I wasn’t actually planning on starting winter series until I finished all the fall reviews planned… but after seeing the scathing reviews, I decided that I should check out this series ASAP.
So what can I say after viewing it? The first episode might turn off a few viewers due to its slow pace and flat characters; I can see that. What I can also see, is that this show has SERIOUS potential to be very good later on. The seeds of some good drama were set towards the end of this episode, now all we do is see how it grows. As for the two turn-offs, it’s quite hard to fairly judge a character in the first episode of ANY show. As for slow pace… didn’t another to-remain-unnamed anime have a slow start as well?
As for aesthetics, I don’t think that that was the real opening animation.. the real animation will probably air next week. The accompanying song was quite good though. Aya Hirano looks like is using her Minato (Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka) voice for Yuki. Lastly, animation quality and character designs were really good, the best I’ve seen this season.
I definitely need more episodes to accurately judge this series, but until then
FIRST IMPRESSION: 8/10
