaoru next, then Sae, then Ai, then Rihoko, and finally Ayatsuji. I guess they’re saving the best for last lol. Ayatsuji is definitely the most interesting girl out of the bunch; if you’ve read the manga or played the games you know what I’m talking about. I’m not sure about finishing off with Haruka for the last two episodes but then again, like I said, I’m not sure how the anime will flow in and out of these arcs yet.

    On a side note, I noticed that Haruka looks a lot like Tohsaka Rin (Fate/stay night) and Tohno Akiha (Tsukihime), and it turns out that Itou Shizuka voices both Haruka and Akiha. I also found out she does the voice for Kanzaki Kaori (Toaru Majutsu no Index) and Wilhelmina (Shakugan no Shana). I think I might just have a new favorite seiyuu. <3

    Also Divine, where did you get the indication that this series will go for six months? Not that I don't believe you, I just want to post the source on another forum. I also remember you putting as having 12 episodes in the season preview.

    Suzuku
    Reply

    1. I didn’t list an episode total at all originally, but have since added “2 cour” to the preview.

      The basis is on an interview with the series director/writer Hiraike Yoshimasa and character designer Takayama Kisai posted on the official site. There, Kisai mentioned that the format would be four episodes per character, so with six characters the logical conclusion is a minimum of 24 episodes.

      Divine
      Reply

  47. awesome main character!!

    His special ability is to summon light orbs & when lit up, cause a reset so he can cop off with as many lasses as possible.

    No wait that’s Cla……..

    ark noir
    Reply

  48. Hmmm, I think each storyline will get their heroine ending and then will reset. Thats the way I would like it to be instead of another harem show or generic drama like Kimikiss anime was.

    Darknemo2000
    Reply

  51. I really like this show so far!

    I feel bad for Junichi though..
    Heart broken on Christmas Eve, then when he tries to get close to a girl again he gets shot down.. and pretty coldly at that. 🙁

    I am hoping he does not end up with Haruka. She seems like a heart breaker to me.. lol.

    Destiny
    Reply

  54. Amagami SS is like a mixture of Kimikiss + Tokimeki Characters …

    Morishima Haruka = Mao -Kimikiss-
    Ayatsuji Tsukasa = Amemiya -Tokimeki-
    Nakata Sae = Yayoi -Tokimeki-
    Sakurai Rihiko = Tsukasa -Tokimeki-

    ^.^

    Hagiri
    Reply

  55. First time that I saw a dating sim game-based anime with more or less realistic body proportions. I’d give it points for that. I’m interested to which direction the story is headed for.

    crabstick
    Reply

  57. One question? Am I right that this is going to follow each character scenario, as in they’ll jump into an alternative universe for the next one, or is it just doing the normal multiple girls scenario with the character only interested in one girl.

    Sora no Kaze
    Reply

  58. Amagami SS is going to be a 24 Episode TV series that will run in Omnibus format. This means that each heroine will have 4 episodes devoted to her and her arc. It will conclude on the fourth episode. The story will then reset and Jun will be drawn to one of the other heroines and her arc will last for 4 episodes; rinse and repeat. It starts with Haruka and ends with Tsukasa, who is the cover girl for the anime and the game.

    Gawl
    Reply

  61. Gonna give this a go, I’ve only gotten to love one romance novel, that is Kare Kano due to the complexity of the growing relations in all characters! See how this goes since most simulation adapted animes aren’t that great in my point of view 🙂

    Ryoko
    Reply

    1. Seems unoriginal so far, as I expected, give a few more epiosdes a go, but the male character always stutters on…..need a change of personality I think! Oh well, maybe I like the difference in kare kano that looks at the perspective of the female instead haha initially!

      Ryoko
      Reply

  64. It’s like developing a video game where you are granted with powerful sandboxes in the start of the development process. THat means you can concentrate with the other aspect of the game and you can eventually improve that area in the given timeline before the initial release.

    Same here, the characters are very expressive and they show emotions that no other anime series have done before mainly because the character design is superb.

    brixter
    Reply

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