No.6 Episode 1: At First Glance

I've heard that this is supposed to be an older Shion, how he ended up with white hair, we have yet to find out.

Set two years from now, genius "elites" are at the top of the food chain. Shion, being one of these elites, is granted a privileged and care-free life as a result. Today happens to be his 12th birthday which he decides to spend with his classmate Safu and her grandmother. All is well until a certain "rat" crawls into his room during a storm.

HNNNNGGGGHHHH

In other words, she wants to have his babies.

That screaming bit was...interesting...

A boy named Nezumi (literally meaning "rat") sneaks into Shion's room after his screaming fit (which may be his own strange way of showing how much he likes something) directed at the storm. Nezumi then pins Shion to a wall and starts to choke and threaten him. But to his surprise, Shion responds to him with kindness and offers to treat his injuries. Afterwards, Shion discovers that Nezumi is actually an escaped convict. Despite learning this, though, Shion's attitude towards Nezumi does not change. It's pretty obvious here that, despite being a genius, Shion has a few loose screws of his own,

Yeah, choking you.

He'd look more adorable if he wasn't holding a syringe.

It's like nothing phases this kid at all.

 I love this show so far. Unpredictably, the animation is stunning considering that Studio Bones is behind this. As for voice acting, I think that Nezumi's voice is a little too deep for someone his age, I'm guessing they're doing this to contrast Nezumi and Shion's personalities. And while we're on the subject of personalities, I love how Shion isn't the stereotypical shrinking violet shota type and is more on the sweet, yet eccentric side (come on, what kind of sane person smiles and starts asking innocent questions after being immobilized?). Nezumi is a mystery himself since we don't learn much about his background in this episode. I'd also like to know how the two boys end up looking the way they do in the opening and ending sequences (especially Shion). The opening started off robotic-sounding, but I ended up liking it a lot once the singer's actual voice came through. The ending theme is more on the soft, quiet side and, probably, due to the sequence's setting, gave me the urge to go out and play in the snow.So far, this show has me hooked and I'm going to be watching out for it.
I was planning to post a review for Blood-C, Natsume Yuujinchou San, Nurarihyon No Mago: Sennen Makyou, Usagi Drop, and Kamisama no Memo-chou, but since I'm still getting the hang of this whole blogging thing, I'll probably stop here.
This episode gets:

I hope I'm not the only one who thinks of Allen and Kanda when I see these two in their older forms.

Mawaru Penguindrum Episode 1: At First Glance

I want a room like this.

Mawaru Penguindrum stars two brothers who live alone with their ill little sister. Where their parents are or whatever happened to them, we have yet to know. First off, the animation in this episode is just amazing. And the colors...just, the colors...The story itself is kind of like a roller coaster ride. One second, the characters are all happy, then they're angsting, then they're happy, then they're angsting, then they're happy again, with penguins. And then, they're just afsdgfhrekgwgtkw.

Their house is so fudging colorful.

This scene was pretty random.

Kanba and Shoma decide to take Himari to one of her favorite places: the aquarium. Everything is fine throughout the trip...at least until Himari actually dies. Kanba and Shoma are given a moment to grief over her, until she comes back to life yelling "Survival Strategy!" whilst wearing the penguin hat Shoma bought for her in the aquarium gift shop. The siblings' lives are turned upside down by penguins after this. But not just ordinary penguins. Special penguins that only they can see. And they're all fudging adorable.

Cutest stalkers ever.

This happens right after their angsting.

Random sexual harassment time!

A penguin.

This being a series directed by Kuniho Ikuhara (Revolutinary Girl Utena) there's all kinds of crazy going on in this show. But so far, this is the most original series I've encountered this season. The penguins end up living with the three siblings, aiding them with things like household chores. It would seem that Ikuhara wanted to play with the magical girl trope/parody again, this time using a loli in a long, loud, and flashy transformation sequence. Whoever is controlling Himari asks for a penguin drum from the brothers as compensation for lengthening their sister's life. Then the audience gets hit with an unsuspecting ending. I seriously did not see that coming.

I love how everyone but Shoma act like it's natural for penguins to be doing chores.

Cutest roach killer ever.

I didn't think it was possible, but her costumer looks even flashier than Takuto's from Star Driver. Though Takuto still has her beat on levels of FABUUUULOUUUSSS.

Unlike Sacred Seven, the character designs here all look completely original. Kanba and (especially) Shoma are most likely parodies of old-school bishounen, and Himari is most likely a parody of both a magical girl and an ill girl (since we don't even know what her illness is), but this is Ikuhara we're talking about. No one knows what the heck goes through that man's head. I have no idea where the penguins came from either, but I love the it (Who doesn't like penguins? Heck, even Evangelion had one). I can see why many people have been comparing this to Star Driver as well. Heck, even Takuto and Sugata's dynamic (and hair colors) are similar to the two brothers'. But, craziness aside, it's pretty obvious that "Fate" is a huge theme in this show, which I look forward to being played out as the story progresses. So far, this show has the most interesting concept, character designs, and art of this season. The opening is nice, cute and clean, though I'm not to fond of the ending theme. I'm definitely going to blog this series (unless this episode's ending takes a different course).
This episode gets:

I'm not even sure what this image is supposed to depict.

