I conduct yet another experiment with a show I knew nothing about. And this time, I was surprised, even delighted, at this peppy, funny, and well-animated show that bears such a serious-sounding title. To the degree that I may end up following this one long term.
Oh, sure, it’s an otaku show through and through. It’s set in Akihabara, for crying out loud–I wasn’t aware anyone actually lived there!–and when the transfer student comes in she’s bombarded with offers to join the model and anime clubs. But it’s not a show about otakus, like Genshiken. It’s more about things that appeal to otaku: fighting demons. Magic spheres and charms. And, of course, girls: lots and lots of girls, an entire cast filled with them and with only room for one male Kyon-like protagonist, Renji, who is summoned at the beck and call of a silver-haired almost goth-loli named Angelot.
The show starts off on the right foot with Angelot’s…irresistable offer. You know when a trap door literally opens under Hiiragi’s feet that it can’t be a terribly serious story, though it seems to calm down a bit as Eris, the new transfer student with purple hair (why do anime heroines love to have purple hair?) is introduced to Kureha, the requisite childhood friend character. (Which means that Eris is almost certainly the one who will end up with Renji, unless Angelot makes another irresistable offer.) If anything, for a good part of the episode, it’s spent developing Eris’s character, not Renji’s; Renji almost seems like a side character, mainly used for comic relief. This action comedy tips more to the former than the latter on the whole, though it has enough comedy to keep it balanced and fun. Even the villain, Veil, is hard to take seriously because she’s also a goth loli…
I’m not sure what Eris’s flowers are supposed to mean, and I’m curious as to what the other 6 virtues are. We already know one is Kindness. This allegorizing is a pretty standard feature of a lot of fantasy literature. And is Eris’s only able to be a shield or something? Why do only guys get the humongous phallic symbols swords?
But those are questions more deserving for more serious shows. I think I like this better off the bat then Rental Magica, though arguably that show is a little more original. In the interest of a balanced Anime Diet(c) I am likely to follow this show alongside drippy romance (Clannad), serious drama (Blue Drop), and anything else that manages to stick.
This is, most likely, the last Episode 1 review I will write–between Ray, Jeremy, and I, I think we’ve covered most of the highlights of the Fall season in our individual articles. The next article I write will be a roundup of all the shows they’ve already reviewed and my own brief takes on them.
