SHUFFLE! – 01

Short Summary:
Tsuchimi Rin wakes up to an alarm clock and Fuyou Kaede telling him to get up. The two eat the breakfast that Kaede made and then walk to school together, avoiding one of Kaede’s admirers. They arrive at school and are greeted by Shigure Asa, an upper classman. Rin’s girl-obsessed friend Midoriba Itsuka flings himself on Rin (thinking that he’s Kaede) when they open the class door. After class, Thyme Mayumi tells everyone about the new, beautiful, transfer students they’re getting. Later, Rin finds himself in the supermarket thinking about Kaede’s cooking when he sees a pretty girl who can’t decide which meat package to choose. After stopping Rin and asking for his opinion, and she bids him farewell. As Rin is walking home, he hears some singing and finds another pretty girl sitting on the swings. They talk, but she soon has to leave. Later that night, Rin realizes that they both bid him farewell using his name, which never came up in either conversation, but he doesn’t think much of it. The next day, the new transfer students arrive. All the boys are pumped up until two grown men walk in. They gather around Rin and start to talk about him when their daughters arrive. They introduce themselves as Lisianthus and Nerine. Their fathers are the kings of their respective kingdoms, making the girls princesses. The teacher leaves them in Rin’s care, much to everyone’s surprise. The fathers explain that Rin is supposed to choose between the two girls and eventually become king of one of their worlds. On the way home, Rin and Kaede notice that they’re being followed by the girls and their fathers. They get all the way home and find out that their new neighbors are Lisianthus and Nerine’s families.

ED Sequence

ED: innocence by 橋本みゆき
There was no OP this episode, just credits as Rin woke up. The ED sequence is just certain scenes of the episode played backwords. I really really like the ED, sung by Hashimoto Miyuki. It’s a nice slow song.

The first thought that popped into my mind was “Oh gawd, it’s Da Capo all over again.” There’s Nemu Kaede waking up Junichi Rin. But while it does seem like it, SHUFFLE! adds a fantasy-ish element with the two kingdoms from which Rin much choose a daughter. Then again, I can’t say much more for the storyline because it feels like it’s all been done before. In short, Rin’s got a harem of girls who like him and he’s gotta pick one.
The voice acting grates on my ears a bit, like Nagami Haruka’s Nerine, especially during her singing scene on the swing. I’m also gonna have to get used to Aoki Sayaka as Lisianthus. The BGMs are pretty good, and the animation’s not bad either. Nowhere near AIR quality, but it’ll suffice. The interstitials are adorable though. Oh yea, what was with the grand sponser message being in english? That really freaked me out.
This episode was more or less an introduction to all the characters, so I find it hard to judge it. I’ll give SHUFFLE! 2 more episodes raw, then pending on if I stick with it or not, I’ll switch to subs. Next episode seems to introduce the loli of the series, Primula (damn, she looks like Ruri from Nadesico).