Sacred Seven Episode 1: At First Glance

Oh great, another geass user.

Sacred Seven is Sunrise's latest project, so the animation for this is pretty slick, though a little too reminiscent of Code Geass. Alma is a misunderstood high schooler who, upon entering his school, can part crowds like Moses could with the red sea. Then, a ditzy classmate of his, who believes that he's a lot more harmless than the rumors may suggest, invites him to go to a museum with her friends. Oh, and apparently, he collects rocks. And he's being stalked by some rich girl and her battle butler. Just when he thinks his day couldn't get any worst, he finds out that he is a mahou shounen possesses special powers...

That is a small motorcycle.

She reminds me of a less psychotic version of Kafuka from Zetsubou-sensei.

Looks like Sebastian is two-timing Ciel.

Oh snap, he's part unicorn!

As far as character designs go, (if my caps didn't already give it away) they're not very original. Alma looks like Lelouche and Rolo's illegitimate child, that useless talking statute thing gives off the feeling that it's trying to pull a Nyanko-sensei on us, and Ruri looks like every other ojou-same type character I've seen thus far. As far as the soundtrack goes, Yuki Kajiura composing the opening and ending themes were the only reason why I checked out this show. Okay, moving on to the actual show, ROBOTS ATTACK and MAIDS EVERYWHERE. Yeah, Ruri unleashes a maid army on us. Wut. And Alma decides to man up because he's worried about his ditzy classmate's safety. Then he TRANSFORMS.

Heeeenshiiiiinnnnn!!!

Open Heart!

He looks like a gundam.

After his transformation (which is nowhere near as flashy as Takuto's from Star Driver), he SAVES THE WORLD (and his ditzy classmate/potential love interest). The main plot for this series? Rocks. Yep. But like I said, the animation is pretty good, so I wouldn't put it down right away. Let's hope it gets better from here, though.

I definitely didn't see that coming./sarcasm

This episode gets:

1/2

I was going to use a rock gif, but for some reason, all the results that showed were either Rock Lee, The Rock, or Rock 'n Roll.

Ikoku Meiro No Croisee Episode 1: At First Glance

I LOVE her design.

This series is set in Paris starring an adorable little Japanese girl named Yune. An old man named Oscar has brought her to work in his grandson, Claude's shop. A bunch of hilarious cultural misunderstandings ensue starting with Yune's way of greeting (bowing down), which causes Claude to believe that something is wrong with her back. Here, Oscar reveals that Yune used to be a poster girl (what that is, I'm not quite sure). After settling in, Yune starts working earnestly throughout the shop. Meanwhile, Claude is still uneasy about having Yune work in his shop and acts slightly cold towards her at first. One of the issues I had for this scene was that Oscar claims that Yune can only understand French greetings. And since all the dialogues are in Japanese, it's pretty hard to tell when Yune is directly communicating with Oscar and Claude.

I like Claude's design and all, but the way he tucks in his shirt kind of bothers me. And Oscar kind of looks like Santa Clause (not that there's anything wrong with that).

So much emotions in one image!

So much details!

Claude was a pretty cute kid.

After a cute little montage of Yune cleaning the place up, we get to see some nice little details here and there throughout the shop. Oscar then suggests that Yune should stay out at the front due to her previous status as a poster girl, and lo and behold, a curious customer enters. He doesn't stay long though, since Claude scares him away. As this transpires, a little boy looking intently through the store's window catches Yune's attention, which causes her kimono to accidentally get caught on Claude's current project, which then falls and breaks on the table. The sign post happened to be the last project Claude's deceased father was working on, so predictably, DRAMA happens. Yune apolgises for the umpteenth time that day, but Claude coldly suggests that she's better off returning to her homeland.

It's so pretty~

This scene reminded me of the time a relative of mine mistook my clothes for a doll's back in 6th grade.

Random shota alert!

Claude eventually ends up finishing the sign post again, Yune apologizes to him again, and everyone's HAPPY! Claude even decides to buy an ABC book so that Yune can start learning their language, and in return, she decides to give Claude her most treasured (and expensive) kimono to sell as a sign of apology. After Claude sells the kimono, Oscar tells him that the kimono was a momento of Yune's mother. When Claude comes up to confront Yune, she apologizes profusely (shocker), but Claude insists that he should be the one apologizing. Then, we find out that apparently, Yune could fully understand their language all along. Happy end!

I like the lighting here.

HNNNNNNGGGGGGGGHHHHH

The animation for this episode was lovely. There were several details seen here and there on the streets of Paris and within Claude's shop. As far as the story goes, I felt that the main conflict was tied up a little too quickly, but Claude's sudden change of treatment towards Yune was pretty sweet. The final scene where Claude bows to Yune in apology also shows that the two are actually directly communicating with each other. Oh, and Yune is fudging adorable. The soundtrack is befitting of the setting, and the op and ed give of a nice, relaxing feel. Chances are high that I will be be blogging this.
This episode gets:

1/2

Yune~