Well, isn't that a pretty set-piece.
Last Seen: 3
Summary: One of Aoi's earliest memories, is of a kind Ayakashi saving her life. Having been able to see them for as long as she can remember, her mother ends up abandoning her, and she's left to fend for herself, and starve. This is when an Ayakashi appears before her. Thanks to the Ayakashi's kindness, Aoi survives, to be found and adopted by her grandfather, who can also see Ayakashi. He teaches her how to survive on her own, live quietly and avoid trouble with them. She grows up peacefully, until the day her grandfather passes away... and an Oni comes to take her as his bride for a debt of her grandfathers! With her grandfathers name signed on the contract naming her as collateral!
First Impression: Much better than I was expecting.
My Opinion: The anime industry is nothing if not demonically-contracted to jump on the bandwagon of anything with even mild success, so when I first saw this show I just assumed it was bandwagon 'copy, paste, repaint, and sell'-class material based on Konohana Kitan since it sounded so similar. In just one episode though, it proved me quite wrong. There is, after all, nothing wrong with innovating on a previously existing idea. The problem is just that a lot of people in a lot of industries read 'innovating' as, 'reselling the same old crap with a new paint-job'.
Where as Konohana is as shallow as it can possibly get, and focuses on cute'sy feel-goods, this show quickly sets out to prove it has a bit more depth. How much, will remain to be seen in future episodes, but it looks promising to me so far.
(Get your torches and pitchforks ready, and brush up on your angry mob tactics, I'm certainly far more 'willing to believe' than is wise).
Just in the first episode we have a fair touch more grounding depressive events, with child abandonment and debt-collection. More importantly, none of the characters feel 'trope'-y, yet, even by the third episode. Which is quite impressive honestly, since this show seems to be peeling cards off of Natsume Yuujinchou, Konohana Kitan, and more than a few rom-coms in its future I'm sure. If for no other reason than the main character running around asking for a job, and then when one is actually offered without her asking, she acts surprised. I didn't like that part, she had been a rather strong character until then. Besides that however, the show isn't really pushing romance...at all. As a matter of fact, it's waaay in the background as it focuses on Aoi getting her bearings in this sudden upset in her life of being plunged into the Hidden Realm.
As it continues on, it fixes up right nicely. The main character has the right balance of being utterly mystified by all of the unheard of things she's surrounded by, but at the same time, since she's been dealing with Ayakashi since she was young, and she's now already an adult, she acts like she should, I feel. She barely even blinks when the Oni talks about enjoying eating humans and is more annoyed by how happy he seems to be to point it out all the time, and she doesn't jump at every little new thing and character that comes on screen. I like that. She's acting like she actually is a mature adult. I think that's something I miss in most anime: competent level-headed characters. The show is looking great so far.
On the topic of looks though...something about the animation feels...off. Like walking around in a room that has been tilted 1 degree off from being level. I can't quite put my finger on why I think something seems out of place with the animation. Could just be a random impulsive feeling, but I'm here to right my opinion and inform the masses, so may as well mention it.
All together, this is a lovely little show so far, and I'm looking forward to it from week to week. Not quite worth a full recommendation yet, as nothing huge or especially interesting is going on, but I believe it's worth most peoples time to try it. Nothing seems ready to crash and burn, and that's actually kind of rare lately. Maybe I'm just not watching enough anime, or have had bad luck picking out shows, but a lot of shows have had shaky starts lately. Well that's my opinion, so may it serve you well.
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