It’s Strawberry Panic all over again…

…and it’s pure winnage! But seriously, what is with the rediculously long series names this season. I hereby dub this show, OtomeKoi! But I digress, this show is made of 100% pure and untouched win. Although this was only the opener, I’m loving what I see so far, and if the quality is any less inconsistent than YuriPanic then expect more rave reviews.

Note* After reading some other reviews of OtomeKoi, I feel that I should explain my reasoning. Why do I feel this show is great? Management of expectations. I came into this with absolutely zero hype up and so it surprised me with something that actually interested me and was technically decent. Also, I don’t expect a deep and dramatic shoujo-ai plot, not even something comparable to StrawPani. This means that I’m free to appreciate OtomeKoi as a quirky gakuen comedy without thinking too much on plot, pacing and characters. I think that if everyone got over its inherent flaws and turned off their drama-radar, they’d enjoy this anime much more. Then again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so by all means if you don’t like it, bash away XD

Synopsis

Our main heroine, Miyakoji Mizuho prepares for his first day at a new school. Like any transfer student he’s clearly flustered and just a tad nervous. NOT because he’s anxious to make a good first impression on his peers, nono that would make for too boring an anime, it’s because he is going to be attending an all girl school.

In a quick flashback it is revealed that, for a yet unknown reason, Mizuho’s late oji-san left him with a last request, to attend Seiyou All Girls School. Hilarity ensues as Mizuho’s childhood friend, Maria, busts out a bag of makeup and transforms the, already feminine bishounen, Mizuho into a perfectly proportioned bishoujo.

And so, upon entering Seiyou Gakuen, Mizuho is an instant hit. Not even a day after his introduction rumors and praise spread through the halls, gym, cafeteria, et al.

So begins the already humorous journey of a, crossdressing, school idol in the making. As Mizuho accustoms himself to the behavior and etiquette expected from a girl this looks to be an interesting tale of awkwardness, hilarity, drama and of course, a lot of pseudo-yuri love ;)

Thoughts

While Kanon is pretty much predetermined to be my favourite anime of the season, OtomeKoi is (in my opinion) the best anime that is not a remake or manga base. This places it third in the season, behind #1. Kanon and #2. Death Note.

At first glance OtomeKoi appears to be your generic harem with a little yuri thrown into the mix, falling into danger of being dropped by most anime fans. However! Though OtomeKoi is admittedly generic in its individual aspects, the way the series is thrown together makes it shine over all its stereotypes.

The show borrows many cliche ideas from other series. The idea of throwing a bishounen into the middle of a bishoujo world is nothing new to Kashimashi fans. Alienating men and containing a horde of sexually confused bishoujo in the confines of an all girl school? Been there, done that, Maria-sama ga Miteru and obviously Strawberry Panic. So what makes OtomeKoi a keeper despite its generic roots? Execution. The animation, character designs, character personality, plot and pacing, etc. It all comes together perfectly in a lighthearted gakuen comedy with a pinch of yuri.

The animation, while not exactly ready to rival KyoAni, was excellent. ANN cites “Feel” as the primary animation producers. These guys have been involved in the creation of some of my favourite animes of all time. They had a hand in: Futakoi Alternative, Honey and Clover, Ghost in the Shell, School Rumble Nigakki and even Da Capo! And it shows, the animation is perfectly suited for this genre. Smooth backgrounds compliment the more ambient and dramatic scenes whereas attention is drawn to the character foreground in dialogue centric scenes. And the chibi! Honestly, whoever doesn’t like random chibi has to be locked up with Shion for a couple of days.

The character designs are also a highlight. None stand out as being overly flashy but yet they manage to be unique enough to not look like copy and pasted faces with different hair styles (a la NAVEL). Maria and the mystery girl Mizuho passed on the way to the dorm stand out as being potentially favourite characters based on design and personality, the loli Kana-chan currently sits on the bottom. Personality wise we have a mix of generic archetypes. Any one of them alone would annoy the hell out of me, but when forced to mingle this cast becomes comedic gold! Even the slightly annoying Kana-chan attains the loli-moe mode.

Music was a meh-point, it didn’t strike me as being amazing but it certainly didn’t detract from the overall effect, the ED is even a little catchy.

Voice acting was great! It’s a little weird to hear Yui Horie voice a crossdressing male, but it works out alright. I don’t remember who Yuko Goto is doing, but I haven’t heard any Mikuru semblances yet, so that’s good. I’m still waiting for my Sakura Nogawa appearance, it’s been a while since I’ve heard Nemu’s voice =( Other characters were also pretty fitting voice wise, again, Kana-chan a little on the annoying side >_<

Though, I'm not all glory and praise for OtomeKoi, it's far from a perfect series. Aside from the obvious limits set by following convention and not being creative with animation or character, the plot is showing serious weakness already. The very premise of the show itself is flawed. The reason Mizuho enrolls in Seiyou Gakuen, the rediculous last wish, is hard to believe, what kind of grandfather would put his grandson in that position lol. Also, I find it difficult to believe that the school actually accepted the idea, unless Mizuho's mother was like...the founder or something, totally unbelievable. Finally and most obviously, HOW DO THE GIRLS NOT REALIZE THAT HE'S A GUY!?! Must be pretty realistic padding for girls to rub up against it and not tell the difference. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Kana-chan dive into him pretty close to the crotch area >.>?

Small flaws aside, I’m pretty excited about this series, it may be because I had no expectations going into this, but it managed to capture my interest instantly and hold it for 22 minutes. I even gave Kanon to Soda so I could blog this, among other reasons stated in a previous post. So here’s hoping this series continues to be pleasantly surprising ^^

IT’S A TRAP! Oh wait…yea, I knew that >_>

Kareha channeling

After losing Nemu to the villanous Juunichi, Miharu’s search for love rages on!

Sachiko…?

Sachiko!

Ureshii nano desu yo~

What I wouldn’t do to get in on one of these T_T

I don’t know what type of stereotypes reach Japan, but apparently all lesbians are Christian

Last but not least: lawl, chibis…very scary chibis

And with that I’m finished all my planned season opener blogs. Expect to see posts that look less like reviews and more like incoherent rambling XD Whether that’s a good or a bad thing remains to be seen >_>

~ Shirukii ~